To ask what one or two policies you think could make the biggest difference to the U.K.?

[whatkatydid2013]

To me the big one is social housing. I feel like if we could build up a large supply of social housing at reasonable rates all over the country the benefits would be massive. It would make life affordable for many more people and lead to them being less likely to need in work benefits. The affordable rents would cover maintenance and could keep large numbers of people in stable employment doing said maintenance (as well as creating administrative roles). It would make it less challenging to staff key worker roles in more expensive areas. In the short term I appreciate it would be a massive expense but it seems like in the long term it would cost less than our current system on a going basis and it would make many people a lot more financially secure. I find it disappointing that all main parties seem so focused on home ownership in their policy statements. I know there are many important policy areas but this just always feels like one that’s very central and totally glossed over by all parties. Maybe because there isn’t a quick, easy fix?

That's an excellent idea OP and I'd go one stage further and bring an end to multiple homeownership, to end the misery of being trapped in eye wateringly expensive rentals which often cost more than mortgage repayments.

So where will my student DS live if there isn’t enough Uni accommodation and no private rentals as multiple home ownership isn’t allowed?

To make every able bodied person make a positive contribution. We definitely aren't all in it together .

Eradicate crime and anti social behaviour.

Better social housing.

All dogs to be registered, chipped and DNA registered. All poo offences resulting in pts and huge fines for the owner.

LA inspecting private rentals and having recommended rents... linked to local house values and quality of the property.

Where possible, Government ministers having a professional background in the department they are "head" of... a health minister had been a doctor or hospital administrator, a defence minister that had served in the Forces, an education minister who had been a teacher... it wouldn't always be possible, but even some would help!

Better social housing.
Tougher action on social housing.
And, I know you said two but, free nursery placements so parents can go back to work.

Stricter tenancy legislation including max rent cost (and eg index it to inflation). This would stop people from seeing buy to lets as a quick way to get rich and stop house prices from increasing so much (on average, of course the last year has been an exception in that regard).

Tougher action on anti social behaviour that should say!

I’d go back to small local schools and reintroduce free dentistry and glasses.

Sorting out NHS dentistry!

Live at home and attend a uni locally?

There should be student digs provided for all students. Obviously this policy would be almost impossible to achieve but I’m thinking about some future time.
My two spent a lot of time in poor quality private rentals that cost more than their finance covered which we then had to cover.

Shat a brilliant way to destroy social mobility.

Free childcare.

Not allowing environmental protections to be chipped away at constantly and making more and faster strides towards reducing carbon emissions.

I think social housing is a good call. I would look at policies around integrated public transport across the country. I am in London and for all it’s faults TFL (Transport for London) does bring a degree of coordination and integration to the system eg The same season tickets / weekly and monthly fare caps apply across multiple modes of transport. So if I catch a bus, TFL Rail and the Tube in the same day each journey counts towards the daily fare cap and one the cap is reached you stop paying.
There are bus stops outside Tube stations, area not covered by Tube or TFL rail will often have good bus routes. There are interchange stations between tube lines and also between tube and TFL rail.

If you want people to drive less, first improve public transport

Free nursery places 100%

Teachers to have some kind of power when dealing with obstructive and anti social class individuals

If one's parents can afford to buy a second home solely as student digs for their child, they probably don't need to worry too much about social mobility

OP, the sad thing is that we had exactly what you describe in the 35 years after the war - until Thatcher introduced "right to buy"

Housing is the big one and I think that would be long overdue.

I think they should not ban sales of petrol and diesel cars in 2030, I think it is much too soon and it would be a disaster. Over one million jobs are in car manufacturing in the uk, the infrastructure for electric vehicles is not going to be ready and there are huge problems in the manufacture of batteries due to the long supply chains and no other country but the UK is doing this.

Instead of free nursery places I would allocate each family an allowance that they could either choose to use to fully fund nursery, or to pay one parent to stay at home for the preschool years.

Also massive yes to good quality, well run and affordable social housing.

I wouldn’t ban it exactly, but I’d restrict offering rental properties to professional housing companies rather than individuals. I’d also introduce long term rental contracts like they have in some European countries.

Minimium wage raised to a level where UC isn't required.

Rest of UC reduced. Massive increase in disability payments.

100% agree. Those that can have to. Those that can't get more.

A positive contribution doesn't have to mean a full time job.

All essential services to be state owned and run for service not profit. Water, power, gas, rail, phone, internet etc. Utilities perhaps a state option with private companies permitted to compete alongside.

Public transport to be made frequent, cheap, capacious, and fully integrated everywhere. Swiss transport ethos comes to the UK.