Nervous/anxious/scared about the Autumn budget 2024

[Cartwrightandson]

I know that we don't know any details. We have read or heard bits that might be incorrect or just plain wrong. I also know we won't know anything until Wednesday when Rachel Reeves publishes/announces the contents of the budget...

But what we do know...it's the first labour budget for over 14 years, we've had a conservative government, austerity, brexit, covid and cost of living/interest rate increase meaning our economy is not in a good place.

Our services/infrastructure haven't had much needed investment for a long time.
Councils are practically bankrupt, some already are. Schools, housing, NHS, social care and economy are all struggling..to remedy this requires money and this will need to come from higher taxes.

There's a 19 billion pound black hole and Labour have already removed the winter fuel allowance, showing they are willing do things that are unpopular or possibly controversial..the Labour manifesto said it wouldn't increase taxes, but now they are saying they have to.

They've already allocated money for Ukraine, teachers, train drivers, junior doctors, NHS staff ect

Keir said people who don't 'work' for their income (shares/savings/landlord income) aren't classed as working people and will be taxed..

Basically this budget is going to need to raise taxes to pay for investment in services. That much we do know. But where the cuts and the tax increase will be is unknown. I don't think anyone will be 'better off'...

Possibilities.. (note these are not absolute, I could be very wrong)

Inheritance tax changes
Fuel duty increase
Income tax increase
Social housing rent increase
Benefit cuts
No free universal prescription for over 60s
Change to tax free allowance
Removal of help to buy, right to buy and alterations to stamp duty
Pension age to increase
State pension to decrease?
Tuition fees to increase
Tax free pension allowance to be reduced
Isa/bond/shares/investments taxed

Who really knows...but I think the labour comms are possibly leaking information so that we are being drip fed so when the budget does happen we already know and are braced/prepared for it.

Or what is being leaked about the budget is really bad but when the budget happens we are relieved it wasn't as bad the leaks hinted at. But it is still painful but we are more accepting because it's not as bad as it could have been...if that makes sense.

John, I want to reassure you a little. Labour is not going ahead with the PIP reforms that the Tories proposed and they have said they will announce their own welfare reforms in due course. So nothing immediate for PIP. But of course it is still a worry what might happen further down the road. Not sure about ESA.

ETA: Labour has released this today re:ESA. It is a bit woolly, but seems no immediate plans to cut it or force people into work if they are unable to:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-we-will-build-a-britain-where-those-who-can-work-will-work

But it’s not okay. The poster is a Labour supporter, so it’s not okay for anyone to have a different opinion to them didn’t you know? If you do you’re likely to get ‘sucker punched in the face’.

I don’t expect (or hope for) instant results. I do want a plan of what they’re going to do about the really dire & important issues facing us.

Announcing new measures for football clubs or giving the indie film sector a boost is trying to decorate when the house is falling down.

I want to know when empty beds will be opened at hospices, not that he’s clamping down on expensive car insurance.

But trans is a teeny part of equality diversity and inclusion. And you’re suggesting reducing the whole shebang.

And if you think that means removing the trans community from equality , diversity and inclusion then you really don’t understand the role.

Public sector staff also pay tax.

So a proportion of the money will boomerang right back into the coffers.

Thanks for the reassurance,much appreciated.

Point 2 was the torys woth their green paper for pip using vouchers. You will find labour have delayed this for now but hopefully permanently.

They have said they are not taking the Tory proposals any further, so the vouchers proposal is dead. It was unworkable anyway.

So you think the installation of a rainbow crossing at our local NHS hospital is a good use of tax payers money? You think the legal costs of defending the Darlington 5 nurses who were visited by West Streeting today will be a good use of tax payers money?

I mean that's on you.

But increasingly tax payers are going to query these things.

Millions are being spent on excluding women as a sex class to introduce so- called 'inclusive' language which reduces us to body parts and are excluding those who don't have English as their first language or people who have poor command of the English language for other reasons.

Women are 51% of the population and many women are tax payers who have the right to say we are not happy with our tax money being spent on things that harm us.

