First 100 days

[Iwishicouldflyhigh]

whoever you voted for, what are your thoughts after the First 100 Days?
I didn’t vote for Labour, but I was quite excited in their first few weeks as Keir got his head down and I was excited fir change.

Now I just feel deflated. Same old….freebiegate, nitpicking, infighting. A bit depressing really.

i don’t even think there was a decent alternative really….and that’s even more depressing!!!!!

Your list below outlined what you thought was good. But that too requires outcomes to know if that’s the case

Eg the housing stuff, there’s a thread on here with S21 meaning the tenant can’t afford or get private rental. The knock on effect as supply reduces will make this harder

The workers rights depends on impact on growth and employment outcomes

The smash the gangs already means overloaded boats and higher risk of death in the channel. That one isn’t a good?

We do indeed require outcomes. But these are all things the previous government had no intention of doing - in fact, they eroded workers' rights.

And outcomes require time. Which I am prepared to give this government, whilst you and its critics are not - you just assume it will all go bad.

Am I right in thinking you believe the previous government were doing a good job and you would have liked them to stay in power to continue it? You keep saying you think they were rubbish, but your words don't back that up, nor do you suggest any alternatives that you think the current government should be exploring.

Figures obtained by the DT through a Freedom of Information request show the top 0.1pc of earners in the UK – those with pre-tax incomes above £889,000 – produced 5.9pc of all income generated, but paid 12.7pc of all income tax in the current tax year. THIS.

Enough of you quote the Guardian btw.

That's great. They earn megabucks, will still have an absolutely plush lifestyle on that kind of money and pay into the system.

So what data would you like to use then?

As for 'declaring yourself a student' - what is that all about? If you're a student, you're enrolled somewhere. Easy to check, I'd have thought.

Really really disappointed with freebie-gate. A millionaire like Kier shouldn’t rely upon freebies like glasses.

They have massively overdone the doom and gloom. The Halloween Budget is going to make or break this parliament. If people don’t see improvements but just tax take after tax take it will not end well

Its staggering you are unable to see it - even though its right in front of you, and happening now.

So, Labour create a hostile anti-entrepreneurial economic environment internally. Tax the successful to the eyeballs, whilst continuing to favour a bloated public sector. Continue to replace many of the most educated and dynamic Brits, with ‘care workers’ with no skills form the third world. Encourage them to bring in all of their dependents. Fast track if their lives are entirely defined by religious fundamentalism.

I would advise anyone with any aspirations, to get the fuck off these increasingly wretched islands.

Edit: going for a run.

Whilst over half of all UK households get more than they give.

That doesn’t sound fair?

https://www.ons.gov.uk/generator?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/theeffectsoftaxesandbenefitsonhouseholdincome/financialyearending2021/8a4a4e33&format=xls

Well, if we didn't have such insane pay differentials, people lower down the rungs would be able to pay in more. Then there's the cost of housing - there are a lot of elephants in the room, and what I'm seeing from people like yourself who are clearly very financially comfortable is nothing that would help make those fundamental changes that would allow more people to contribute. It all seems to be about holding on to what they've got.

I'm not saying there are easy answers - there aren't. But carrying on as we were isn't the answer either. If you don't give people a stake in the society they live in, eventually they will burn it down.

Your last para doesn’t reflect my position nor my posts so perhaps you’re thinking of another poster

I think it makes sense to consider problems from policy, it amazes me that it’s not done more often, by politicians or other

Take the channel crossing situation, I question whether you can add that as a good given the increased risk and likelihood of deaths but only a few thought to discuss what might happen beforehand. And that is a failing

As a 'Labour are so bad' group, I'm thinking of all of you, though I acknowledge you are more moderate, @EasternStandard . But I question what it is that people who are opposed to Labour want the society they live in to look like, because the impression I get is that they are perfectly happy to live in one of the richest countries in the world, which has people in it who cannot afford a roof over their heads and food to eat. How we get from where we are now to something better is complex, but I do know that I'm not content to live in a place where it's possible to work full time hours and still not be able to have the basics.

And yes, there will always be people who don't work when they should. Some will be lazy and entitled. Far more will have persistent and serious problems of one kind or another - so the choice is to let them fester or to do something about it. And doing something about it is going to be a long job.

I accept that I have ideals. But ideals are better than selfish 'I'm alright Jack' cynicism.

There will be people in destitution and appalling poverty after this government. Hard stories are not a reason to vote one way or another.

Being well intentioned - and Labour being better intentioned than other parties inc the Tories is not a sensible claim anyway - does not eradicate poverty.

Growth and wealth decrease poverty, within a mixed and fairly taxed economy.

Oh, and I’m very moderate.

I agree with that, but I suspect that how we view 'mixed and fairly taxed' is very different.

The level of wealth and income inequality in the UK currently suggests to me that we are nowhere near 'mixed and fairly taxed'.

Parliament had only been sitting for 25 days total during that period. It's ridiculous to judge either way at this early stage.

Winter fuel, School VAT, Rwanda, GB energy, freebygate.

lots to judge already.

That really depends on your point of view, doesn't it? I'd count four out of those five as positives (with WFA needing modification) and the fifth as seriously overblown by the press but actually nowhere near as bad as the previous government.

Where do you stand on the review of the Carers Allowance scandal, the implementation of buffer zones for abortion clinics and the abolition of one word judgements for OFSTED?

Minimum wage is hiking up nicely. Now £23.7k for a full time 40hr week.

Average wages prob need to be £45-50k rather than £35k.

However differentials are at play where low to medium earning employees receive higher awards than more senior staff.

This is causing ‘pay comprehension’. Get ready to hear more about this.

Where I work grads come in on +£30k with higher qualified staff (PhDs) and 15 year of work experience on £45k.

I never said that pay differentials will only mean squashing the top down and levering the bottom up, it's obviously more complicated than that, and it needs looking at.

But ultimately the point is that carrying on the way we were was going to end in tears, and that just letting the market have its way causes too much collateral damage.

Sure. And it’s right that tax should change over time, falling or rising, a narrower base or wider.

But that wasn’t really my point. Tax is not of itself a way to alleviate poverty - it can do, but it can also do more harm than good. In any case, if Reeves and Starmer are to be believed the tax burden will increase to plug debt, not help the poor. Keeping the public finances in order is a good Tory principle!

It's a good principle wherever you stand politically. It's a shame we don't have any proper Tories any more, at least not in the party.

There are posters on MN who say that there’s no such thing as government debt and no such thing as national bankruptcy.

There are also many left-wingers who say we don’t have a proper Labour Party anymore!

Will you be ready to sit in judgement on the 30th?

The market have it’s way…

You ignore government and civil service competence, and political ideology. Both of which are open to debate.

There are also many left-wingers who say we don’t have a proper Labour Party anymore!

Well, we don't. As someone who is only moderately left leaning I think this is a good thing. Whereas the current iteration of the Tories, who bear no resemblance at all to the John Major generation, are a bad thing.

Government debt is a complex thing. But it doesn't help to talk about it as if it is the same as household debt, which many on the right like to do.

You ignore government and civil service competence, and political ideology. Both of which are open to debate.

They are indeed. Were you saying anything about the competence and political ideology of the last government?