If You Were PM What Would You Change?

[ChronicOnVodkaAndTonic]

Just that really. If you had the power to change our country what would you change/do?

And what, in your opinion needs a compete overhaul?

For me it's NHS...

I agree completely
Some of the responses read like a 6th form essay

I agree but people on benefits can also be time wasters can’t they? If they keep to the appointment they won’t incur charges so why leave them out?

@Ocadoshoppingjustarrived Exactly. Some of these suggestions are are huge disincentive to working hard.

@Sunny - everyone over 21 and in work and not on benefits. Means testing is so pricy that this seems the best way to do it.

I think the NHS has a lot of time wasting and admin and not enough money and £10 if you earn enough not to be in receipt of UC is not a huge price. In the Channel Islands a GP appt is £45 I think. If you’re a resident. £60 plus if you’re a visitor. People don’t book appointments wondering if they have flu - or not bother showing up - you can always get to see a doctor in person.

I have been to the GP twice in 2 years, my elderly mother once in 5 years, my husband never as long as I’ve known him - 13 years. Lots of people don’t need to go to the GP a lot - and if you do, you may well be claiming support for that and wouldn’t have to pay anyway.

children wouldn’t pay so their visits wouldn’t cost a family. But if they were no shows, they would pay.

I’m firmly convinced of my own brilliance in this idea! I want to keep the NHS!

They do pay taxes on their UK entities, it's the easiest thing in the world to check.

For example: in 2023 Starbucks UK paid £7.2m in tax on a profit of £16.9m, from 547m revenue.
That's 2.9% gross profit, down to 1.6% after taxes.

"I think the NHS has a lot of time wasting and admin"

It doesn't. Admin has to happen. It is always blamed, despite being cut so endlessly that it can barely be efficient. What the NHS needs is to be joined with social care, properly, and sort out IT so that files can be passed between clinicians in different organisations who need access to them. Also better systems for appointments. It wouldn't harm to have a good look at effectiveness in the integrated care this and that's, too.

One really easy and quick thing I would do is ban unpaid internships. These abound in 'glamor' industries like fashion design and film industry. Exceptions would be for school age work experience and genuine volunteering ONLY for registered charity. Even unpaid 'trial' shifts in pubs or wherever would be banned.

A bigger thing I'd do would be a massive council house building programme. Making the state landlord of first resort not last resort.

Its not easy to tax the rich more. They have money and they can take their business out of UK if its not profitable enough for them. And if big businesses not here then we are screwed aswell.

1. i will make sure benefit for people who are need it and not for some lazy ass who doesnt wanna work and playing the system.
2. free school meal for all
3. cheap or free childcare
4. higher salary for teacher, nhs
5. better nhs system
6. cheaper trains ticket

1. Stop people who have life limiting condition or congential conditions form having to reapply for PIP/conversion to. (this would also save money in the long term)
2. Limit benefits for people who have treatable mental health conditions such as depression/ADHD or anxiety to 2 years. But, ensure employers will help with a reasonable work load for a 2 year period afterwards. It helps no-one for hundreds of thousands of people to be off work, when often working part-time will really help people to recover.
3. Ensure people who have treatable mental health conditions are given access to proper mental health care, train more psychiatrists and HM nurses and train them.
4. For the people who do not have treatable mental health disorders make sure they are treated, helped and monitored properly.

1. Ensure low level crime is cracked down on, shop lifting should have a fine equal to quadruple to what someone has taken and the police need to attend quickly.
2. Persistently disruptive children are removed from mainstream after 2 warnings and their parents have to attend parenting classes and kids are picked up daily to attend a different setting.
3. Teaching contracts are changed so that crap teachers are dismissed and the better teachers have pay raises.

1. Ensure everyone is actually paying their fair share, anyone who says they are a wealth manager or uses one is not paying tax, nor are most travellers.
2. Flush out the employers who are also not employing people properly - car washes, nail bars etc. We all need to be carrying ID at all times.

We need to be supporting people who need long term help, enabling people who need short term health solutions for either mental or physical health problems to rejoin the workplace - and do it quickly. Ensure everyone pays their fair share and conduct welfare reforms and have a robust system for detecting non-payers as well as low level offenders who ignore the law.

