A bit naive?

[lily]

I really thought Gordon B might be a strong character, but am feeling a bit disillusioned now that he has decided not to call an election. If only he'd said that before the Cameron vote catchers, even now I'd have a bit more respect if he came clean and said he was afraid of the results. Suppose I'm old enough to know better!

[Pippa]

I thought Brown would stand no nonsence, but feel he is being manipulated - don't fancy the manifestos of the rest of them. We used to have Green Party candidates and who will look after our pensions I wonder, I can see I will be working until I am 70. I don't think you are being naive, we all want to put our trust in someone.

[Oola]

I really don't know who to stand behind - I am mostly a liberal democrat but I'm not so pro-Europe as them. I like the Green Party policies too, but they don't get enough coverage to fully understand their policies and how their leaders work. Conservatives have interested me with their talk of cutting Inheritance Tax and a few other policies, but then Labour made a lot of promises too....

The one thing I do like is the fact that Gordon Brown doesn't seem at all enamoured with George W. Bush.

[Pippa]

Well that has to be in his favour. I do find that politicians and journalists rather generalise and seem to think we all live in towns or cities and have public transport at our beck and call and can walk to work or shops. I will vote for the person who thinks of older people, some on their own in hamlets and villages whose local facilities are dissappearing fast. I hope we do not loose our PO but if we do it will be a car ride to the next one. I feel we are being penalised for living in the country and trying to be independent by growing own food etc. Maybe we should form our own party.

[keepersdaughter]

Since coming to the States seven years ago, I have lost touch I'm afraid with politics and many things that have been going on back home. I look at a couple of news sites almost daily, but still am not sure who's who or doing what. I am dismayed though with many of the things I have been reading. I was very pleased to hear that Brown is bringing the troops home. I also don't understand all this PC stuff. Having lived abroad I understand some of the difficulties, but I have always accepted the fact the I am a guest/outsider in another country and whether or not I understand or like some of the traditions, cultural differences or whatever, that is my problem and I have had to adapt and accept things for the way they are. I don't expect a country to change for me! Don't want to be controversial or inflammatory, but I am saddened and concerned. What will happen in the next fifteen/twenty years. Will there be pensions, houses, healthcare, jobs etc. for everyone. There is no police station now in the town my Mum lives, so people feel they are left on their own. My Mum keeps me informed of some things and I know I'm looking at things from a distance. I just don't want England to lose the essence of the unique country it is.

[Oola]

Well, I can tell you as a 20-something I'm struggling to see how I'm actually going to have a pension. So many of my friends are in the same position, what with trying to just pay the mortgage each month, run a car for work, feed yourself (ethically)...I really don't know what's going to happen. Even my parents have to face the same issues with only 15 or 20 years before they retire. I think now a lot of young people's pensions are either non-existant, or they'll have to do something like invest in some property if they have the cash later on.

In 50 years we'll be a TescoLand anyway - Tesco Hospitals, Tesco housing estates and Tesco political party!

[lily]

Think I shoud have put this in politics, blame trying to deny I need to put my glasses on!
I find all the PC stuff frightening, constantly thinking "can I say that". The irony is we seem to have as many problems if not more connected with race/gender etc.
I hope something is done soon to help first time buyers get onto the ladder- 2 of my sons are home owners ( bought a few years ago) , whilst one is in rented flat and a mortgage has become increasingly out of reach. As to pensions it seems very unfair that the government does not step in where pension funds have failed. Yes we'll soon be wall to wall or should that be coast to coast Tesco,only then will we wake up to the fact that with no competition we have lost both choice and our town centres.

[Pippa]

Oola and Lily - so agree with you about the Tesco thing, bit scary really, no competition, just Tesco. As for first time buyers, out of the question for most young people and renting is not the cheaper option. Even Housing Association rents are high now, so I guess we have to be grateful if we have a little land or a large garden, at least can feed ourselves, lots of people stuck in high rise flats do not have opportunity.

