To ask how much you think income tax will rise by?

[Wonderofwimbledon]

We’re absolutely financially at our limit… I’m so incredibly stressed. An income tax rise will break us and we won’t be able to afford it. We won’t have money to eat.

What do you think it’ll be? I just want to curl up and cry- we can’t take anymore increases our bills , mortgage everything has increased we have no spare money at all

In 2022 Q3 the GDP per Capita CVM (adjusted for inflation) figure was 8600. In Q2 2024 it was 8,507 - so still lower than two years previously even with 0.7% and 0.4% growth in Q1 2024 and Q2 2024.

Yes. My MIL who worked five years her whole life, and has £1m assets, gets almost £450 pm in AA she doesn’t financially need (and doesn’t spend!)
Just banks it. Their financial advisor has told PIL they need to get rid of some money…’but there’s nothing we need!’

Never mind. I’m sure you’ll be able to spend it when they die.

Growth is reported as above. It’s either higher or lower.

0.7 and 0.4 for two quarters is obviously higher than 0.9 for 12 months.

That is not really an argument for means testing.
If you means test things like AA and PIP, there will be people who fall a tiny bit on the wrong side of the cut off, and if they do spent on their disabilities, will be a lot worse off.

And as a Tory, and a pensioner, who has made savings for the future, I don't disagree with the logic here. We were encouraged to pile money into our pension, but there's uncertainty about whether one will be able to take it out in future. Right or wrong, we decided last year that we would take our lump sum. We're nearly 70. But once it arrived in our bank, we shifted it down to DC in days so it's not inherited money. It will buy DC a small house outright in the area he plans to settle, and it's likely that one of us will live another seven years so it should not form part of our estate. Fingers crossed.

On this salary a solicitor in private sector would be lucky to only work 50-60h per week, have to pick up a call/answer email at any time of the day and whilst on holiday, have very limited sick policy, etc. Does this all apply to LA one?

It's mostly funded by the employer - rather than the employee (although yes it forms part of the overall package) but the big difference is in where the risk lies.

If investments underperform, if wages outperform, if people live longer, if inflation is higher than expected - that risk is all with the employer. Very few private sector employees have access to these pensions now. Most private sector are defined contribution; you pay in your percentage, employer pays in theirs, employer has no further obligations and all the above risks lie with the individual.

You can't compare quarter on quarter growth with annual growth.

In the four quarters since Labour were elecetd growth has been .0.8% (I have re-done the numbers using the raw data rather than from the graphs on the ONS site), in the last four quarters of the Tory government, growth was 0.3%.

Attached are the graphs which show the data I linked to earlier:

• Quarterly since 2022 to show the last few quarters of the last government vs the first four quarters of the current government

• Quarterly since 1998 (with 6 quarters removed for the financial crash and 6 quarters removed for Covid)

• Annual change since 1998 - single year change including single year change and average annual change for each government (2% Labour and 1.5% for the Tories). I've removed 2008 and 2009 for and 2020 and 2021 for the financial crisis and Covid.

• 5 year change and 5 year average

• 10 year change and 10 year average

Sick pay would be better - but yes, LA staff in those sorts of roles can often work 50 hour weeks and work during evenings, weekends. I wasn't a solicitor, but was in a similar level role and rarely worked less than 50 hours a week.

I the last two quarters pre GE growth was 0.7 and 0.4. It then dropped to near zero after the GE.

ONS doesn’t complicate reporting on this as it doesn’t need to be. I’m happy to use their figures.

Thats unfortunate. There will always be people who just miss a benefit cut off.

Irrelevant. I’d rather she, and many thousands like her didn’t receive it in the first place.

I don’t particularly care. My parents were entitled to it and could have used it to help towards the four care visits a day and then care home fees but didn’t claim it. There must be thousands of people who don’t, it all evens out in the end.

If you advocate for complete removal of UC don't be surprised or complain if crime rate rockets.

Why would crime ‘rocket’, please?

@BloominNora Seriously? You don’t jump from being a ‘working person’ on £45k a year to a hundred million in the Cayman Islands after a pay rise ?!? Make it make sense, just a little bit.
How does children’s education tax, limiting pension contribution salary sacrifice, income tax rises, pay per mile, mass immigration, increase in VAT etc do anything about a family office based in the Caymans?
This is really the crux of the ideology, Labour will throw everything at fighting an imaginary evil they learnt about in A level sociology that they’ll burn the country to the ground and ruin hundreds of thousands of families. We see you.

Working person I believe is just being used instead of povo and not so povo.

That working person nonsense is unravelling fast.

Or maybe people will decide to take their life in their hands and will work/hustle and strive to make ends up. They might work multiple jobs, all better than receiving UC

Some people can’t get one job, let alone multiple jobs. It shouldn’t be necessary in the sixth richest country in the world for people to work more than one job. It’s as plain as the nose on your face that desperate people take desperate measures and crime increases with extreme poverty.

There's not enough jobs for everyone to have one job, let alone several.

And as someine who has multiple jobs but part time so not so challenging, its actually harder than it sounds to get jobs that dont clash. My son has the same issue. Every employer wants flexibility in their favour. Some places mess shifts around weekly.

The sixth richest country you say? Not necessary for people to work hard? Hows does a country have a big and thriving economy if not through people who work hard?

Gig economy. Night shifts. Working weekends.

If there's a will. There's a way.

Working hard shouldn’t require working multiple jobs.