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?

I definitely think students should be able to study further afield...some kind of widespread social student housing would be preferable to private landlords with large portfolios though imo.

Universities are trying to build more accommodation so might get there at some. However still need rental sector after uni for those moving around with careers still - no point studying and then going back home to parents house and finding no opportunities.

But the private rental sector does need looking at IMO.

Increase inheritance tax and bring in legislation to stop the various ways people, usually the incredibly wealthy, avoid it

It should be paid to some extent from anything above about £10k.
Something like:
£10k to £100k at 10‰
$100k to £200k at 20%
200k to 400k at 30%
400k to 1.5m at 40‰
1.5m up at 50%

Make it easier for the tax to be paid once property is sold, rather than people having to find the money for IHT before they can release the proceeds. It could be settled from the proceeds before solicitors release the funds.

@MariePaperRoses

Just a few points on your post:

"Fill in the pot holes."
Where is the money coming from?

"Abolish the stupid 20mph default speed limit in Wales."
As a default it does seem silly although it makes sense in built up areas especially around schools.

"Get Khan out of London before he completely destroys it. "
That's up to the electorate in a democracy.

Stop foreign aid.
It's £12.5 billion of which half is used in the UK for migrants entering the UK. So for £6 billion you get soft international power projection and influence which is not a bad investment.

"Invest in the police. Get rid of Special constables and train and employ more police officers."
Yep I would agree with this especially as civil unrest becomes a bigger issue as the economy tanks.

"Invest in the military."
Where is the money coming from?

"Invest in the Space Agency. "

"Stop the dinghy arrivals and deport them
immediately back to France which is a safe country. "
What if they refuse to go and France refuses to take them back (why wouldn't they?). Do you just dump men, women and children in the Channel to drown?

"Fitness test for job seekers claimants who must participate in x amount of hours each week in litter picking."
Ethics aside of people being forced to do this (disabled, unwell, carers etc) and aside from how much litter picking is needed- how the hell do you enforce this?

"Grants to help the impoverished have access to an allotment to grow their own fruit or vegetables."
I agree that there should be more allotments but not something I would see as a priority issue.

Why only below pension age though?

Social housing and multiple home ownership would be the ones I'd go for too!

My other initiative would be a massive programme of retrofitting insulation, street by street. We have so much Victorian housing and to fit insulation house by house is prohibitive. You could save costs by doing it in bulk, fitting solar panels and heat pumps as you went etc.

Do you think that all students live in properties bought by their parents? Ever heard of student landlords?

@CapEBarra

"Make politicians accountable for their lies.

Make newspapers fact check their stories.

Drain the swamp and restore trust the press and politics. I don’t have to like them, but I should be able to believe them."

+++

But politicians have to lie because if they didn't then no one would vote for them and they would simply have been a candidate rather than a politician.

Look let's say there are two candidates:
Candidate A promises more spending on popular areas eg NHS but it will mean higher taxes for everyone.
Candidate B promises more spending on popular areas but says (ie lies) that they will get the money from some ill defined concept such as "cutting waste", ""closing tax loopholes " or "growing the economy " - but definitely not increasing taxes.

Guess which one gets voted in? It's not the politicians fault for lying but the electorate for voting for "the cake and eat it".

People need security and stability. They make friends and have a community. Their home has memories. They many have invested financially and established a garden.
A home isn't just 4 walls.

And that’s why I said reviewed every 5 years. But I think if you want the advantages of social housing over private rentals you have to accept that it won’t mean a particular house for life( and beyond).

Free NHS dentistry, and properly paid dentists so there are enough of them.

@rumnraisinrocks I really don’t agree with this, you’re asking for things to be taxed twice.

ie. Say the inheritance is a house, the money that paid for it came from income that had been taxed. Then you’re wanting it to be taxed again, highly, upon the death of the person. It is their money and they should be able to do as they wish; they have worked hard and paid tax.

There could also be more problems with settlement of estates, deficits, and homelessness caused by this so I don’t think it’s a good call and punishes people for working hard to build wealth.

My English teacher, who I respected enormously, did National Service. He described the tedium, the pettiness, the bullying, the abuse, the humiliations, the capricious nastiness, and much more, in angry and excruciating detail. He described it as 2 years stolen from his life.

And the biggest liars get the most votes.
Boris Johnson.

@SensationalSusie can we stop with the correlation between “hard work” and wealth. It is utter bullshit. We have a house that’s worth over £1 million not because we’ve worked harder than our friends but because we made some savvy choices about house purchases and got lucky.

There are many millions of people in this country sat on huge wealth - and many millions who aren’t. It’s not because they worked harder - it’s partly down to life choices and partly down to luck.

This government has played the narrative for years that those with ££ are hard working and those without are lazy. It makes me so fucking angry.

Education - massive change to the state education system as Finland did, should be one of the top priorities.

Hear hear!

@DynamicK I am with @SayingwhatIreallythink

Social housing should not be some cushy set up provided by the government to allow people to put down roots and plant gardens.

It should be an emergency situation there for people who are struggling and in dire need. There while it is required and given up when circumstances improve.

I know of someone who was socially housed when in dire need, but was never reviewed. So they stayed there throughout the completion of two degrees, when in employment and when married. Rent £300 a month, annual household income £50-60k… they got an enormous discount via right to buy and were able to buy a 300k house via this.

So again, I reiterate social housing should be needs based and reviewed every few years or you are going to have people taking the absolute piss as they are at the moment. Right to buy needs to go too.

What about those who are able-bodied but have learning disabilities, ASCs or MH issues that would make it difficult or make their issues worse if they had to make a "contribution"?

Sounds horribly like "workfare" to me.

I completely disagree. Social housing should be part of the fabric of society and should definitely not just be for emergencies. That's certainly not how the system was created and I think it should be available to anyone within a certain range of lower paid but much required jobs.

Cap the obscene ‘wages’ paid to footballers.

I know of someone who was socially housed when in dire need, but was never reviewed. So they stayed there throughout the completion of two degrees, when in employment and when married. Rent £300 a month, annual household income £50-60k… they got an enormous discount via right to buy and were able to buy a 300k house via this.

Good for them, they became well educated and got a good job. I don't agree with Right to Buy, certainly not when the social housing asset is not replaced, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone their good fortune in this way. Society should not have to be a race to the bottom.

I would say social housing but realistically we would not be able to build enough of it quickly enough.

I think the government should fund cooperatives where groups of individuals buy up housing and rent it out at affordable rates earmarked to local incomes. There could be student cooperatives as well. Some of them could be for sale too. Crucially if its for sale, it should only be allowed to be resold to people on the median local income or below. This would help the government buy up those ex BTL rentals at a quicker rate (cos there would be some private funds involved in this initiative). Apparently half of landlords want to sell in the next few years so this is a good opportunity.

I’d say reduce the population over coming decades by 10-20% (and no, not by killing people…)

The population density in the UK is too high, and the quality of life for all would be improved were it smaller.

Incentivise people without medical issues to not have children in their twenties, to only have two, and to gain the skills first that will allow them to support them well.

And how do you propose to resolve the demographic crisis?

The birth rate is really low in the UK and in most countries in the world.