What’s expected to happen if Labour wins the next election?

[User5512]

What changes do we “normal people” expect to see? Better nhs? More taxes?

Honestly the problems will still be the same; the UK is in for a grim time.

The only question is whether Labour can make the economy grow. That is literally all we must hope for.

If you wonder why things are so grim with public services, then it's because the debts the UK has are nearly 100 percent of public spending, and the reason you are paying such high levels of tax is because it's a reliable way for this government to address that by using individuals to bring that ratio down.

If we can't grow our economy then public services will still be awful, and things will not feel much different.

This Tory government is the worst of my lifetime bar none, because they are economically incompetent. That the Labour Party are better regarded on every policy metric is not because Labour are splendid. It's because this government is just dire.

@WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps
@Fieldofbrokenpromises

"I did also say no party is honest or nice. There’s plenty wrong with the Tories. It’s the hypocrisy of Labour fans that stands out though: saying the Tories are dishonest (fair enough), but then telling whoppers"

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To be fair it's not the fault of politicians that they lie (or at best avoid telling the truth, it's the fault of the voters.

Look if you had a choice between Candidate A that promised higher spending on say education and health but it would come at the cost of higher taxes or Candidate B that promised higher spending on education and health but wouldn't put up taxes as they would find the money by "cutting waste " or "closing tax loopholes" or "by growing the economy " or any other ill defined solution.

Then voters would always vote for Candidate B. Candidates that tell the truth simply stay as just Candidates whereas candidates that lie or fudge get to become politicians.

It's the voters who are to blame not the politicians.

Some really daft responses on here...

Of course it won't be the 'same shit'.

We currently have a corrupt, incompetent, lying, right-wing government who is flirting with fascism.

The first thing I want Labour to do is go after the money that was literary stolen from the public purse through Covid contracts and I want to see Johnson, Sunak, Hancock in front of a tribunal...that will be a good start.

Then they need to look at the current profiteering by energy companies and renationalise water, gas and electricity then look at the Brexit mess.

I lived under the Labour government in the 90s and quality of life was a thousand times better.

Also I think standards in politics need to be cleaned up with MPs/ministers being sacked as soon as they are caught lying in Parliament.

To suggest a Labour government would not be better than the current shower of charlatans is really completely bonkers...

The first thing I want Labour to do is go after the money that was literary stolen from the public purse through Covid contracts and I want to see Johnson, Sunak, Hancock in front of a tribunal...that will be a good start.

See above about every legal challenge made to Covid contracts having failed.

I find it incredible that so many people are so willing to swallow propaganda without bothering to check the facts.

If you want a change of government, fine, that’s what elections are for. This government has shot itself in the foot when it comes to competency. But these attempts at positioning the Tories as wicked and Labour as virtuous are false.

Let councils start building council houses again

that's not any good if then tenants purchase the house through right to buy - right to buy needs to be stopped. That way then housing rents would eventually reduce in the private sector if there was more council stock of housing to rent.

"One off" Wealth tax and/or land value tax replacing council tax
Green dictats - less carrot, more stick
Huge increase in public spending and debt
Much closer ties to the EU
Mandatory Digital ID sometime around late 2025/early 2026 (same as the EU)

@Startingagainandagain

Let's go through your points:

"Of course it won't be the 'same shit'. "

It may not be the same incompetent shit but it won't be that different.

"We currently have a corrupt, incompetent, lying, right-wing government who is flirting with fascism. "

That were elected with a land slide victory by voters in December 2019 - who is to blame here the voters or the Conservatives?

"The first thing I want Labour to do is go after the money that was literary stolen from the public purse through Covid contracts and I want to see Johnson, Sunak, Hancock in front of a tribunal...that will be a good start. "

Not going to happen - every attempt has failed legally. Plus let's not forget the Covid measures and massive cash splurge was widely supported by voters at the time. Anyone at the time explaining otherwise or being concerned about the cost was shouted down as a granny killer / anti vaxx etc. So who is to blame here?

"Then they need to look at the current profiteering by energy companies and renationalise water, gas and electricity then look at the Brexit mess. "

When the Government is £2.6 trillion in debt where exactly are they going to get the money from to pay for renationalising the water and electricity companies?
Brexit is indeed a mess but it is incredibly difficult to row back from it now plus it was supported by the majority of voters - so who is really to blame here?

"I lived under the Labour government in the 90s and quality of life was a thousand times better. "

Agreed but they did benefit from a situation of very low levels of Government debt inherited from the Major Government.

"Also I think standards in politics need to be cleaned up with MPs/ministers being sacked as soon as they are caught lying in Parliament. "

Nah - see my earlier post - voters want to vote for politicians that lie - those candidates that don't lie just end up as unelected failed candidates. So who is really to blame here the voters or the politicians?

"To suggest a Labour government would not be better than the current shower of charlatans is really completely bonkers.."

Sorry to disappoint you but the differences are going to be very marginal and I strongly believe that in another 5 years voters will be saying that a new Conservative Government can't be any worse than the current Labour Government.

Reading this thread is quite depressing.

No wonder we managed to sleepwalk through Brexit and a succession of frankly criminally corrupt Tories with this type of views...

You don't have to support/vote for Labour, the Lib Dem and the Green are also alternative.

But anyone at this stage who doesn't think the Tories have been absolutely appalling, dragged our country into dire poverty/inequality and turned its international reputation into a joke need their heads examined.

Well, from 1997 to 2008 the UK had the second highest productivity growth rate of the G7. 2 percent a year. As a country we were absolutely killing it. People were working and we boomed. Less tax. High levels of direct investment from overseas and in public services.

From 2010 to 2019 that collapsed. It is now the worst in the G7. People are sicker, working less. There is far less entrepreneurship and more wealth concentrated in assets of very wealthy people. Public services are knackered. This Tory Party have given up. What they are doing is driving up migration to make up for the loss of productivity and transferring assets to a smaller and smaller group. There is little investment in the UK public or private.

Vote for this hopeless grind and you will just be voting for more of it.

@Fieldofbrokenpromises

"If Labour spent all the cash how did the Tories manage to increase borrowing and spending to fuckery?"

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Because the Conservatives copied Labour and quickly figured out after the initial austerity that there are no votes to be gained by reducing borrowing and more votes to be gained by increasing spending by increasing debt.

Plus when it all goes to shit then it's the other parties problem to deal with. Except the Conservatives did the whole borrowing thing on a much bigger scale - see chart.

So just as when the Conservatives came in they were facing a massive Government debt. When Labour come in they are going to be facing an even more massive Government debt.

But that is the nature of democracy that voters will always vote for politicians that promise them more spending (without increasing taxes) by increasing debt until it all crashes down- see the Greek Government debt crisis.

So just as when the Conservatives came in they were facing a massive Government debt.

Really?

@BIossomtoes

When the Conservatives came in then yes £1 trillion of Government debt was widely seen at the time as massive. Hence the note on "there's no money left".

It's just that the Conservatives have taken "massive debt" to a whole new level at £2.6 trillion.

The note was an old Treasury joke - started by a Tory chancellor.

The letter recalls a similar note left by Tory Reginald Maudling to his Labour successor James Callaghan in 1964: "Good luck, old cock ... Sorry to leave it in such a mess."

Yet people still fall for it.

@BIossomtoes

Fair point on the joke note.

Still at the time £1 trillion of debt was widely seen by the public, financial institutions and the Gov as massive- hence the "austerity drive".

It's just that the Tories despite claiming to be the party best able to prudently look after the economy then increased it to £2.6 trillion - but importantly with the full support of the majority of voters.