Thread 14 Starmer - The Starmeristas Strike Back

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5224857-thread-13-starmer-facts-are-for-lefties?page=40&reply=141063174

Gilt yields have been rising globally, but UK gilts have been the worst affected.

The 10 year gilt yield in late Sep was 3.8%. It was climbing before the budget (Oct 30) - market anticipation - then dipped, then took off upwards. Partly to do with the inflationary pressure of massive public pay deals. It’s now higher than the Trussterfuck, nudging 5%.

Of course I don’t think people on the left want to waste money for the hell if it. But any cuts now to welfare or general public spending - which I am likely to welcome - would have been opposed tooth and nail if the Tories had done the same. The Guardian would have been publishing hair raising ‘projections’ by left-wing think tanks saying that thousands of people will die. And posters on here would be shouting about cruel Tories. All of that happened when the coalition inherited a debt shit show.

It’s the inconsistency and hypocrisy that bothers me more than anything.

The council house sell-off is not as simple as you present it. You’d need to take into account all the money that would have been spent by councils. And there are plenty on the left who support the measure as a freedom for many people who would otherwise never have been owners.

I certainly think housing policy needs radical change though. I support the government’s house building plan and I think something strongly interventionist should happen to discourage BTL, in particular, and holiday homes and Airbnb.

There was indeed big waste in HS2. But rather less than Brown’s PFI mania, to keep the figures off the government books.

https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/the-bond-vigilantes-are-back-and-thats-no-bad-thing-cmcw2c20t

"Comparisons with Liz Truss are silly...we know what is driving the increase in gilt yields [Trump].

It means that we need to focus on the underlying causes of our current problems: weak growth and productivity."

But any cuts now to welfare or general public spending - which I am likely to welcome - would have been opposed tooth and nail if the Tories had done the same. The Guardian would have been publishing hair raising ‘projections’ by left-wing think tanks saying that thousands of people will die. And posters on here would be shouting about cruel Tories

@Rummly Having a pop at us all for how you imagine we will (or won't) react to spending cuts which don't yet exist is a bit daft. As is expecting the Guardian to make projections about such cuts.

Maybe come back to us when the announcements have been made?

Much of your post is "whataboutery" so what if PFI cost X amount, why drag up events 20 or 30 years ago, as PFI started under Major & i wonder how the NHS would operate today if those hospitals hadn't been built?

HS2 is now... its money we have lost today.

No the UK hasn't seen yields rise as you suggest, the 3.8% figure was a low point, the average over the last 2 years has been around 4.3%.

German and USA bond yields have both gone up by approx 21% in the last year, UK is 27%, yes higher but not by some huge amount & France a very similar economy to ours, has seen yields increase by almost 30% over the last year.

On housing, discouraging BTL with NO alternative, just leads to increased rents and more evictions.

You cannot put the cart before the horse, which is why i do not support Labours housing policy, its all pretty much what we've seen before "Targets with no account of affordability"
They also build estates where there are no jobs, adding to traffic congestion.

Without huge amounts of money, dev's wont build social housing and HA's don't have any funds to buy those that are built, so near me, are 30 properties, been empty for a year, no HA will them and councils haven't the money, we have a huge housing issue in Cornwall.

Anyway, this thread isn't really for these arguments, so i'll shut up now.

I was reading some of the Rachel Reeves threads and it was suggested that Starmer should appoint Sunak as chancellor, I am not even sure it wasn't a serious suggestion

Thanks Duncin. I missed that yesterday. It’s a very balanced explanation for what’s happening right now.

https://www.ft.com/content/8a42fb8b-5315-4337-a819-18ae224666aa

Former Brown adviser to lead UK’s ‘reset’ talks with EU

Michael Ellam has been picked to be Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘sherpa’ in negotiations for a better post-Brexit deal

We are going to be doomed by AI now

I thought this thread has a reasoned take on it

https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3lfmdbyegg22u

Reading this from the PM, I think my assessment is right. This isn't so much a technology plan or a delivery strategy but a shop window for investment.

I have just been reading about Ivor Caplin. Innocent until proven guilty of course, but his Twitter feed is, er, odd.

No doubt this will be another stick to beat Starmer and Reeves with. Some smearing already going on.

I expect Starmer to be decisive and ruthless on this one. Suspend him immediately and withdraw the whip. Anything else and he’s (deservedly) fucked.

Caplan has not been an MP since 2005.
He was also suspended from the party in mid 2024.

That's right.

He was suspended from the party last year, I think.

Eta: ha, you edited as I was posting!

Whoops! Embarrassing 🙈

over 30 years ago in my module on population economics in my degree I was writing essays on this very subject! However the generation impacted as preferred tax cuts over future investments for old age provision.

It not only welfare bills on pensions , most of my council tax goes on social care which is mainly elderly care!

Public sector isn’t inflationary. Not sure whether the train drivers deals will have been but that’s the only one. Difficult to see how that’s responsible for most of the inflationary pressures.

Dear old Brigit Phillipson cutting funding to state pupils studying Latin halfway through the year. Is there no end to the pettiness.

It does seem unnecessary @derxa. It’s not going to save much in the great scheme of things either, the figure I’ve seen is £4 million.

I’ve found Latin useful in one way or another throughout my life. I got my qualifications in it from a Scottish comprehensive in the 1970s. It just makes me feel a bit sad.

It's such a useful language for understanding our own and other modern languages so it's a shame to make it the preserve of those with parents who can afford the fees for private schools. We seem to have a distate for children receiving a broad education across the political spectrum in this country.

It’s just removing the funding for the ‘excellence’ program. There is nothing to stop schools continuing to offer Latin if they see it as a priority. I do agree that the funding should have continued to the end of the current students’ courses.
I managed a firm grasp on Humanities without a formal qualification in Latin, so I’m not sure that’s as big as deal as Tom Holland makes out in the article. DH got an O Level in it from a standard comprehensive many years ago and hasn’t a better ‘grasp’ than me. The level you study it to at GCSE is so, so basic, you’re not going to find it it enormously useful without further study.

"Rachel Reeves is doing a fantastic job. She has my full confidence. She has the full confidence of the entire party"

Starmer just said this. How many times have we seen "full confidence" turn to "you're fired!"😬

That decision is unfair @derxa, I agree. Just for the sake of £4m?

What exactly do you mean? I haven't seen this news. We offer Latin at my school.

There remains a hefty bursary for training to be a classics teacher and it is one of the few subjects where recruitment targets are massively exceeded (although of course most trainees end up in fee paying schools)

I am another one who did Latin at a Scottish school. I think my love of words is just a natural evolution from being a bookworm though, tbh. The only Latin I really remember is qui quae quod and Claudia est agricola.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/12/state-school-pupils-in-england-may-have-to-drop-gsce-latin-after-funding-pulled

Yes, just found it. To be truthful that programme probably should have embedded Latin teachers in schools by now. We don't use it so we'll be OK. We have two self taught Latin teachers (ie no degree in Latin but enough Latin to teach it).

I think this is just a ploy to ensure VAT resistant private school parents actually stay in the private sector thus increasing VAT revenue.
I think the horror at little Johnny losing the opportunity to continue with Latin when he goes into state education will be enough to push many over the edge.
NOTE: this is not a serious comment 🤣