to ask if you were Prime Minister - what 5 changes would you make?

[ABowlofPetunias]

Inspired by other threads re: benefits, tax etc on AIBU.

If you were in the position to make 5 changes to legislation/tax/law/policy etc in the UK - what would they be?

(I understand that being PM wouldn't mean you can just snap your fingers and it be done, but this is theoretical!)

Mine would be:

1. Change the VAT threshold to be fairer to small businesses - create a system that takes into account size of business, number of employees, profit margins etc instead of penalising business that may have a turnover of over £81k but VAT registration means business death.

2. Change Employers Tax and contributions to reflect the size and scope of the business to encourage employers to hire more staff with higher wages.

3. Cap travel costs such as train fares

4. Ban unfair fees (Estate agents fees for tenants, surcharges, registration fees etc)

5. Lower VAT back to 15%

Would love to hear other MNetters rule the country plans

Good thread idea!

1 - Increase Children's Centre provision, with mandatory attendance for parents at a minimum of 10 sessions in the child's first 2 years
2 - Stop all public funding for faith schools
3 - Introduce compulsory sex and relationships education for all children starting in Year 1. Practical experience with babies and children (supervised by the baby/child's parents) for 11-12 year olds. Discussion of remaining childfree as a positive and legitimate option
4 - Increase minimum wage to 10 an hour
5 - Nationwide poster, TV, radio, social media campaign sending the message that rape is the fault of the rapist, violence is the fault of the perpetrator - never ever the victim.

Hmm.

Okay - some overlap with yours, but...

1. Reduce VAT to 12 - 15%

2. Renationalise all erstwhile public services - railways, buses, water, energy

3. Allow food prices to rise to a more natural level, in particular meat and dairy to allow farmers to survive. Possibly ban the import of any meat or dairy products that are normally made here - milk, beef, lamb, chicken (not specialised meats or European regional dairy products like parmesan etc).

4. Tax cigarettes out of existence, ban gambling outright, regulate prostitution.

5. Implement massive tax breaks for businesses that move their HQ or launch in the North of England. If you are starting a business or opening UK offices, unless you can demonstrate a geographical need to be in London (i.e. you are starting a Thames Riverboat company), you should be offered massive incentives to be in the North of England. Ireland was able to pull all sorts of strings to get big businesses to open their offices in Ireland, and the North of England should be able to do this too. I love London, but it's getting more ridiculous by the year.

Renationalise all erstwhile public services - railways, buses, water, energy

Can I ask about your reasoning behind this one, Naan?
Interested to hear more.

LOVE this one mplement massive tax breaks for businesses that move their HQ or launch in the North of England

1. Invest in public services
2. Adopt a similar immigration policy to the US - ie make it difficult for migrants to scrounge off state or take jobs which could be filled by out of work brits.
3. Make equality training more widespread and invest in enforcing equality act
4. Invest in public transport in rural areas
5. Put in place a cabinet who live in the real world

Yes, and more tax breaks to those who positively try and recruit from over-populated areas in the South.

5) Put in place a cabinet who live in the real world
yes, yes, yes!
I think it should be a requirement to have at least 5-10 years of practical experience in the industry relating to the cabinet sector.
Minister for education should have to have experience in state schools, for example

'5) Put in place a cabinet who live in the real world'

Another yes yes yes to this! And experience of having to budget for an average household on a minimum wage salary - even if it was just a paper exercise, it might open their eyes to the fact that not everyone has a trust fund or parents they can turn to.

1. flat rate citizen's income, adjusted for children and disability, with no obligations

2. tighten tax rules for offshore business

3. more funding for adult social care

4. abolish tuition fees

5. invest heavily in public transport (including re-nationalisation if need be) and renewable energy

And sneaky 6 - build more council houses

1. Re- nationalize Water, Energy and Railways
2. Make local council tax bands standard and proportionate to local housing prices - add upper bands and make them progressively more expensive over £350,000 ( say at midlands prices) so owning a big house would be really quite expensive- Small houses are greener and the extra revenue would go to Social care. Mansion tax is unfair on those in London and surrounds.
3. Flat rate Citizen income - generous benefits for 2 children but no more - a 'top' up amount available for anyone who does 25 hours a week of voluntary service so people can live and do 'good' work if they want.
4. Build more council houses and encourage 'commune' living for older citizens by building community houses that have privacy but shared facilities and gardens etc with no council tax on these properties plus some other nice things like priority chiropody - free mid day meals ;)- Also possibly similar set up for young people under 25 - priority given to care leavers.
5. Throw huge amounts of money at green energy research to get us to where we should have been 10 years ago if it had been funded rationally.

