This may be unpopular - but what about the squeezed middle?

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They are talking about raising taxes on the average person now. Which will really effect lower middle class families who are already feeling the pinch due to increases in cost of food, gas and electic, increasing childcare costs and rent or morgage increases. They are going to increase pensions and benefits with inflation but lots of middle class earners are not having their wages increased with inflation but will now have their taxes increased. What about help for the middle class, especially lower middle class and working class who earn slightly to much to qualify for any help but will now stuggle with all these increases.

International aid is one of the things that helps stem economic migration.

I am not sure that the poorest in this country want to be "helped" by being forced to become care workers or seasonal fruit pickers - jobs that someone needs to do.

The better way is to give out temporary work visas so they will mostly go home before really needing to use the health system

Doesn't work with migrant Labour from developing countries, as they are aren't going to be attractive to return too (in the medium term) people just disappear into the system, esp in the UK with no ID cards.

As Eastern Europe has improved their economies, not least by UK and other countries investing in them, workers can return... & if we then still need them, we have to offer higher wages... win .. win.

Evidence? Look at how many EU workers found it easy and cheap to return to their home countries after Brexit then Covid.

I wonder how many nurses (for example) employed from SE Asia will ever go back home? and thats a tragedy as these countries need their own qualified staff.. UK is currently ignoring WHO guidance on recruitment from dev countries.

No but surely people should have a buffer and not spend every last penny they earn.

It's not just about money. People move for better lives overall (some just because they wanted something different).

This should actually be a wake up call about how quality of life dropped here.

By this I mean the EEs moving back

We have a big problem with those of the lowest income bracket who will find it much easier and more lucrative to work on the other side of town - in the drugs and sex trades. There are many ‘middle class’ who enable these industries by buying their products, but would sneer at the idea of providing secure council housing and less punitive benefits that would enable seasonal work patterns.

We're upper end of middle income, and after mortgage, bills, commute costs and childcare there's not really anything left to save or spend on luxuries. I imagine it's the same for a lot of people.

Yes! an age ago, friends of mine moved back to Poland, as they felt maternity services were dire in the UK & were expecting their first child.

They have a great life in Poland now.

Also the amount of (so called) casual racism they got was quite shocking.. all pre Brexit.

How about not locking down healthy people. Novel idea, I know.

So long as the next govt doesn’t take from education (in any form) or children the disabled I’m pretty much open to discussing anything. As a country we are spending more than we can afford that will mean large scale changes for all of us (again). Don’t take from those who can’t vote or their carers has to be a hard stop for cuts. Invest in skills and education.

It does no such thing. It gets siphoned by the corrupt politicians and administrators in developing countries.

Anyone who works full time and earns around the average salary (£31k outside London) or less will feel the squeeze. Especially parents with toddlers. They aren’t eligible to free/heavily subsided childcare fees for under 3s.

We need our Personal Allowance (tax free) to increase. Maybe £15k+ rather than £12k.

And there’s the problem…people who are already not putting in as much as they take out, want to put in less….

So long as the next govt doesn’t take from education (in any form) or children the disabled I’m pretty much open to discussing anything

Education is facing huge cuts, this is what i'm most angry about. We should be investing in children.

How about not locking down healthy people. Novel idea, I know

My question was how do you support jobs & the economy in a lockdown. Not locking down people is irrelevant because we locked down.

The answer is either higher immigration or supporting people to have more children & invest in their education.

What we need to not have happened is bloody privatisation of essential services, which enabled and still is enabling public funds to be siphoned off into private pockets. While people want to go on about past events (lockdown), why not look at the ones that actually mattered and could have been done differently. Privatisation of housing, health, transport and education have all had rather larger long-term effects.

Yes I agree with this - huge impact for everyone.

Apart from the very rich, everyone will be impacted. If people don’t pop in for a coffee and instead make their own, the coffee shop will close. If I get my hair cut and coloured less my self employed hairdresser will struggle etc etc

I am a manager in the public sector, working in health and social care - we’ve barely had a rise in years. Everything has risen except my wages. While I have a fairly decent salary compared to the national average, my outgoings are now significantly higher.

DH works in the private sector and continues to get very good wage rises - not sure how long that will continue. I am fortunate that he has a good salary - without it I don’t know how we would cope. My earnings alone, considering all the increases, wouldn’t stretch very far.

Of course, worse case scenario, we could sell up and buy a smaller home but the cost of moving is huge too.

So, yes I feel well off compared to others, but also feel worried about what is to come.

What about paying more in tax but getting better public services? Free or very cheap childcare delivered by well trained staff who earn a good wage? Free university? Free transport, free internet access? Cheaper social housing that's open to more people? All these things exist, either in whole countries or parts of a country or cities.

100%

When we're expected to pay for everything and can't afford any 'extras' any more when so many just get handed things, it's demoralising and makes me wonder why we work so hard.

As a thought….would people like the U.K. to stop immigration and giving international aid, so the money could be used to help the poorest in this country?

Definitely not.
Immigration is helping the poor of this country. Bringing in essential staff (health and social care, for instance) who also pay taxes.
International aid is good for geopolitics and business.

Would everyone pay more tax and everyone get free all of this stuff/support?

Neither my husband or I pay income tax. We are both state pensioners with a joint income around £18k. We have never had means tested benefits, and fortunately have no mortgage. Repairs and maintenance are a concern as we don't have much saved.

I seem to remember paying over 30% tax on an ordinary wage in my younger days.

I work for a council and have colleagues who provide essential services. They get paid a fraction of what I used when I worked in finance and that job was far less stressful than what I see them do and rarely involved getting sworn at. They may be financially “putting in” less than I used in direct terms but I would say the value of their work and impact of the issues they help mitigate is a money saver for society has a whole.

We probably fall into the category of the squeezed middle. Probably the higher end, but with ridiculous nursery fees to pay (these have just increased by £8 per day, per child) and the cost of absolutely everything going up, we haven't yet put the heating on this year (and won't be unless it snows) and are quickly running out of money for things that I would previously not have thought twice about like visits to Father Christmas or lunch at a local cafe.

I do look at people who earn or receive a lot less than us and think how on earth are they coping, and feel fortunate. I'm not going to need to use a food bank any time soon. But I do also marvel at the fact that my husband and I spent 8 years at top tier universities between us, have what people would consider 'good jobs', and yet are sitting huddled under blankets and dressing gowns because we can't put the heating on.

We would have loved a third child, but won't be having one as we simply can't afford it while maintaining some level of a decent childhood for the other two. I know a decision like that isn't the same as worrying about how to feed your children, but it does make me sad as a few years ago we felt quite well off really.

How did you pay off your mortgage while paying such a staggeringly high rate of tax?