Results like these at a general election would mean Tory annihilation

[noblegiraffe]

Says a BBC headline this morning.

Anyone else stockpiling popcorn?

A slight increase? Are you joking? All that shows me is the boomers are doing very nicely under the triple lock and house price bubble. Those of us still working for a living are paying some of the highest marginal rates in the world.

I was making no assumption about anyones voting behaviour. Just commenting on the far right views of some members of the current government.

The purpose of those taxes is to ensure that millionaires continue to get richer - see for instance the money spent on hotels by this government that mostly goes to line the pockets of the already very wealthy.

It’s like the run up to 1997 all over again. Getting very excited about the next GE

I think the fact that more than 40 of the current Tory MPs are not standing at the next GE is a sign that a lot of them think they haven't got a chance of winning.

https://apple.news/AR1xSZZlnTLGAHCwssbJR5A

Isn't that more to do with increased house prices though? Technically we are millionaires, but most of that 'wealth' is our house which we're living in.

I don’t disagree. However, Labour plan on making this worse. Their policies around child care and private school fees are more of these stealth taxes that penalise those doing well on PAYE. Not the rich - just people with a career. No skin in the game as neither will impact me but it will impact the majority of those doing the heavy lifting tax wise. Absolutely stupid.

Most of the wealthiest in the UK are not on PAYE, certainly not for their main income streams & you re including how child support etc affects tax take.

Just look at taxes on investment income, such as Sunak pays.

An asset is an asset, be it gold shares or property, i doubt TL has made anyone rich.

Why do the mega rich feel the need to move country rather than pay more tax to the country they were born, raised and experienced the health and education benefits of?
They will never even spend their money in their lifetime.
This is our country's issue- the extremely rich want to get richer and do not feel the need to support other humans less fortunate by paying higher taxes for improved services for all.
We don't have a genuine free press to challenge what is spoon-fed to everyone, either.
Independent thought is difficult due to an inability to validate news and information distributed.

Exactly but we are the mugs paying the most tax for the state. Tories haven’t made it fair - Labour plan on making it worse.

We are not mega rich but pay very high taxes already as PAYE. It is becoming unsustainable. Why bother here?

This.

Thatcher blew North Sea oil monies
Thatcher blew privatisation monies
Thatcher 'right to buy' wasn't necessarily all bad but forbidding councils from replacing housing stock was simply extreme anti-state.

• no investment in anything from her governments - even Heseltines monies for Liverpool were minimal.

Thatcher gave us monetarism and stubbornly stuck with it when it was obviously failing.

Yes thatcher started the rot - every single conservative government since has had some crazy experiment with monetary policy - remember EMS? Austerity? All to avoid Keynes.

Although current taxation levels are high, in comparison against other European countries, UK taxation is low. You cannot have low taxation and high public spending. The money has to come from somewhere. You are right, productivity needs addressing. None of the parties seem to be addressing this.

People with feminist principles are going to have a really hard time voting for Labour because of the trans rights issue. Once their stance is highlighted in an election campaign there is going to have to be some movement on it or they will leak these voters.

And when they start giving Labour politicians nicknames they think are edgy and amusing.

Actually the reality is - the highest tax levels are on par. It’s the fact we have a low base rate and a majority not paying tax. We rely on squeezing and squeezing the small minority in PAYE - who are amongst the highly taxed in the world. It’s everyone else that has low taxes. Other countries - every one pays more tax, not just the few. Everyone is expected to contribute - not just the few. It doesn’t pay to work and earn well in this country. Those paying the highest tax burden are now changing their behaviour. Labour will make this worse.

Even when there's an open goal he doesn't go for it.

At the end of the day. My family do not have a political party who is interested in the middle class like us. We are drain alive with taxes and no one cares so either we go or eventually die poor and cold. Even if working hard and making the best decisions.

I doubt very much that it will be a priority for most of the population when the next election takes place.

@jgw1

Much of the cost to the government of immigration is in hotel bills. If they changed the law and policies so asylum seekers could work whilst their claims were being considered and/or processed those claims quickly then the cost would be less.

Would it though? Granted they won't be spunking £millions a day on hotel costs, but the erm...highly skiled migrants still need housing - at considerable public expense, plus various in-work benefits. Just like it is with the existing population.

The majority of adults in the UK do not pay income tax, so odds of them being net contributors to HM Treasury are low.

If this is all you've seen, you're not really paying attention.

Obviously political parties have to get their message out, but conference had plenty of policies which were covered by the media.

Overtime commitment to bring NHS waiting list back to 2010 level, reform of planning, 1.5m houses, COVID fraud commissioner are some I can remember.

I’ve never voted Tory and would be pleased to see them go, but the high housing costs and low productivity need addressing for everyone’s benefit including those who are on benefits.

I live in an expensive area and see so many people who are in work but are disincentivised to work more hours / charge more in self employment due to the impact a loss of benefits would have. It’s just not worth it for them to risk their benefits.

In their shoes I’d be EXACTLY the same. Why risk not being able to afford your (ridiculously high) rent? These are good people, many of whom volunteer their free time in the local community and give a lot back, but they are massively underemployed and the economy/ tax system misses out.

These people also miss out personally… when their kids are grown, if policy changes, they don’t have savings and so on… basically they don’t have the security those of us who work FT and have mortgages enjoy.

So the losers include those reliant on benefits themselves as well as those in FT employment subsiding the welfare bill. The only winners I can see are big businesses that profit from the state subsidising part time workers who otherwise couldn’t make end meet.

But you can’t say any of this out loud if you’re not a Tory for fear of being labelled as a benefit basher. You can have empathy and support individuals to make the choices which are best for them, but criticise the system which keeps people stuck and not filling their potential.

My main worry is that the Tories now know there's not a hope in hell of them winning the next GE so will cling onto power until the last possible moment, asset-stripping the country and ensuring Labour inherits a smoking ruin.

They absolutely will do this because they are despicable cnuts.