So frustrated and desperate for Labour to be bold and give the country something to believe in.

[youlookradishing]

This is my take on what is happening today.

I really do believe that the last decade and a half has left the country (Western world, actually) in a terrible situation and that any government with any moral values are in a totally impossible situation.

The economy needs fixing before the lasting change can happen and the public can reap any rewards, but the people are too desperate and cynical to wait. The vultures are circling and we are turning to populist voices who are looking to take advantage of our desperation by promising the impossible and delivering only for themselves to the detriment of us all.

Labour have actually tried to put the very limited public money in the right places (eg tightening up winter fuel allowance) but caved in and U-turned any time they face opposition. Policies like scrapping the two child benefit cap brought them negative press rather than positive, because of the fannying around.

Likewise they are actually bringing NHS waiting lists down and getting more houses built, but their messaging around this is utterly woeful and nobody seems to notice it’s happening.

Kier is FAR too bothered about being popular and trying to please everybody. He won the mandate in 2024 and he should have built a narrative of ‘this is gonna be shit for a while, but this is WHY, and this is why it will be WORTH it. He is trying to deliver but any positives are being utterly drowned out because there is no vision for us to believe in! At the end of the day, nothing he can deliver will ever be enough in the short term, when we’re starting from such a low baseline. This is about vision and messaging. Look at Trump, the guy is a complete lunatic, but he has charisma and tells a good story and THAT is what gets people on board long enough to actually have an impact.

I honestly believe that this Labour government are the best hope this country have got - come on Kier, time to turn it around and give us something to believe in, because we have everything to lose if you don’t!

As a small business owner who has just made someone redundant and really cannot see the benefit now of being a business owner as I seem to take all the risk and get none of the reward, I agree they should make some bold moves….. particularly to lower the welfare bill which outstrips income tax now, and to remove some regulation. Everything labour does is about destroying entrepreneurship and punishing people who bust a gut to work

It is not for the government to ensure that no-one is poor. It is for the government to ensure that no-one has to be poor. If people fail to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them, and are poor as a result, that is on their own head.

The winter fuel payment was ridiculous though because they didn’t only remove it from the very richest, they took it from anyone who wasn’t within the very poorest bracket e.g state pension only. It was a mistake. I agree it should be means tested which would take time but you can’t just remove it from someone because they get 1k more a year than the state pension or whatever.

They were also ridiculous with the 2 child cap, they were always going to remove this but he removed the whip from MP’s who called him out on it and then got rid of it a year later anyway. Breakfast clubs are another joke, they’ve rolled out so slowly I don’t think our school’s will be free before the end of their tenure…

It just looks incompetent.

What would you like that radical thing to be

I’m not sure Labour are able to help- every time Rachel Reeves speaks it spells disaster for anyone who actually works and pays into the system
Im glad to see the back of two party politics but we need a change from what we’ve had for the last eighteen months

Really?
Did you see the ridiculous negative press and fuss that they faced over winter fuel payments for pensioners??
They can't win. Whatever they do they will get ripped apart by the Tory led press in this country.

And I am heartily sick of reading posts that glibly say "they ruined the economy" when sooo many other factors are at play including, lest we ever forget, Liz Bloody Truss!!

I can’t take any post about UK politics seriously when the poster can’t even spell the name of the prime minister.

Exactly. They’re about equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity.

What happened to 'smash the gangs'. 😆😆😆

A lot of people are getting no or a very small pay rise this year. Council tax is rocketing, way above inflation.

True, but I doubt it would be much different if the Tories were in charge.

Keir. It's bloody Keir.

This! This is so wise. Represents a mind-set very far from where we are, though

I also meant that to apply to OonaStubbs :)

All governments are up against the world situation which is currently grim.

Historians have been warning for decades that the 21st century would belong to China, and we are seeing a general decline of the West - it's just the tide of history. We've had it good for a long time, but the times are changing.