[keepersdaughter]

I read not too long ago, that Tesco were opening stores in the US. Looks like they're out to take over the world !. What's happened to Sainsburys, Somerfield etc.? Are the prices so much better at Tesco or are they particularly aggressive and just build everywhere. Sorry, I've only been gone for a short while, but things have changed quite a bit I think. The housing prices are atrocious(I'm sure I spelled that wrong), the problem will get worse with supply and demand - surely there can't be that much space to keep building. I heard that there are proposals to do a lot of building nr. Stanstead (Essex), with a large amount of green space and some lovely homes being torn up. Haven't heard the latest on it.

[Oola]

keepersdaughter they already have stores across the world - in China they sell live turtles to EAT from their Tesco stores.

[keepersdaughter]

I didn't know they were so large. There's a huge chain of 'superstores' over here called Walmart, I don't know if they're in Europe yet. Their prices are so cheap, because most everything comes from China, etc. that the small rural towns have not been able to compete and slowly closed down. It's quite sad to drive thru. some small towns, they look abandoned, People who live in the surrounding areas all have to drive to the larger towns. If you don't have a car I can't imagine how you get by. I can recall when supermarkets were a new and novel thing, and weren't sure if they'd be successful. How communities have changed. Oh heck, now I'm feeling old. :( . Sorry, I realise I've totally gone off on a tangent and gone off subject.

[franbee]

Our ASDA is part of the Walmart group, also cheap. I always thought that the French despised supermarkets, doing most of their shopping in small independents, but that is not the case, I've seldom seen a small grocers, just the chains of small self-service shops. Everyone shops at supermarkets there. Fran.

[keepersdaughter]

That would explain why Walmart sell the Asda "George' brand of clothes. The world is becoming such a small place. I used to shop at Tesco simply because it was the closest to where I lived in Norfolk. I did like Sainsburys too. Asda was an hour or so drive. Sorry Franbee, strayed from your subject again.

[sunflower]

When I went back home to Canada earlier in the year, I noticed how my home town of Hamilton has no town centre feel about it anymore, due to the fact that, where the shops should be they do'nt exist anymore! It sounds similar to what you describe in your part of America Keepersdaughter. Except that Hamilton is considered to be a large city. However, the large supermarkets are not being successful either and only last a few years....even the Walmarts!!! Everytime I go back everything has changed, so weird! I really hope that the UK does not become the same.

[SummerSkye]

Reading your comments we have exactly the same problems here. Politicians, housing, pensions, food and multi nationals all the same scenarios. It may be selfish but I am glad I was a post war baby I feel that today's generation has very little to look forward to and what a mess has been made of everything environmentally. We don't have Tesco but we do have Woolworths! I do vote Green have for years, they may not have the numbers to change anything but it does make their voice louder.

[gothfairy]

Did anyone watch the footage from Parliament yesterday when Mr Darling announced his inheritance thing, stealing the idea from the other side of the House according to some? Did anyone who watched it take particular notice of the look on Gordon Brown's face/ Now I am not a particularly political animal.. I am sceptical about anything they say to be honest, and how I vote is a matter of privacy. I had thought Mr Brown seemed a strong-minded man, a man of principles, someone with a bit of gravitas not airy-fairy at all, a man who would say what he meant, would get things done. Any positive views I had of him were almost totally wiped out by the smug look on his face as his Chancellor spoke, the look of 'OK, beat that if you can you lot' that he directed towards the Opposition. He might just as well have licked the tip of one finger and stuck it up in the air, in a 'this round to me I think' gesture. It was smug, childish and judging by comments I heard this morning, has not done him any favours at all. It is almost as if most people remember the look on his face rather than the bland delivery of Mr Darling.

[lily]

What a con, Gordon has changed inheritance tax but only to give the same effect as severance of joint tenancy. I feel he just isn't the man of principle I thought he was. I aways feel I should vote but wouldn't know who to chose now.

[Oola]

hence why Mr Brown is not now calling an election this autumn! It does bother me that an unelected man is running this country now, and we really have no say in it yet.

I for one really have no idea who to vote for whenever the next elections comes around.

