We need a political party that will…

[Skippp]

I work in finance and this country is on the brink of collapse. It’s spending too much, it’s not growing the economy and needs someone to come in and make good decisions quickly if we are to survive. It’s in a really serious state now and action must be taken. I’vote Labour, and did so hoping Keir would be brave enough to take the hard decisions needed but he’s been a pathetic wet blanket. We need a government who:

1. get rid of the triple lock. It’s laughably unaffordable.
2. reassess the whole benefits system and get rid of disability payments for anything but the most severe conditions, increasing the amounts to those who have these conditions.
3. restrict benefit payments to those born outwith the UK to those that have been in full time work for a large proportion of their adult lives here.
4. Reduce the minimum wage to help companies hire again.
5. Reduce housing benefit. People will have to move to somewhere cheaper or landlords will have to drop prices to what people can afford.
6. Go to an insurance backed healthcare system like they enjoy in Europe.
7. Ditch 95% of planning regulation and get Britain building again.
8. ditch net zero. No one is going to run a successful business in a country with the highest energy costs on the planet.
9. Reopen Scotland oil and gas production (inc refineries) and explore for more areas.
10. Simplify income taxes. Roll income tax into NICs. Give everyone child care hours, child benefit, personal allowance and increase tax rates to pay for this. Stop artificially restricting people from earning more.
11. Simplify VAT. Drop the threshold to £20k to ensure no one has a ceiling on earnings.
12. Simplify IHT. 5% on everything. No nil rates or exemptions.
13. rejoin the single market and customs union.
14. Explain policies better! Tell people how unaffordable the triple lock etc is. Tell them what the single market and customs union non is and why you’re rejoining. Tell people what the ‘bond markets’ are and why they’re important. Tell people why paying for rich people’s child care is much better for the economy than forcing high earners to drop their hours.
15. Probably ought to start deporting economic migrants with no right to stay quickler to throw some red meat to reform voters.

We need a party to take on ALL of these policies and move AT PACE on them. Who’s the party that will do this? I thought it was Labour but BOY was I wrong on that!

What are people adding to the list?

We need to move away as a society from the desire to 'leave something for the kids'.
All the money I may have saved and had stored in my house (the value uplift of which I have done nothing to earn) will be spent on my elderly care. Yes I worked all my life and contributed, but I do not expect the state to pay for my care so my DC can have money they didnt earn. And then moan about paying IHT on it, again on money they didnt earn..

Thank you for teaching me to suck eggs, granddaughter.

Yes but they’re part of our society and for us to help. Overseas citizens putting nothing in the pot shouldn’t be our problem.

They won’t be paying what they take out - the statistic is something like by the time they die, pensioners have taken out £1.20 for every £1 paid in.

the point is, why should the wealthy receive benefits? Why is it that we need to come after the most vulnerable in society (disabled people, low paid workers, the sick via NHS cuts) when the wealthiest are sitting protected and being put on a pedestal?

If you are fully versed on the issue you agree that it’s time for the triple lock to go? If not, why not?

That would be £180m in revenue… It would hardly touch the sides, but it all adds up. If you’re going to charge for that, I’d charge a higher amount, maybe £2 per meal. Still dead cheap, but you’d quadruple revenue.

Ahh. So it's for profit now. I think you missed my point. When charging for things that are normally "part of the service", it costs money to collect the money. So costs go up.

Landlords won’t reduce rent, because the people moving to more affordable housing will downsize and fill the gaps. The people who are on the lowest rung of the ladder will then be left homeless.

And/or, landlords will just sell up - we’re already seeing this with the new laws. That means rental properties will be less and in more demand, increasing prices.

I actually agree but not for those whose state pension is their only income. I can’t imagine trying to exist on £241.30 a week for everything.

I'm a pensioner.

The triple lock is unsustainable and unfair. There is no reason whatsoever why the state pension should go up by more than the cost of living.

Because pensioners are, quite frankly, the most selfish generation in Britain at the moment. They’ll argue it till they’re blue in the face but they benefited from lower housing costs (houses were 3 times the average wage when they bought, compared to about 10 times now), a lower tax burden, lower cost of living, mortgage interest repayments being set off against their tax, being able to survive on a single income so that childcare costs weren’t anywhere near as onerous, the list goes on. But they see all that as a right, and look down on the younger generations with scorn and contempt, and want to pull the ladder up after themselves.

But you’d like the NMW to be cut?!

Yup. Agreed. BUT the cost of housing comes into play here again. Inheritance is the only chance many have of owning their own home (yes I know, not great for social mobility) which is why so many people are so fiercely protecting the money they have to pass on. Drop the price of housing and this will ease the inheritance issue a bit. Also rebuilding council housing would help here in giving people homes they KNOW they won’t get kicked out of (unless they misbehave. I have no sympathy for nuisance neighbours).

One of the many reasons is that the population is getting older and older people require more healthcare.

The NHS is not perfect, but the input side of the equation - the general public - is not a static thing.

No I wouldn’t! It’s a ridiculous idea. I think you have the wrong poster here. Could you live on £240 a week?

There are all sorts of things we could do to raise income as a country. First, I’d reduce the tax allowance on pension contributions for higher rate taxpayers. Why should we get 40% relief whilst we those on lower pay others just get 20%. I understand that would raise a few £billion.

It would also mean that higher earners would be more likely to remain economically active for another year or two as their pension pots would grow more slowly. That too would be a significant net economic benefit.

No, because I have housing costs. By retirement you’re expected to have paid off your mortgage and have some savings.

Agree on all points

How about those who have never been able to buy and still pay rent? If you’re on minimum wage all your life how are you supposed to save?

Yes this. I cannot understand how we continue to let this happen. But it’s a legacy of tax credits and probably hard to put a stop to it. But maybe companies ought to publish data on this and any that pay low wages that trigger UC should pay higher taxes to compensate?

The way pensions work is that you pay in tax free while you are working, and that income - when drawn down later in life - is then subject to income tax. So the income does get taxed, just at a later stage in life. The government is trying to get people till invest in their pension so they can reduce the state pension in the future. They could do the above but it would be a bit of a double tax on pensions, and is harsh when DC pensions are rubbish enough anyway.

Funny that this same logic doesn’t apply to young people who can’t afford housing. Realistically you know this isn’t the case for the vast majority of pensioners who are the wealthiest generation in society, and for those that don’t have savings there is appropriate support.

Fake post.. "I work in finance".... yeah right.

Yay, simple solutions to very complex problems. They always work.

Branded Weetabix !! Cheaper versions available .we can't afford branded stuff we look for cheaper so how can NHS afford it
What hope so we have when some people think discussing breakfast choice is going to help the NHS!

The UK population is also becoming less healthy and more likely to develop long-term conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Long-term conditions are one of the biggest burdens on the NHS, where it estimated that 70% of inpatient bed days are due to long-term conditions

The solution to the NHS lies with US. Taking responsibility for our health by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Stopping shifting the blame elsewhere and expecting miracles outside of our control.