Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

what are the top 3 things that you think the government should be tackling?

287 replies

MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 03:53

after reading various headlines related to the Tory Party Conference and also not related to the conference, I am interested to hear what people think the priorities should be for the government?

because to me they are just mincing around the edges, HS2, smoking bans, so much emphasis on stopping immigrants, post 16 qualifications....huh?

for me, these are the 3 top priorities (subject to change, as I read other people's!)

  1. the NHS
  2. social housing (need more) and rental properties (the STATE that landlords are providing and controlling the cost
  3. poverty....cost of living/wages
  4. the environment....water pollution (water companies discharging sewage to rivers etc) and air pollution
OP posts:
Ggttl · 05/10/2023 05:25

Education
Transport
Reforming the NHS

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:27

the biggest benefit share goes to pensioners I believe. If you want to fix the NHS we need to look at the ageing population & everyone is going to have to pay more.

Original poster
MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 05:28

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:21

Are there really loads of able people choosing to not work & live on benefits?

I don't think so, no. where there are I think it's more an indication of 1) wages just not being high enough 2) unavailability/unaffordability of childcare and/or child friendly working hours/conditions

I mean some people ARE feckless. you won't ever change that. I would rather they lived in some level of comfort though. I dont think people should be punished for it

but I didnt really want to convince people my priorities are right/theirs are wrong. just interested in what other people think the priorities are

OP posts:
PerfectMatch · 05/10/2023 05:28

The NHS
Inflation
Trade deals (in a post Brexit landscape)
Climate change

I thought of my list before reading anyone else's answers - but yes, I agree schools too (teacher recruitment). And the university setup does need some thought too as it's currently not fit for purpose.

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:29

@MentholLoad agree, there will always be people who are feckless.

Original poster
MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 05:29

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:27

the biggest benefit share goes to pensioners I believe. If you want to fix the NHS we need to look at the ageing population & everyone is going to have to pay more.

oh cripes, is it?? don't say this, they will want to scrap state pension! 🤣 (not funny)

OP posts:
BitOutOfPractice · 05/10/2023 05:30
  1. child poverty
  2. nhs
  3. education
  4. environment
Rabbitcar · 05/10/2023 05:30

NHS
Social/elderly care
Education

littleblackcat27 · 05/10/2023 05:31

frozendaisy · 05/10/2023 04:48

Future proof energy supply
Education
NHS staff

Yep - agree with those.

beAsensible1 · 05/10/2023 05:34

Build social housing.

Fund the nhs properly

largw scale infrastructure investment

Joystir59 · 05/10/2023 05:34

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:27

the biggest benefit share goes to pensioners I believe. If you want to fix the NHS we need to look at the ageing population & everyone is going to have to pay more.

Pensioners aren't on benefits, the state pension they receive is what they've paid into for 35 years!!!

Nat6999 · 05/10/2023 05:34

Social housing, we built hundreds of thousands of council homes after the war when the country was practically bankrupt, why can't we afford to build now?

Health & social care, the NHS needs restructuring, bring it all back under one umbrella instead of separate authorities, clear out the executives & directors & pass on the money saved to where it is needed, for patient care. Bring all social care back under council control, get rid of care agencies who cream off profits instead of paying care workers a good wage. Bring in a structured training scheme along the lines of nursing for care workers.

The cost of living, increase basic personal tax allowances to £15k increase tax rate for anyone earning over £200k to offset it. Increase Carers Allowance to living wage hourly rate. Reverse the withdrawal of Child Benefit for parents earning over £50k. Close all tax loopholes for shipping income abroad & Non Dom tax status.

Introduce a permanent windfall tax on energy & water companies, fine water companies for polluting rivers & seas, make it a criminal offence with a prison sentence for any CEO of a water company that does pollute rivers or seas.

Hellaweirdhuh · 05/10/2023 05:34

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:25

Or the woman I know with 6 kids (19, 18, 15, 11, 7 and 6 so not all little ones) who didn't work for over a decade then 3 years ago got a part-time job as she wanted extra money but gave it up after 2 months because 'we were only £200 a month better off once my tax credits were adjusted' and hasn't worked a day since.

There really isn't loads of people doing this, hardly anyone has 6 dc now for one!

Sigh. I didn't say it was loads of people doing it. I said there's a flaw in the system when anyone can choose not to work because the benefit system works so much in their favour. It should be a safety net, not a lifestyle choice.

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:36

primary schools are facing closure or merging due to big falls in birth rates, already happening in London. It's a big issue as funding is based on headcounts.

"and the latest government pupil number predictions anticipate the population of primary and secondary schools will fall by 935,753 between 2022 and 2032."

