To wonder if Labour actually will be any better?

[Baabaagreysheep]

I think like most people I am keen to see the back of the current bunch, but I am not confident that anything will massively change for the better. Maybe that’s a bit pessimistic, but I feel that while some things will improve some will get worse - and some sort of at the same time, so I’m expecting my salary to go up but also my workload to go up!

Thinking back to when Labour were last in power it was another world, really. Interested in views.

We can see Labour in action in this current climate at this time already. In Wales.

There’s no need to go back to the 90s and if you do you may as well go back to the 70s as it’s more comparable in terms of events.

As someone who lives in Wales, and has just finished reading back to back articles on Betsi Cadwaladr special measures, and Drakefords hapless tackling of the situation and a business specialist stating the financial business drain on the 20mph speed limits coming in Sept, forgive me, If I do not share the Red Saviour mindset with some people.

I for one don’t think anything is going to magically change overnight, it takes time. Look how different things are today compared to 14 years ago for instance.

As a genuine questions, what do you forsee Labour doing differenlty and better? What specific things do you think they will change, to make UK life better?

What do you think has improved in Wales under Labour for even longer?

Easier to list the things that have got worse

• Special measures in Mulitple NHS trusts
• Literacy and comprehension rates in children lowest in the uk
• £135m spent to shelve a much needed m4 relief road
• £50m spent on an airport now worth half that
• Public funds used to purchase festival field
• 20mph speed limits nationwide costing £33million and Billions estimated to be lost in business
• increased in 33% of Senedd members
• Council Tax re bracketing, which will hit millions of people
• Banning the sale of books and paper during the lockdows
• shelving essential road upgrades to rural communites as a green pledge

All this has been acheived with 10% spending per head excess compared to the rest of the UK. So, Welsh labour spends more, for worse outcomes!

I’m expecting the actual issues to take precedent rather than the distractions of personalities. I think that the corporate donors that are clearly at the forefront of the mind of every Tory in power (note Nadines public plea at the beginning of the end for Boris) who makes policy will change, not disappear, but change. The optimist in me hopes they align with the countries interests as well as their own (which I believe are unavoidable completely). The political culture needs change. The tories have literally nothing left to offer.

Getting back to a political party that takes their obligations seriously and respects the codes that politicians have operated under for decades without constantly trying to circumnavigate them or twist them to suit their personal objectives.

My objective is less about wanting Labour in power and more about wanting the tories far away from it. I think they’re kleptocrats and dangerous.

Here you go.

https://labourlist.org/2023/05/labour-manifesto-2024-election-what-policies-npf-party/

I don’t know enough about Wales to have anything approaching an informed opinion on it. I do know that I can wholeheartedly look at the country under thirteen years tories and struggle to find one thing they have improved.

This is a more contemporaneous example than another leader with different policies in the 90s

(although interesting people forget to mention Labour and the winter of discontent which got them out in the 70s)

I find it concerning and that’s before you get to Drakeford’s gender fuelled misogyny.

How can Labour have a spectacularly bad performance when it’s in opposition to a government with a 70+ majority?

*Here you go.

labourlist.org/2023/05/labour-manifesto-2024-election-what-policies-npf-party/*

Read to the first bulletpoint on energy and besides wondering how they are going to invest 28 bn whilst at the same time cutting cost, stopped reading at this:

More than double onshore wind capacity, triple solar capacity and quadruple offshore wind capacity

So offshore wind farms are a disaster in other countries such as the Netherlands. They cost a fortune to setup and maintain, are very inefficient to run and in the long run don't seem to be worth it. Is Labour looking at experiences these countries have before committing?
Solar energy: the Netherlands have more privately owned solar panels than any other west european country. As it turns out, brilliant if you can use all the energy during the day, but you can't store it and on very sunny days all solar panels are disconnected from the energy network as it would cause the energy network to overload. Is Labour also planning on redoing the complete electrical grid? Because the Dutch government has just reached that conclusion.

I would like to see expert opinion on these plans. The ones above don't sounds feasible to be honest. Except the one for more nuclear power plants, but do people realise this?

Wales isn’t the UK. Comparing devolved government with national government is apples and oranges.

Ok - That is a word salad of idealogical thinking.

Zero detail, just high level, blue sky thinking

• 'Have iron-clad fiscal rules'

What on earth does that mean? It is just waffle, endless voter pleasing waffle.

• Crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance

How?

• 'Within the decade we will halve the level of violence against women and girls, halve incidents of knife crime, raise confidence in every police force to its highest levels and reverse the collapse in the proportion of crimes solved'

The Labour run Capital is doing a grand job of knife crime reduction!

• 'Make misogyny a hate crime '

Says the man that can not define a woman!

• 'Support the principle of Clean Air Zones…However, they must be phased in carefully…and should be accompanied with a just transition plan'

ULEZ nationwide! Excellent for the working class! We all own electric cars!

'Abolish the House of Lords' One I could get behind, but Turkeys voting for Christmas here!

Of course there’s no detail because the Tories have form for stealing Labour policies. The detail will be in the manifesto when there’s o danger of that happening.

No they don’t. Not just for this, there’s been a fair few other examples on the thread

The fact that Tories still have any popularity at all given how bad people seem to think they have performed.

The fact that Labour havn't been close to winning a GE for around 15 years.

Labour were poor in debates etc during covid, especially re the 3 million excluded that could have been a gift to Labour had they highlighted the problems - they could have gained a lot of traction, but all we got was the usual woolly, fact-free, "opposition" in Parliament, no proper debates, no proper challenges. Very poor performance indeed as the Labour leader and shadow Chancellor proved they hadn't a clue and didn't understand the reasons why so many were excluded!

Given how so many people seem to be unhappy and hating the Tories, they're not that far behind in opinion polls - if everyone is so unhappy or if Labour had credible alternative policies, they'd be miles behind.

Ok, that reads as 'I have brilliant plans but I am not going to tell you but just trust me'

Whilst at the same lying through their teeth about the conflict between sex and gender.

They lie, why trust them?

I hope Labour do get in if only so I don't have to listen to the constant moaning about the Torys (not that will end). I have no problem with people disagreeing with govt policies and they have got plenty wrong but the BS of how they are just lining rich people and corporations pockets is just objectively rubbish - individual taxes are higher than they were under labour (who only brought in the 50% rate months before they were voted out), corporate tax is almost back where it was but the decreases were offset by other changes so were never really as high as they looked and the increase in tax legislation in the last 15 years has been unbelievable, there is basically very little tax planning that can be done any more - which is fine but doesn't really chime with the evil corporate multinational narrative. There is more and more money pumped into the NHS which can never be criticised and if you mention changing it basically you must be setting up a US style system because of course there is no other option.
I hope things are better but honestly have no idea where the money will come from, you can only get so much money from the 'rich', anyone who earns over £150k generally pays 40% effective rate on their income already. VAT on private schools is another thing supposedly paying for education changes but in reality it won't raise any money because there will be an increase in children needing places.
I wish it was a 1997 scenario with lots of hope but I just can't see it.