5.56 , Thanks for your interest. Exasperating, ain't it.
I have to say that it is not so much the welfare state system that is to blame here , but the execution and the lack of common-sense, the unfairness and suspicion of widespread corruption. This example, of course, is absolutely ludicrous and what makes us spit feathers on many counts.
What we have in Britain is our version of the welfare state, somewhat chipped and battered around the edges, in essence a great ideal, but severely stretched through mis-use and lack of reform.
We are pleased to have our National Health Service, even though it is very difficult to fund well; but any party suspected of wishing to remove it would never be voted in by us.
We do not have Socialist state as such, because intermittant periods of Tory rule have ensured that we are more or less centralist.
The administration we have had in power since 1997 is a Socialist party by tradition and persuasion supported by the Trade Unions, and now The Labour Party, consisting of old Socialists, Communists and Trots at the top cabinet level.
For this reason, a great many of us are constantly on guard against attempts to shift us to the left from central, hence you get grumbles and warnings expressed by me. The growing army of bureaucrats is one indication, overwhelming increase in public employees, extension of controls and interference with our liberties etc. However, except when our government has majorities in Parliament that are too large for comfort, we manage to maintain a fairly central position, Labour left of centre, Tories just right of centre perhaps; a great many independants using floating vote practice.
Even under the greatest threat and pressure, we are certainly not a right wing country .
What we suffer under is the increasing imposition of mis-use of the the system, increasing use and power of the bureaucrats and jobsworths, and ridiculous extent of political correctness.
Here is some comment on this particular example.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ory-sums-howling-insanity-modern-Britain.html
