To think putting vat on private healthcare when many people use it because the NHS won't treat them is monstrously cruel

[DervlaGlass]

I know so many people who have had to pay for cancer diagnostics or new joints because they couldn't obtain care from the NHS. Not rich people - people who have to take out bank loans to fund it.

What is wrong with labour.

Tomorrow Today. Everything is good on tomorrow today.

It isn't even a lottery - there is a top rated state school in the next county to me and the house prices in the catchment area are extortionate compared to a similar properties in neighbouring areas. Over the last 2 decades house prices just in catchment have rocketed. Rich people move there to get their child in, then sell up once the child or children leave. Anyone who can't afford a million for a house has no chance.

Precisely but no, independent schools are the issue 🙄

Neither are luxuries. Both are necessities.

And by the way, my mum didn’t jump the queue. The NHS outright refused to do it. So she wasn’t in the queue. It was desperately needed as confirmed by the private consultant. 20 years on = zero regrets. All problems in that are fixed. Permanently.

Also note that this broken healthcare system that couldn’t give her this basic procedure was under the last Labour government, before the Tories “broke everything”.

And also my SEN kid is now old enough to vote. Neither him nor my mum will vote Labour. Ever. I don’t understand your comment about valuing kids left, but it seems incendiary anyway.

It was an appeal to their base and will have firmed up a few disgruntled Corbynistas. That was the whole point. Class warfare never went away and is in fact making a huge comeback after decades of apathy among the exploited classes.

wtf is this 😬

No idea, just Darren Pocket Money Jones saying that they have kept their pledge to not raise VAT...but now it's tomorrow today...and that if you are confused, don't worry about it.

🤷🏼‍♀️ No clue

Hilarious. What numpties they are

Darren was poached by Starmer from the treasury as one of our best and brightest...

There literally just going to confirm day to day until the budget. VATs not changing today, then next the day nope VATs not changing today, until we get to budget day when they go baam VATs going up to 25% today.

Just to keep the markets on their toes.

It’s just the The Mail and Telegraph shit stirring. Why worry about something that isn’t happening? Wasted energy.

Budget Day: Tomorrow Tomorrow.

If everyone took that approach to MN threads there would be very little happening here.

haha probably. They’re utterly woeful but you made me laugh. They probably will.

Bollocks. My OH has had cancer for 8 years and pays privately for "standing" MRI scans because he can't tolerate the narrow tube scanners used by the NHS. His oncologist insists on a full body MRI scan every year to continue his life-long chemotherapy that he needs to survive, but she can't offer a "standing" MRI on the NHS, so he has no choice but to pay privately for the standing one, at a cost of about £5k per time. That's not elitist, it's survival due to NHS inadequacy! Before he started going private, he tried, probably over a dozen times, to tolerate the NHS tube ones, but had panic attacks each time, the last time, he collapsed with a heart beat over 200 and had to be rushed to A&E Resus for them to steady his heart, so very serious and we won't try again, rightly so!

It sounded like you support VAT on seeking appropriate education for kids with SEND (which state can’t provide) but don’t support VAT on privately sought healthcare to meet the needs you’ve identified. The obvious difference is adult vs child.
If you are saying you don’t support VAT on either education or healthcare I stand corrected.
if you support VAT on education but not healthcare then my point stands.

But why is it stirring? There was overwhelming support for VAT on seeking private education, even for kids with SEND whose needs the state could not meet. Surely there’ll be a similar level of support for this?

Everyone agrees someone needs to pay more tax and everyone also agrees that this should be someone else as they feel they already pay enough tax. It’s exhausting. I wish we could try making more money but there is no political will to make the country more attractive to growth businesses and investors.

And also no political will to cut spending which is what we should be doing before raising taxes.

The waits are so long a child will be an adult by the time they are diagnosed so goodbye ehcp and support in school

EHCPs are based on needs, not diagnosis. You don’t need a diagnosis to request an EHCNA or get an EHCP.

I don't think we should be paying any more tax. I think that we need to cut welfare and services in a controlled manner while we still can. If we tax all growth and innovation out of the economy then there'll be nothing left to run the basics and shelter the most vulnerable.

🎯

As an NHS employee I’d disagree. They are currently cutting more spending with further downbandings in the NHS, which will lead to further decreased services as more of us leave … to work privately
VAT on private healthcare could be used to help fund the NHS, just like VAT on education is said to fund schools.

So you think a country with record child poverty, still increasing from the last 15yrs, should make life even harder for those who have so little.
As you don’t feel the state should support those in need, how do you actively help your community?

This isn't a feelings conversation. It's just a statement of fact. More tax, less growth, high bond yields, less revenue for spending.