… To be considering leaving the UK?

Portugal isn't phasing them out they are just changing them slightly. We are moving on a d8 visa and will then apply for nhr 2.0 which is 10 years flat 20 PC rate. Yes please!

Haven't left yet but we have pulled out of our house sale right before exchange, just didn't feel right and are now using our housing deposit to move abroad. I'm also getting my employment contract set up and hopefully get a visa appt in a month or so. All moving along quite well. I've also lived in the US , UAE, singapore and uk so have some experience and understand the process.

Many countries set up specific tax invantages to bring these people in. I've started the visa myself and it's been very simple. I'm also an American, someone everyone appears to hate currently, can't blame them, and no issues.

Up to a point yes but then that party may will leave office.

Its a balance, personally i wouldn't change TL but i would change CGT, the IFS made some excellent points on this.

I also think that Labour need to be honest and say the NI cuts by Hunt were done to harm Labour/the UK and there will need to be some reversal, combine with with changes that effect the most wealthy on assets/gains.

The NI savings will be ring fenced for health and education, to sugar the pill.

Well, yes, the Swiss have a great trade and co-operation deal with the EU.

I'd certainly like to see the UK join the CU and SM.

But comparing the UK with debt to GDP ratio of 97% to one with just 37% is not the best one either.

Which Govt took debt in 2010 of 65% in 2010 to 98% in 2024 ? whilst trashing public services and giving us almost no economic growth?

clue: it wasn't Labour.

“Imagine the outrage in the UK of Labour dropped the triple lock? howls of indignation and calls for a u-turn.”

@Absolutely45 - you are completely missing the point.
Strong leadership leads strongly and does not give into howls!
This country has everyone howling constantly. I say ignore it all and carry on and do what is best for the country and the people as a whole, long term. But those in your own party need to be on your side! That is a basic.

I am going to bring up Credit Suisse insolvency again - basically the Swiss Government got in a room overnight and just forced the hands of UBS in a mere few hours, when the whole country facing a major shock as a result of it, potentially.
Looking at the Swiss economy now, they are thriving again, the Swiss franc against the pound is stronger than ever. That is what good governance of a country looks like in tough times. Not the shenanigans we get here. Something has to change. We need real leadership and those in charge should never be undermined by their own party!!! Why do we keep getting this!

No minimising, i just dont go around looking for everything that is wrong, which is what you and others do.

Imagine the outrage in the UK of Labour dropped the triple lock? howls of indignation and calls for a u-turn.

Nothing Labour can do is any good, its all wrong and all going to the dogs - according to you.

I think it’s just playing out in slow motion.

UK pension funds sell out of gilts if they are too volatile. When Reeves cried, investors were worried she might be getting the sack. They see her and Starmer and Streeting as the moderates I think? They saw the backtracking forced by the left in the party as weak and costing us. The left need to get a lid on it if they care about the country. Ideology is too expensive, we cannot afford it right now. All the experts are saying the same thing. Time to listen.

Look there is a turning point in markets when people panic and start pulling their money out, en masse. Clearly the OBR and IFS are worried.

“The OBR found that because of inflation and earnings volatility, the triple lock was on track to cost about three times more than initial expectations by 2029-30. “

Keep minimising, it would not be on the front page of the FT yesterday if it were not a problem!

FTSE up substantially today, yields down too, even holding its own against the $

4 interest rate cuts.

Lets ring up the IMF, clearly the UK is an economic basket case.

This junior doctor strike is also a joke. They won’t get any public support. The NHS has already been allocated more than anything else. I think we will now see what Wes Streeting is made of, whether he has the balls required to lead in the future.

Gilt yields are there or there abouts steady, similar to where they have been, on average, on par with what they have been for the last 3 years.

"A financially savvy PM would steady the markets immediately" cheap talk, do you really think ruling out a wealth tax, which can take many forms, such as the IFS suggested, is not going to achieve anything.

Funnily enough yields down slightly.

Yes I agree with you there. Starmer’s answers are too tied up with jeering to consider a direct reply.

Hence the markets reacting last week.

Who is going to invest in long term gilts if the long term trajectory of the pound is down against other currencies? The interest rate paid does not make up for the fall in the value of the currency. Labour needs to rebrand as party of workers, not shirkers and be able and willing to make the tough decisions. They tried and their own party went against them.

This are different times @Absolutely45 - a financially savvy PM would steady the markets immediately. They cannot do anything if they do not manage the sovereign debt properly. We all know that to be the case. If you have a company on the brink of insolvency, you have to sack people and make tough decisions. They need to manage those in their own party who do not realise what situation we actually find ourselves in.

IFS addressed this today, no to wealth taxes but yes to additional taxes on high gain low tax assets.
Basically reform our tax system, to limit the loop holes - though of course that cold be dressed up as a wealth tax, IFS specifically talked about CGT reform.

Which PM has ever written a budget months out its delivery date?

As with Brexit though I'm not sure a lot of people are being realistic about what any of the parties will actually do. Immigration is cited as a key source of dissatisfaction and it's all about 'stop the boats' but so many of the issues people have are actually related to legal migration, or people who have been in this country for quite a while. I'm not sure what they think parties will do about this.

There's an insightful column by James Kanagasooriam (sp?) is today's Times about AI's impact on future employment and where the axe is likely to fall hardest. And part of it refers to politics and whose votes are moving to Reform. I can't link it yet as it's behind the paywall, but the psephological interpretation he gives strikes home very hard. It will make very uncomfortable reading for a significant chunk of metropolitan liberal MN.

@globalnomad25 the Living Overseas board on here is useful also if you haven’t found it yet.

The OBR warned on Tuesday that “increased treasury reliance on a small and mobile group of taxpayers” was a risk to public finances.
Yet Starmer has not ruled out wealth taxes? That means people will pull out more money and long term gilt prices for us all will rise further potentially? Why not just have a bonfire of actual pounds in Westminster at this rate?

As for criticism all Labour had was we’re not them which is what they cling to now.

That doesn’t help either.

It’s only a few Labour posters on here fixated on Tories.

It’s Reform v Labour. Reform is leading the polls after all.