To wonder if Starmer can survive the vibe-shift?

Haha at pp not wanting to hear people think their party is not doing well

Overall UK employment at 74.8% is close to the all time high of 76% and way above the long term average of 71%

Job vacancies are falling fast but from a record high and there are still 100,000 more vacancies than in 2018.

The IMF just upgraded the UKs growth forecast.

The problem is the quality of the jobs and productivity.

And economic inactivity. Increasing taxes to fund investment makes a lot of sense. Personally I'd rather it was more targeted on the higher incomes rather than business but sadly labour boxed themselves in with pledges pre-election because we can't have grown up discussions about tax in election season.

😁 Right? What have people and their opinions got to do with whether things are going well - or if their opinions are changing - whether they'll hunker down or spend their cash, if they think they should stay in England or pick up and move elsewhere or if things are secure enough to move house or take a punt on a new business - it's all entirely academic.

I don’t understand the current obsession with polls. There’s 90% of this parliament still to go.

UK public turns on Labour over economic downturn https://search.app/mKs94GooWbVwCChT9

Ipsos Mori survey shows of 1000 people just 16% think that Reeves is doing a good job.

"Gideon Skinner, senior director UK politics at Ipsos, said the “honeymoon is very definitely over” for Labour."

I'm not sure they did any polling on pesticides though, might be a game changer?

I think, unfortunately, for the vast majority of people, concern over their jobs sort of overshadows a better life for bees.
But you go ahead and celebrate these things - were they why you voted Labour?

Oh OK. So it's got nothing whatsoever to do with the increased NI costs or the general economic outlook? And would you be defending the job losses if the increased NI had been a Tory policy? Just asking

No gotchas from me, just a small snapshot of reality. I totally disagree with your arguments. You seem to think that massive job cuts which will predominantly affect part time, low paid women workers are reasonable and necessary.

If you take a scythe to businesses as the Chancellor has done, they will respond accordingly and protect themselves.

@TheNuthatch it's from the CBI press release which some will have picked up on

www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/articles/private-sector-expects-steep-decline-in-activity-into-2025/

@BIossomtoes thank you for the link:

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/01/24/what-the-government-has-been-doing/

Wouldn't it be nice if people could celebrate something good happening without dragging it down?

And how much of his is due to them underpaying their shop staff compared to their warehouse staff for many years? They have relied on stae top ups for their staff to bridge the gap, meaning their business model was shit and now they have to address that. Cafes are a loss leader, especially when the stock is overpriced and staid. It's not a surprise that they are cutting back. They removed the cafe in my local Sainsbury's last year when the tories were still in charge, so hardly a gotcha.

Is this from what's being reported on the front of The Independent today? I can't access it (paywall) but they are reporting warnings from the CBI I think.

I think realistically they can’t be…it’s just bravado. Have not seen so much about “grown ups” and Labour in the same sentence on threads recently though, thankfully as it made my hair stand on end.

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2025/01/retailers-cutting-costs/

Of course it's a good thing, in Jonny Reynold's home town no less 😉
But it's a drop in the ocean when held up to whats happening in the economy right now as a direct result of this government's actions.
I just hope Nissan can afford the NICs!

Nope, it's something I struggle with.
Still slightly aghast at the threads when Labour won, tbh, proclaiming a new era, the grown-ups were in charge now etc.
I wonder if those posters are still so blindingly optimistic six months in?

Of course I am. That is very positive, clearly.
What about the jobs that will be at risk from the rise in NI though?

Producing a list like this as some sort of gotcha just proves to me that some posters are so blinded by their support of Labour that they are willing to brush anything aside and attach themselves to any positive, no matter how minor or niche.

I think this is true. It's not something I can relate to, that level of attachment

So you’re not happy about 30,000 new jobs being created? Doesn’t sound very minor or niche to me. 🤷‍♀️

Sorry @Blossomtoes but I think you are fooling yourself if you honestly think that people would be as interested in a pesticide being banned as they are in eg Lakeland putting itself up for sale or my local hospice scaling back as a direct result of the NI increase.
To say - which I think you are, correct me if I'm wrong - that the only reason people aren't celebrating these 20 things is because they don't know about them is ridiculous.
The press are not majoring on any of that list because there are far more big issues to cover, like as ES says, the damage to the private sector for example.
Producing a list like this as some sort of gotcha just proves to me that some posters are so blinded by their support of Labour that they are willing to brush anything aside and attach themselves to any positive, no matter how minor or niche.

This is the problem

Private sector expects steep decline in activity into 2025
23 DECEMBER 2024
Private sector firms expect activity to fall in the three months to March (weighted balance of -24%), according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator. Expectations are now at their weakest in over two years.

Labour are too busy patting themselves on the back about whatever they can to even get the issue.

If you were concerned about jobs you’d be delighted that 30,000 are being created in one of the least economically prosperous parts of the country.

Exactly.
I mean, it shouldn't be a massive surprise that the Government has actually done SOMETHING on six months!
I think I would take a little convincing that not covering this mostly niche list is proof that the media are against Labour though. I can't remember much about the minutae of every change being reported previously either.
The media will cover what it thinks is of interest to its readers. It is not Hansard.

People are more concerned with jobs

Not for some oddly on here as they are so Labour orientated but those who can read the CBI statements or are in the private sector