To have cried!

[7dayslater]

I'm 19. DS is 18 months.

I live with DP & DS. I work hard, I have 2 jobs. DP works too. So, no we don't just sit on our arses, but we still need UC help to pay the bills. I want(ed) to train and work in the NHS. I'm also interested in politics.

So yeah, when I woke up this morning and saw the election result I cried. Austerity is very real, it's not a joke or a fictional story. With the way it is right now, I cannot afford an education. I cannot afford to study for a career. I'm stuck where I am.

Sadder still, others have it far worse. There are children in poverty, a homelessness crisis, the NHS is crumbling when people need it more than ever. I can respect democracy. I can respect the vote. But I have to ask, for people like me - what now?

I'm not sure what the issue is. You can do any training you like in 6 months when you'll get free childcare.

And that might be less right wing than the FB frothers would have you believe.

I really hope so. I hope that somewhere in Boris there is a spark of decency he never knew was there, and tonight in bed he lies there thinking about a photo of a 4 year old on a hospital floor and how he ignored it to service his own ambition. And I hope in the morning he gets off his well-fed backside and goes to work to make this country a better place for that child to grow up.

But people who didn’t vote for Corbyn and who thought he would pour their taxes into a black hole were extremely wary of what they would be funding. Why is it OK to expect them just to suck it up and pay more? It’s a bit of a cop-out to say that you don’t trust the government to spend it. And donating to charity is hugely valuable and commendable, but it’s not the NHS or a school, of course.

The bottom line is, people who are not struggling financially, but who are very concerned about the NHS or education or social care or funding for people with disabilities or SN have the ability to make a difference. How many of them will?

According to The Guardian, by 2017, just 15 people had done it. Will we see that figure rise now?

That little boy is fine. Hopefully our PM won't spend too much time thinking about it. Leeds is having a huge brand new swanky hospital, so not sure what else anyone expects.

The bottom line is, people who are not struggling financially, but who are very concerned about the NHS or education or social care or funding for people with disabilities or SN have the ability to make a difference. How many of them will?

I think that the biggest difference by far comes from government. I have donated to schools and hospitals in the past, but not through taxes. But even so, I don't think that difference is anywhere near as what can be done by the government.

Again, I didn't vote for JC either, so this isn't actually to do with party politics for me, but about specific issues and how they are being dealt with.

Yes, I will continue to give to hospitals and schools, but I do not at the moment, trust the government to spend money on people who really need it. The moment that begins to happen, I'd be happy to revisit the idea of overpaying taxes. But as it is, despite huge sums apparently being blown on things like getting the DUP on side, while families are queuing up at food banks and children are sleeping on hospital floors, I will not be doing it. It's patently obvious that although there is money to be spent, people in need are bottom of the pile at the moment.

I can't bear to RTFT, the first page was enough. You should be ashamed of yourselves! This woman is trying to educate herself to create a better life for her and her child so she doesn't have to rely on UC! But she can't, she is stuck.

Op, I can relate to you. Slightly different circumstances but same problem! I want to retrain as a nurse but I cannot give up my full time job to train. You cannot work alongside a nursing degree, how would I pay my mortgage and afford to live? I could maybe squeeze in a few hours paid work a week but nowhere near enough to live.

Have you looked into nursing degree apprenticeships if it's nursing you want to do?
It's 4 years training and you get paid at NHS band 3 while you do it. You should get some help with childcare fees but the shifts will be long so you would need a reliable support system in place to help out also.

Good luck and message me if you want more info on it! There isn't much online x

Sorry didn't vote Labour. I don't live in his constituency so couldn't have voted for JC if I'd wanted to, which I wouldn't have.

There are a few of these threads at the moment where the OP discusses their difficult life and seems to think said life would be different if labour were in power. In any of the threads there are numerous things that the OP could do to improve their situation but instead takes a "if we had a different government they could just sort it for me" approach. I think this is one of the reasons why people are turning away from Labour. Too many people with the hand out wanting others to be responsible for their decisions. I'm sorry, I know that is harsh and I am a Labour supporter but I think all these "my life needs to be sorted by the government" threads are not helpful to labour.

There's something a bit unsettling about so many people apparently sobbing uncontrollably at an election result. Have we really become that soft as a country that we weep because, in a diplomatic vote, one party was deemed preferable by the majority?

As it happens nothing will have changed today, it's not like anyone woke up to find themselves worse off or that their life had changed in any way.

This thread (and other's) though has exposed a real hypocrisy amongst SOME Labour voters though. In the weeks running up to the election, Tory voters were told they were selfish and 'only in it for themselves'. We now have Labour voters 'weeping' because they are worried that the state might dish them out less money.

*democratic, not diplomatic

This thread (and other's) though has exposed a real hypocrisy amongst SOME Labour voters though. In the weeks running up to the election, Tory voters were told they were selfish and 'only in it for themselves'. We now have Labour voters 'weeping' because they are worried that the state might dish them out less money.

Haha! Exactly!

You say you work 2 jobs OP? How many hours do you do overall?

so not sure what else anyone expects.

I expect my Prime Minister to give a shit about a sick child lying under a pile of coats rather than in a hospital bed.

We encourage poverty and homelessness by encouraging everyone to be dependent on the state

👏👏👏
When did this, "Awwh poor me. Everyone give me hand outs start"?