The ideologues won't like it of course, and there are plenty of them infiltrated into public services. I mean a woman who was raped on an NHS ward was told by staff that it couldn't have happened because they wouldn't deal in biological reality by admitting that a trans woman on the ward is male!

The NHS is a health service it's not there to fill an ideological role. It's also essential in the provision of health to know the sex of the patient because bodies are different. Astonished that as a supposed HCP you don't think that that is more important than the ideology.

Oh and I clarified upthread that I don't mean getting rid of all inclusive policies just the ones that harm women and children and are based upon ideological beliefs rather than reality.

So you think the installation of a rainbow crossing at our local NHS hospital is a good use of tax payers money?

Are you sure it was taxpayers’ money? A charity paid for the one at my local hospital.

Normally if a charity is involved it would be mentioned in a press release, it wasn't. I haven't formally checked but I don't think so.

That should have been done a long time ago.

Just checked it was funded by the NHS trust, so presumably the taxpayer.

It’s not that difficult to move to the EU if you have skills people want.

Yea. But lots of the skills in EU countries so a lot easier to recruit them.

Problem is everyone was sold the labour is the answer they will fix it. Rainbows and unicorns basically.

Now they are being told actually no. We are the same as before. I think that’s why people
are so anxious.

The whole better the devil you know. People knew what the tories where doing even if they where dodgy dealers. Where as labour was meant to be the saviour but one of the early
things they did was take away the payment to pensioners, they released loads of cons who where picked up in flashy cars with champers who many had committed much worse crimes than some of the rioters that have been locked up.

So people have gone oh fuck shit.

ROTFL at “moving”- where do these Middle Ages to elderly people reckon they’re going? No one wants a non working person in the last years of their lives in their country. Good luck with that visa application. What a load of 💩

Problem is everyone was sold the labour is the answer they will fix it. Rainbows and unicorns basically.

No we weren’t. Nobody with half a brain thought anything of the sort. It was obvious to anyone who was paying attention that the previous government was in the process of salting the ground before the election and that winning it was a poison chalice.

'Working people' excludes a lot of younger people who work.

Why would you think non working person only means people who don't work? The Prime Minister doesn't.

Apologies edited because of an obvious typo.

*It’s not that difficult to move to the EU if you have skills people want.

Yea. But lots of the skills in EU countries so a lot easier to recruit them.*

Keep telling yourself that. In reality, if you work for an investment bank, financial services, professional services firm, or anything in tech, you can move anywhere at the drop of a hat. These firms have sponsorship visas everywhere. People are literally moving around the world on an ongoing basis. At the moment, many come back to the UK when they have kids, for schools etc. That is what may change.

Working age people have even less chance of moving abroad than a boomer (who might at least be able to pay cash for an apartment in Spain😂) most countries only want young people (under 30) in professions or skill sets they have shortages of.

amazing how these hoards of people never actually bugger off. As someone said above, the middle aged mortgaged workers on £40k aren’t going to be part of any revolution, as much as they might want to.

All the employer usually has to do is show that they cannot find a local person with the skills for the job. So you are not going to get a visa to work in a shop, but anything remotely specialised and it very easy to move to the EU.

Colour me surprised. If you voted Labour what did you expect?

Really odd viewpoint. My DH has had several work abroad opportunities in his 40s and going into his 50s he will continue to, he is highly skilled. We haven't taken those up but never say never.

Who is talking about mortgaged workers on £40k leaving? No one has said that.

I am concerned that unless there is a sensible plan for economic growth there won't be incentives for businesses to trade in the UK where both small/ medium businesses and their owners are subject to high taxes. Hopefully Labour have a sensible plan for that. Without economic growth there isn't going to be enough money to support public services and an ageing population no matter how much you tax individuals.

I am worried about it. I am on UC in the LCWRA group. There is all this talk about getting the long term sick/disabled back to work. I don't think it will be with genuine support... it will be with sanctions.
And currently, there are more jobseekers than jobs anyway. If they chuck people like me onto jobseekers, there will be even more people going for those jobs. And I could only do NMW, and end up being topped up more than I am getting now anyway.