AIBU to want spending cuts rather than more tax rises?

Asking OAPs to pay the same total taxes as working people isn't "shafting" them. NIC needs to be extended to all income, or scrapped completely and income tax raised instead. It's insane that a worker pays more taxes than an OAP on the same income. I'd probably go further and scrap student loan repayments too and increase income tax commensurate. We need to start encouraging and rewarding people for working - at the moment it's workers who are "shafted" not OAPs!

Yep, nonsense job titles cost money. Inefficient management by shouting but Tory cut our funds can only wash for so long.

Nail on the head. Let's stop fleecing younger workers with stupidly high rents and housing costs, that are just lining the pockets of (usually) older landlords etc. We could do with a massive increase in council/social housing, not just for benefit claimants, but for workers too. Landlords etc have had it too good for too long, especially the multiple landlords with dozens/hundreds of properties, not so much those with only 1 or 2.

I'm mid 40's, and I feel the same re being worse off despite earning more. DH and I are middle earners (total household income around 90k) and we used to have a couple hundred left over each month after paying all our bills, to run 2 x 10 year old cars, ours girls swim lessons etc, to save for a holiday, unexpected costs etc. This is first summer we haven't had at least a UK holiday, we just couldn't afford it as everything which comes in goes out on higher mortgage costs, higher bills, higher food prices etc. At start of this parliament our mortgage was £1400 a month, just remortgaged at end of fixed term, with a lower amount as paid a chunk off, and it will be £1800 a month. We definitely aren't on the breadline, but we aren't in a comfortable position either, like we used to be. If our boiler goes, or a car needs repairs, we will struggle.

We don't need spending cuts nor tax rises. We desperately need radical reform of public services to get rid of the sheer incompetence, inefficiency, waste, etc. Unfortunately, whenever they're "reformed" in any way, it usually just means even more cost, even more bureaucracy, even more waste and inefficiency.

Actually, a good place to start would be a massive education campaign to explain to the Great British Public that this is not a rich country. It is an extremely poor one by G7 standards that has a few rich people, and what most people regard as an entitlement in respect of their standard of living is something they simply cannot afford with the value they create.

For too long the UK has lived waaaay beyond its means by virtue of the kindness of strangers. All that's happening is that this state of affairs is now unravelling, as those strangers are beginning to get concerned the money they loaned us might not get paid back with the way things are heading.

And that will make it harder to find people to do those essential jobs, although I suppose we could always increase immigration to fill the vacancies.

To be fair, all your points aren't really in alignment with the 2026 landscape. We can afford to be as Liberal as we once were.

Which CS jobs do you think are nonsense non value adding?

There could be a monumental difference in stripping the foreign aid budget. Let's stop being held to the past. How many of the intended recipients actually benefit from the money?

Good to note that you haven’t responded to any of my points and have instead painted everyone with the same brush.

Ignorance is bliss as they say

If we want to live in a civilised society with good schools and public services then we need to pay. Start by taxing the rich.

Building more social housing would help a lot too. Instead of paying £1300 a month for a 2-bed flat in my area, struggling families would be able to get a council place for less than half that, saving a big chunk of UC.

My SDIL would be off UC entirely if she had a council place.

Which tax bracket are you offering up?

And how much more do you want to pay?

I’m fine with tax rises . It’s long overdue.We need better services and for governments to think of the good of the country and not themselves.

You can’t just say things like “25% cut to civil service”.

You might as well say “get more money” if you’re going to be that vague about it.

I could not agree more !

I'm fine with tax rises. I want services to be better supported - including welfare

Tricky because lots of cuts have already been made. There's a tipping point beyond which more cuts mean systems don't actually work. Conversely less money in people's pockets means less spending which impacts the economy. I'm quite old and looking back I was actually better off earlier in my career. Which seems insane.

Too little of the money spent on welfare actually benefits the economy. Most of it is consumption.

That consumption needs to come down, and people given the incentive to work - which is what actually creates value.

Where wouod the money come from for the UBI?

What's changed then?

Presumably some of that is down to an aging population, and the costs of that, which are huge.

Yes, but that doesn't help the local hairdresser stay in employment, or the corner shop stay open, those people end up unemployed and on the 25% less benefits with next to no chance of finding a new job, need to be housed by the council and develop depression and high blood pressure etc.

And yet in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government spending was 33% of GDP - which is 25% lower than the 44% of GDP the government currently spends.

And none of those dire predictions were happening...