Is anyone better off since Labour

[Luckymum20]

I am not just talking financially but feeling optimistic about the future for children, old age.

With the £22 billion debt now pasing £50 billion.

The increase in Council tax (that they said the wouldn't do). OAPs raid on pensions and no Winter fuel relief. Changes to finance regarding care homes. Utilities up. TV licence up. Food costs up...

I know minimum wage has increased but all costs have increased by a greater amount!

In 2021 minimum wage was almost 30% lower than it is now...

So I ask. Is anyone actually feeling better off, optimistic and pleased with this Government.

Also the October budget of likely to bring more stains on the 'average working man"

YABU - change will happen. It a good thing.

YANBU - not good

I'm no worse off. My council tax goes up every year anyway (Tory council).

What do you mean by ‘OAPs raid on pensions’? Why wouldn’t the tv licence go up each year? Inflation. Do you think pensioners on over £35k ought to get the winter fuel allowance? Is this a good use of money?

The low tax paid by the average working man is the difference between our public services and those on the continent. You can’t have the average wage worker paying 20% income tax and expect good public services. It’s not enough.

Im interested to see what the chancellor does at the next budget.

In 2021 minimum wage was almost 30% lower than it is now...

So minimum wage has gone up by 30%? That's a good thing surely? Or have I misunderstood?

I’m not as angry. I like that they are putting in place policies I agree with.
I like that private school fees are subject to VAT. We have been screwed by the Tories and Brexit. The right wing media is out to get them.
We need to face what Brexit has done.
I fear how stupid the electorate is and the massive amount of money going in to discrediting Labour in the press and social media.
I genuinely believe there has been a concerted effort to infiltrate Mumsnet with anti Labour posters.
Also food prices are going to sky rocket because of Climate Change. This has been an appalling years for farmers.

They've reinstated the winter fuel allowance and the state pension went up by more than inflation. Minimum wage was increased, free school meals introduced, childcare fees being reduced. Increased spending on the NHS and waiting times reduced.
There's a very long way to go but 14 years of under investment by the Tories is going to take a long time to put right.

I feel like Labour are working really hard and putting lots of good ideas into practice -house building, second home additional council tax. It will take time for the benefits from the work they are doing to be felt. There are lots of other pressures in the world at the moment leading to increased costs for consumers but that is not Labours fault. Feel like the national press never gives them a break either.

I’m not as angry. I like that they are putting in place policies I agree with.
I like that private school fees are subject to VAT.

I dislike ‘putting in place policies people agree with’. Especially tax policies people agree with. Wealth taxes would be harmful but people agree with them. Giving those earning over £100k a nil rate band and free child care would be massively beneficial to the overall tax take and the economy but people disagree with them. The average voter is a poor judge of good tax policy.

Worse off thanks to VAT on school. Now won't have savings at all but, on the plus side someone explained that means I can now apply for state benefits and dd will get a loan for Uni and be entitled to more from the state.
Could be that is a longer term win but I have to squint to see it.

I do trust them more than the Tories though. Even if I am not convinced Wes Streeting is doing much good for the NHS it isn't getting worse as quickly as it did under the Tories. Which is how I feel about a lot of things really - was declining so rapidly under the Tories no one was sure what would happen one day to the next other than it would be batshit crazy and usually quite racist.

I had a more than 1% pay rise for the first time in 14 years so I feel better off even though everything else has gone up too!
Because it was going up just as much when I had a 1 or 0% pay rise! At least I’m catching up abit!

I would however much rather that they tax cash in hand cowboys and the super rich before education. Seems obvious which is more important to me.

I’m around £4000 a year worse off thanks to Robber Reeves. I earn more than I ever have done, but have less disposable income than I dud in my twenties. I despise Labour.

I didn't vote for them, but I now am keeping my fingers crossed given the rise of Reform and all that entails, particularly after hearing Farage today.

