Why are so many people in St Andrews conservative?

[Smith]

I vote for the green party....


[hr]
I tried thinking of an innovative witty remark, but could only come up with this...

[creative]

[s]St Andrews University Conservative and Unionist Association wrote on 15:39, 15th Mar 2005:

The AGM has not happened yet. Once the date is fixed, you'll be sent an email well in advance to let you know.


?????????

[tordenskjold]

Well I think it's a bit poor that you get taxed on everything you earn throughout your life then when you die you get taxed on it again. Surely that's wrong? Makes as much sense as when they took the ceiling off taxes in Denmark and some people (a member of my family for one) ended up paying more than 100% tax in a year.

[Steveo]

[s]creative wrote on 16:12, 15th Mar 2005:
[s]St Andrews University Conservative and Unionist Association wrote on 15:39, 15th Mar 2005:[i]

The AGM has not happened yet. Once the date is fixed, you'll be sent an email well in advance to let you know.


?????????
[/i]

How is that in any way complicated?

[Odysseus]

People seem to have forgotten the absolute corruption of the conservative party in the early 90s, with the 'cash for questions' fiasco.
To Elliot - What I meant was Conservatism is hardley linked to radical strains of thought, more self-preservationism.
To Flarewearer - Yes, I DO think that there's a lot wrong with being conservative, but thats my opinion.
To anyone who doubts that Scotland is a left wing country - Look at voting patterns - they do not mirror in any way, shape or form the rest of the 'Uk'.
Can someone care to explain why levels of drug-abuse, homelessness and poverty have increased exponentially in Scotland since the early 80s?

To me, Howard comes across as a sleazy, incompetant prat and I'd sooner be run by Brussels than any of that shower.

Rant Over

[flarewearer]

[s]Odysseus wrote on 17:27, 15th Mar 2005:
To me, Howard comes across as a sleazy, incompetant prat and I'd sooner be run by Brussels than any of that shower.


If you want PROPER sleaze, corruption and incompetency then you will get it with Europe.

[hr]
[s]Have you ever wondered how you get triangles from a cow?
You need butter, milk and cheese, and an equilateral chainsaw.[/s]
http://www.magnificentoctopus.com/

[Odysseus]

[s]flarewearer wrote on 17:40, 15th Mar 2005:

If you want PROPER sleaze, corruption and incompetency then you will get it with Europe.


As sleazy as, say, being paid to ask questions in the house of commons?

Labour are the lesser of two evils. I'd never vote for Blair, but I'd like to see what Brown has to say.

[tordenskjold]

I fail to see how the fact that there were problems in the 90's Conservative perty should affect what you think now. I suppose one should then ask questions as to the moral integrity of the current government with their passports favours, affairs and sexed up dossiers. Following your 'logic' I should not vote for Labour in 15 years time because of what some of them have done now. I would also like to point out that all the people shouting about what the Conservatives did in the 80's and 90's should take a reality check and realise that for much of that time they hadn't even reached puberty and yet they harp on about it like they were one of the miners or whatever. Makes me want to start whining about the labour government of the 70's.

[puzzled]

[s]Odysseus wrote on 17:27, 15th Mar 2005:
People seem to have forgotten the absolute corruption of the conservative party in the early 90s, with the 'cash for questions' fiasco.

While the MPs involved in cash for questions were a disgrace to their party and constituencies, asking a question in the House of Commons (something that any damn fool can have done for them for free) is hardly the most serious form of corruption. More serious forms of corruption are things like Labour councils taking bribes for planning permits, or (particularly in the 60's and 70's) Trade Union Money and voting rights being used to bend Labour party policy.


To Elliot - What I meant was Conservatism is hardley linked to radical strains of thought,

The Conservative party, having lasted several hundred years, has always had radical strains of thought, eg the Thatcher revolution was the biggest change in mainstream political thinking since 1914.

[Guest]

right wing conservatives are a bunch of elitest c*nts, which is what st andrews is full of.

[Guest]

[s]Unregisted User wrote on 00:22, 14th Mar 2005:
Considering that Scotland is a predominantly centre left wing/socialist country, and the typical student is seen as rebellious, why ARE there so many conservatives in this town? Its not as if they're going to win an election any time soon, and if they do... god help us all



Thankfully we are not a Scot-centric university, there are lots of people from all over the UK, EU, North America, and the rest of the world - this means that there St Andrews Politics is going to be different from Scotland.
Although 60's student radicalism was 'left-wing', most of the social policies they advocated eg abortion, drug legalisation, sexual freedom, and personal independence from an overly moralising society are now more often advocated by the libertarian right (which is what a great many of the university tories really are) than the left.
The cynic in me might also point out that undergraduates stand to gain the most from the status quo and so have no reason to radically oppose it.

