We don't want the government to lurch to the left

[Bargepole45]

I am absolutely astounded that Labour think it's democratic to decide that they can lurch to the left despite being elected with a very clear promise to not tax and spend. I believe this is absolutely not what the general public want and I am really worried that the economy isn't going to survive this and we will end up with an IMF bailout that will lead to very painful spending cuts for our most vulnerable.

Please vote:
YABU :I want Labour to lurch to the left in order to increase taxation and spending
YANBU: I don't want Labour to lurch to the left and would be against further tax and spending rises

How would you close the Cafe Nero loophole? Go on, tell us?

I’m not in denial. I just can’t get worked up about it. Good riddance.

People have always left. I can’t get worked up about that number of selfish arseholes leaving

Then who do you advocate for?

Nah, just taxing them somewhat realistically for a start. and legislating to ensure they can't get away with paying pittance salaries.

They can then do whatever they like with what will still be their absolutely enormous profits.

Polls consistently show the public want better services but don't want to pay for them.
I don't want to live in a society where we don't look after the less fortunate so don't mind paying more tax.

If you are a net beneficiary of the state and are left leaning and want more taxation to find more public spending then you are as much of a selfish arsehole than a young person leaving the country who doesn't want to be a net tax contributor.

Once again, Turkey don't vote for Christmas. It works both ways

I can’t get worked up about that number of selfish arseholes leaving

Why is it selfish to leave for a better quality of life? eg a chance to get on the housing ladder? afford dc? I think it’s a travesty how we have treated the young and a lot of older voters are incredibly selfish.

🙄grow up.

I know how many are leaving and have left every year.

Rising share of UK public in favour of tax and spending cuts

"The latest British Social Attitudes report, published on Tuesday by the National Centre for Social Research, showed that 19 per cent of people said taxes and spending should be reduced, the highest since comparable data was first available in 1983, and more than three times the all-time average of 6 per cent."

You can argue that 19% is not that much, but it's the trend which is important here. We've never seen the numbers like this before. Population is getting increasingly fed up of these enormous taxes feeding welfare spend.

What is even more important that those in favour of tax and spending cuts have only Reform and Tory to turn to. Tories have little chance at this stage so Reform it is then.

This was all so predictable in 2024, but nobody would listen.

For avoidance of doubt - I'd rather chop my hand than vote Reform. But those of you who are still shouting for higher taxes and higher spending need to understand that you're bringing Reform in, and then it's exactly these left wing ones who will suffer the most.

Not who, what.

There isn't currently a mainstream Westminster political party I could vote for, because they are all wedded to the same neolib, right-of-centre idiocy that has caused the shitty situation the UK is in right now.

Why? Taxation works for the benefit of everyone not the individual and the result makes for a more cohesive society that actually functions.

Ypu are talking about selfishness wanting low taxation for the individual.

I hope they’re not living on their wits.

See it's this kind of attitude that worries me about the Labour soft left. You seem to despise even small business owners. Do you think they are all wealthy? Have you ever run or worked for a small business? Do you have no idea at all of their value to the economy?

@XDownwiththissortofthingX yes

That’s incorrect you said you didn’t know any so it wasn't happening

and to think good riddance is short sighted

@PocketSand Ww are at the stage now where it will be more than painful to employers! Do you really think they have this amount of money swilling around? Most employers need money to innovate too. Putting vast costs onto employers means redundancies. All governments have gone along with in work benefits however we have loads of people deliberately working part time to keto benefits going. It’s not all about poor wages. Lots of the issues are about not working full time.

Well then yes, I'd say it's quite likely a significant number of prospective Reform voters are, themselves, in receipt of benefits.

Turkeys and Christmas, etc.

Higher taxation absolutely doesn't work for the individual if you are a net contributor. Especially once it goes beyond a certain level and all the arguments about a 'civilised society' can't be made. Clearly some people would be financially better off in a low tax economy where they fund just their own needs privately. This is why Dubai etc is attracting a lot of these people. You can think whatever you want about the ethics of this but it's clear that the people going there feel that they are better off there.

It is fundamentally selfish to want tax increases funded by someone else to fund spending that will be spent on you. You are essentially asking one family to fund another. It isn't a selfless stance to take when you're the beneficiary. It is by definition selfish.

They could afford to pay out a bit more. They just don’t want ro.

How else do you suggest we raise our wages to the equivalent of the rest of the Wearwrn world.

This and wanting people to leave. It’s really something to see how much pp lack understanding around these two basic things.

I can't help but agree with this.

Look, I'm probably left of centre, certainly not "hard left", and fully agree with personal responsibility, hard work, making good choices as far as can reasonably be foreseen, the constant division of people into net contributors and net beneficiaries and the disdain and contempt in which the latter now seem to be held is becoming deeply upsetting and even frightening to behold to someone born with, shall we say, far from perfect health.

What utter utter shite.

How are we supposed to run schools and roads with no taxation?

But then you have to factor in costs of iPads/TVs and their replacements, software and licensing, IT support for said software and you would still realistically need a member of staff to man a desk for enquiries/issues etc.

I agree you could probably make a saving in the long term (after initial outlay and roll out) but nowhere near the 150k per year mark.

You seem to despise even small business owners. Do you think they are all wealthy? Have you ever run or worked for a small business? Do you have no idea at all of their value to the economy?

We do have to acknowledge though that one reason for our low productivity is that some companies that normally would fold survived longer than normal due to low interest rates.

@treeowl Becayse they are forced to borrow!!!! Not because they make £millions! It’s the state that’s the most unproductive. Sort that out and we might get better value for our taxes.