Reform the NHS getting rid of some of the management pen pushers, more actual staff than cushy management non jobs. 4 Day weeks. I’d get rid of the 2nd home allowance and build serviced apartments similar to halls of response. 4 private bedrooms with en-suite facilities and a shared living space and Kitchen. Anyone sleeping in the House of Commons would be sacked, it’s not a dross house. Also they have to justify the yearly wage rise, I’d means test a lot of OAP benefits. So the struggling get more and the comfortable survive more on their income.

I would ensure only those that could demonstrate that they understood the challenges were able to vote.

@BashfulClam which managers would these be ?
Considering we’re allegedly the 5th or 6th richest country in the world where has the money gone ? We can’t seem to fund anything like other nations.

Hello Everybody,

Well following my earlier post, I sent out a WhatsApp email (I won't lose this one 😉) to a bunch of my people and someone called Lettuce tell me that they have analysed all the posts and the top three are;

1. NHS.
2. Subsidised Air Fryers.
3. A free kitten for every household.
4. A peerage for Flat Eric.

(I am aware that some people are allergic to cats so they can have a frog instead if they wish.)

So there we have it, a bit of a straw poll I know, but with potentially some eight million users it would be a bit remiss of me to ignore it.

I can look forward to the election now as the bones of the manifesto are in place. Thank you for all your suggestions and especially to Lettuce for sifting through them on behalf of the Party. Great Team we have here - 'Up the Blues!' as they say up North.

They sound like flat earthers. Living in a fairytale utopia. Some of which sound hellish to me.

I’d revise the jury duty process. It doesn’t compensate most people enough, and I think the thought of some randoms off the street deciding whether you’re guilty or not is terrifying. I think a jury should be made up of legal professionals who just do that job.

Sounds amazing. Any ideas how to pay for all that?

NHS, lift it out of politics, have cross party NHS specialists but outside specialists and it doesn't change policy depending on party because it's ring fenced.
Education. More money at primary age, sure start back, Ed psych, pyscology experts all helping primary children. More specialists for all kinds of sen in primary, change of reading stragety.
Children taught via what supports them not forcing children into phonics when for many it doesn't work.
Flexibility.

Make le train fares cheaper.

Force legal people to give more free advice, force them to be transparent about thier charges and have better recourse for people who are not happy with their service.

For starters!!

This.

Capital gains/inheritance taxes give an allowance consistent with that for income and everything else pay the 20/40/45%
With inheritance have it payable when the asset is sold or within a few years to allow for a lack of liquidity in someone’s estate.

It would be a huge income stream if you applied it across the board and not just to the wealthiest and it eliminates a lot of the unfairness that regardless of income/savings during your life one person can leave kids a small fortune due to dying suddenly without care needs and another can spend everything on their social care or just have never been able to save in first place. It’s clear we need more money to fund social care and pensions in future and that seems the obvious place to get it.

See points 12 and 13

Higher taxes for whom?

I'd reverse Brexit.
I'd iron out the insane kinks in the income tax system.
I'd reduce the inheritance tax threshold significantly.
I'd introduce an annual property tax, but get rid of stamp duty, to free up capital locked in property and make it more likely people would downsize when needed and not use property as a non-productive asset class to the same degree.
I'd build a lot more homes, which needs a lot more infrastructure (reservoirs, new sewer systems, more green energy production).

Complete change our school system and put much more funding into making schools fit for purpose.

Fund SEN schools, so we have more of them, and again, they are fit for purpose.

More funding for mental health support.

Rejig the NHS to make sure it is funded correctly and that the money goes where it needs to.

Close all tax loopholes for the most wealthy and ensure all large corps pay tax.

Raise taxes

Make zero hours contracts illegal

Rejoin brexit if they would have us.

There are probable more but they are my top ones. Obviously I would need full deatis of current spend by our government to see what I would cut to afford these changes, but I'm sure besides the billions they have already wasted, there will be more funds to "relocate".

Oh and actually send criminals to jail