When I found myself as a single parent in the 80's I got zero to top up my (meagre) earnings. There were no nurseries or child minders either. I had to rely on family/neighbours/neighbours teenagers to "babysit" at a cost. There were no charity shops or FB marketplace either. None of my children went without a warm coat or food.

We scraped by....and I mean scraped by, robbing Peter to pay Paul. Nobody else paid my rent or topped up my food cupboard.

All we see now are non working people complaining they don't get enough from the Tory government. They get their rent paid. They get a working wage - without leaving the house. Why on earth do they think they would be better off under a Labour Govt? I blame Corbyn for putting out there he will give everyone anything they want - for free. What nonsense! Get a job, work overtime for extras, and stop relying on the government FFS! Get your priorities right. I have absolutely no sympathy for parents who put alcohol, drugs or cigarettes above their child's need for a warm coat.

I have adopted 2 children. I give to children's charities. I provide warm clothing to children within my village. I have also reported parents who defraud the benefits system. So shoot me!

The benefits system is a safety net for those who genuinly cannot work because they are disabled or have lost their job. If there were no hand outs those without a job would find one. And people would use contraception to prevent them having children they, themselves, cannot provide for..

Not every Tory supporter is a rich snob. Most of us started off in the gutter and work hard for a better life for ourselves and our children. We struggle. We do not want to be the main source of income for those who can't be arsed to help themselves. Especially those who constantly complain the govt don't give them enough.

If the govt don't give you enough go provide for yourself and leave the benefits system for those who really need it - rather than demand it 🤬

@bringincrazyback you are correct.
I change that from labour voters to entitled snowflakes

Now who's name--calling?

Honestly, engaging some long term thought would work wonders here.

Investing a little in allowing young people to retrain surely gives them more hope of supporting themselves as the years go on? Reduced burden on the state etc?

This is not about politics. If more people talked about personal responsibility maybe others would finally realise their lives are up to them in a majority of cases barring disability, illness, death and similar things

^ This.

Not sure that’s fair @PBo83. Even those of us who didn’t vote Tory but expected the result we did have a perfectly genuine right to feel sad. Personally, other than Child Benefit when it was given to all, I’ve never had benefits in my life & as a high income household we’d have been taxed more. But I’m a liberal - I’m not happy with the state of poverty many low income families are living in and will continue to live - I find it incredibly depressing and a shame on us. I’ve not wept (I’m too old) but yeah, fed up & disillusioned again. For younger non Tory voters, they probably expected a bit better of the British public and are feeling it today. So have a bit of empathy.

OrangeTwirl

It sounds like it was hard for you. I don’t understand why you would want it to be that hard for others.

If only we could go back to the good old Victorian times. If you were poor then, you could go into the workhouse or you and your children could starve to death.

Those were the days, am I right? Brexit isn't enough. We need to exit this and the previous century! Every man for himself. And we were happier for it!!

The benefits system is a safety net for those who genuinly cannot work because they are disabled or have lost their job. If there were no hand outs those without a job would find one. And people would use contraception to prevent them having children they, themselves, cannot provide for..

Yes, it is. Who is saying otherwise? Who is saying that people should be allowed to choose not to work and sit on their arses all day? But stuff happens. Young women or girls have babies and struggle because they have to means to provide for them. People become sick or disabled.

You don't have to be a Labour voter to appreciate that sometimes people need a bit of extra help and that it is for the good of the whole of society that people don't slump into destitution. I have honestly never come across someone who chooses not to work. I've seen them on TV, but generally people where I live who claim benefits are also working.

I have never had to claim benefits in my life, but I am aware enough to know that makes me lucky not superior.

This thread has now become 'I suffered so others should suffer as well.' Predictable as always.

AllideasAndNoAction Wow. And I thought I was the blunt one on this site. Your post is absolutely horrific in it's hatefulness. Comparing situations with third world or undemocratic countries is easy but cheap and meaningless considering the OP and the most likely the rest of us are not living in these countries.

OP, I don't live in the UK, I live in Australia (and we have our own type of conservative nutter as PM). However I've been following the election over there where you are, and I feel for you. I felt shocked and saddened by your result. I describe myself as a Liberal (in Australian terms, that is a small l or moderate liberal/left wing liberal) who has voted Labor in Australia the last couple of elections. I am worried about what the rise of the far right means for all of us around the world. It is scary, and I understand your reaction.

It is ok to cry and feel depressed. I am very interested in politics (well, was, at the moment I am so sick of it and disenchanted) and I admit to shedding a couple of tears at our last election in May this year. It is ok to feel like this and to take some time out. I'm sorry. Commiserations.

No means*

Stupid phone!

If only we could go back to the good old Victorian times. If you were poor then, you could go into the workhouse or you and your children could starve to death.

Nobody is saying they want that and thankfully we don't live in Victorian times. We are lucky to live in a country with great social mobility with free education, healthcare and more opportunities than any generation before us.

This doesn't negate the need for personal responsibility and it doesn't mean that the government should be liable for an individuals choices.

It sounds like it was hard for you. I don’t understand why you would want it to be that hard for others

That was life. When did people start expecting something for nothing?

As the saying goes... give a nan a fish and he'll feed himself once. Give him a rod and he'll feed himself forever.

If the govt. Are not providing what you need.... Get a job and provide for yourself!