To think this, is how the Tories could win?

[madamreign]

Sunak is setting out his stall as pro-car:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/28/rishi-sunak-expected-to-limit-powers-of-councils-in-england-to-curb-car-use-20mph-speed-limit-traffic-camera-fines

This could actually swing it for him. People sink vast amounts of time and money into their cars, they're aspirational status symbols. The UK loves it's cars.

@Katharinablumwasinnocent There are an ever increasing number of people who wish to be the opposite sex taking away resources that are needed for people with cancer, taking resources from women needing HRT, taking resources from those who need life saving treatment for cosmetic procedures. Ruining your health does not improve long term outcomes for disturbed young people but it does take resources from people who would benefit. Does it really matter whether it is 200 or 2000 now when most political parties want to see it increase?

Everyone moans about the current government, even more so when they have been in power for years. Some people will be happy to vote for any change and others will want to see a credible alternative. What all parties need to worry about is how many voters will sit on their hands.

I'm expecting to see a hung parliament.

You’re missing the point, Clav. Darling acknowledged that money had to be saved and spending had to be cut. Nobody’s disputing that. Austerity was Tory ideology, Labour would have raised the money to decrease the deficit - which was paltry compared with today’s - without decimating public services.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_government_austerity_programme

Ok. But since people can come and go from MN it does seem a bit creepy that you’d research a poster and then accuse them.

And shills aren’t necessarily bots or new sign-ups. A lot of shills are very persistent.

malificent7 · Today 10:18

We are a bunch of dicks who deserve this government then...

I think you might be right there. Let’s just hope people stop reading the DM and start getting better informed come the next election.

sally037
Ban zero-hours contracts, end qualifying periods for basic working rights, and strengthen rights and legislation around the self-employed and 'self-employed'

Are you sure? 17 September -

LABOUR have been slated for dumping yet another key pledge to ban all zero-hour contracts.

According to a policy blueprint seen by the BBC, there is a ban proposed only for “exploitative” zero-hour contracts. If workers welcome flexibility themselves, this would not be prevented.
Only last week deputy leader Angela Rayner gave a “cast iron guarantee” that Labour would bring in a new bill to ban the contracts within 100 days of government if they win the General Election.
There are also reports that according to the party’s full policy programme – produced following a tense meeting of the National Policy Forum in July – that Labour is no longer committed to raising sick pay rates or extending it to the self-employed.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23794634.labour-panned-dumping-pledge-ban-zero-hour-contracts/

What, start reading the Guardian instead 🤣🤣🤣

Why can't people read a variety of sources? I read both The Guardian and the DM so I can decipher the facts and ignore the writer's own biased opinions. Admittedly, that doesn't leave much but constantly dismissing "the other side" is why we're in this mess.

To think this, is how the Tories could win?

No. Keir Starmer will give them the win.

BIossomtoes
Labour would have raised the money to decrease the deficit - which was paltry compared with today’s

2015
Ed Miliband called for responsibility over the deficit as he came under under pressure over his attitude to austerity and spending cuts from the nationalists and Greens...
Nicola Sturgeon demanded Miliband set out the scale of the public spending cuts he was planning if elected as she accused of him being Tory-lite.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/16/challengers-leaders-debate-ed-miliband-called-on-to-ease-stance-over-austerity

Interesting that PFI debt was kept 'off the books'. I see that the Labour government in 2009 were already planning to halve capital budgets in 2013-14;

15 July 2009
Public debt is due to reach 76.2% of GDP in 2013-14, from 43% in 2008-09, but these figures include only a tiny proportion of the borrowing undertaken under PFI.

Until now, PFI has been used mainly to fund large-scale, new-build projects, but in a bid to minimise the rise in aggregate debt, the government plans to halve capital budgets from £43.8bn in 2009-10 to £22bn in 2013-14.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/jul/15/pfi-public-facilities-over-budget

Whoever wins, I suspect it will be a hung parliament

If lowering car speeds outside schools and busy areas is all they have left, then oh well!

cardibach
‘The Green New Deal explained’

Land use and land ownership are an underlying and often overlooked driver of both social and environmental injustice in the United Kingdom. Addressing these injustices should be at the heart of any socialist Green New Deal.

socialist Green New Deal?

We're not voting for socialists are we?

We're not voting for socialists are we?

Some of us are.

Notonthestairs
As for claiming there was no negative impact from Brexit

Two of your three links relate to studies by the Centre for European Reform;

The Centre for European Reform is a think-tank devoted to making the European Union work better and strengthening its role in the world.

https://www.cer.eu/about

Ran out of money? How do you mean? The UK can't run out of money as it issues its own currency.

Austerity was a political choice which led to a decade of low growth.

Maybe

@Clavinova yes re PFI being off the government books

Often ignored but huge debt we’re still paying back

The fact you think austerity was a choice, just shows how stupid you are. You can’t just print money when you feel like it! There is such s thing as a debt ceiling. We borrow and service our debts, countries can’t borrow infinite amounts.
This mindset is exactly why I don’t trust Labour at all - most have no idea how to balance the books and run the country.

Labour will hike up taxes and spend money we don’t have to pay for ridiculous wasteful ‘green pledges’ that are hollow and meaningless. Whilst neglecting the things that really matter: growth and investment.

The economy is growing, there are plentiful jobs right now, all of that will be lost with an incompetent Labour government.

Stupid? Thanks for that. Shows the type of person you are resorting to insults, I was just debating and giving my opinion.

Balance the books? What, like this?

That won’t be the full picture as PFI is not included

It still exists now and we’re paying it back

The economy is growing, there are plentiful jobs right now, all of that will be lost with an incompetent Labour government.

This. The socialist vermin must be kept out of Number 10 at all costs.

In what way doesn't it work for ordinary people. We are slap bang in the middle when you talk incomes, location and we have one child. Sure I would like to see more money spent on education and health but I also don't want to pay more in tax (hello labour).

I think Rishi will get votes from people like me who want to see change but not paying more to fund labour socialist nightmare is also significantly important.

Things like being less anti-car or scrapping net zero also help to make it a reluctant vote for him.

What we need is a true party of the middle aiming to balance the books but also introduce policies that help to improve services the tax payers actually use!

My problem with austerity was it didn't hit the service we pay for but don't use and never will, rather it hit things important to us.

PFI still doesn’t take debt incurred under the Blair/Brown government to anything close to the dizzy heights achieved by this one. Truss wanted to borrow even more to fund tax cuts so there wouldn’t even have been anything to show for it. After her glorious 49 days the Tories can kiss goodbye to their reputation for fiscal management; the figures speak for themselves.

See, I’d actually have some respect for you all if you’d stop denying reality and making ridiculous allegations about what you imagine a Labour government would do. You all know we have the highest national debt since 1945 and the highest taxes since records began, The Telegraph’s telling you that, so why not admit it?

@sleepyscientist perhaps if Johnson didn’t rid the party of all the moderate Conservatives their policies would be more centrist.

Do people think the next Labour government will reduce debt?

The situation during a global boom is obviously different to the crash part

Of course Labour lost at that point. So they rode a pretty nice wave and exited stage left when the realism of boom and bust hit.

High expectations and promise of spending - hmm going to be tough

Plus aging population and eye watering NHS requirements 1 in 11 employed by 2036