To think few lives have improved due to Labour’s policies

[Sandysandytoes]

I knew they wouldn’t benefit me - but I thought they might help some people.

Train drivers have more money but other than that I’m struggling. I’ve lost my job as a direct result of their policies, it would be nice to find some positives.

YABU = my life had improved as a result of Labour’s policies.

YANBU = it hasn’t improved or has got worse

A huge part of the problem is our productivity never recovered from the 08 crash. Little investment by the government or business into people and infrastructure. The super low interest rates hid a lot of this though, people didn’t notice their wages had stopped growing. Now the shit has hit the fan and people realise they are poorer. Plus we have the unprecedented demographic change of an ageing population and a complete lack of planning for it. It’s a complete mess & as I said I’m not sure how you fix it now. Taxes will keep going up just to cover costs & debt, improving things will be a pipe dream.

@EasternStandard I think you misunderstood me. I’m sure the NI raise has impacted some jobs, one difference in the aftermath of the 08 crash is that we didn’t see huge unemployment and a market correction to certain businesses as we have in previous recessions. I think some of that is playing out now.
And I just don’t believe without a raise that jobs would not have been lost.

And big part of our lack of growth is the demographic changes and the money allocated to fund that.

We are actively worse off, but we are higher earners (FT) so I suppose that's "progressive" to the parasitical tendencies on the left. We are also selling two of our rental properties, so that's five adults finding somewhere new to live.

Politics has not made any sense under this Labour gov (or the previous Tory one, tbf). Conservatives used to be in favour of low tax, small state, personal responsibility whereas Labour taxed more heavily, but invested in services and looked after those who are dependent on the state. Despite this, the most recent Tory administration relied on fiscal drag to inflate revenue, did nothing to make tax less punitive for business and was too frightened of being called "scum" by ruffians like Grangela to undertake meaningful NHS or welfare reform. The current Labour government is taxing people like true socialists, but utterly failing to improve the lots of those who rely on income or healthcare from the state.

They also have a disturbing 'forked tongue' tendency, e.g. talking up NHS waiting list improvements caused by simply crossing people off, pointing fingers at MC parents as the reason SEND reform is needed while stripping children of legal rights and offering schools derisory funding to fill the gap, assuring everyone they know what a woman is whilst sitting on the ERHC guidance that gives them protection in law. None of them are honest, credible or talented. On an individual level, I back Kemi as the most talented and charismatic, but the Tory "brand" is so toxic now that she has no chance of being PM.

I have zero expectation that Reform will improve matters for anyone other than their billionaire paymasters, but equally I have every expectation that Farage will be PM in a few years. The two main parties only have themselves to blame for that - Labour had one job in 2024: be less shit and corrupt than the Tories. Despite this low bar, they catastrophically failed.

I completely agree and I'd say that Thatcher defeating the trade unions and the sell off of council houses began the drain down to turning this country into a dog eat dog, selfish place where people depend on making money from buying and selling houses and fleecing others by being landlords. Also through turning a blind eye to corruption (like the Tories who wanted Brexit because EU law was about to stop them hiding their money overseas, nothing to do with little weakling Cameron trying to stop his MPs stabbing each other in the back).

Other countries have higher taxes but they spend the money on infrastructure and policies that benefit all, look at the rest of Europe but people addicted to their big cars and houses are too biassed to see. And here's a government tracker which offers data and not just hyperbole:

https://fullfact.org/government-tracker/

Can't wait for Farage and his bunch of crooks, it'll be just like Brexit which 60% of the UK now thinks shouldn't have happened and which is largely to blame for our economic woes. It'll be fun (not) to watch.

I think the only people who have benefited are those on min wage who have retained their jobs and those with more than two kids and on benefits. Everyone else has been royally fucked.

All I know is that our income has doubled in 8 years, but we have never felt so skint. Everything is so ridiculously expensive and everyone seems utterly miserable.

"they have killed the job market stone dead *

Well no , Rachel said by raising the national minimum wage more people would have more money to spend and support small business. Which in turn creates jobs etc.

