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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is The IMF taking Over perhaps just what the country needs

530 replies

WaitingInForMyFoodShopping · 01/09/2025 08:55

Ok bear with me. This sounds like an idiotic thing to say because if the IMF are involved it means the country is officially in a mess and the IMF will slash spending and enforce their own budgets and rules. So anyone on benefits might lose them, NHS funding will likely go down, same for the police force etc

It just occurred to me today that the country is in a complete mess and there isn't really any end in sight.

Headlines today - I didn't read the detail but I am just getting more angry, helpless feeling and frustrated and want 'somebody' who has some balls to step in and say enough. Things change from today. Todays headlines are rising taxes, 1/10 high school kids on benefits, families of migrants can claim benefits from day 1 even if they don't speak english.

Now i will caveat this by saying the housing market does need sorted but lets be honest that's not what they are trying to do here - it's just about raising taxes. I also say there is another articles claiming ' a crackdown on bring families into Britain' - something that made me snort with derision giving the whole small boats/protests going on just now.

I mean lets just get to the point. Does ANYONE think RR/KS are able to fix this mess. I know they didn't cause it. I know they have been in office less than a year but if we give them another year are they able to fix it. I personally don't think so. It is going to need someone very tough to brave the mess and take it in hand (Maggie Thatcher where are you now).
So what are we left with - voting Reform - which I have joked about doing but i don't actually think that is the way to go. That's borne out of desperation. So who is going to fix it then.

AIBU to think a complete reset, painful as it will be by the IMF is just what the country needs?

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19
twistyizzy · 05/09/2025 11:08

1dayatatime · 05/09/2025 11:04

@Alexandra2001

Size of the economy is misleading, otherwise you could argue that because the Indian economy is bigger than the UK's then Indians are richer than Brits. A much better comparison would be GDP per capita , which based on your previous posts you are clearly smart enough to know.

On GDP per capita the UK ranks around 18th to 20th in the world (depending if you use IMF orWorld Bank figures ) but consistently below Germany and above France.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita

The problem is that the UK economy is in much greater decline in comparison to say other G7 countries, experiencing significant lower growth:

https://fullfact.org/economy/gdp-growth-international-comparisons/

Also in a recent survey 68% of the public thought that the UK economic situation would be worse in a year's time than it is today.

The problem is then that economically the UK is in decline but that voters still expect the level of public services, public sector salaries and state benefits that they enjoyed when the economy was in a much stronger position. To do this the Government runs a deficit of around £130 billion a year (adding to the national debt of £2.9 trillion) which in today's Government bond markets (debt markets) is becoming harder and much more expensive to borrow from.

The Government currently pays £112 billion per year on just the interest for the national debt. Around the same as the entire UK education budget of £119 billion.

This is clearly not sustainable and we are now seeing the economic cracks appear.

Also governments making policies such as raising employer NI which create things like this don't help either

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/04/uk-businesses-cut-jobs-at-fastest-pace-in-four-years-over-summer-bank-of-england-finds

UK businesses cut jobs at fastest pace in four years over summer, Bank of England finds

Companies say increase in employer national insurance contributions has forced them to cut jobs and raise prices

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/04/uk-businesses-cut-jobs-at-fastest-pace-in-four-years-over-summer-bank-of-england-finds

1dayatatime · 05/09/2025 13:34

twistyizzy · 05/09/2025 11:08

Also governments making policies such as raising employer NI which create things like this don't help either

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/04/uk-businesses-cut-jobs-at-fastest-pace-in-four-years-over-summer-bank-of-england-finds

Show quote history

This is another example of Labour not thinking through the secondary impacts of their policies.

It reminds me of a quote from Churchill:

"We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle".

twistyizzy · 05/09/2025 13:35

1dayatatime · 05/09/2025 13:34

This is another example of Labour not thinking through the secondary impacts of their policies.

It reminds me of a quote from Churchill:

"We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle".

Show quote history

But anyone with half a brain would realise this surely? It was bleeding obvious

Alexandra2001 · 05/09/2025 13:46

1dayatatime · 05/09/2025 13:34

This is another example of Labour not thinking through the secondary impacts of their policies.

It reminds me of a quote from Churchill:

"We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle".

Show quote history

Yet we had 10 years of lower taxes, esp Corp tax, one the lowest in the G7 and CGT before 2020.... very little growth, poor productivity too.

If not NI increases, which tax would you have raised to put into the NHS, pay for public sector pay rises, nmw increase, 11 billion on compensation scandals, extra for Defence & to pay for Hunts NI cuts? @10 billion per year.....

Govt, with correct taxation and investment can drive growth.... where we have gone wrong is higher taxes, spent on benefits inc in-work ones.

But as we saw, when a Govt tries to cut, everyone complains, cuts mean losers, people worse off, 2 levels of benefit for the same disability.... or some being refused their claim.

Its not possible for it to be done any other way or the savings will be insignificant.

Not for nothing, gilts dropped back when Reeves talked again about Benefit cuts.

SerendipityJane · 05/09/2025 14:10

Govt, with correct taxation and investment can drive growth.... where we have gone wrong is higher taxes, spent on benefits inc in-work ones.

When things are slow, you spend on infrastructure.

The UKs problem is that all the infrastructure has been pawned out to a bunch of spivs who need it to be a cash cow and who will fight to the death to prevent any attempt to remove the value from (say) trains. Or buses. Or water. Or electricity.

TL;DR is that what benefits workers - lower transport costs, better transport, lower housing costs, affordable childcare - almost diametrically opposes what benefits the wealthy "investors" who rely on: high fares, poor transport, high rents, low maintenance, high childcare costs.

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