Government suggestions to help with cost of living crisis

[ThankGodItsThursday]

Is it me? I don't think so. Latest suggestions being reported include making MOT 's bi annual. How will this help. My MOT in March cost £37. That's a drop in the ocean compared to rising petrol prices, increased fuel costs, food prices etc.

Plus wouldn't this be a safety issue. Cars being driven that are potentially unsafe and it won't help anyone who owns a garage will it. There will be less people having a MOT so less income for the business.

Why is everything this government suggests or does a complete and utter cock up.

And no I don't have any suggestions myself that won't cost the government anything which is what I understand they are looking for. But any ideas surely need to be safe and actually save people a decent amount of money if it is to genuinely help.

There should be a hike in road tax to £200 per year for all cars - none of this £30 for low emission vehicles.

There are over half a million second homes in this country. There should be a huge increase in council tax on second homes.

Also far more council tax bands should be introduced - it's ridiculous that someone living in a fairly standard house on a a suburban estate should only be paying £1000 less council tax than a mansion on acres.

There shouldn't have been a property built in this country in the last 10 years, whether commercial or residential, that didn't have renewable energy options included in planning requirements, whether that be solar panels on the roofs of every single Persimmon/Bellway etc etc home built, or on the roof of every warehouse, office block, Tesco superstore, or heat pumps, wind turbines etc.

It won't win votes but I would be seriously looking at capital gains on first properties. If we had 10% capital gains on property, it's not really hurting anyone. See also inheritance tax - should be 10% across the board and higher rates for estates of £1M+, £10M+ etc.

Close tax loopholes which allow tax avoidance, whether this be the likes of Rees-Mogg and Sunak with funds stashed offshore or Amazon paying miniscule tax here on their huge UK profits.

Tax overseas investors who buy up UK property with zero intention of ever living in it.

NHS needs a total overhaul from the ground up. Too many staff. Too many patients who with earlier intervention wouldn't be over utilising the system down the track.

Education also needs a complete overhaul. Bring back Sure Start to ensure those who need extra help are supported from the beginning of their lives.

Blimey @darlingdodo, if ever I saw a manifesto for losing an election it’s yours!

Blossomtoes, I know - we really are a country who supports every man for himself! We purport to admire the way Sweden, Norway etc run their countries, but when push comes to shove, many of us couldn't give a shiny shite about anyone but ourselves.

Nothing I've suggested would realistically impact the quality of life of the haves, but might make a significant difference to the have-nots. But it would take a large shift in our collective mindset.

There should be a hike in road tax to £200 per year for all cars - none of this £30 for low emission vehicles.

I'd be very happy for our road tax to be 'hiked' down to £200 for our 21yo small hatchback!

Poorer people who run old cars disproportionately pay a lot more road tax. Government motoring policy is always based on the pretext that people who 'choose' a newer car with lower emissions - and keep upgrading regularly - should be rewarded for their conscientiousness; but as always, it simply hasn't crossed the minds of the rich people who make the laws that many of us have no choice but to buy old cars and then keep them until they drop.

The government seems desperate to channel Marie Antoinette when deciding 'simple solutions' for those dirty poor people with the audacity to need to drive cars.

This is a great idea. It should have been done decades ago for a host of reasons.

Not enougj to offset the increase in the %. So still a tax rise, partially offset by a smaller tax cut. Smoke and mirrors.

People are capable of maintaining their car and ensuring its roadworthy in between MOTs if they're concerned about killing someone. Some personal accountability is needed.

So you have the equipment to check your headlamp levels? Put your car on a ramp and check for corrosion, and suspension wear? You have an emissions tester at home?

EvilPea or you could try driving to a garage and asking for a check of those things in between MOTs if you have cause for concern. It's called taking responsibility.

I’m not entirely sure why your so aggrieved. However. I’ll bite.

Luckily. I do have those things. however, if I didn’t you’d pay a garage more to check then an MOT.
I’m all for people taking responsibility, but there’s a limit to what people can do and that’s where the mot comes in and why the yearly check is good for all.
i do know a lot of people who don’t check their tyres, their oil, get the lights on the dash checked. Yes they should take responsibility, but they don’t or can’t for various reasons and leave it to the garage or mot station to check when they have it serviced or mot’d.

Total rubbish from the government, as per.

Until literally 2 weeks ago, I was driving an 11 year old banger, that was falling apart underneath me. I'd had a 6-month service in February, and frankly, it was being held together by luck and a prayer. It wasn't due an MOT until the end of summer, and the thought I could have driven it around for another 18 months would be horrifying!
I replaced it with a 3 year old car 2 weeks ago, because it was dangerous. I knew that, as a responsible sane road user, I should replace it. But many road users are neither responsible OR sane.

(In theory, my old car has gone off to auction... If they can drive it off the forecourt at the garage, where I practically dumped it in the far reaches of their carpark... it'll be a miracle!)

Also, as well as the basic safety essentials, the MoT does cover some things that, in an ideal world, you would repair/replace immediately but which, in the real world, could easily wait with no noticeable impact on overall safety.

We had an extremely unwelcome bill of £250 at a very difficult time, a few years ago, for a headlamp that had been chipped by a big stone - it looked like a kind of bullet-hole but not open to the elements, if that makes sense (still not 100% sure how it managed to chip but then seal itself back up). It could have gone as it was indefinitely, if not years, with no discernible difference to function and safety, but because it triggered a box to be ticked on the MoT, we had to find the money somehow, and you really wouldn't have known anything had been changed at all.

The whole car gave up the ghost less than a year after that - we still haven't been able to afford to replace it yet.

I replaced it with a 3 year old car 2 weeks ago, because it was dangerous. I knew that, as a responsible sane road user, I should replace it. But many road users are neither responsible OR sane.

To be fair, many are simply not financially able to do so, however responsible or sane they might otherwise be. Not saying that you did the wrong thing at all, but that car must have been seriously mistreated or have been in a terrible crash to be in that state after only 11 years - I'm guessing it wasn't German or Japanese?!