Rachel needs to break her fiscal rules, I'm afraid. Instead of tinkering around the edges cutting here and there, she needs to wear her big girl pants and:

Raise income tax across the board by (say) 1% for normal rate and (say) 1.5% for higher rate tax payers. This boil needs lancing right now.

Introduce split-level VAT. Standard rate as it currently applies, but a higher rate for certain goods, e.g. cars over a certain price, long-haul flights etc.

Reduce business rates and employer NI for SMEs, small businesses etc. and incentivise employer/school/college links with further tax relief.

Extend and increase the digital services tax aggressively (Apple, Amazon, etc.).

Extend maternity/paternity support and provide tax incentives or university fee waivers for people having children below (say) 30 years of age.

Suspend Raynor's Employment Rights Bill. Yes, it could be helpful, but not right now. We need to grow the economy first, which means business first.

AND Labour absolutely must improve their political communication and be proactive in dealing with the threat from Reform. I am gobsmacked how utterly poor their communications are. They are losing every debate at the moment, but it doesn't take much more than a tiny brain to pick apart Farage's politics.

Maybe it’s obvious but I’m tired - how would

‘Giving those earning over £100k a nil rate band and free child care would be massively beneficial to the overall tax take and the economy’?

Id be better off with fewer bullshit political threads probably started by people doing work experience for any of the political parties, and prefer it if said parties put their efforts into credible ideas and then didn't post about them here. Labour included.

I know, I don't have to read it, there's just a lot of these types of thread

How can you go from paying for private school to being eligible for state benefits?

Tories were shite, this lot are just shite with chocolate sprinkles on top.

I would say I was disappointed, but I'm not because they are living down to the very low expectations I had for them. If anything, I'm surprised by just how quickly the arse has fallen out of it and just how quickly Starmer's popularity has completely tanked, because I thought they'd at least get through 18 months to 2 years before it got this bad, but "well played" I suppose.

Am I better off? No, but that's as much a facet of ongoing CoL as much as anything Labour has or hasn't done. I ambivalent about a lot of their policy, but what I can not accept or forgive is pandering to Reform-inclined idiots who would never vote for Labour in any case, just to be seen to be having some sort of response to immigration concerns. They should be distancing themselves from Reform at every juncture, not aping them, and calling out the rhetoric, dog-whistles, and straightforward lying at every single turn. They've even started using the same disingenuous, othering, and incendiary language, and that is wholly unforgiveable.

They haven't been handed an easy task, but still, it's possible to have next to no expectations for a government and still find them completely underwhelming, which is more or less where I am with them right now.

No and the fact they have back tracked on several things does not feel me with confidence they are going to improve anything. You make a policy then stick with it as you should of thought about it before announcing. Awful start and the black hole seems to just be getting bigger

No, with the reduction in childcare fees (which was a Tory policy), and the increases in everything else we are about even. We are working hard to earn more but more keeps getting taken and suspect taxes will rise in October and we’ll start to have less then before. It’s depressing really but I’m not sure the tories would have been able to do any better.

I think they're doing the 'boring' stuff quite well. If you look at what they are getting done it's all quite sensible and they're putting in building blocks for the future.

Of course you never get to hear about it because it's not a headline grabbing as the 'boat people'

I agree that Labour are being more proactive in many areas whereas the Conservatives had appeared to have run out of ideas in their last years in government. Labour inherited a UK on its knees but Reeves and Starmer in my opinion have made some right blunders. They could have taken that first budget to say look this is where we're at and increased income tax and NI. Although their manifesto was no tax rises, these are exceptional times. They will probably end up raising income tax eventually.

Personally we are no worse off then a year ago financially.

Of course they are.

Two Tier’s lawyer friends are raking it in from his immigration policies. Those benefitting from corrupt green subsidies. And Angela Rayner. She’s buying houses all over the place. What a socialist.

I kind of don't mind boring? 🤷For example I read they are bringing in more rights for workers next year.

I'm happy with how things are at this time. Financially we are fine.

I support Labour but not happy. I only see things getting worse tbh. Can’t name one improvement. Cost of living is breaking us all