As for your belief that the tories are never going to win, the polls suggest they are anything but dead - they won the last two european elections, and are the biggest party in local government. So hopefull a Tory administration is not long off.

[Guest]

people tend towards the conservatives with age, because as you get older you end up giving away more and more as tax! It's natural!

[Guest]

[s]Bitterandtwisted wrote on 14:38, 15th Mar 2005:
Why the hatred of inherritance tax? surely unearned wealth should be taxed at least as much as earned?

No, because the deceased has already paid tax on his/her savings, which were created out of taxed income/dividends.
The left hate inheritance because it provides an incentive for life long hard work; why the hell shouldn't I be able to leave my wealth to people without the state taking an enourmous chunk out of it.

The current rules are absurd - you can care for a parent or granparent for the last years of their lives and, if you are left their house, you are likely to be forced to sell it to pay the tax. But if, aged 90, you go to vegas and marry a stripper and die a week later, they can inherit tax free... where the hell is the sense in that?

[fraggle rock]

[s]creative wrote on 16:12, 15th Mar 2005:
[s]St Andrews University Conservative and Unionist Association wrote on 15:39, 15th Mar 2005:[i]

The AGM has not happened yet. Once the date is fixed, you'll be sent an email well in advance to let you know.


?????????
[/i]

delayed because current president trying to stop former president from taking over

[Laura]

[s]Unregisted User fraggle rock wrote on 17:28, 15th Mar 2005:
[s]creative wrote on 16:12, 15th Mar 2005:[i]
[s]St Andrews University Conservative and Unionist Association wrote on 15:39, 15th Mar 2005:[i]

The AGM has not happened yet. Once the date is fixed, you'll be sent an email well in advance to let you know.


?????????
[/i]

delayed because current president trying to stop former president from taking over
[/i]

Erm, as a member of the committee and a friend of both of them, I'd have to say that that's bollocks.

[flarewearer]

[s]Unregisted User wrote on 12:59, 15th Mar 2005:
right wing conservatives are a bunch of elitest c*nts, which is what st andrews is full of.


Elitism is great, it gets this university all the best things. Would you rather we had a special bus turn up every morning with the un-l33t students?

[hr]
[s]Have you ever wondered how you get triangles from a cow?
You need butter, milk and cheese, and an equilateral chainsaw.[/s]
http://www.magnificentoctopus.com/

[exnihilo]

[s]tordenskjold wrote on 18:16, 15th Mar 2005:
I would also like to point out that all the people shouting about what the Conservatives did in the 80's and 90's should take a reality check and realise that for much of that time they hadn't even reached puberty and yet they harp on about it like they were one of the miners or whatever. Makes me want to start whining about the labour government of the 70's.


A point I made in a debate, I was sitting there at my advanced age, being told by 18 and 19 year old's of the iniquity of Thatcher's government. A government they would have been barely conscious of. It is, to me anyway, always especially amusing to hear people talk about miners - yes, the trouble came to a head under Thatcher, but in actuality, Labour closed more mines in the preceding governments than she did.

As a friend of mine repeatedly points out, it is easier for parties to do that which is counter-intuitive. The Tories got slammed for privatisation, closures etc and could never have introduced tuition fees, yet Labour has done all those things. It's a messed up world, and people need to stop thinking about what happened in the past (especially if they weren't there) and start thinking about what each party actually says it plans to do, make an informed choice in other words.

Try it, you might enjoy it.

[tordenskjold]

At the end of the day as my Dad always says when people complain about Thatcher. "If it was wrong to what she did and close all those mines then they would have opened them again by now." If past governments were SO bad surely the ever so enlightened one we live under now would be able to reverse these things?

[flarewearer]

Sorry to be the saddest person in the world for knowing this but when they close down coal mines they fill the shafts up with concrete making it prohibitively expensive to open them back up :s

[hr][s]Have you ever wondered how you get triangles from a cow?
You need butter, milk and cheese, and an equilateral chainsaw.[/s]
http://www.magnificentoctopus.com/

[tordenskjold]

If it made sense to reopen them they still would though. But sadly it doesn't so they don't. My point that this government could overturn all the evil perpetrated by the Conservatives still stands.