Things looked great after the break-up of the Soviet Union in the 90s - but until Putin dies we're in another expensive and frightening (and de-stabilising) Cold War scenario again, with talk of putting the British army back on the Rhine. So depressing.

I'm not saying we don't need good governance at home, but what I want is competence, experience and sensible, consensus policies to cope with the above. Political dogma doesn't interest me and it's a luxury we can't afford at the moment.

Oh - and we've got a monstrous toddler as the 'leader of the Western world', too, stirring up a hornets' nest in the Middle East on a whim and then running away and leaving the rest of us to deal with the resulting global recession.

The Scandinavian countries have populations of approximately one tenth of that of the UK. That is a huge difference.

They are also (or have been until very recently) culturally and ethnically homogenous - which also makes life far less complex. One of the biggest issues facing the UK currently is the problem of racism and the tendency for various cultural/ethnic groups to bring foreign wars and conflicts into the arena of UK politics. Huge amounts of time, energy, money and bad feeling is expended on this - you only have to look on MN.

It's a totally unfair comparison to look to Scandinavia as a model for the UK. Apples and oranges.

Building more houses compared to what? Not building any houses. On no other metrics are they building more houses.

I agree they have a huge majority, they could make some really big changes around tax. property, anti corruption in particular that will not be popular with all but can to some degree share wealth

I do not think its Starmer's style of politics to make such bold moves he is more of a steady and slow type of leader and this is what is frustrating people so much and I do not think he shall change

Why do we need to build all over the countryside? Once it's gone, it's gone for ever. We import a huge proportion of our food - far more than in the war when rationing had to be put in place when imports were stopped. This should be a massive concern, but no-one seems to care!

Why is there such a huge demand for houses? Social housing, I get. But all over the country villages are seeing 100s of posh new homes (hardly social housing) and on the edges of towns too. Why? Is the population increasing at this rate? Genuine question - where is the demand for this huge housing boom coming from?

Brownfield sites first please, for everyone's sake.

I like the slow, steady approach of Starmer. I dread a charismatic hot-head replacing him.

Maybe you have an interest in politics I like his stance too and would rather he stay where he is for now but I do not think he would win a GE

majority of people do not have much interest in polotics they are interested in what politicians can do for them

charismatic leaders who make big promises of change have throughout history won elections more often than not

Plus end triple lock and winter fuel. That generation have had enough support we need to focus on the economy and the youngsters now.

Any gov that wants decent growth needs to start with these but it’s deeply unpopular so we just circle the drain.

I really do think the last thing we need currently is more turbulence at home - look at the state of the world.

I'm not even a Labour supporter, but I recognise Keir as a steady pair of hands. He may be boring but I'll take boring at the moment.

I agree with you to an extent, but we have to be careful that equality of opportunity is actually that.

Such as every child gets a school place - thats equality of opportunity isn't it? Except it's not. Schools vary massively in quality and provision, based on area, funding, leadership etc.

On top of that, parental engagement plays a huge factor. My best friend and I went to same school, similar ability, but our parents were very different. Mine weren't rich, my Dad worked, my mum couldn't due to her health, both of them left school at 16. But they were ambitious for us, encouraged us to do well, made sure I had the right uniform, school equipment, a good lunch etc. Home cooked healthy meals, a safe and quiet place to study.

My friend grew up with an alcoholic father and an absent mum, didn't even have a coat until I gave her my old one. Lunch was a packet of crisps. Her home was loud and noisy and she shared with 3 siblings, and was kicked out at 16 and took on 3 minimum wage jobs to rent a bedsit. Mid 20's she put herself through an OU degree and became an accountant. But it was a hard path for her, much much harder than mine.

Is that equality of opportunity?

I understand your concerns. As for why it’s needed, net migration into the UK since the pandemic has been well over 1 million (don’t have figures to hand, but I think it’s closer to 2 million). That’s a lot of new houses needed!