No you’re glossing over Labour policies and their impact. I think they’ll struggle to keep shifting blame on this and from below might reverse policy.

@Frenchfrychic no because they didn't increase the personal allowance any marginal rate gets swallows up in taxes

Crazy isn't it? Polanski level economic theory from the Chancellor of the fucking Exchequer.

More unemployment because of Labours daft changes. Waste of time. They're toast.

@EasternStandard what exactly am I glossing over?

Fiscal drag which is massively underestimated will be part of this. And inflation of course.

that and increasing minimum wage, which puts everything up, including insurance, business rates and utilities, to name but a few ‘hidden’ costs. I’d wager you either don’t work or work for a government organisation. If you work in private business you’d understand how labour are doing what labour always do, which is nicely ducking up the economy. Last labour gov. Got rid of manufacturing at quite an alarming rate, a number of multinational businesses left the UK moving over to countries like Turkey. (This is what happened to the huge multinational company my husband worked for). Now he’s just waiting for his current company to move over to the US. We’re currently having to decide if to move over to the US (He’s been offered a job over there already) or he accepts redundancy. My boss is currently restructuring our work place, effectively our team will be made redundant and then come back as self employed ‘consultants’. We need more manufacturing and more economic growth. Without private businesses all the billions of taxes collected will significantly reduce, which over time has a huge impact on government spending. Conservatives got a lot of things wrong, but they at least understood the importance of business. Don’t forget austerity happened largely because the last labour government went on a spending spree, and thought it would be a jolly good idea to increase our national debt and sell off our gold stocks…whilst hammering business with higher Business rates etc

@Vinvertebrate I agree with a lot in your post but I truly hope you are wrong about Farge being PM. I can’t wrap my head around people voting for that.

@treeowlnot sure what you’re missing when I post it’s Labour’s policies that have impacted jobs. In answer to your question, that.

@mazedasamarchhare I don’t think labour is doing a good job with the economy, I just don’t buy into the belief it was doing well under the Tories. But I also don’t believe the electorate are prepared to face the difficult decisions that need to be made.

We need more manufacturing and more economic growth

No one disagrees with this but no one seems to be able to achieve it, why is that? I just didn’t expect labour to achieve it in 2 years after 15 ish years of low growth.

I also intensely dislike the rhetoric that if you have a different opinion you must not work or be a teacher etc (I’m neither). It was that divisive thinking that led us to Brexit.

Maybe you need to step out of your echo chamber. I know lots of people living in poverty with just generally shit lives. If Reform promise to mix things up they think it’s worth gamble. Look at the people in the NE on the BBC website telling about the EU. They took a gamble for a better life.

The best way for Labour to win the votes of these people is to listen to them, persuade them they they are wrong.

@EasternStandard lol, so AI has had zero impact?

You don’t need to be in an echo chamber to not buy into Reforms promises of better services and lower taxes.

I know lots of people living in poverty with just generally shit lives.

Why will they be better under Reform?

‘lol’ all you like, I take it you feel immune to job loss or don’t have any dc needing work soon.

As said below going in to the AI era with Labour’s policies is batshit and you can see the figures already. We need more jobs as AI increases not fewer as you and they seem keen on.

It's massively depressing. I work for a small business and the NI increase plus rising costs of other expenses has made it really hard for us - plus the economic instability of the world in general (e.g. tariffs) has meant our clients are more reluctant to spend. We are reducing headcount through natural attrition which is setting we would never have done before.

On a personal level DH and I are both relatively high earners and have nothing to complain about, but we definitely do not feel any more well off than we did 10 years ago - when we both earned significantly less and had childcare costs (which we now don't have as kids are teens). It feels like the country has been going backwards for years now and whichever party gets in will make little to no difference. In some ways I wish we'd moved overseas before Brexit ripped that option away.

@Cucumberino there were some interesting analogies during the Brexit campaign about "persuading people they are wrong ". As someone said...if you are literally sat in a queue of traffic ,no one will persuade you, you aren't

That tracker presents a truly woeful picture for Labour.