to wonder if people expect the government to solve all their problems?

[LadyHarmby]

Just listening to the news, interviewing people in the street.

No government can change the fact that some people are rich and some are not. Or that wars in other countries and/or pandemics will affect the price of things.

Inappropriate content on social media. Unsafe cladding on blocks of flats put there by private developers. Being housed outside of your area by the council. Zero hours contracts. All issues that the government seem to be expected to sort out? Is it reasonable?

BTW I’m a Labour voter so this is not about the Tories, more government in general.

There has to be a middle ground.

Some personal responsibility.

You do have a point some people want their arse wiped and some people lose their arse financially.

Yes they were privatised years ago, we don't produce enough of our own energy it has to be bought on the open market. Does the government have enough money to buy out the global energy producers ? No.

I don't expect them to fix everything but not crashing the economy and making everything worse would be a good start. They appear to be creating more issues instead of solving anything for most people.
In my opinion, they are a bloody disgrace. Giving themselves massive pay rise and giving contracts to their chums. It is horrendous.

How could they not have crashed the economy? The masses were calling for lockdowns , money had to be printed and borrowed to pay for it.

This! Your examples are very much things that government is in control of. 🙄Yes, there will always be rich people and poor people but huge differences in wealth is extremely damaging to society. Under Tory rule, the gap between rich and poor has widened dramatically. This didn't just happen naturally!

I really hope you're a troll trying to wind me up. Can assure you I've done nothing to deserve my health problems and public services also covers schools, police, social services etc.. I'd type out more but I can't believe you're serious.

No. But we do expect the Govt of the day not to crash the economy to the extent it puts our mortgage interest rates up by 5% and counting.

And poverty isn’t an inevitability - that’s a policy decision. Of course there would always be people with less money than others, but the grinding poverty of hunger, cold and genuine want? No. That’s a choice - a choice the rich impose on the poor, by their constant re-election of Conservative governments.

This.

It's quite clear the tories do none of these things. Self-serving pricks.

Your examples are very much things that government is in control of

I never said they weren’t in control of them. I said are these the sort of problems they should reasonably be expected to ‘fix’, when there are so many demands on government time and money. I just think people aren’t realistic about how much they can do.

I am old and have noticed the "They need to do something" attitude increasing over the years and many people have very high expectations of services while expecting to pay minimal taxes which simply does not add up.
There has to be a middle ground. The government has a responsibility to try to reduce wealth inequality, protect the poorest, provide services, etc but people have to accept responsibility for themselves too.

And this is why we have such a shit government!

I think reading some books on socio economics should become compulsory and the perhaps we would be getting some different responses.

Yes, the government should work for all of us and not make themselves and their friends and families richer.

No but they can provide decent public services that help people make their situation better - education, healthcare, access to housing etc.

No, they can bloody well do it all. They can fix it.

The civil service employes thousands of people who are supposed to fix problems like the ones you listed.

So yes, it is realistic they do their fucking jobs.

Some people do seem to think that if they are short of money, the Government should just keep giving them handouts - I wonder whether this is a legacy of furlough?
Any Government should be creating a general environment where people are able to help themselves and (hopefully) need less and less input from the state.
People who say that "they" should do whatever seem to forget that "they" don't actually have any funds - it is either money that comes from us (taxpayers) or from borrowing...... so be careful what you wish for!

Again what do people expect , people wanted lock down ,they had to print money to pay for it causing inflation. It will have to be paid for

YABVVU, and illogical to boot. Wars and pandemics are one thing. But everything you list in your second paragraph isn't a natural occurrence but the direct result of previous government intervention. Zero hours contracts were a deliberate choice by previous administrations - well turns out they have consequences. Ditto for buildings regs. Ditto for intergovernmental fiscal relations and the resulting strain on council finances. Getting to that point resulted from political decisions. People are now expecting political decisions to deal with the fallout. Deal with it.

If there's a minister for that area(e.g. education/health) then yes I expect them to solve that problem. That is literally their job.

Perfect response.

The government can legislate to make developers who ignored building regs pay to replace the dodgy cladding. The bill doesn’t have to go to taxpayers - it’s 100% an issue the government should sort imo

No government can change the fact that some people are rich and some are not. Any government can (for example) make economic and budgetary decisions that keep costs down and wages up, that increase available housing stocks, that offer an emergency safety net but mitigate against its being abused. Or that wars in other countries and/or pandemics will affect the price of things. They can refrain from leaving a trading block of 40+ years' duration with their 31 closest neighbours with no concrete plans and no apparent desire to mitigate the negative impact, and they can avoid doing things that are predictably likely to cause the national currency to drop when the country is reliant on imports.

Inappropriate content on social media. Not sure of the context, but if platforms are violating the law the government/Parliament can act. Unsafe cladding on blocks of flats put there by private developers. Yes, the government can legislate to prevent this, and impose meaningful penalties if it does happen. Other countries do. Being housed outside of your area by the council. Can't prevent this on an individual basis, but can influence the factors that cause it to be widespread. Zero hours contracts. They are useful and desirable in some cases (from a worker's perspective) but when they become all that's available for a segment of the population nationwide then yes, that's an issue for the government. Companies can be required by law to observe reasonable workers' rights.

I expect them to provide the conditions where hard work pays off. I work nhs. I studied 2 years for the job when the bursary was cut off by the tories, got a 1st as worked my arse off. Currently on band 5 pay. Not enough to cover cost of living. I am thinking of leaving to work in the private sector or, as many on here would suggest, become a rich investment banker or business person. But everyone is leaving the nhs....

3 years for the job* that should read.

If we voted in a party that weren't such capitalists and in bed with big business we might see some wealth distribution which would be better than this trickle down nonsense. I don't see any wealth trickling down.

This 100% also to ensure building regulations are adhered to in the first place with proper scrutiny.