To wonder how the UK will look in 3 years time?

[Labradorlover987]

I was inspired to write this after reading the UC post that was just reported - the govt’s welfare bill has passed but was watered down so unlikely to make any real savings.

I earn 40k, have a school age child and just feel like I am living hand to mouth 😩 I 100% think there should be a welfare systems that supports people on low incomes but I wonder how the current system will be sustained in the long run?

Just wondered what other people thought.

I actually wouldn’t mind paying more in taxes if we could be guaranteed more in services etc - for example my council tax just went up and the services seem even worse this year than usual.

Sixth richest nation in the world.

Makes you think.

There's a solution to all of this. Tax wealth not work.

Older generations won't go for it though so we are stuck in this downward spiral

Organised crime and money laundering is out of control, all the police are corrupt, the City of London and its police force are corrupt, the Tories were all lining their own pockets during covid. Small businesses that are not money laundering are closing. Education and Health services are in tatters. This government are ridiculous. I do have respect for Wes Streeting, but he has an impossible task. Shop lifting, pick pocketing, tax dodging, all rife. Knife crime out of control. It is grim.

I agree with all this. The money laundering, dodgy barbers etc are all happening in plain sight and nothing is being done about it.

We have the largest non working population in the western world. The numbers claiming benefits are rocketing. We have the largest group of 18-22 years old, NEETs (the future working population).

@DrMorbius can you link to the above? never read this before.

I am old and I have always paid every penny of my income tax and still do. Admittedly it isn't much now as I only have a small pension, but I pay it. I just wish I wasn't funding so much corruption and incompetence. Most older people who had normal jobs don't have the money to pay accountants or the knowledge to fiddle their taxes.

We have Farage and his ilk to thank for Brexit and a stagnating economy,

Those who base their political views on what they read on the side of a bus are stupid enough to vote for him again.

Why wouldn’t they? The suggestion of a wealth tax would affect multi millionaires, not a couple living in a million pound house.

@tissuesand I don't understand your reply to me, older voters won't vote in a party that wants to tax their wealth. You can disagree.

There are vaccines for some cancers now, early days but they are on their way.

Usage of AI is detecting markers for heart disease and strokes earlier. Again early days.

There are drugs to slow dementia progression and obesity/type 2 diabetes treatments.

The people who spout climate change is project fear are finally being sidelined. The world works together to try and prevent widespread conflicts.

Starmer dies appear to be building international relationships again.

The UK is in a precarious position, we base a huge amount of our wealth on property which doesn’t create jobs, the people seem to dislike the service industries and high end manufacturing, bloody graduate jobs, and as a society seems very selfish and envious.

Labour are looking to modify the education system to vary testing and offer more vocational choice.

The qualities we used to have on the world stage of calm decency, apparently we don’t like these anymore and our soft power, particularly the BBC World Service we are getting rid of those.

Talk to teenagers, ours are quite positive for the future, not in the UK, but as a whole.

The UK shot itself in the foot with Brexit, we did, and instead of admitting that we are doubling down. But things can always change, for the worse as well as the better, let’s vote in Reform and see just how awful things can get. (We as a family have options to get out of here) you need money and/or education and/or youth and/or dual passport and an uncomplicated medical record to leave.

If you are stuck here it’s more important you look at the positives. There are some, just people achieving them are achieving them, not shouting on social media it’s all immigration or the women’s football team’s fault.

Do all migrants put added pressure on services? If they are illegal migrants, it is hard for them to be entitled to very much at all. There are way more than a million migrants in the UK, but most of them are working and paying taxes. Overall, migrants pay more tax than non-migrants.

Not sure where happy birthday came from!

but if it applies

then many happy returns

Add in all the vehicle related crimes too, i.e. no road tax, no insurance, driving without licence, jumping red lights, speeding, and of course the illegal e-bikes and e-scooters causing chaos. All the while the police too busy eating doughnuts and arresting people for saying/thinking "bad" things!

But yes, money laundering, illegal working, tax evasion, benefit fraud, all way out of control and HMRC/Police/Councils havn't a clue how to even start tackling it all.

Shoplifting too, rising exponentially.

This will all continue until we start to get tough on ALL crime. For 2/3 decades, we've had the wet softies in charge of law enforcement who've basically ignored "low level" crime but of course, the dividing line has risen, so the crimes being ignored have got more serious as time has passed. We need something like 3 strikes and you're in prison, regardless of the crime, to send a strong message to the serial "low level" criminals that they can't keep getting away with it.

It'll just get worse under Starmer as he's one of the wets and contributed to lawlessness during his time as DPP as he's a criminal rights lawyer!

So should be easy to identify the migrants who make a net contribution to the country and get rid of the others!

I think you may have this 100% right, you know. In 2031, we will be having this same conversation, but with the same undertones as those we see now between remainder and brexiteers. It will be the ‘well, you voted for Reform and this is what you got’ argument.
When sadly, there is in all actuality no good alternative party to the Lib/Lab/Con clusterfucks. As a PP said, none of our MP’s are intelligent enough to get us out this mess.

We need something like 3 strikes and you're in prison, regardless of the crime, to send a strong message to the serial "low level" criminals that they can't keep getting away with it.

Where do you propose all the money to pay for that comes from? And how many new prisons would we need?

AI should be regulated and should not be used in place of humans. Instead of going after immigrants people should be mad that companies are chasing even bigger profits by replacing people with AI.

Questionable human rights record. Not sure my ethics could support going there personally.

Why wouldn’t they? The suggestion of a wealth tax would affect multi millionaires, not a couple living in a million pound house.

No a wealth tax like any tax needs to hit the majority not multi millionaires who are global.

Voting records suggest self preservation eg Brexit, Tories. Add in outrage over winter fuel, nimbyism etc. Now you will reply with whatsboutery, straw man etc, whatever, you can argue with yourself.

Depends where they draw the line and set the thresholds. Look at Rachel's foul ups with WFA - first setting the bar too low and then setting it too high. There's no guarantee at all that she'd get it right with "taxing the rich". I'd highly expect them to botch it up and end up taxing Aunt Doris with her 4 bed house, whilst not plugging loopholes meaning the billionaire Russian Oligarch avoids it on his multi million pound mansion!

Didn't the Libdems (when in coalition), decide that "rich" meant workers earning over something like £70/£80k p.a. Completely bonkers!

I believe the suggestion is to tax those whose assets total more than £10 million.

The UK is in a precarious position, we base a huge amount of our wealth on property which doesn’t create jobs,

Our attitude to housing has fucked the economy

whilst not plugging loopholes meaning the billionaire Russian Oligarch avoids it on his multi million pound mansion!

you cannot target billionaires without global initiatives...

You forgot about the much needed investment in drainage and sewers, that obviously underpins Labours ability to build more housing. I predict we’ll all be rolling around in our own shit in 5 years, possibly even sooner. If you swim in the sea in UK, you’re probably already doing so.

Didn't the Libdems (when in coalition), decide that "rich" meant workers earning over something like £70/£80k p.a. Completely bonkers!

It is bonkers but plenty of people sitting in their expensive houses think someone earning 80k who may still be renting should pay more income tax. Ridiculous!