Tories are asset stripping the country

[Letshaveablackcelebration22]

I don’t remember things ever being as bad as they are now in the U.K. and I am 50 this year. The NHS is collapsing/ has collapsed (depending where you live), we have the most expensive energy costs of any country in Europe, public transport is shit, housing is dreadful & unaffordable for many, we have the most expensive water in the world etc etc.

The tories made a fortune through their dodgy dealings in covid- many work on the sly for private companies lobbying while in power. The want the NHS to fail so it’s easier to privatise (exactly what they did with trains, water, power companies etc). The country is being pillaged for the wealthy & is in a right state.

We should be on the streets but people are struggling so much at the moment, it’s hard to have the energy to do it.

Is a general strike the answer?

"how much money the public sector will raise from taxes and other sources of revenue. In 2022-23, we expect it to raise £1,005 billion, equivalent to around £36,000 per household or 40.2 per cent of national income.
how much it will spend on things like public services, state pensions and debt interest. In 2022-23, we expect it to spend £1,182 billion, equivalent to around £42,000 per household or 47.3 per cent of national income."

"In 2022-23, we expect central government departments to spend £415.5 billion on the day-to-day (’current’) running costs of public services, grants and administration. This is 35 per cent of public spending. The biggest items are health (£168.2 billion), education (£77.1 billion) and defence (£32.1 billion)."

obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/brief-guides-and-explainers/public-finances/

@TunaSpaghettiSub i think a general strike is a good start point and especially as (incredibly) there hasn’t been one since about 1926!

It needs to be completely rebuilt from the founding principle up. I personally favour a German model.

Me too, yes it will cost 20% of my gross salary and my employer will have to pay another 20% on top, but it will be worth it.

I agree but how on earth does this get organised and what would be the demands as there are so many things going to crap.

I'm not politically savvy (was raised not being talked about) but try to educate myself as much as possible

@TunaSpaghettiSub its for the trade unions to sort between themselves. If you aren’t already a member, join a trade union! Mine is Unison.

www.yournhsneedsyou.com/timeline/

It's already happening, boiling frog and all that. I am not overly confident in the current Labour leadership wanting to reverse it either, Labour need a massive kick up they arse because they appear to stand for absolutley nothing at the moment and their refusal to back striking workers is disgusting.

Lobbyists seem to have got their claws in both parties. Sure Labour will probably be less bad but thats not bloody good enough.

@TunaSpaghettiSub the unions have to collectively ballot all their members for a strike day on the same day, everyone has to vote yes and meet the required percentages & then it could happen. It’s definitely being discussed.

Yes because most of the population have a spare 20% of their salary lying around. They don't need food or heat.

We're fucked.

the tories are scum-
however the nhs is not salvageable - it as a system cannot work regardless of money. It’s such a mess and we need to stop thinking of it as the holy grail of this country.

They aren't. Each £ is worth less now than it was in the past, so you would expect the number of £'s to go up over time, but what that increase is worth has never kept up with devaluation / demand in any public service.

OP, Tories have always asset stripped. It is how they get rich and stay rich. Hardly a surprise. Will there be a general strike? I honest to God hope so, but I doubt it. Why do I hope so? Because like them or not, trades unions provide leadership and direction to actions. As the Labour Party did once upon a time. What I fear is that the worst desperation falls with people often not organised in any way, so I see two possibilities. That the apathy endemic in such sections of society will simply lead to more deaths and absolute poverty. Or that they will release undirected anger, and we will have blood on the streets.

I am 65 and I have never feared for the direction of this country like I do now.

It is staggering how much poorer the UK has become under the Tories.

Very soon we are going to find that going on holiday abroad and buying things we used to take for granted will simply be too expensive.

I think the penny is dropping but it's going to continue to be shocking to people

It isn't a Holy Grail its just what we have and what we pay for. Want something different ? you are going to pay more, potentially a lot more.

Lets hope if they do privatise it, it runs slightly better than the privatised social care sector ?

Very soon we are going to find that going on holiday abroad and buying things we used to take for granted will simply be too expensive.

Whilst I agree with the principal, I have just booked a holiday abroad for next winter. Two weeks in an all-inclusive has cost me less / about the same than a self-catering cottage in the UK - IN JANUARY!!!!! It has cost a lot less than two weeks self-catering in the UK at any time it will be possibly sunny and dry (which is what I will be getting abroad). Where people have a choice, they are going to opt for abroad, and that will simply fuel more struggles in the UK hospitality industry. The cottage that I stayed in in September, when I looked to rebook it the week I got back - had doubled in price for the same period. So I left it.

Privatisation isn't us paying, it's private companies which are run on a profit and loss basis delivering the service, as long as utter incompetents aren't tasked with negotiations (like PFI & Labour) then I can't see the issue.

Going from investment banking to working for the NHS 10 years ago was an utter joke. The waste and incompetence which was just shrugged off with the phrase 'but we've always done it like this', the drive to streamline and improve is always met with complaints and there are always issues as why the staff can't do it the easier, less wasteful way. They're actually listened to too which is part of the problem.

shreddies - I was out last night having a meal at a restaurant and it was so busy they were turning people away. Afterwards went to my local theatre and that was full as well. There are still plenty of people who have money to spend.

Politicians of all colours are only in it for themselves. I’m sure some start with high ideals, then jump through mental hoops to self justify whatever their stance is.

The tories have been pro-privatisation for decades, but I believe the start of the mental and social assault began with the anti Gulf war demonstrations under Labour. No one knows exact numbers who travelled to London, ubut I do recall the media decreasing the number with each new report. We are probably down to three men and a dog turned up! Despite the massive protests the war happened and we ended up with the current dreadful state of affairs worldwide. The end result was that ‘the people’ learned protest is pointless, the Government will do what they want, and there is fuck all any of us can do about it. It’s no wonder so many people feel completely disenfranchised, including me.

Labour will probably win a general election IF they get the media on their side and play to strengths rather than attacking the opposition , but anyone who thinks it will make a difference to the trough lining that takes place in Whitehall is naive.

@Madamecastafiore you do understand what happens in the US under their privatised system right? Millions can’t get insurance so if they get sick, lose everything including their homes.

Yanbu

Tories are morally repugnant, they have destroyed the country, feathered their own nests and literally killed people with Victorian poverty levels.

Truss et al should be up on charges, there should be a general strike. This government needs to be brought down now.

Privatisation isn't us paying, it's private companies which are run on a profit and loss basis delivering the service,

So who will pay for the service the private companies are providing ?

You do understand there are lots of different healthcare models throughout the world driven by private companies not just the one in the US don't you?

Birmabrite the same way it's financed now. TAXES!

In real, inflation-adjusted terms, they're not.

I've no idea why posters think we would get a European style insurance system when the history of the UK for the past 30 years makes it abundantly clear that we'd get the worst shitty aspects of the US system, run by fucking Cerco.

Parts of the NHS are already privatised, Virgin have contracts providing healthcare in parts of the U.K., E.g. Devon