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?

You don't get all of that unless you're on an extremely low income!

What is your situation that you put into the calculator? The calculator is accurate usually but are you single? Renting or own? How many children?

I’m not sure why I’m replying to someone who thinks those needing help are ‘shirkers’, but anyway…
Tories made the mess. The only alternative is Labour, who always make things better for ordinary people anyway, but I didn’t say vote Labour. I said vote for whoever gets/keeps a Tory out. Tories are the worst possible outcome.

That's too much preaching. Op has a right to express her frustration like anyone else. Maybe after working hard, in a stressful environment, she wants a bit more to relax, go on holiday or whatever makes her happy. Too much of virtue signaling in your post.

You can shout it from the roof tops but still people will think that, because they think they know better despite never living on benefits. It's been made so obvious on here that whatever people on UC say about how difficult it it, many steadfastly refuse to believe it. The right wing media have played a blinder and the gullible have fallen for it hook,line and sinker.

OP has a right to express her frustration and others are entitled to respond however we want. Same rules apply to everyone.

You are absolutely wrong about that. There are a lot of misconceptions about UC out there. I suggest you look up the detail.

Clearly I'm doing something wrong as a claimant! I haven't got a free house, council tax discount, dental care or school meals/uniforms. Not to mention my £95k salary equivalent! I'm being cheated. 😂

Have a quick go at this OP

https://ifs.org.uk/toolsanddresources/wheredooyoufitt_in

Your household is nowhere near the squeezed middle.

So OP should shut her mouth? Op, best is you start looking for work opportunities in higher income countries because in UK, you need to keep your mouth shut as someone el se has it worse than you.

You don't just get money if you choose to quit. Either you'd need to show why you are unable due to disability, or seeking a job, or of it's due to young kids it would be short term while they are home. You'd not get the very significant pension contributions you currently get, and trying to build savings would reduce your UC. It's not sunshine and roses.

So what is the issue here? Not saying all people on UC are lazy or non working, but surely it means everyone in UC at leaving above their means, wouldn't it be better to look at a long term solution rather than putting that many people on benefits that tops their wages up?

It's because low wages are not enough for one adult to bring up children. Most people on UC are single parents. In an ideal world, we raise wages and force NRPs to pay fair child maintenance, but the government would rather keep wages low and the taxpayers topping it up so their rich mates aren't inconvenienced.

Maybe after working hard, in a stressful environment, she wants a bit more to relax, go on holiday or whatever makes her happy

Lots of people work hard, in stressful environments but only get minimum wage and a zero hour contract. They too would like holidays and ‘whatever makes them happy’. But instead are likely struggling to make ends meet, going without meals, walking miles to avoid transport costs etc etc. It’s all relative.

See, it’s fine for the OP to have a moan. Of course it is. But she’s not squeezed middle. Not by a long shot. And she can’t expect people earning far less to be able to empathise. She’s not really said what it is she wants - more childcare funding, to pay less tax, or what?

This has turned into a real ugly thread. I have posted multiple times about being a child in poverty and reliant on benefits (but didn’t actually receive them as my parents spent them on alcohol). My posts are ignored as it doesn’t suit the narrative that a poor kid could actual do well. So much privilege here - I can only imagine you have a comfortable upbringing and that why you feel annoyed.

I am “squeezed” as I don’t have enough extra than I did 10 years ago … my kids’ life is a million miles than mine when I was a child.

Exactly! Is everything else, help for housing, free uniforms, free school meals, energy funding payments cost of living payments funding for kids trips, childcare from an early age, and no it's not begrudging this for kids but come on.

I’m a single mum with a UC top up and the only thing I receive help with from that list is a cost of living payment and childcare. You have to have a very low income indeed to qualify for the other things. I think less than £7k or something for free school meals.

There is no much incentive in working hard and end up a couple of hundred quid better off than someone not working or working only part time.

I don’t agree. I upped my hours at the start of this year to nearly full time and although I might only be a couple of hundred better off it’s still very much to my benefit. I’m paying my student loan off quicker, I now earn enough to take my stbxh off the mortgage, I’m paying lots more into my pension.

@lavender2023 neither you or the OP are the “squeezed middle”. Next joke please.

Interesting isn't it. As a single mum in a professional job, my posts are often ignored too because I don't fit the stereotype.

Op has a right to express her frustration like anyone else. Maybe after working hard, in a stressful environment, she wants a bit more to relax, go on holiday or whatever makes her happy.

Don't you think everybody feels like that? But at 95K there's far more chance of achieving it, even if it's a 3 star hotel not a 5 star or 1 week instead of 2. Imagine being a nurse in a stressful job, do you think they don't want a holiday or to relax? What about somebody who has to look after their chronically sick or disabled spouse/ child/parent, don't they want one? Fat chance. What about people on minimum wage jobs, don't they want one? Many people work their arses off and still can't afford those things at all.

95K is three times the average and not "the middle", squeezed or otherwise and pleading poverty on such an income quite naturally puts people's backs up.

https://ukandeu.ac.uk/how-has-the-work-visa-system-changed-since-brexit/

Majority student and work. For work top visa is NHS/care . As mentioned before our second most productive sector in the UK is higher education so obviously cannot kill the golden goose.

Number of long-term work visas sponsored in Q1 of 2023 by top ten industries
Industry For entry In country
Human Health and Social Work Activities 36,816 22,019
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities 4,338 3,911
Information and Communications 4,106 4,386
Financial and Insurance Activities 2,599 2,394
Manufacturing 2,255 1,113
Accommodation and Food Service Activities (Hospitality) 2,014 1,446
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1,327 486
Education 1,269 1,624
Construction 823 532
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 772 1,097The visa data provides a breakdown of the number of long-term work visas sponsored by industry. This is different to the number of visas issued as it takes time for applications to be processed.
In Q1 of 2023, the health and social work sector sponsored 62% of long-term work visas for entry and 54% of in country applications. 46% of long-term work visa applications for entry were for care workers and senior care workers; 12% were for nursing roles.

Wrong. So very wrong. Which is why I dislike people limiting their own children massively. I have a huge problem with it. I was the same as you and homeless at 16. Got nothing. Back then too young for help rent wise and before social services would get involved at 18. In fact my pet hate is pity parties of sorrow - be pro active. My issue is that op can find it hard. We actively discourage a strong work ethic now and hate success. Anyone who is successful must be privileged. Utter bollocks. Tax bottlenecks and the high rates of taxation are a huge issue now. Which is why the chancellor has been told this by his own advisors and the ONS. The level of expectation is unreal. A poster earlier in the thread actually said it was immoral to put all earnings over 100k into a pension. Actively expecting people to pay tens of thousands more when they lose CCH and PTA. That is mental. No-one is going to do that. The expectation is they should - all the while telling everyone else how they work part time because of financial choice. It’s the entitlement that annoys people and rightly so.

Any family on 60 to 100k generally has a similar income in total after tax as those on uc.

This is one of the stupidest things I've ever read.

DW and I earn way less than that and are on far more than UC. It took me 30s to google that fact. How do people become so certain of things which aren't true.

That equal applies to people on benefits attacking people working damn hard and seeing their standard of living go down year on year

We all need to join together against the super rich/big corporations