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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

We don't want the government to lurch to the left

583 replies

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 13:57

I am absolutely astounded that Labour think it's democratic to decide that they can lurch to the left despite being elected with a very clear promise to not tax and spend. I believe this is absolutely not what the general public want and I am really worried that the economy isn't going to survive this and we will end up with an IMF bailout that will lead to very painful spending cuts for our most vulnerable.

Please vote:
YABU :I want Labour to lurch to the left in order to increase taxation and spending
YANBU: I don't want Labour to lurch to the left and would be against further tax and spending rises

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
whiteroseredrose · 10/02/2026 15:01

I voted Labour with the expectation that Kier Starmer would be PM. I wasn’t expecting his back benchers to stab him in the back at the first opportunity. And I definitely wouldn’t have voted Labour with Angela Rayner as leader. So no, I am not happy at the idea of a different leader.

IamnotSethRogan · 10/02/2026 15:01

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:59

Are you and your household net contributors or beneficiaries?

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I don't think that's any of your business and it doesn't make the posters comments any less worthy of being taken seriously either way.

Dorisbonson · 10/02/2026 15:01

Summerhillsquare · 10/02/2026 14:48

Do have a listen to yourself.

Does your employer say the same? We must cut or freeze your pay or the markets will revolt and we'll have to lay you off...you meekly accept it of course? Crawl away so as not to be a burden?

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If markets say my employer is fucked then I'm out of a job. It doesn't really matter what I say. Country is subject to the same discipline.

You must be living in Dreamland if you think anything different. It's literally the economics of Mugabe and Zimbabwe if you think you can print money and ignore bond markets.

Who is mad enough to lend money to a country when they know it's value will go down?

Who invests money on behalf of pensioners in a country that prints money and makes that investment worth less?

Can I take your pension and invest it in something that will lose 5% of it's value a year please? That seems to be your policy.

Mishmosher · 10/02/2026 15:00

TallulahBetty · 10/02/2026 14:35

Well, we need to tax SOMETHING more. The upcoming increase in the welfare bill needs to be paid for, as well as the ever-aging population needing more social care. However, as a working person, I am already taxed to the hilt. Where else can we raid apart from the rich?

The options - if you want to increase spending are, as ever:

Cut spending elsewhere
Raise raxes
Borrow more
Grow the economy

The bottom two aren’t going to happen. Who are you going to tax? Because anyone over £50k is already being hammered and aren’t going to pay more to fund a benefits bill they don’t benefit from. There is no magic money tree here. It does not exist. There are no handy billionaires siphoning off millions.

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:59

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2026 14:59

No, I’ve paid tax for 40 years.

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Are you and your household net contributors or beneficiaries?

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2026 14:59

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:58

Let me guess, you are a huge net beneficiary of the state?

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No, I’ve paid tax for 40 years.

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:58

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2026 14:57

Christ, I’m beyond sick of people whingeing about paying tax.

If we want services we pay tax. End of.

Let me guess, you are a huge net beneficiary of the state?

OP posts:
EasternStandard · 10/02/2026 14:58

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:56

Read the content for goodness sake! It was the first article I found that state the current position outlined by the BoE. This supercedes the IMflF report from January

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@NanFlandersyou’ll find the same in The Guardian if you prefer that one, the BoE statement was widely reported.

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:57

doonnaKay · 10/02/2026 14:57

@Dorisbonson You think the best place to cut money would be in the NHS? Do you use the NHS?

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Do you think there is no waste in the NHS?

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2026 14:57

Christ, I’m beyond sick of people whingeing about paying tax.

If we want services we pay tax. End of.

doonnaKay · 10/02/2026 14:57

Dorisbonson · 10/02/2026 14:48

The government spends 1.3 trillion a year. You don't think there are things that can be cut?

Perhaps amongst the 1.5m NHS workers there are opportunities to do things more cheaply and quickly and still achieve good patient outcomes.

Or maybe some of the extra 100,000 civil servants they have hired in the last 5 years aren't all necessary? Perhaps civil servants work hard on things which don't need doing and we can do without?

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@Dorisbonson You think the best place to cut money would be in the NHS? Do you use the NHS?

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:57

IamnotSethRogan · 10/02/2026 14:51

So you dont think we should tax those who can afford it more in order to improve services?

You think the services that are already on their knees should face further cuts ?

It's slightly ecomonially illiterate as tax cuts rarely generate enough growth to offset lost revenue and tends to slow growth.

Cutting services saves money today but raises costs tomorrow, which is bad fiscal management from a long-term perspective while failing to fix deficits.

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I never mentioned tax cuts.

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Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:56

NanFlanders · 10/02/2026 14:53

I think the IMF is a rather more trustworthy and neutral source than a Daily Mail-owned website. Our financial position could be better admittedly (very much impacted by Brexit and US tariffs), but what really spooks the markets is unfunded commitments (see Liz Truss' mini-budget), not a modest growth in income tax.

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Read the content for goodness sake! It was the first article I found that state the current position outlined by the BoE. This supercedes the IMflF report from January

OP posts:
EasternStandard · 10/02/2026 14:55

NanFlanders · 10/02/2026 14:53

I think the IMF is a rather more trustworthy and neutral source than a Daily Mail-owned website. Our financial position could be better admittedly (very much impacted by Brexit and US tariffs), but what really spooks the markets is unfunded commitments (see Liz Truss' mini-budget), not a modest growth in income tax.

