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

It's easy to tease out the impact of AI on employment stats though. The fact is that Rachel Reeves is responsible for tens of thousands of job losses and that number is skyrocketing. To claim otherwise is living in blissful denial.

We need more jobs as AI increases not fewer as you and they seem keen

What on earth are you talking about? It doesn’t matter what I’m keen on or what I would like. Everything I have read says AI will continue to impact jobs and it will get worse. How do you create more jobs in that landscape?!

Quite

I’ve already said don’t compound the issue. Don’t make it worse, which is what Labour are doing. Policy should drive job creation to try at least to keep young people in the game, not this which is on top of AI impact.

That starts with accepting it’s a Labour policy issue.

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

I feel like we are beyond help too now, unfortunately.

I voted Labour and I think they have been appalling so far.

Starmer has no plan, vision or any leadership qualities and Reeves is out of her depths.

They seem to have forgotten they were elected to address the cost of living crisis, not to bring in digital IDs, victimise pensioners and disabled people or blow a lot of hot air on the international stage.

Labour needs to get rid of Starmer or nothing will improve.

That starts with accepting it’s a Labour policy issue.

But that’s what I’m disagreeing with you about! I don’t believe the current job landscape is solely down to labours recent changes, I think there is far more nuance and inflation, Brexit, AI, war and cost of utilities etc have all contributed. You don’t have to agree with me though.

They seem to have forgotten they were elected to address the cost of living crisis, not to bring in digital IDs, victimise pensioners and disabled people or blow a lot of hot air on the international stage

Any gov needs to absolutely pause the triple lock & look at house value in relation to care costs in the home. Is that victimising pensioners?
I also think some benefit reform is needed.

My DC are self employed/ small business owner. They have left the UK. I think a lot of people who can, will.

Are you questioning that this hasn't happened? Surely you watch the news? The NI change had tipped a number of challenged businesses over the edge.

Which country have they gone to?

I assume you have a great private pension if you're happy for the triple lock to go? You'd have to be insane or cruel to want to get rid of that. We already have 20% of pensioners classed as living in poverty, why on earth would we risk that increasing?

i’m middle aged, the triple lock will be gone by the time I retire!

It is not sustainable.

What % of pensioners are millionaires? What % of dc are in poverty?

It’s brutal but if you want economic growth we need to prioritise future workers.

I've noticed that. More and more people are avoiding the news media because it is too depressing. Whatever they may have achieved behind the scenes, this govt hasn't done anything that is generally noticeable to create even a crumb of feel-good.

My money buys less, I've had to make redundancies at work, our "cost of living" payrise won't cover the reality, our roads are falling apart, a pothole cost me £228 last week, uni fees have risen, I'm having to reassure my ds17 that there will be a world for him to work in. Labour are damaging rural communities, our natural world and alienating too many people to mention. And they tried to cancel democratic elections like some tin pot dictatorship.

I draw the line at voting Reform, but I hope Labour get annihilated in the May elections. Hopefully KS & RR will be replaced and someone more competent will have a chance.

it’s just basic comprehension surely? Where have I inferred that I am questioning the legitimacy of it? I just was enquiring did anything else play a part eg energy costs or tariffs…

Supported Labour but have been so disappointed. They do not seem to have any coherent philosophy that drives their action, meaning they appear to be flailing around making piecemeal and often contradictory decisions.

To address our failing systems means employing systems thinking. Nobody is addressing some of the severe bottlenecks. Social care is a case in point, instead of tackling it immediately they are sitting on a review and even giving Louise Casey a different job first. Instead of raising the minimum wage only they have combined this with a raise in NI, costing jobs. Despite plans for an energy transition they are unable to reduce the costs of energy.

Additionally Starmer comes off as a massive hypocrite having campaigned on being the country’s moral compass. What’s come out of the Treasury is a preference for the elites, such as pressure not to undertake leasehold reforms. The whole thing is so depressing.

Corbyn never wanted the EU in the first place. He is on record for being against it in the past. It is not surprising he remained neutral as I suspect privately he was for Brexit. We didnt have a strong anti-brexit party, if we had, maybe we would not be in the shit storm that we are in. So I agree, Labour are just as much to blame for Brexit. They were in opposition, it is their job to oppose and challenge. They didn't do that. Corbyn was an absolute disaster for this country because of this. I dread to think what state we'd be in now if he was still Labour leader.

Back to Asia. I won't say exactly where. They have dual citizenship.

Why don’t you share yours?

I really dislike Corbyn, but again the electorate have to take some responsibility for Brexit.

Corbyn was crap on Brexit, and I haven't forgiven him. Cameron did campaign for Remain, but as you say, he bloody called that disastrous referendum in the first place, and just arrogantly assumed it would go his way. I do remember repeatedly hearing Starmer on R4 at that time making very sensible and what seemed at the time like utterly irrefutable arguments about why Brexit was not a good idea. And now I think he's doing what he can to repair the damage, while knowing he can't just get us back to where we were, unfortunately.

Future workers are future pensioners. By protecting pensions now, we are protecting them for the future.

Perhaps the answer is more means testing around pensions. Whatever happens, in order for them to make changes, they would need to give the public significant notice (many years) so that we can prepare. We have hopefully learned from the Waspi women debacle that any future change needs very careful planning. For that reason, there will be no imminent significant changes.

It would be political suicide too. I would never vote for a party that intends to get rid of the triple-lock. The government were forced into a u-turn over a relatively minor change in the winter fuel change. I would hope the country would grind to a halt with protests if any government attempted to attack our pensions. It impacts almost every single person in the country. It is too big to be so blasé about the loss of the triple lock.

I am a freelancer and have lost work as a direct result of Labour's taxation policies. They are driving small businesses into the ground.

Future workers are future pensioners. By protecting pensions now, we are protecting them for the future.

But you don’t have future workers if you aren’t investing in young people….look at our birth rates, it’s why successive governments have relied on immigration to boost growth.

If you honestly think that today’s young will have the same pensions and NHS model as today’s pensioners then I’m not really sure what to say.

The government were forced into a u-turn over a relatively minor change in the winter fuel change

I think it’s ridiculous that households with an income of 70k still qualify.

It would be political suicide too

And this is the doom spiral I mentioned upthread. People vote for their interests & more older people means voting for policies that favour them. We already have more over 65s than under 15 yr olds. As I said it is not sustainable & every politician knows that.

“The government's own independent forecaster says that by 2070 the amount needed to fund the state pension will be equivalent to 7.7% of GDP - 50% higher than right now.”

“That is quite an ask of taxpayers when other claims on the public purse are also projected to soar, in particular healthcare spending - largely for the same group of older Brits.”