To think Labour is not the party of the working people.

They may well have because it’s something they believe in. It was astonishing how many people suddenly felt so sorry for the pensioners they’d been criticising the previous week. The hypocrisy was staggering.

This thread had been going quite well with people of differing views having a fairly decent discussion. There is no need to belittle posters or make snide remarks.

Universal WFA is a daft policy. My parents put it towards the deposit on their next cruise. The problem Labour have is that when people are used to getting something it’s electorally difficult to take it away even though it’s the blindingly obvious thing to do. The triple lock is an excellent case in point. It was only ever meant to be a temporary measure, for a few years to catch up pensions to a reasonable level. It has more than done this and is going to go way beyond ‘reasonable’ but no one wants to stop it. It’s a runaway train.

I don’t think the people who did that had ever been supporters of private education.

Have you got a link to the figures that support that?

Edited as quoted wrong post!

Free childcare is a policy that raises more money than it costs. Surely you understand that! Not only does it get mothers out to work and paying taxes NOW but it helps them build a FUTURE carer with higher earnings and higher tax take. It’s a policy that more than pays for itself. Taking it away from people earning over £100k is especially stupid. Childcare is so expensive if you self fund someone on £101k has no option but to cut their hours (and their tax take) or go part time and permanently harm their future earnings (and future tax take).

It was amusing to see the political weaponising of pensioners over WFA by people who had hitherto despised them.

Where did you apparently read this? the Express or the Mail?

Welfare Reform has escaped all Govt's.... but it always makes me laugh when this comes up, poster moan about the benefits bill, whilst moaning that SENDs is a mess, they want more FREE childcare and still want wealthy pensioners to get WFA... & Triple Lock....

Many of the right (and on here) complained non stop about Labours Welfare reforms, saying things like "first pensioners, now the disabled..."

Our taxes are indeed to low. The higher rates of income tax are roughly on a par with the rest of Europe but their basic rate is 30%+ and ours is 20%. And our NICs are much lower and nil rate band is much higher. And yet we somehow expect similar public services!

Agree with this. I know 3 people who rececently had operations...2 privately because they couldn't wait. The other was an emergency.

Care in the home is already paid for by anyone with savings above £23.5k. May wanted to make a house taken into consideration so a charge would be levied on it to be repaid after death if the savings ran out. That’s fair enough when someone is in residential care because they don’t need the house any more but not for in home care.

I’m with you all the way on social housing. That would be the single measure that would improve life dramatically for young people. Especially if it included the 700k empty homes that could be put into use. A new tax on the owners of those properties would go a long way.

This! Apparently when the welfare bill failed one of the Labour backbenchers was heard saying ‘I don’t know why we can’t just borrow some more money’. I mean most of the electorate could tell you that ever increasing borrowing is a bad idea, but borrowing to cover recurring expenditure is madness.

Unemployment benefit used to be wage related for a period here in the UK. I think it was withdrawn in the early 1980s. The current system often seems unfair to people who have tried to improve their situation, ie, homeowners, most of whom are average wage earners. Stay in rented, get all or most rent paid if out of work, but potentially lose your home if you have a mortgage.

So it sounds like the solutions are to reduced taxes whilst increasing services (and presumably paying off the ever increasing debt at the same time). Should be easy then.

Don’t forget the ‘raid’ on the tax free pension payment coming in 2027.

What’s with the comprehension? It was a question.

Yes or no would do it.

Our primary has a breakfast club.... do you have any idea how many schools there are in the UK ?

However, after 14 years of Austerity, Covid, Ukraine and the running down of public services... why do you think 18months is long enough to turn things around?

Personally, i don't think any Govt can turn things around atm, we have become a benefits country.... i don't mean UC i mean the clamour to have "Energy Support" "Cut fuel duty" "i want cheap heating oil, other tax payers can pay for it"

No one says "i'll turn the heating down" i'll drive less/slower"

People on 80k or 90k claiming childcare... why? if you cannot afford kids on that salary, don't fucking have them.

Its all "what can i get from the state"

I'm pretty left wing, but this take take take attitude is destroying the country & not what the Welfare state was set up to do & i didn't support the lifting of the 2 cap limit either.

Hopefully Reeves saying any support will be targeted on the poor might start to change things.

What is with the comprehension?

Factually low & middle earners pay less vs other European countries. Higher earners are in line.

Stating the above is not a judgement of what I think we should be doing.

So do you want low and middle earners to pay more tax?