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The job warning and growth downgrade is from the Bank of England.

NanFlanders · 10/02/2026 14:53

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:47

Interest rates are less likely to be cut now due to the increased unemployment. GDP predictions are being downgraded

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-15532927/Cost-Labour-laid-bare-Bank-England-slashes-growth-outlook-holds-rates-warns-job-losses.html

Show quote history

I think the IMF is a rather more trustworthy and neutral source than a Daily Mail-owned website. Our financial position could be better admittedly (very much impacted by Brexit and US tariffs), but what really spooks the markets is unfunded commitments (see Liz Truss' mini-budget), not a modest growth in income tax.

MissyB1 · 10/02/2026 14:53

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:44

I think we need to cut spending in most areas to be honest. Obviously I would really rather not but I don't see what alternative we actually have. There is no magic money tree.

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You favour a return to Austerity? Well of course that worked so well for the Country last time didn’t it? I mean it truly fucked our public services but don’t worry about that 🤦‍♀️

IamnotSethRogan · 10/02/2026 14:51

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:44

I think we need to cut spending in most areas to be honest. Obviously I would really rather not but I don't see what alternative we actually have. There is no magic money tree.

Show quote history

So you dont think we should tax those who can afford it more in order to improve services?

You think the services that are already on their knees should face further cuts ?

It's slightly ecomonially illiterate as tax cuts rarely generate enough growth to offset lost revenue and tends to slow growth.

Cutting services saves money today but raises costs tomorrow, which is bad fiscal management from a long-term perspective while failing to fix deficits.

wishingonastar101 · 10/02/2026 14:51

My DP and I will probably leave the country if taxes go up anymore... so that's two £100k salaries gone elsewhere... I think a lot of people will do this.

Just get fed up of paying for everyone else after a while....

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:51

Happyjoe · 10/02/2026 14:47

Austerity doesn't work as a general rule. It certainly didn't work under the tories did it? They broke everything and left us in more debt since the end of the war.. You need to invest into a country and it's people, not cut it to the bone imo.

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Invest with what money? We are heavily in debt as a nation.

OP posts:
Nanalovesnature · 10/02/2026 14:50

I think the IMF coming in and sorting out this shit show would be the best thing those of us who work and pay taxes can hope for.

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:48

Happyjoe · 10/02/2026 14:45

If it was only a tax burden at fault, you may have a valid reason to be really pissed off.
But.. why are businesses really struggling?

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A lot is to do with taxation. Look at hospitality. Look at manufacturing businesses. If you think tax rises aren't having an impact then you're wrong. It's crippling then

OP posts:
Dorisbonson · 10/02/2026 14:48

doonnaKay · 10/02/2026 14:41

What is your solution? They inherited a mess that needs money to fix. You dont want taxes, you dont want borrowing? Where do you want to cut spending.

Dont be shy, be explicit.

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The government spends 1.3 trillion a year. You don't think there are things that can be cut?

Perhaps amongst the 1.5m NHS workers there are opportunities to do things more cheaply and quickly and still achieve good patient outcomes.

Or maybe some of the extra 100,000 civil servants they have hired in the last 5 years aren't all necessary? Perhaps civil servants work hard on things which don't need doing and we can do without?

Summerhillsquare · 10/02/2026 14:48

Mishmosher · 10/02/2026 14:35

It’s not going to happen though. If or Burnham get in and start frittering money away to the parents that can’t be bothered to work, the bond markets will go mental, debt interest will become totally unaffordable and there will be a general election before an IMF bail out, Reform will get in and those parents will get much less than they get now. Poverty will soar.

Starmer is walking a tightrope here. Do you not think that if there was an economically feasible way to eradicate poverty he’d be doing it??? There is no magic money tree.

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Do have a listen to yourself.

Does your employer say the same? We must cut or freeze your pay or the markets will revolt and we'll have to lay you off...you meekly accept it of course? Crawl away so as not to be a burden?

Original poster
Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:47

NanFlanders · 10/02/2026 14:43

Nah. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook (Jan 2026) (decidedly NOT a left wing periodical) predicts that advanced economies like the UK are still projected to grow, albeit modestly. There is no indication of the UK losing the ability to borrow or facing a sudden-stop event. [imf.org] Also KPMG’s 2025–2026 forecasts expect UK interest rates to fall toward 3.25% in 2026, with inflation also cooling. This reduces the risk of a debt‑financing spiral. [kpmg.com]

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Interest rates are less likely to be cut now due to the increased unemployment. GDP predictions are being downgraded

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-15532927/Cost-Labour-laid-bare-Bank-England-slashes-growth-outlook-holds-rates-warns-job-losses.html

OP posts:
Happyjoe · 10/02/2026 14:47

Bargepole45 · 10/02/2026 14:44

I think we need to cut spending in most areas to be honest. Obviously I would really rather not but I don't see what alternative we actually have. There is no magic money tree.

Show quote history

Austerity doesn't work as a general rule. It certainly didn't work under the tories did it? They broke everything and left us in more debt since the end of the war.. You need to invest into a country and it's people, not cut it to the bone imo.