To think the Tories are clever?

[ClassicLib]

They are introducing a massive pension tax cuts for their rich mates in the city, and selling it by claiming that it might also persuade a few rich NHS consultants to delay their retirement to their second homes in France for a couple of years.
And who is paying for this? Why you & me, of course, because our basic rate & higher rate tax allowances are being frozen until 2028. This is actually a massive income tax increase for ordinary working people, of course. And the media have fallen for their spin.
That’s smart politics…

I have no idea whether or not they're clever but they know what a woman is, which is more than can be said for Labour, the Lib Dems or the Greens. And that's a pretty low bar.

Consultants leaving is a huge issue for a workforce already suffering with huge shortages. Personally I don't care if it means x person will also benefit if it means we might retain these much needed staff for a bit longer. To add these 'mega rich' HCPs would be even richer abroad, pension is something that makes staying in this country even a little bit appealing in the shit show that is the NHS and their real term pay cuts year on year.

So that means they have carte blanche to mess up the entire country? 🙄

Is this seriously all you care about?

In answer to the OP - I think most of us can see there's no real benefit so nothing to get excited about. Just waiting for the next election

I have no idea whether or not they're clever but they know what a woman is

I've come across this sentiment a few times now and I always think surely it's easier to say you're going to vote for the tories anyway.

They could have modified the NHS pension scheme like they did for the Judges. But no - give their rich mates a tax break under cover of helping the NHS - it's a serious con. - I wouldn't expect any different of course.

Exactly.
A woman is someone you punch and break their nose, according to Boris' dad. I think we're all ok without that kind of "knowledged"

The bankers will be absolutely delighted, an extra £800k to funnel off into pensions, delicious.

I know the trans issue is important but actually it's not an excuse to screw us all over. The Tories don't give a fuck about anyone but themselves.

Oh but they know what a women is. Don't be so gullible.

If you think they are dicks, don’t vote for them in the General Election and remind people of all their multiple, evil bastard, ills.

They are going to go HARD on ‘ordinary working people’ and the lie that is ‘illegal’ immigration.

Canvass, refute and challenge.

@Neededanewuserhandle And according to Kwarteng a woman is "somebody like my mother" truncated but goes on to say who can give birth/capacity to give birth. It would save some women a lot of mental acrobatics if they just said they were tory regardless.

The pension tax regime is absurdly over complicated. And there is a limit on how much can be paid in each year (which is low for the highest earners) so rich bankers will NOT be able to chuck in huge contributions

This government isn’t much cop but this is a sensible idea

Yep the Tories know what a woman is. Someone to screw over whilst their rich old (mainly male) mates get richer.
Anyone that votes tory with the reason being 'they know what a woman is' is not supportive of the millions of women who struggle every day.

That didn't take long 🙄

I think they thought they were being clever but this hasn't gone down well today. I think it's backfired.

Now we seem to have a banking crisis on the horizon although evidently uk banks are thought to be ok. If not then it could get very interesting and horrible.

Exactly this. People on very high incomes can only put £10k a year into a pension from April (up from £4k).

NHS consultants tend to have large pensions because of the NHS pension scheme, which means they’re not super-high earners (still high though, obviously) but have very high employer pension contributions.

Indeed. Conservative Central Office are certainly on the ball tonight with ‘operation deflect’.

Consultants leaving is a huge issue for a workforce already suffering with huge shortages.

I thought it was a Tory Chancellor Osborne who brought in the changes that managed to hit the consultants pensions so many did early retirement - there were more than a few Guardian headlines saying this.

So they've just reversed something they brought in to try and get back or keep the consultants when waiting lists are really bad.

Perhaps they could have targeted the changes a bit more - but it was them who brought it in and them who are now changing it.

Guardian: Don’t blame senior doctors. The NHS pensions standoff is politicians’ fault

They are certainly clever. Sadly they are also utter cunts with it.

I am not a rich city type so I don't know how much use this will be for them but I would have thought it's much more a benefit to the prosperous professional rather than the really wealthy.

For a start there's still the (raised) limit on how much really high earners can put in each year. Then there's the fact that if you are tying money up in a pension you are giving up quite a lot of control, especially on when you can access it. For that to work you need to get significant tax benefit. But the amount you can get tax free from your pension has been frozen at the current rate so people with over £1M won't have any greater benefit from that. The other big tax benefit is that for higher/additional tax payers you are likely to save more on tax on the way in than you pay on the way out. But anyone putting millions would want to be drawing out amounts that would take them to those thresholds anyway. There's the inheritance tax benefit if you die before 75 but I would have thought the really wealthy would have better inheritance plans than relying on dying early and the government not taking that away.

So all in all I think this is probably of most benefit to people earning low 6 figures who are looking at building £1-£2M pension. Of course they are well off but I don't think this will have much impact on the plans of Sunak, Hunt and their mates. But I may well have missed something.

This is just complete nonsense!
So it's ok for them not to care at all about people who can't afford to heat their homes, clothe their kids or eat? To demonise people who are so desperate they cross the channel in small boats , And it's ok for them to put pressure on disabled people , older people and people with children to go to work. Just because some of them use a definition of a woman that you like.
If that is the only reason you plan to vote for them then I despair about the British public.

I didn't say they didn't bring it in in the first place? I don't think it makes them appear good or whatever else because of it, but I do think its good for the reasons I stated. Is that okay?

I do wonder how the country will survive without the taxation of high earners.

If you earn £200k in the uk you take home £116k Taxation and NI takes the rest this looks like a serious amount of taxation.

Taxation pays for state pensions, benefits, education defence etc.

The change to pensions is hardly a tax break

You are misunderstanding the legislation high earners can only pay in 10k

@Pythonhyphen well I really didn't mean to upset you .

I was trying to make a wider point that built on your point - that yes it does benefit the NHS consultant but reason it was ever a problem was the Tory's policy in the first place - they've encounter a unforeseen problem and reversed their policy at time its a real issue it's hardly devious plan territory like the thread implies.

Clearly I should be trying to forget all previous political history and look at how that got us here and why they may have done this and just bask in Pythonhyphen utter genius utterings .