Only 5???

The first five that spring to mind then-

Get rid of the 'bedroom tax' and reduced council tax support.

Base council tax on income.

Admit publicly that the recession was caused by greedy rich people, including the government, and not by sponging poors.

Free higher education to doctorate level in subjects that are of use to society/ humanity.

Make tax avoidance illegal and so cover all the expenses of the above with plenty to spare.

I guess I would need to be First Minister for Scotland.

1. Driving Like A Twat. Someone else posted about that a few months ago. Jail, cars confiscated, licenses toast, etc. Attitude, as well as technique, to be a criterion.
2. Domestic abusers to be strung up by the bollocks.
3. Scammers to be strung up by the bollocks.
4. M8 to be widened to three lanes Hermiston Gait - Bargeddie. The following junctions to be razed to the ground and rebuilt: Hermiston Gait, Gogar, Barnton, Maybury, Sheriffhall, Shawhead, Fort Weetabix and Daldowie, as well as Raith (already being done).
5. Scum like Parking Eye and silar bullies and parasites put out of business, their directors strung up by the bollocks, the money they have stolen returned, and their business model to look like Mordor after the unmaking of the Ring.

1 - amend the SMP rate to minimum wage paid according to your contracted hours for a minimum of six months. Comoanies can still top up if they wish

2 - Instate a minimum jail sentence of 35 years for rape, paedophillia and murder with no option of parole or early release for good behaviour

3 - Remove all state funding for faith schools

4 - Cap all child-based/child-calculated benefits to two children (with multiples counted as "one" but paid out depending on their actual number)

5 - Reduce the costs of local authority sport and leisure facilities. I think it is despicable that it costs me, dh and dd upwards of £8 to swim at a LA pool.

1. Halve duty on petrol and diesel.
2. Privatise the NHS.
3. Leave the EU.
4. Cap benefits at 2 children.
5. Give authorisation for anyone trying to enter the country illegally to be shot on sight.

1. Simplify the tax system (possibly to one flat rate for everything with a greater tax free allowance) and close loopholes (particularly relating to offshoring of profits).
2. Invest in measures to support the rural economy across the UK - broadband, flood defences, food farming incentives.
3. Force a full and frank debate (and most importantly create legislation) on end of life care/withdrawal of treatment beyond active assisted suicide.
4. Provide significantly greater incentives to local authorities, developers and landowners to build more homes - of all types.
5. Renegotiate our relationship with Europe.

The following junctions to be razed to the ground and rebuilt: Hermiston Gait

Ha ha. It took us about five attempts to actually make it into Hermiston Gait. We could see B&Q, but not work out how to get there and kept endng up in Sighthill.

Simplify the tax system with none being paid under £12k then flat rate after
Scrap CB and tax credits completely
Regulate electricity and gas to keep it affordable
Revamp prison sentences as ours are too light
Put an end to schools becoming academies

Include compulsory touch typing element to all courses leading to a job in the health sector. It will save hours and hours of time which can then be spent with payients.

Put of mice and men back on the syllabus.

Basically copy the danish chilcare system. Subsidise it heavily to make going back to work financially viable for sahp.

Raise minimum wage to minimum living wage.

Renationalise the railways.

1. legalise, and tax weed
2. abolish bedroom tax
3. higher the nat min. wage
4. pump the money from legalisation of pot into the nhs
5. build more council houses

(1) Reintroduce the selective tests country wide.
(2) Remove tuition fees across the Uk for 'real' subjects
(3) Reintroduce large tax breaks for mortgagees
(4) Reintroduce large tax breaks for married
(5) Ditch the BBC licence fee

I could keep going you know

1. Invest in adult education to get more people off nmw
2. Heavily subsidise childcare
3. Cap child benefit and child tax credits at 2 children- 3 if 2nd dc twins.
4. Publically back the No More Page 3 campaign
5. Close the gender pay gap

I know you only asked for 5, but...

1. Build more social housing
2. Ban BBC license fee
3. Abolish the Badger Cull
4. Block fracking

10. Make smoking over baby's/children/while pregnant/over pregnant women illegal

1 - Increase Children's Centre provision, with mandatory attendance for parents at a minimum of 10 sessions in the child's first 2 years

Worst idea ever!!! What's the penalty going to be if you don't attend?!

Babies not baby's

Whoops! Meant to bold that..not cross it out!