To overthrow our government

[DahliaRose3]

Another pay day, and another depressing financial month ahead. I’m fuming that our nursery costs are so high! No, I don’t want to have to cut back everything because I work a stressful job at 40+ hours a week and I want to enjoy my life at 40+ years old & the coffee & occasional weekend brunch I buy. I don’t have the option to cut back hours in my job.

My partner and I earn well on paper (for the first time in our lives we were getting ahead financially), but have next to nothing to show for it. No new clothing, nor fancy trips, nor fancy dates out. We aren’t flash. I genuinely worry about my pension, this deficit is contributing to the fact that I don’t own a home, or have decent savings.

How are we the British public standing for this extortion! We are being exploited as women, families, and the general public.

AIBU? We need to all stand together, and walk out. Strike! The parents, the grandparents filling in as free childcare, the nursery workers.

Don't even bother replying if you’re not in agreement at the absolute sh*t show of a set up!

This has nothing to do with being grateful, it’s an horrid potion that they’ve forced families into. Having a baby is for the wealthy, as many can’t even afford children.

You're right, but as @CantDealwithChristmas said, the problem is actually being in government, rather than observation from the front benches. A financial crash, pandemic, war - they all have an impact and won't be factored in to a manifesto. I suppose it's "best case scenario".
I really like the Labour Party's idea for the British Energy Company. Also, getting money back from people who profited from the pandemic. However, how far it would actually happen is debatable.

Thank you both, CantDealwithChristmas and EmpressOfTheThread, I understand about predictability in the future and no, those aspects can't be legislated for but if we were talking local policy decisions, would that be a different matter?

One thing that has long irked me is waste management, the agreement and installation of plant such a Energy from Waste. Policy decisions are made at local government level, ratified by central government - and then, a change of government at local level can unravel these arrangements. This after so many millions have been spent in planning and consultancy. That happened in my last council and the shift was without a backward glance.

My view is that once commitment has been made to infrastructure, it should become apolitical so that there isn't this constant unravelling. Local councillors (bearing a few good and diligent ones) don't have the qualifications to technically assess plans yet they are empowered to renege because, politics.

In the meantime, the tax payer bears the cost of this.

I know, ideal world and all that but why, when there are finite resources of time and money, is it acceptable that these be wasted and written off, nobody held to account?

I would like to see an overseer organisation holding ALL political parties to account for the decisions they make. I don't know how feasible this would be and, who would hold that organisation to account?

Ahh yes the grass is always greener

Accountability would be my top priority, @LyingWitchInTheWardrobe - in many areas. You're absolutely right.
I hope that a future Labour government would hold those to account who made £millions from the pandemic, and get as much back as possible. I'd like to see that approach with all sectors, not least energy companies.

I really like the Labour Party's idea for the British Energy Company. Also, getting money back from people who profited from the pandemic.

Me too, Empress

"I've often wondered whether the elite should be precluded from entering parliament at all."

Good plan. That would take care of the fucking Tories once and for all.

This is a government led by a man who stood idly by whilst the unlawful suspension of our democracy took place, or in my view, treason.

This is a government who took advantage of a pandemic to line their friends pockets, and acted so late that 20,000 people or more died needlessly.

The argument at the next general election should be who you vote for other than the Tories.

It doesn’t matter if they are both shit, democracy is still important and there are other parties to vote for.

It's in the interests of govt that people have children, they need workers off of whose backs they can profit!

In my ideal world, prime ministers who blatantly lie and break promises would have their heads chopped off for treason. With great power comes great responsibility. Yes, I know, not realistic, death penalty means we descend to their level, nobody would throw their hat in the ring to be party leader, boring old real world, blah blah blah.

But it is notable that prime ministers seem to face zero consequences for things that the rest of us would not get away with. You or I can be jailed for lying about who was driving a speeding car. Will Blair and Johnson be jailed for their much, much bigger lies? Will they be stripped of their mansions and millions? Will pigs fly?

I completely agree with you in theory - if you need more money, then earn more money rather than moaning.