The government really need to manage this properly but I don't have much hope.

Original poster
MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 05:37

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:36

primary schools are facing closure or merging due to big falls in birth rates, already happening in London. It's a big issue as funding is based on headcounts.

"and the latest government pupil number predictions anticipate the population of primary and secondary schools will fall by 935,753 between 2022 and 2032."

The government really need to manage this properly but I don't have much hope.

😯😯😯

OP posts:
AlwaysFreezing · 05/10/2023 05:38

We need someone with vision. Someone who can see past a 5 year term, who really thinks about life in this country.

Projects that cost billions of pounds should be overseen by an anti corruption watchdog to make sure the money is spent wisely, and doesn't end up wasted (there is so much wasted money on these expensive projects, largely due to corruption. Ppe in the pandemic is a brilliant example, as is test and trace). In fact as pp said, all public money should be spent in this way, checking that it is going where it needs to.

Then, all social initiatives, whether it is housing, schools, benefits, the NHS need the cash they need to make them functioning and world class (the money comes from the previous point). This should give children brighter futures, help with knife crime and crime in general, because everyone should have opportunity and prospects and enough money to live.

Then, finally, we tackle climate change. I know kne country going all out isn't a magic bullet, but so what, why should that stop us leading the way? Green energy, better public transport, new infrastructure projects where for every metre of concrete poured, trees are planted or a metre of wildflower is planted. Creating jobs, and a real sense of the future being possible for the kids.

Pie in sky stuff, but that's my take on it. Radical rethinking. Oh, and tax the shit out of the super rich and companies. Close that disgraceful gap.

beAsensible1 · 05/10/2023 05:40

MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 04:22

hmm, benefits one is interesting. I don't see people claiming benefits, who would be working as a big issue at all. I DO see that benefits being too small as a big issue. PIP should be higher for example. housing benefit should be paid to people who have mortgages who have lost jobs/become disabled (why are they happy to pay a landlords mortgage but not a tenants?)

It isn’t. It make people feel better to think that there are all these secret people living off UC who could secretly work but there just isn’t.

yes a few but most are childcare, disability or carers. Most are getting in work benefits ( there shouldn’t be any job that has to be subsidised by the state because the pay is too low)

early retirees and pensioners need to stop pulling up the ladder behind them and get into part time roles contribute to the massive burden they’re placing on young people after getting everything for free

Original poster
MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 05:40

Hellaweirdhuh · 05/10/2023 05:34

Sigh. I didn't say it was loads of people doing it. I said there's a flaw in the system when anyone can choose not to work because the benefit system works so much in their favour. It should be a safety net, not a lifestyle choice.

Show quote history

I don't think it's so much that 'the benefits system works so much in their favour'. more that 'the employment system doesnt pay people enough or accommodate caring responsibilities sufficiently'

OP posts:
MidnightOnceMore · 05/10/2023 05:41

MyGooseisTotallyLoose · 05/10/2023 04:24

Why don't you see people who could be working but claim benefits instead as an issue? Where do you think the money to increase benefits should come from?

It's a fraction of the money lost to tax fraud, corruption and waste.

The issue is wound up every time to distract from real problems.

I never understand why a certain group of people fall for it over and over and over.

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:41

@Hellaweirdhuh sigh, logically there will always be some who play the system, but the vast majority won't be better off on benefits. It works for your example now because she has 6 dc. very few people are going to have 6 dc to live on benefits. Lots of people on benefits eg disabled & pensioners are in poverty.

panelbottle · 05/10/2023 05:42

The issue is wound up every time to distract from real problems.

I never understand why a certain group of people fall for it over and over and over.

It's why we need more investment in education!

MrsTerryPratchett · 05/10/2023 05:43

HOUSING (number one by a mile)

Education (in a real way that addresses the disaffection and failing of the youth of the country)
Male violence. From essentially legalised rape to child sexual abuse. So many issues like addiction and violence come from trauma. And trauma often comes from ACE and that often comes from male violence.

Damonalbarnsbigtoe · 05/10/2023 05:43

Education
Future proofing the NHS
Fairer taxation

Original poster
MentholLoad · 05/10/2023 05:43

early retirees and pensioners need to stop pulling up the ladder behind them and get into part time roles contribute to the massive burden they’re placing on young people after getting everything for free

@beAsensible1 could you explain this more please, I don't understand. are you saying they SHOULD work part time, or should NOT work part time?

OP posts:
PerfectMatch · 05/10/2023 05:47

@panelbottle given the current difficulty in recruiting sufficient number of teachers, maybe the fall in projected pupil numbers could be seen as a positive thing? Surely it would be a much worse situation if the number of teachers was falling and pupil numbers were going in the other direction?