To not know any of Labour's policies apart from VAT

[changewashing]

Have they got any others?

Well, if the Tory fangirls on here are already resorting to cheap sneers (because they have nothing else) then I'm going to take that as an encouraging sign for a GE.

Anyone complaining about cheap sneers is clearly unfamiliar with British politics. In any event you better get used to it, I’m far from the only person to find Starmer a risible figure.

Honestly - sneer away if it helps dull the pain of defeat - I'm not his biggest fan but I'm not voting for HIM I am voting for a party, which he leads but isn't a dictator, and the policies they stand for. I don't really do 'personality politics' it's a bit shallow.

As for grammatical errors I'll take them over the economic butt fuck of 14 years of Tory mishandling and get rich schemes for their mates thanks.

Cheap sneers rarely cause people to change their minds.
If you are happy with the Tories losing and Labour taking their rightful place leading the country, then sneer away.

Personality matters in politics, and Starmer’s particular combination of incompetence, self-regard and ignorance would be bad for the country even if there were people of quality behind him - which there aren’t.
it’s one of those times when the tories have been in for an eternity and the electorate has had time to forget how crap Labour is and deludes itself they’ll be better. I’m old enough to recall the last bout of this; this one will be worse. Blair, though wrong about many things, wasn’t a fool.

I remember the last Labour government - it was an amazing time

I do wonder what your take on the 'quality' of the current government and their leadership - since it matters so much - I mean they have done such a good job - obviously the public agrees!

Did they think Dover wasn't a port ? Did they think Ireland was part of England ? Did they think Rwanda and DRC are the same country ?

Hasn't Starmer said they won't have any money to do anything that we actually care about.

So VAT on school fees is his only card and it's a vote winner.

They are very quiet on their proposals to deal with immigration and I suspect that is because a large number of voters won't like it.

I anticipate that they will also increase income tax on 'rich' earners

Interesting précis of Labours top ten policies. Slightly worried that the financial issues of government are so low down the list since the top 3 in the list are all reliant on good accountancy.

Two policies worry me. The first VAT on education, not the VAT but the emphasis on the mental well being of teaching staff. Are they suggesting mental health breaks for staff over increased income or better working conditions? I suspect providing mental health support is likely to be the cheapest option.
We’ve had a lovely poster at work (NHS) reassuring us that our mental health is important with a list of resources. Typical compliance material.
Secondly the blaze way they think they can fix red tape in NHS primary care. The new GP contract combined with CQC created the biggest waste of NHS time in history. It is our version of Ofsted and takes up far too much time and budget with little benefit to the service. It has standardised practice but seeing colleagues lose the will to live or carry on in service has been heartbreaking.
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/comment/designed-fail-care-quality-commission-warning-quango-cullers

I am on the fence with regard to the up coming general election. As I’m now semi retired and have moved into the private sector I’m likely to vote with whoever promises the best deal for pensioners. I don’t think you can be rigid with your support through life. At each stage of life your needs change.
If a Labour government results in higher inflation and interest rates I will benefit. I’m in that little group who are child free, mortgage free with very modest lifestyle. It’s very much about risk assessment.

I have also lived through some of the worst Labour periods of government in history, watched how Thatcher got the country back on its feet then got carried away and failed us. I lost faith in Labour during the Blair/Brown years. The two Labour politicians who I had any faith in never made it to Prime minister .

Like many women I struggle to engage with the current bunch of clowns who have yet to work out what a woman is. This gender issue may backfire on them since the current new batch of voters, 18-20yr olds, the Covid cohort are a cynical bunch who have not fallen for the gender issues. Isolation during Covid has diluted the whole “cult-like” movement. I say this after my Dniece fell down the gender hole, her younger sister and my DS have a healthier attitude to gender, more on the lines of “you do you and I’ll do me” they have respect for choice but have no time for indoctrination.

I quite enjoy it, but then I love the smell of Tory desperation.

I think anyone who can look at the current Tory front bench and then describe the Opposition as 'incompetent' can safely be ignored.

At least they have started to spell his name right.

All Labour policies are going to be for the benefit of women.
Things really are going to get better.
😉😁😁😁

in the morning ?

Its been sunny today, plenty of drinks seems to have been consumed in my local town. Is this typical?

Particularly in the morning.😎

Yeah. It annoys me when people moan about the lack of information when we live in a age where everything is literally at your fingertips.

Yes yabu

Apparently someone from the hard left also thought he is not great. However, they are much worse

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/05/momentum-future-in-balance-co-chair-hilary-schan-resigns-quits-labour

Have you been to the Braverman school of charm?

I have voted for pretty much all of the parties during my time. Genuine floating voter. There is absolutely categorically NO WAY I’d vote to keep the current screaming incompetents in power. They are the worst - the very worst - bunch of corrupt scumbags we have ever seen. They aren’t even what I think of as the Conservative Party, who to me mean the likes of John major. Quietly competent. These people are awful. Just awful. So personalities? I could care less. I’ll base my vote on who the candidate is NOT. If they are not running as a conservative I’ll listen to what they have to say.

I think it's fascinating to see that Labour claim to be able to completing revamp the NHS by removing the non-dom status "loophole",

Apparently this will raise £3.6 billion.

Of course this is dependent on people like this chap continuing to live in UK....

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/may/02/i-am-moving-tycoon-bassim-haidar-non-dom-tax-status-super-rich-exodus

• *@Tripeandonions The thing about these 'I'll leave' guys that sticks in my craw is that they're as rich as Croesus and don't want to pay their dues.

This chap has a home in Monaco, 10 properties in London including a £20 million gaff near Sloane Square, a dozen properties across the world and a super yacht.

All this and he doesn't want to pay his taxes. Taxes that would tar our roads, mend our schools and fund our NHS.

You can see why the Tories would like to keep this man sweet with his £360k donations to them last year. He greases their palm, they grease his. Meanwhile, the woman in the street earning £20k pays her taxes.

Just bloody pay your taxes you grasping billionaire! We ordinary people will benefit (in the country you choose to live in) and, as you only pay tax on money you already have, you're not going to be left destitute scratching around for a quid to scratch your arse with.

ALSO

An interesting article here based on research from the International Inequalities Institute at LSE.

They found that the vast majority of Britain’s extremely wealthy people would never leave the country for tax reasons, partly due to the stigma involved in doing so.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2024/a-January-2024/super-rich-unlikely-to-leave-uk-for-boring-and-culturally-barren-tax-havens

Hmm, some interesting views for discussion.

I understand that if all these "super-rich" guys (and gals, let's not be sexist !) paid these taxes the revenue would be £3.6 billion pa.

The cost to the taxpayer of running the NHS is £180 billion pa. So the figure mentioned above is a drop in the ocean.

The NHS would do far better if it made more attempt to cut back on "health tourism", but that seems to be an issue that no government wants to address.
OK it's only (?) £300-400 million but it's a lot easier to manage if the will is there.

They have a list of stuff they want to spend on, some doesn’t stack up even then, but so far very little on how to fund it

The VAT policy is what people remember as it’s the funding part, the thing that makes the other promises feasible or not