Quote From 4matt:
I quite agree, "Keep_Calm". While I'm not from a council estate, my upbringing was hardly moneyed. I definitely agree in allowing and, indeed, facilitating excellence regardless of finance. So why is the Labour party so dead against grammar schools, which have always been the best way for youngsters with excellent minds to get the education they need, irrespective of money? People accuse the Tories of being "toffs", "public-school educated", and so on, but I would say that the majority of the Labour government went to public school, and the vast majority of their children most definitely do.
If you look at the way the current government has increased study of crap subjects at crap universities, encouraged the study of vacuous school subjects so that schools can look good on league tables and, in other areas, seems intent of treating with kid gloves those who make others' lives a misery, yet ignoring those who genuinely deserve help, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that they don't actually care about decent people, and are just using taxpayers' money to buy the votes of the undeserving.
All the reasons why I vote Lib Dem. They have committed to research funding (and respect the research process - for me, the best available balance between impact and academic freedom) so it's good for my future career. At the same time, I'm happy that if I get a decent salary, I should be taxed more: my background is working-class and I know that the first 10k tax-free policy would make a real difference to the people who need it most. And actually, give people an incentive to work that is lacking given the high taxation rate on even extremely low income wages that cripple people financially. They also recognise that the 50% in university goal is not a good idea, so would scrap that.
All in all I was very impressed with the Lib Dem manifesto. :-)
But realistically, what I am hoping for a Labour-Lib Dem coalition that brings in proportional representation. Then a potential Lib Dem - Green party coalition for the next election.
