Has Labour taken it literally when people said they are ‘doom and gloom’ and are now giving discounts to theme parks and kid’s attractions as a bit of fun?

If more people go the reduced amount of VAT will be compensated by increased visits. And if Merlin fail to pass on the reduction their visitor numbers will fall. It’s win/win.

Glad you asked! I actually wrote a long list for another post, which I’m not going to go searching for (but you are welcome to).

But basically: energy supply reform and investment to slash industrial energy costs (nuclear, rejig net zero), planning reform and building to lower housing costs, tax simplification and SDLT removal, introduce a land tax to replace council tax, changes to social housing to allocate scarce city-centre resource to people who most need it to work, and, reintroduction of the non-dom regime to bring high-tax paying low service-using people here, shift public sector compensation from pension to salary, some immigration stuff and a few other bits and pieces.

What would you do?

Well exactly, a company owned by a Middle Eastern royal family off to make a load more money at the tax payers expense.

I am in absolute disbelief that labour’s answer to the cost of living crisis is cheaper theme park tickets, they are not fit to govern

Another reason not to do things like this. HMRC rules on how to distinguish between a child meal and a meal, for VAT purposes. Is this really what we want HMRC spending their time adjudicating, all for a three month temporary scheme, rather than helping taxpayers or chasing down evasion.

Not if more people go. And they won’t if Merlin fail to pass on the VAT cut.

The VAT cut will leave a deficit that will be paid by taxpayers

the businesses are not required to pass on the tax cut so it’s just more money in Merlin’s pocket I’m afraid

The news today feels like April fools. Labour have lost the plot.
and I say this as a labour voter

Me too! Lord Ali needs to up his game. Starmer was cheap considering he is the actual prime minister.
Still don't see how Reform whataboutery is relevant to this thread topic.

Cool, what's your ideas for how they can change the economy when there is so many external pressures? You make it sound so easy so I assume you have a list? Stuff that can be done as quickly as this vat cut

No they don’t. The VAT cut applies to everyone.

Plus they employ young people jobs for the young are thin on the ground as it is and an entry level job gets them used to the dos and don'ts of working life.

It depends where your allegiances lie, i I suppose. It's easier to forgive and/or justify if you support Labour than if you don't.
I don't support Labour (or at least, not this current lot) nor, to be clear, do I support Reform of Farage.
But I think Labour's glasses/Taylor Swift debacle is just as serious because

1. They made a big show of getting rid of freebies and spent a lot of time baying at the Tories for taking freebies, so this proved them to be massive hypocrites. The value of the freebies is - to me, as a non-Labour supporter, irrelevant. It's the principle of saving one thing and doing another
2. Starmer and the other freebie recipients were serving in Government at the time. Farage was not.

I mean sure but this is not the point of this thread which despite some very confused (or targeted) responses is not actually anout discounts for those on benefits. So good news your daughter is getting help to go to a theme park

Crikey - it's for everyone, it's not means tested or for those on benefits. I earn £100k a year and the only thing stopping my child getting free travel is because she is 16 and it stops at 15. If you are going to slag it off then do so on facts not assumptions.

But it could be the difference between people going or not, which helps the economy and also helps families do nice things.

Does it do enough, of course not but don't let perfection be the enemy of good. Or

How so when this applies to everyone and the costs of will be partly met by changes to the “foreign branch profits” regime to crack down on companies that use complex corporate structures to reduce the amount of tax they pay to the UK Treasury.

Far better to offer discounts to summer play schemes so parents can work.

I’d prefer £5 mill undeclared thank you very much!
I’d say they are in very different leagues

I'm sick about tax being wasted on stupid things like this. People who go to work and pay tax now have to subsidise the ones who don't. It's very wrong.

They said the same to Sunak in 2023

Wonder if people would call him a communist 🤔

Reeves tried that. The supermarkets told her to fuck off.

It’s insulting really, do something about rising food costs

Well the handouts aren’t communism but - parents still need to be spend a if to get the discounts and get to the venues! Plus we have no bus route here! Long walk to a bus stop on an unsafe route. It’s aimed at city kids from what I can see.

On your last point this vat cut is for everyone.

On your point about being unemployed I can't speak more recently but Cameron made it very rigorous. I had to go and sit for a few hours each week as people watched me apply for jobs (the same I would applied for anyway)