We know all the anti Labour posts are really just about VAT on school fees!

[YouOnlyHateStarmerForVATOnSchoolFees]

Day in day out whining about Labour and looking for any reason to moan about Starmer, I’m honestly expecting to see a “Starmer ate my dog” post soon! 🙄

We all know you’re just upset as you’ll be charged VAT on little Arabella’s school fees!

So my AIBU…

YABU - It is not just the school fees, honest! I preferred ‘honest Boris’ and ‘man of the people’ Rishi. Or that lovely Liz, we were so much safer with them!

YANBU - The posts are so blatantly motivated by the VAT on school fees that it has becoming utterly boring. Jog on ‘disgusted of Hampstead’ and join the local comp!

😘

VAT on school fees is of no consequence whatsoever for me. The British public is rightfully extremely angry with the Labour Party. Starmer has shown himself to be a weak, spineless leader in his first few months of office. Their conference has ended in a humiliating defeat for him and he demonstrated what a blundering buffoon he is with his 'sausages' gaffe last night. What an utter shambles.

You've won me over with your intelligence and reasoning. You're right, there should be no limits on the state prying into your private life.

I’ve not got kids at school but I’m disappointed with the sleazy freebie grabbing behaviour that they are showing. People wanted an end to Tory sleaze - just because it’s not billions being siphoned, it doesn’t make it ok

By the Labour membership.

I don't have an issue with Labour being in power, in fact it will probably be to my benefit over the next 10 years. And it was necessary. But I do have an issue with an idiot PM risking the lives of millions of the elderly, as do a lot of decent Labour members.

The Tory Party proposed to do the same. Same bill. Labour simply agree with them. Legally, if you want to receive benefits then they can easily assert that they can check for fraud. All Labour have done is picked up a ready completed bill from
the Tory Party.

I for one, can’t wait until this VAT policy is in place so we can’t stop reading about it on MN!

A fair amount of people receive payments related to having children, child benefit

Are their bank statements up for scrutiny?

Your AIBU options don’t work. The last government were pretty awful but I am fairly sure life under Starmer is going to make things MUCH worse for all of us.

Well it’s your choice to apply for benefits or not. But there really ought to be a social contract that you get this money, we get to double check that you haven’t lied on the form. Because a lot of people do, and that’s all of our money that is being stolen. This policy is a great thing.

The chief issues for fraud are apparently universal credit, and disability ie qualifying benefit. Child benefit is not the issue as I understand it but perhaps someone will correct me on that. I suppose you could claim you had children when you did not, or claim a lower income to escape the tax charge (which is fraud).

I couldn’t care less about VAT on school fees and voted LibDem tactically to get the Tories out.

BUT I am so disappointed about the freebies thing. How can KS stand up to Tory sleaze when he’s taking freebies? Just buy your own clothes. We all do.

I do think lots of rich pensioners shouldn’t get WFA but the cut off should be high rate tax payers. A single pensioner living on 13k should not be the target of a Labour government.

I’d have been impressed had all the Labour MPs offered to give up their fuel expenses as a gesture.

So it’s a poor start to me when they had so much goodwill. The rhetoric sounds good, but the reality, not so much.

Whether you have the capacity to recognise it or not, people should be able to express their opinions freely. Reducing the space for debate about political issues is small minded and highly polarising. Not all private school parents are wealthy, not all Labour voters like Keir Starmer. Those affected by any political issue in the news should be free to convey that on any public forum. If this is really about Keir Starmer’s immediate unpopularity (school fees aside) - you should have the bravery to admit it. I for one believe the ‘sausages’ should be freed immediately. I also believe in freedom of the press and people.

It's not about lying on the form. It's about the government having the right to look at your bank account at any time without permission. That includes everyone on benefits for example pensioners, child benefit claimants and so on. It's millions of people.

The government shouldn't have the right to snoop on your finances without permission. If they suspect fraud, the DWP can already request bank statements.

You do realise that a lot of pensioners would not have had the wherewithall to plan for retirement? I am only just a pensioner and have always worked minimum wage jobs around my children. I worked 3 part time jobs totalling 55 hours every week for years none of which would have given me a decent pension.

We luckily own our home but are downsizing to a park home so we should be okay but if we rented we would struggle if one of us were left on our own.

With benefit fraud estimated to cost £10 billion a year and running at twice pre-pandemic levels, Starmer will announce plans for a Fraud, Error and Debt Bill to tackle the problem.
Banks will be required to tell the benefit system if people have savings of more than £16,000, the cut-off point for claiming benefits, or have been abroad for more than the four weeks allowed for universal credit claimants. Inspectors will then investigate and seek to recover overpayments.
Organised crime is thought to be a growing problem in defrauding the benefit system and where criminal gangs are suspected, the bill will give investigators power to apply for court orders to search property and seize assets.

I'm not sure I have a problem with that
It is not saying that the whole of everyone's accounts will be open for scrutiny

It’s the law! Easily justified and already has been by the Tory Party in the last government. How banks will actually do this interesting because I think it must be that AI analyses your account (btw they are doing this privately already!)

But what is the functional difference between bank statements and the DWP requesting the bank check your account in real time? Banks already monitor accounts with AI. Suspicion of fraud is something legally they must address?

Well he's been humiliated by the vote against the removal of the winter fuel allowance at his own Labour conference so there's that.

But that’s not unexpected. That’s unions through and through - wanting to give millions and millions away without a thought as to where the money is coming from, or whether it could be put to better use.

The state shouldn't act as though you're guilty and have done something wrong. We have the democratic principle of presumption of innocence. We are also entitled to privacy. I don't want people having unfettered access to my finances.

Applying for benefits is often a protracted, humiliating experience and the state already have a lot of private information on you including for example, access to your medical records.

As I already stated, the DWP can request statements if they suspect fraud.

Be that as it may, not everyone who is unhappy with the government is solely focused on school fees.

But that’s not unexpected. That’s unions through and through - wanting to give millions and millions away without a thought as to where the money is coming from, or whether it could be put to better use.

Labour just caved on millions for pay rises. I take from your posts you are pro everything Starmer does and that was fine?

No I disagree with caving into unions. I really find the BMA abhorrently greedy asking for ‘full pay restoration’ when everyone is earning less in real terms than they were 20 years ago. So tone deaf.

These proposals on one level are exactly the same; if they suspect fraud, they can ask the bank to monitor your account. A bank has a legal duty to prevent fraud.

So how is this any different to what happens now? It is likely to be more effective in capturing fraud?

I really would like to see the UK attitude to this focussed grouped. I do think the majority of Brits put the protection of the revenue much more important than anyone’s right to privacy.