To feel like I'm not sure where I sit politically anymore, and to worry about it.

[Lookuptotheskies]

I've always been a staunch Labour voter. Always been pro refugees. Always given people the benefit of the doubt. Always felt okay that I've brought innocent kids into the world.

Labour are making cuts to disability benefits (and in turn, carer benefits). They are looking to slash sen support in schools.

My town is being overtaken with overt criminal activity. Illegal cigarettes, money laundering business, violent crime on the increase, known drug dealers, fly tipping, etc. Nothing is done. It's just a never ending thing, they bust one and another pops up.

I've always fought against the tide of racist idiots, using politics as an excuse for violent riots. I live in a multi-cutural town, chose a very multicultural school for my kids. But I can't continue to argue with the people pointing out the rise in crimes, drugs, exploitation etc which is very visibily linked to immigration. I feel so uneasy about acknowledging how I feel about this! Guilty and a bit embarrassed. I've always been live and let live, whereas now I feel more protective, more cynical, less tolerant.

I am also gender critical and very much in favour of single sex spaces, based on biological sex. This has been a slow thing too. I've witnessed the language around women changing (cervix owner, pregnant person, chest feeding etc). I've witnessed our spaces and groups being invaded by biological men (I don't want a man on the other side of the curtain to me in a women's hospital ward, or a bra changing cubicle, or a swimming changing room.

Does anyone else feel like they are completely re-evaluating what they accept/don't accept, and what they stand for politically?

I don't currently feel there is any one political party that aligns with my ideals.

I may or may not get completely flamed, but I'm curious on other's thoughts. I will check back intermittently but I don't live on my phone/mumsnet.

This is not a troll post. I've been a mn user for over 18 years.

I'm feeling similar, not sure who to vote for. Have toyed with the idea of Lim Dems in the past, so may have a look at their policies a bit more.
Usually vote Labour, will see how the next four years pan out.

If you and @EasternStandard read the post properly you’d see I’ve cut and paste (wouldn’t let me quote).
We can all have different opinions and I agree with this.

AI will build you a data set and extrapolate the data if you are interested.

I agree op.
I think much of this comes down to poverty and much of the poverty comes down to housing. Low paid (essential) job don't pay and are actually better off on benefits than doing them.
My solution would be a massive council house building programme prioritising working, British people. At the moment you stand a better chance of council housing (of which there is a massive shortage of) if you have serious social problems, this just creates gettos. Originally council housing was to provide security for working people to get ahead. I think this might also ease the mental health crisis amongst our young. They could see that work does actually pay and they can get ahead with a job, even a low paid chappy job. Unfortunately this massive council house building programme will never happen because planning permission will be vigorously and determinedly objected to by the comfortablely housed. I think if it was clear that council housing would only be for working British people this might possibly ease objections but this policy of working and British would likely never get past equally laws.

I also work in fraud and all we see now is a massive increase in benefit tourism. Massive. Considering PIP is hard to get all family members are in receipt of it.

Yes, this is true of my northern city. Drug addicts congregate in the town square, off their faces first thing in the morning and get increasingly fucked up throughout the day. They walk into the bakeries and shops and just take food and drink off the shelves and eat it right there. No police come, nothing happens. It's open criminality and bleak hopelessness there every single day and nothing is done about it. These are all white British people whose lives have been wrecked by the years of Tory austerity which ruined prospects and plunged families into desperate poverty across the country while decimating any services that might have been able to mitigate the damage.

We don't have high levels of immigration here but it's a very pro-Reform Brexiteering city. Everyone wants to blame immigrants but the problems here are home-grown.

That said, Labour don't seem to be making anything better. The north is still ignored and this government don't seem interested in addressing the decline. It would be worse under the Tories and unthinkably bad under Reform. I still don't know if I could vote Labour again, but who else is there?

Also, at the other end of the scale, the rise of the billionaires has done terrible damage to the Western world. Tax them out of existence would be my solution. Nobody needs one billion nevermind 100 billion. This isn't something one country on its own can solve though, you need global cooperation on tax. Again, something that would never happen because billionaires are too powerful politically and for some bizarre reason the masses cheerlead them.
So basically we're fucked.

If I was in charge I would - 1. bring in id cards and tighten regulations so illegals can’t work making us less attractive 2. Maybe Rwanda wasn’t such a shit plan 3. Be much protective of our liberal values if you want sharia fgm and headscarves this isn’t the place for you 4. Take away the pensioners benefits but be more generous on iht so they can pass it on to youngsters and boost economy 5. Be much stricter on benefits have hostels so no one’s homeless but people are incentivised to work for their house 6. Do a massive inspiring ad campaign by Dannie Boyle or similar linking in our glorious history and saying come on everyone pull together now give back to your country not take

I think when problems are further away it’s easier to be idealistic. When they are on your doorstep you become much more pragmatic.

I don’t know what the answers are, can’t afford to be harder on criminals ( no money for prisons). Often people caught are low in the chain whereas the folk controlling things get off without consequence.

Immigration and asylum seekers, the reality is hundreds of millions/ billions of people do have at risk of violence or persecution/ challenging / difficult lives in other countries and you understand why they’d want to leave. The numbers don’t stack up though, we are a relatively small country.

I think the reality of the situation is that we are an aging population and pensioners are expensive they take up a huge proportion of DWP, NHS and council resources. This is only going to get worse in time so there will be less money to go around

I think its pretty depressing, I think if I were Rachel Reeves I’d hsve a cry too as the math isn’t adding up.