But

My husbands salary has doubled in past 5 years (private business) mine has gone up a bit (nhs) but we are somehow worse off now, with 2 children in school (so lower childcare bill) than we were 5 years ago. We are fortunate enough to be able to pay all our bills, but thats it. Our council tax bill this year, on a fairly average size 3 bed house, is £3.5k!

He thinks it is funny when asked a question ? Will he laughing on the other side of his face when sods law comes for him keeping us waiting and waiting ?
Sods law says there is another tory scandal . I mean there is always a tory scandal .

I feel for anyone with nursery costs/ young children at the moment.
Im very sorry to say it, but I’m not convinced there is an answer. No matter who is in charge, the sums simply don’t add up anymore. Painfully our Standard of Living is dropping and I don’t think there is a thing any government can do. For me, at least Labour will do more to protect those on the bottom rung,but the rest of us will have to cut our cloth. It feels like every service is at breaking point. (NHS, ambulance, gps, social services, teaching, transport, old age care) There are so many ill people, so many children and young people with adhd etc. So many are in quite extreme poverty/ inappropriate living conditions. Our town centres have been changed because of Amazon etc. Rentals are few and far between. Then we are being torn apart by greed. The billions lost to COVID fraud. The huge companies paying a pittance in tax. Massive Shareholder profits whilst the workers are on minimum wage zero hours contracts. The quality of our processed, foreign produced shite food, is getting worse, meanwhile colorectal cancer is increasing. I haven’t even started on the environment and I’m exhausted.
Suddenly we are so far down the slippery slope /road to hell , it’s going to take something extraordinary to turn this around.

And put what in its place, a labour government? Same old same old. A communist state? That's worked well (not) in other countries. Put the army in charge? What do you suggest? Elections coming vote with your feet although the choice will be dire.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe

Can I ask which party your husband is an MP for?

He used to be a Labour MP. It doesn't matter which party. No one deserves threats and violence.

It's very, very common. Most MPs and their families experience this. And as you know 2 have been murdered in recent years and two others stabbed.

Maybe grab something to take down the Russian leader?
Then once they pull out of Ukraine, food prices will drop because of greater resources, (as they're quite a large supplier) and fuell price will drop as sanctions will vanish. (Which has a knock effect on most other things we buy)

Or accept everything goes up, we sat here complaining, typing on an iPhone/ Ipad / new android phone, complaing as well Netflix and Sky having nothing on them. We own so much more than our parents, so much better lives, but as soon as there's a dent in that life, we're not willing to accept it.

Having watched my single mother struggle her civil service job when interest rates were 13%, I try not to complain

Putin's naked land grab on Ukraine has been a big contributing factor in all of this shitstorm, affecting food and fuel/energy prices that have inflated the cost of living for everyone. But I don't think Putin will back off. He wants Ukraine's crops and energy resources and to prove that Russia is the big dog. I worry that he is keen to take on NATO.

A school friend of DC's is Russian, 25, and knows there's no way to return to see the grandparents in their last days because they would be conscripted PDQ.

I wasn't asking which party to make any excuse for abuse, there absolutely is none. I'm truly sorry that this happened to your family, it shouldn't have - and shouldn't happen to anybody. Low people behave in scummy ways and should have no place in free society.

I was wondering which party your husband stood for as for him to continue representing it, it must mean a hell of a lot to him. That's a party I would be interested in looking at. There are very few people to look up to in the political world (in my opinion), anybody who stands out is therefore worthy of positive attention.

That was what I meant, sorry that my post wasn't clear.

Some rather thoughtful and interesting posts. I like the idea of govt being held to account. Just like we all held accountable are at our places of employment.

It saddens me that often greed from people at the top and shareholders causes this ripping effect, of less for those on the lower rungs.

With respect to telling people to just go out and earn more, the bell curve in statistics means that on average most people are going to be sitting in the middle in terms of earnings (that is probably a broad salary range). Therefore, that isn’t a solution to the issue of crippling nursery fees, as the majority are struggling.

Your population having children will always sit across the entire curve.