Thread 38 Sunak: Soooo, square one is an option then?

[AdamRyan]

Thanks to @cornettoninja For the epic title!

I'd have thought that Sunak would appreciate the gold wallpaper though.

Steve Bannon was just on LBC. He is such a dangerous man. Although certain posters on MN would probably happily have him round for dinner.

Blardy hell, what is it with all of these old tired Brexiteers popping back up? Must be some Russian money floating about at the sniff of elections...

One of Bannon's old colleagues warning that billionaires spending will "vanish"
https://twitter.com/Arron_banks/status/1765386971176726679

I thought they were all leaving anyway when Labour gets elected

And strangely it won't change much, except perhaps making housing more affordable.

A lot left after Brexit (remember Dyson?) or at least run their businesses with offshore accounts.
I don't see the point in them if they don't pay taxes. They just seem to want to play with politics and turn London into their own private playground.

See also Rees Mogg.

Are they currently splashing the cash about in some beneficial way?

I used to think these billionaires were wasteful twats spending loads on space shuttles etc. now I’m basically waiting for the day they all blast themselves off to mars and realise that billions of Monopoly money means precisely shit all when you need to survive.

Oh, and I would like to table the motion that once they’re safely on their way we redistribute their hoarded wealth and coordinate to flip them the bird.

I've been looking at what Hunt had to offer us in North Wales in today's budget and was not at all surprised to find that all the benefits he announced were going to constituencies with Tory MPs (make of that what you will).

1. They are going to buy the site of Wylfa power station on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) from Hitachi - MP is Conservative
2. £10m going to Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Aberconwy - MP is Conservative
3. £20m Levelling-up to Rhyl, Vale of Clwyd - MP is Conservative
4. £1.6m going to Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Delyn - MP was Conservative but is now Independent following allegations of sexual harassment

By far the biggest county in north Wales is Gwynedd which is currently split into two constituencies of Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd. Both of these are Plaid Cymru and, guess what, they got nothing in the budget. Zilch. Nada. Or dim as we say in Wales.

On the first point above in Ynys Mon, the island is desperate for jobs, but just because they plan to buy the site doesn't mean that anything will come from it. But I'm sure Virginia Crosbie will use it to lie through her teeth to try and keep her seat.

Last minute back pocket shuffles going on before they lose power from the sounds of it. Setting up their mates before the tap is turned off.

Hah! Excellent image in my head now! 😆

There's plenty of that.

And criticise the Government and you / your department might not get funding and you might not get invited to certain conferences.

I think that's called cancel culture.

I listened to the budget and made notes.
The first thing I wrote was £1m for a monument aimed at a faith group. Do they really think that the Islamophobic statements made by their colleagues will be forgotten because of this announcement?

Same old bollocks

Saying they gave money to keep the lights on when gas prices rose- no. Taxpayers money was given to the gas companies, they could and should have imposed a windfall tax.

They said they like pubs- we know. They arranged most of the covid fast lane deals that paid their mates for dodgy ppe in them.

Hunt also linked diesel tax and alcohol together while talking about pubs. Drink and driving in the same sentence as a good thing is not helpful to road safety.

Lies, bullshit and back slapping.

New houses being built for young people- neglecting to add that they are all leasehold so they will be tied in.

Lots of money being thrown at I.T and AI. Sunak the salesman strikes again.

Money for the arts- but not Birmingham who have lost funding for arts.

If I hear the phrase "labour don't have a plan, they should listen to ours" over and over and over... just because you say something often enough, it doesn't mean it's true.

Apparently keeping taxes down matters to this tory government that have the highest taxes since forever.

Oh and my last note is "dickhead"

I wasn't impressed.

They talk about public services and 1% in real terms. Plus efficiency savings.

They didn't talk much about how some public services will see cuts.

And we know that more people are paying tax as:

1. People get pay rises linked to inflation - so no real terms pay increases
2. The thresholds haven't changed - so more of your pay will go in tax
3. Inflation falling does not make any difference to this.

But this is complex maths for some. Do people feel better off?

https://apple.news/AH07nipOsR1WK3Uz340Wr-Q

this just popped up on my news feed. The Hunster has managed to piss off, actually, disappoint everyone. He’s let the country down, he’s let the party down but most of all, he’s let himself down.

shame.

Amol Rajan just said Hunt actually wants to scrap NI altogether.

How would that work? No benefits and no state pension?

The core target of the budget, combined with the past 14 years of Tory government do indeed feel better off = those who already have more money than anyone could possibly need.

For the remaining 99% of the country...

I don't think they are linked anymore.

It does complicate things - a simpler tax system would work - but what would happen to employer's contributions?

Essentially the Government needs money. It's a question for how it gets it.

I was listening to Radio 4 last night. A Conservative Minister talking about economies like the USA with low tax - he was praising their growth rates and tax takes from that.. But at the same time, what does that mean for people who don't get on well and what about the effect on social care, NHS etc.

They're still linked according to the gov website though @cakeorwine

A Conservative Minister talking about economies like the USA with low tax - he was praising their growth rates and tax takes from that.. But at the same time, what does that mean for people who don't get on well and what about the effect on social care, NHS etc

Who cares about that?
Just 2 years ago, a 1.6% increase in NI was going to be the saviour of adult social care.

But guess who said this 3 years ago?
“We need to bite the bullet and say there needs to be a tax rise because I think the number one priority of the electorate is to have good health and care services, and they understand that those pressures, irrespective of the pandemic, are only going to increase in the years ahead.”

Hunt wanted an income tax rise.

They really are struggling with the concept that mostly people want to be able to afford the basics and for stuff to work. I doubt that the main issue with pubs and hospitality is alcohol duty when inflation is still at 4% and people are struggling with their bills and food shopping. Another 2% NI cut is going to do nothing to put money back in people’s pockets because you have to be earning a lot for it to make a noticeable difference.

I wouldn’t normally have a problem because the more they do this the more unelectable they make themselves but there are literally people dying because of their inability to govern.

I cannot understand why new leasehold houses are allowed. It is not really home ownership if you can be turfed out for not paying the ground rent/service charge.

Exactly. It's a real bug bear of mine. My ds2 has a deposit for a house. His maximum mortgage is too low to buy outright where we live- the cheapest house is £200,000-because he is single and in a reasonable salaried job.
He can buy a quarter share in a flat for £100k which is way overpriced, and the rent and management fees work out as more expensive than the monthly payment on the £200k House. But that would be ok under affordability.