[jazzactivist]

I agree with you, I don't like the predatory approach that Tesco uses either. The latest is offering their own organic veg boxes delivered to homes when they know fine that small producers are trying to keep afloat through offering that as a more ethical alternative to supermarket shopping. The only thing that people can do is just not shop there. A friend of mine who had the misfortune to have to fill a financial gap by doing night shifts at Tesco was laid off after 10 weeks and told that it was because their takings were dropping dramatically. And as they pay staff on a 4 weekly basis they tried to underpay her by 2 weeks by issuing her P45 with the 'final' payslip! When will Tesco learn that customers are turning away from them as a company because they are so aggressive and uncaring?

As far as PC goes there is nothing to be afraid of. If you feel from people's reaction that you have used a word or phrase inappropriately, just follow it up nicely with something like "if that is the right word to use now". If you aren't sure, ask. It is like learning any new language, most people appreciate people who try and won't think the worse of you for showing that you have some awareness but aren't perfect at it. It is right that people who are discriminated against by the use of certain words and concepts speak up and let others know, and then that word or concept is changed by everyone and they can then feel more included in society. It is all a process - just think about how even the medical establishment used to call people with a learning disability or learning difficulty "retarded" or "mongoloid". Through progress and people themselves, parents and teachers speaking out we now know that there is a huge range of learning difficulties and people can be limited in some ways but super knowledgeable in others eg some forms of autism.

I was glad to see the back of Tony Blair, and had hoped that Gordon Brown would focus on more principled politics, and a less media-friendly image. My own politics are liberal to left-wing and I find that none of the political parties offer what I think would be best for UK society. Even the Greens focus on the greening of capitalism rather than looking at how a change in economics could change people's lifestyles for the better. It is important to pay taxes as that money provides our public services. The less public money, the less free public services. Although I would prefer it if we could complete and annual tick box questionnaire as to what we would like our tax payments to be spent on. I would opt for education and health, and not for defence.

This is a very interesting thread. Keep going everyone.

[Oola]

jazzactivist do you really think that Tesco's income has dropped dramatically? If so, this is quite a revelation!!!! And not in a bad way....

[jazzactivist]

Hi! Oola, sadly I think that it is unlikely that Tesco's income had dropped dramatically, but I would guess that they think that it has even if there is only a slight drop, and are using that as an excuse to get rid of staff and make incursions into new markets. I wish that our Govnt would use the Monopolies Commission to stop some of Tesco's activities that limit the chances of small traders and producers. It would be really good if we started to see reports on the news that Tesco's profits were slumping due to consumer action, wouldn't it?

There is some hope, I think. Tesco opened a store in a town nearish to where I live that had started to become regenerated as a Food Town. There are lots of small shops there and a Co-op, and there was a big campaign to keep Tesco out. But Tesco offered a huge amount of money to the Council for a piece of land right at the top of the High Street and opened their store. At first lots of people started shopping there out of curiosity, but now the town is buzzing and the Tesco carpark is always half empty. The campaign changed to encourage people to park there but shop at the small shops, local shops waited until Tesco had trained its new staff and then offered them higher wages to leave and come and work for them, and the ubiquitous teenagers have been encouraged to hang out in the cosy covered Tesco trolley park - keeping shoppers out of it. Apparently Tesco are now thinking of closing that store and opening a small Tesco Extra instead! So sometimes campaigns work. It may take a while but...

[Oola]

Hurrah, there is hope then. The problem with my town is that it is a commute town, and lacks a real sense of community. What little community feel there is usually revolves around the very young mother & baby groups, or the much older residents who meet for things like Flower Club, WI etc. Inbetween there's only the pub-goers, and so this is where a lack of interest in the community and buying into the community (i.e. special shops or independent retailers) lacks.

Being a town on a train line straight into London means that people might just see this place as a convenient stopping ground, a place for easy access, easy shopping (Tesco), good links to go somewhere else, anywhere else but here. It's a shame because the woodland and the moors are lovely, miles of countryside around but the town spirit is all but dead. And I can't help but feel that is partly why Tesco thrives here.