If Labour manage to get tough on Immigration, which I think is becoming a big problem for us on such a small island, and raise taxes, so we can have better services, then they will keep my vote.
Are there any parties who fit this bill, but who will also look after disabled people and carers?

Where do you think taxes should be raised?

Kendodd · Today 08:46
Also, at the other end of the scale, the rise of the billionaires has done terrible damage to the Western world. Tax them out of existence would be my solution.

edited - sorry I didn’t see your point about no worldwide tax authority before I answered.

I could have written that word for word OP. I feel exactly the same and it’s really uncomfortable. I don’t know what the answer is at the moment. I’m trying to step away more about caring but that doesn’t feel like me either and some of the issues you mention impact my family directly.

Across the board, happy to pay more in tax if it changes things for the better

I voted Lib Dem in the hope the current govt would be watered down and because Ed Davies has disabled child and may Maybe somewhat emphatic to those with disabilities.

However I really wasn't expected Labour to go for those they have. Absolutely not how I thought of Labour in the past.

I agree all benefits need looking at but I feel it should come from the professionals that care for the sick and disabled the doctors and psychologists and psychiatrists. Not someone on a telephone with no experience. Surely all evidence is ready made in those notes. Anyway I digress.

Reform are going to be the next govt, that's certain unless starmer does something radical to change things. Sacking Rachel reeves would be a good start.
However the problems we have are not all uk only so that makes it difficult.

I think the deterioration of many things in the UK - living standards and growing neglect across the board - has clearly accelerated but despite thinking some mistakes have been made by Labour, we can't forget that we have the Tories to thank for the systematic enshittification of our public services. They presided over Brexshit, all for the benefit of their billionaire mates, and brutally slashed investment. During her tenure, Theresa May slashed the police force by about 20%. Even if Sunak hired more police to make up for that, the numbers remain lower per capita than they were before the Tories came to power in 2010.
So, for crime rates, let's lay the blame at the feet of those who fucked it up.

I agree with the sentiment. I feel a bit politically homeless since Kier has been flip flopping around, and his 'views' has changed on a lot of things. Incredibly disappointed in them for feeding in to the increasingly hostile anti-trans rhetoric in the UK. Glad they banned political groups from Pride. Was the right thing to do.

I think we have a few challenges on raising taxes:

• Lower to average earners are already struggling to make ends meet, with their incomes often topped up by benefits of some sort
• Higher earners have a record income tax burden - paying rates of >50%+ from £50k - and already are heavily incentivised to work less or use pension contributions to reduce their tax burden
• The specific reason for tax increases at present seems to be to… give more benefits to a growing group of workless people. Which… I don’t think will land very well…

You mean anti-female rhetoric. Male Supremacy.

There's also a degree of age.

Older people are typically more Conservative than younger people who still have an idealistic view of how it would be nice for the world to work

Labour already increased taxes and borrowing by £70bn at the last budget.

The problem is those policies are slowing down receipts, and lifting debt servicing. It gets in a spiral.

Offering up more taxes, as keen as some are, is just the same again.

I don’t think I was disagreeing. More that you can see why we’ve embraced change without challenge over time. And mn is a good record of why that is.

I have felt so disengaged with politics. Always on the left. I am pleased as punch that Corbyn is starting a new party!

@BarkingupalltheTrees @MidnightPatrol

i don’t mind paying more Council Tax and Income Tax if we can see where it’s being spent (like the old days when we didn’t have the problems we have now)

We have had 14 years of Tory rule we should we living in a utopia like existence, except we aren’t thanks to their austerity measures, taking money that should have been spent in poorer areas and sending it to areas in Surrey, does anyone remember Rishi boasting about that?

Labour are getting such a hard time, it’s been a year to try and fix the austerity and the mess we are in because of the Tory governments. They are committed to creating growth and removing barriers to it in the financial markets, this is something that is being worked on now.

Half of the wealth in this country is owned by 50 families. If they were taxed at even 2 percent of their wealth that would have raised billions of pounds. The disparity between income and wealth is growing and social mobility is a joke. There is not only a glass ceiling but a class one too.

If we get Reform in then I believe that is the end of the NHS and the insurance based system won’t cover everything you need.

While illegal immigration should be looked at and resolved I don’t understand why the Tory govt made such poor inroads. I think they should have passed special immigration laws and fast tracked those applications within 3 months of arriving or face deportation and held them at the ports. That would have required more immigration law specialists but better than them wasting money on a barge and then the Rwanda system.

This is really interesting.
I'm lost too. I think the problems, well articulated in this thread, are
(1) Liberal left afraid to enforce laws lest they be seen as being anti immigrant or racist. Yes many of the issues are caused by poverty, but some is just plain old crime.
(2) Tories going too far to the right to appease Reform voters.
(3) Left rebels causing problems for the centralist middle trying to steady a ship. Like someone else said, basic NHS care should be available for all. "Luxury" treatments for fertility are separate and shouldn't be funded by the state and / or should be means assessed. Likewise if you choose to have six kids then it's not up to the state to fund that choice. I'm in favour of a cap on benefits. I accept it's not the child's fault but providing that child gets free school meals, education and other public services, there is no reason for the state to fund the parents for their choices.

If there was an election tomorrow, I would go Keir but I wish he would take on the rebels in his own party who have essentially forced tax increases on us as a result of their woke liberalism.