Why won't any political party focus or help the squeezed middle

[Winterday1991]

Off the back of another thread, has got me thinking about the next general election.

Why is there not a party that will focus on the middle earners in the squeezed south east , where both partners work full time, who are struggling juggling mortgages, cost of childcare and self fund everything and are over threshold for any help or subsidies ie child benefit, cost of living payments, free childcare via universal credit?

We are a middle/highish income family and are just so sick of paying into the system and getting nothing back! The amount of tax we pay is insane, certainly not anywhere near value for money. Labour just seem to want to focus on single parent families and those on universal credit.

Any party who focuses on the middle will surely win the election?

It is easier for you to earn a higher income in the coming years.. how are you supposed to jump from household income of £30k to £150k without doing it in stages.
And it is easier to scale up your career if there are two parents as opposed to one..

What you should be focusing on is earning more money rather than trying to attack those who have less than guy.

@Winterday1991 "where is the father of your child" ... maybe he's dead? Maybe he disappeared.
Your attitude is repulsive

What are your working hours? 9-5? 8-4?

my friend, single mum, works for a big supermarket. She does 40hrs a week Tuesday - Sunday.

Her guaranteed day off is Monday. Shes requested either weekend day repeatedly and told no.

due to the nature of her minimum wage job she has to book Tuesday - Friday full days for nursery.

However her boss might only give her 4hr shifts on Tuesday, 6hrs on Friday. Then two 12 hr shifts Thursday and Saturday.

So she’s having to pay for childcare she isn’t always using for work AND pay for baby sitters/alternative holiday care when nursery shuts over the holidays /plead with family to help her work weekends and when dad doesn’t have the child.

she can’t chop and change the hours at the nursery to save that money or she’ll lose her nursery place.

If she worked in a higher paying job, yes she would pay more in terms of the childcare cost overall but she wouldn’t be forced to waste money on childcare she doesn’t need to keep a nursery place in order to do the job required and be at the mercy of her bosses erratic shift choices.

it’s only fair women like my friend are getting subsidies for childcare.

Not according to ONS.

Not forgetting that a household with 2 parents can work around each other to share pick ups/drop offs. Lone parents have to do everything!

OP won't care about that @Beezknees. They are too busy judging those low income families for their poor choices in life and how unfair it is that they get any help as they don't deserve it.

I've met plenty people with the same views as OP and I find it bizarre that they blame people not the government and their policies.

These seemly educated high earners actually sneer at those less fortunate as if it's their own fault they don't earn enough money and they must all be wallowing in cash from their hard earned tax.
Such bollocks and so entitled

perhaps you should work out what percentage of your income goes on childcare for ONE child

Vs the minimum wage which is around 19,000 a year with the 80% reduction for ONE child .

You’ll find that they’re very similar percentages. surely that is fair? Paying out the same percentage of your income in order to go to work 🤔

I'm leaving this thread now as it's just so upsetting and disheartening.

Yes. The entitlement you display is.

Uc is not generous as the more you earn the more they take. Pittance really

Pensions and home ownership is a massive difference. Assuming you're in good health, you will have no rent or mortgage to pay, plus a private pension and an asset you can sell. Whereas the mum at 16 with a 3 bed social housing home mentioned earlier will have no private pension, will be paying rent forever and nothing you sell. Assuming you don't have to sell your home to pay for care, but that's a whole other debate

Someone on 95k being envious of benefit claimants really is testament to how much the Tories have fucked the economy.

We have a combined income of approx £90 k-£100k depending on bonuses etc.

I think a lot of people who class themselves as squeezed middle forget about things that they may consider ‘essential’ but if you were on a lower income, you wouldn’t be able to afford- paying for a school residential trip, paying for a tutor for your child, music lessons, Clark’s shoes, a bottle of wine in your shop, nice food for the weekend, a cup of coffee whilst your child is at swimming lessons, a replacement blazer when a child outgrows it, a new pair of wellies when they are outgrown, grabbing lunch out as you’ve been longer than you expected out, accepting a birthday invite knowing you can afford to get a present, running an errand which is out of your way and will cost petrol, putting on the heating when you’re a bit chilly when you come in, buying the brands you prefer. I grew up really poor and all those things would have been unaffordable luxuries. I feel incredibly lucky that I live as we do as I definitely didn’t growing up and I never take it for granted. I don’t feel like the squeezed middle at all, I feel like I’m lucky to have the security that I know I can afford a new washing machine if mine breaks down.

I volunteer with new immigrants to the country, and I suggest some posters on this thread may wish to do some voluntary work in their own communities to get some perspective.

Tbf, though, I know a fair few people in, London that live in houseshares well into their 30s. Renting on your own could be difficult on those salaries.

Free school meals is only if you earn very little or nothing. Most on UC don't qualify for them.

Do you have a cleaner? An iphone? A computer and your kids have an iPad? Run a car? Take Ubers home on occasion? Kids do extra curricular activities that you pay for instead of just free school ones? John Lewis furniture? Get take aways maybe once a month?

I'm a single parent and I work full time because I have no choice. I also do everything in my house. Friends who are married have no idea how much I struggle because I am embarrassed and hide it. I don't do any of those things above that you probably take for granted. I don't get benefits because my income is over 16,000 a year. I also don't get marriage tax allowances.

How would you pay your mortgage if you would be better than ff on UC. There is no housing element for home owners. Reality is you wouldn't be better off on UC. You would be looking at getting evicted for non payment if f your mortgage. Then trying to scrape a deposit to find a private rent. Or in temporary B&B or similar until you made your way up the housing list.
UC claimants are not at fault here. The governments childcare system is.

I think you have to be earning less than say £700 a month to get free meals once the free meals end in year 3 (presuming you are in England). I think you are mistaken especially if you have a partner who works. If you are single then yes you would qualify. I wouldn't give up your job if single and rely on UC to be honest.

For me, the issue isn't with working single mothers being supported. It's people like my mate's sister who hasn't worked since her teens (always had a partner paying) and now has two kids, both unplanned, and smokes weed all day.

She has her own place and seems to be able to afford to go to the pub and buy weed. Her partner is defo not funding it as he hasn't worked in a decade and lives with his mum. He also seems to be getting some kind of benefit as is regularly in the pub and smokes a lot of weed too.

I suspect he's claiming for ill mental health as I know he used to have depression (were in same friend circle in our teens) but he did used to have steady jobs, was a supervisor at a few shops etc. Now he's just on the PlayStation all day and smoking weed.

I don't know the exact ins and outs but I'm pretty sure they're both blagging the system somehow as they both have money and haven't worked in absolutely years. It's cases like this that make me sceptical. I rather suspect he'd get a job if he had too and she wouldn't have had two kids if she'd had to support them herself.

@Crochetgril23 I am a bit confused by your post. I can understand not working until the twins are at school due to childcare but not working until year 3 so you can qualify for the free school meals? What a weird reason not to work.

ETA if single you get pestered to work after age 3 so might find it hard to not work. If not single probably won't if partner earns a certain amount.

This is known to be fucking the economy so I don’t know why people can’t see it. State dependency at its highest. A minority now making net contributions. Marginal tax rates of between 70% and 100% on higher rate tax payers. People can’t compute this very well; not even the chancellor who has been told this is slowing productivity and tax take. People won’t work for free.