AIBU to want this government to do some actual governing?

[CoralTrout]

So frustrated with the lack of actual effective governing by our current government. Lifelong labour voter and hoped for rapid, pragmatic solutions to domestic problems and considered leadership on international issues. Instead we get bogged down in murky political appointments and constant U-turns on poorly thought through policies.

Every sympathy to the victims of Epstein and his co-offenders. Those culpable should be investigated and brought to justice however powerful / rich. But this current media storm and government instability should never have happened. One instance of inappropriate and / or illegal behaviour in a public office and that's it - no further government appointments should be allowed. One strike and you are out for life. It is a privilege to form part of our government not a personal opportunity to gain wealth, power or escape the law.

My heart hurts reading about 3 more young people dead this week in knife attacks. What is this government doing about tackling knife crime? I have no idea. Banning online sales of knives (except cutlery)? Automatic custodial sentence for carrying a knife? Knife amnesty? Prison for those selling knives to minors? All of these could be introduced quickly and make a difference. While this government flails about young people are dying.

Also don't understand why Labour keep going after the most vulnerable in our society to reduce benefit spending. Most of the electorate agree the welfare system is too complex and unaffordable but random cuts and changes are unpopular and divisive. The whole system needs radically redesigning to be fit for the world we live in now and not just tweaking a system designed 100 years ago.

Just two examples. There are many more!

AIBU to be so frustrated how Labour are letting us down. Anyone else sick of it? What can we do?

Remind me ..how much governing was achieved by the conservatives when they were in power?

Well exactly - how did we get to the place of racing to the bottom with our government. Depressing.

Why would the government take action against knife crime when the rates are lowest ever?

Like what? They have banned various types of knives that are associated with violence. www.gov.uk/government/news/ninja-swords-banned-by-summer-as-manifesto-commitment-delivered

Some of the things other they have done

Banned junk food adverts for children
Employment rights bill
Martyn's law
Abolish non-dom status
Ended vat exception for private schools

The problem with actual governing is that getting anything done through the civil service is incredibly hard (the so called "Government blob").

Secondly with the current level of Government debt, an inability to cut spending because of backbench rebellions and an inability to raise taxes as it will further slow the economy, there simply isn't any money available to effect significant changes.

In the year ending March 2024, Home Office data shows there were 262 homicides (the killing of one person by another) using a sharp instrument, including knives and broken bottles. This meant sharp instruments were used in 46% of the 570 homicides that occurred in England and Wales in 2023/24.

I don't think 5 deaths a week is "low". Knife crime has only fallen by 9% from 2024 to 2025 and remains 50% higher than before the pandemic.

Then perhaps we have to consider if stop and search policies are the lesser of two evils?

Is that the benchmark??

The OP has asked a valid question about the present government.

I watched the C4 programme about Ninja knives at the weekend I could not believe these were legal to buy online by anyone. Shocking lack of governing. In regards to your list:

Banned junk food adverts for children - great but not heard of this
Employment rights bill - good shout
Martyn's law - not heard of this
Abolish non-dom status - has this happened?
Ended vat exception for private schools - had heard of this but not convinced this is systemic change for most

I am well read, watch the news etc. and feel this is quite a limited list.

It's a very limited list of things I could think of in less than a minute. Had to Google the link to the knives thing.

It says a lot about the media in this country that all these things have happened, but you as a well read news watching individual hadn't heard of some of them

The media never cover the boring effective changes. A lot of good work goes unreported , especially by governments that do not meet with the approval of the right wing press

I do have some sympathy for this but I also think this government brings about its own obfuscation of it's "effective changes" with the constant dubious appointments, leadership "challenges" (Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting) and U-turns. Much more exciting (and click generating) for the media to cover than banning junk food adverts.

This was published just before Christmas but I thought made for interesting reading OP.

I do think this current government is very bad at communicating - including communicating its own achievements.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/22/labour-2025-apprenticeships-workers-wages-price-rises-children

Thanks for the link @MotherofPearl . The Best Start initiative is such a brilliant step forward. The Tory cancellation of Sure Start was a terrible mistake.

Capped ground rent at £250

Come to Scotland where most of the time is spent asking why the government is fighting tooth and nail to keep men in women’s prisons, they have made dog snatching illegal even though it already was and they have banned greyhound racing even though we have no greyhound racing tracks in the country. All while violence in schools soars, the NHS gets worse annd worse and major infrastructure projects are still failing.

They do, actually.

I do wish posters would stop comments like this. Let's not compare Governments by how bad they are. This Labour Government was elected to be better and do better. Are we unreasonable to expect higher standards ? Or should we accept the 'yes they are shit but less shit than the Tories?'

Thank you for sharing this it makes interesting reading.

Another really excellent step forward will be the ban of puppy farming, greater regulation of dog breeders and the crack down on puppy smuggling all as part of the Animal Welfare Strategy. So much suffering prevented.
www.gov.uk/government/news/defra-announces-biggest-animal-welfare-reforms-in-a-generation

Exactly. It feels like tinkering rather than systemic improvement and growth fit for the mid 2000s. The Labour government was elected with a mandate (majority) which should have enabled once in a lifetime change. For example why do we still have the same Hospital Front Door (A&E) for a stubbed toe and a heart attack? UTCs are a solution but sparse, opening hours are limited and most people don't know what the UTCs can treat so off they go to A&E.

It would be nice if Labour did some actual Labouring, but that ship sailed 25 years ago with the most right wing prime minister to that date, Blair. All we’ve had since are money-movers talking about money-moving, unsurprisingly therefore they are not in the least interested in making the country actually work well for plebs.

I wonder if the London political elite have actually just given up and are indeed pursuing disaster capitalist policies now, looking at the ecological issues. We are screwed bow. So many opportunities to stop it, so many ‘pause’ moments when there was going to be real change, all sold for greed.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/27/uk-government-report-ecosystem-collapse-foi-national-security

There is heaps of governing, you won't read about it in the newspapers of course. Good news does not produce clicks, gossip and scandal does. If you click on that you will keep being served it. Try the Warm Homes plan, the COVID corruption commission, the end of the 2 child limit etc, search for those and you will find interesting progress.

You are right but people's standards for the left are MUCH higher, without perhaps considering how deep the shit left behind is. People are turning to the greens, not because they suddenly discovered environmentalalism, but because they have little patience for Labour.

Are people really 'turning to the Greens'? I'm not sure. I just see people disappointed, disillusioned, let down and fed up with all of our elected representatives. The new leader of the Greens doesn't seem particularly inspirational. Just more of the same lacklustre quality.