Where is the money going to come from to meet the UK people expectations?

[Pandersmum]

So assuming that:

• everyone who receives disability benefits needs them and may actually believe they should be entitled to more
• pensioner benefits are non negotiable and again many believe they should be greater than current
• working people (most) believe they are already taxed highly and believe they cannot be taxed any more without further impact to their feeling of unfairness and resentment of the system
• it is unreasonable to expect young people with ADHD or other similar ND disorders / mental health challenges to work, even if they have qualifications and therefore they must be financially supported by the state
• Mental health challenges are very real in any age of person and therefore they must be financially supported by the state and if in work, by their employers
• rent (whatever level) should be supported by the state because it is a basic right to have a home
• NHS treatment (& the best treatment) should be free be all, no matter how expensive it is or whatever their age because people pay their taxes
• businesses are businesses and are there to make profits for their owners - therefore they can choose which country they operate in / pay their taxes in - if they don’t like the UK tax system, they can move somewhere else
• ’in work benefits’ are necessary to support ‘low paid workers, often in essential jobs’ to gain similar amounts of financial remuneration to those on benefits
• high net worth individuals can move if they don’t like the UK tax system

So just where is the money going to come from to fund the UK population of financial expectation of what the state should provide?

I saw a BBC news report on TV that the biggest increase in out of work benefits went to those because of mental health reasons.

This also needs to be looked at. I can’t say my mental health is in a fantastic state currently in 2025, but I keep going. We all need to learn some resilience. This is not aimed at those with no capacity or severe/enduring mh issues.

What benefits? UC? Or PIP?
Because PIP is not an out of work benefit... but it keeps being trotted out like it is by the government, the press, and on here.

It doesn’t exist, as they are about to find out. The welfare system is about to implode. If you rely on the welfare system, better start making alternative plans.

But it won't really, because other services will just be cut or taxes will go up or the government will borrow more. I live in an area where we're having to have another council election because the fucking Reform winner decided he wasn't up for the job. A canvasser for the Green candidate came round and asked what my priority would be and I said fixing all the bloody potholes and he said yes that's come up a lot. Nothing will be done though, whoever gets in.

Rachel Reeves considers changes to non-dom inheritance tax amid UK ‘exodus’

I think Reform might win the next election and dismantle welfare, but if they do they won’t be winning the following general election - there will be too many disgruntled ex recipients of welfare for them to win a second time.

You know what, I’m not too sure actually… if they even specified at all, or if I missed that detail. I’ll try to do a little digging if I can find it though.

That was in response to @XenoBitch sorry, it somehow lost the quoting of your post.

How do you think they’d dismantle it? I don’t know much about their proposed policies tbh

Those bloody potholes!

Those bloody potholes!

I think they symbolise the state of the UK!

Agreed. They’re a bloody disgrace. All over the country! Roads are a shambles

They haven’t said exactly what they’ll do, as far as I know, but they’ve described the welfare state as vastly bloated. I get the impression they want to cut benefits and make it harder for people to be eligible for benefits. I am not going to vote Reform, by the way! I don’t think there’s any party I can support - I voted Labour last time - doh.

Yeah, that’s fair. I could never vote for them either, but I do agree that the welfare state is bloated. I almost feel I am not allowed to post that as people are going to come at me for saying that like I did on another thread! It’s just not sustainable the way we are going, and I fear we are further running the country into the ground. I do think there are some cases which absolutely do need welfare support, but some absolutely need to be thrown out as well. Immigration certainly needs curbing!

I don’t know who I’d vote for. I voted Green last time. I just didn’t want to vote Tory, and wanted them out. I’d love for the Green Party to become more popular, and I wish people had more courage to vote for them rather than engage in tactical voting.

Half the dwp budget goes on pensioners state pension, pension credit, attendance allowance. You can nibble away by cutting welfare but any savings will be eaten up by the aging population.

I suspect means testing state pension will be too wildly unpopular to ever contemplate.

That’s a really good suggestion though…

The answer is pretty simple; the NHS is continuing to take on junior doctors who didn't do their training in the UK. This is completely bonkers when we have newly qualified doctors who can't get jobs.

Or perhaps means testing other benefits

True

That's on them for having a low paid job. If they are physically healthy and can't make ends meet the onus is on them to get extra jobs and work till they make ends meet.

Really? A lot of low paid jobs are vital. Carers, cleaners, supermarket workers etc. The people bringing your parcels to you whilst you sit on at home in a cushy WFH job.
A lot lot their work is physical, yet you would tell them to work even more to make ends meet?
It should not be the norm to work 80 hour weeks. We work to live, not live to work.

It is one of the insane things I've heard, the most mindbogglingly stupid and self-harming policy a government could come up with. Who the hell brought it in, and what justification was given for it?

I think (not sure) it was Boris Johnson. And of course NHS trusts love it because they're getting more experienced doctors on the cheap. Sod taking on home produced expensive to train UK grads.

It is crazy and Wes Streeting should stop it now.

Yeah, it's very likely going to happen due to the birth rate decreasing. The majority of people reliant on the state are going to be pensioners. Lots and lots of pensioners, with very few net contributors to support them.

Well, of course, it's not Govt Policy, it will have been NHS England I'd have thought. It comes back to the lack of proper regulation which seems to occur across a number of areas - NHS, housing, transport, utilities .... I have some sympathy with this Govt (which I didn't vote for incidentally) given that it took the last one 14 years to trash everything; a very steep hill to climb.

Finally found time to reply @BIossomtoes
Lots of ways, some of which have been mentioned.
At the lower end, the gap between benefits and NMW is v low. People are effectively penalised for working more as other benefits disappear too. I'm sure you know that wages for the majority have been stagnant for many years, particularly since the GFC. Essentially, wages haven't kept pace with the increased COL. As has been discussed before, housing is the main component of this, which successive governments have deliberately put rockets under as the UK economy has gradually failed and wages haven't risen. This may have generally pleased the older generation but it hasn't pleased younger people, who are now being expected to work to support said older generation, who are generally better off, having benefitted from house price rises and better pensions. It is no coincidence that younger people are giving up. As mentioned already, see 'lying flat' in China and the deaths of despair in the US. This is not just a UK problem. People who make stupid comments about 'snowflakes' and 'learn to code' and 'young people are so entitled' from their ivory towers are either unpleasant individuals or very ignorant or probably both. This is a societal issue, which has increased over decades, encouraged by policy. As I said, I think everyone fit and healthy should work to support themselves. I think reliance on benefits long term is a negative thing in every way. These things definitely need looking at properly and honestly, which clearly isn't going to happen because no government nowadays is prepared to tackle anything important.

That was already long enough but I wasn't just referring to people on benefits when I said that the whole system disincentives. I meant that the tax (and benefit) system and what I have described above re housing & COL does that to middle-high earners and high earners too. The marginal rates put people off working more so that they can pay far more tax. The band where the personal allowance is lost altogether is ridiculous, and if you are a young/middle aged person with a student loan, the rate is even more crazy. When you combine all of this with the fact that other types of tax are far lower eg CGT on primary residence is zero, CGT on speculation is far lower, for example, you can see why many give up to some extent at least.