To be so cross at the government

[Hillary17]

I honestly have no idea what we’re going to do next year and it’s now keeping me up at night worrying about our financial situation. We’ve been sensible and cut back as much as possible, got rid of all the luxuries people on here suggest to cut back on but there’s still a massive hole forming in our finances. Ours savings have been wiped by buying our first home and general cost of living over the last six months. We saved for ten years to buy our first home together, worked incredibly hard and sacrificed. It’s hardly a mansion either, your bog standard first house! Currently paying around £750 a month on the mortgage. We fixed for two years due to our jobs being a bit in flux and not sure if we’d need to move - this runs out next year and have just been quoted £1150 for our new price. How can this even be possible?! Where do the banks and government think people are going to find this extra money? We can’t even sell up and rent because there’s a huge crisis in the rental market near us and sales are bombing; we’re absolutely trapped here for god knows how long. We’re not extravagant, just comfortable middle earners who wants a normal life. I know there’s people worse off than us (I’m terrified for them because I can’t even explain the rise in our food shop or household bills) but I’m genuinely starting to think nobody cares about the middle income families. We work really hard, earn a decent amount but still won’t be able to afford to put the heating on this winter. I know I’m going to get bashed for this but I’d expect to at least be able to afford a bloody takeaway on a weekend without being in a state of panic. How is that even a situation in 2022?! I’m just so furious with the government honestly. No point to this post other than to say god help everyone who is a low income earner because if things in the middle are this bleak I dread to think.

Sorry but a few things have really pissed me off and show absolute ignorance for people who like me, are struggling and want a place to bloody moan about it. I didn’t vote for Brexit. I actively campaigned for remain in my local area and those nearby who were fed lies (as someone who is dual heritage and has lived abroad before I’ll never forgive this country for one of the stupidest decisions ever made). Also I didn’t vote conservative. I never have and never would - I’ve been a paying member of the Labour Party for twenty years. But yes I was furloughed and was bloody grateful for it because the longer option was lose my job. For a total of 5 weeks which I spent terrified my husband would die before being called back into work; my team went from 80 > 10 overnight so I wasn’t baking banana bread as someone said. I was working 14 hour days, crying myself to sleep wondering if we’d done enough everyday so people I’d worked with for years wouldn’t be made redundant. We didn’t eat out to help out. We stayed home and hoped my husband would bloody survive. We grieved friends who passed away on a bloody screen because we couldn’t go to their funeral. My husband - who is clinically vulnerable - was made redundant. Luckily found another remote job as he works in a niche field but the stress, I’ll never forget and we’re still recovering.

I understand the storm. I bloody lived in it - but we did as we were told and thought we’d be supported through the recovery. We listened to the advice. We expected SOME sacrifices because of it and I’d happily take on sacrifices for other people too. Did I expect my entire life to change? To feel like I was living on the breadline despite being two high income earners? To wonder if I could afford a bottle of wine to share with friends? To dread the cost of petrol? To say no to having a baby this year despite being desperate for one for three years now?

People are making assumptions that are unfair and paint everyone with the same brush. I was entitled to be bloody annoyed about not being able to afford to put my heating on and having to say no at the weekend to getting a Chinese as a treat!

OP it sounds like you've had a rough time of it. It's not right to be living like this, a rich country in 21st century.

Thanks to replies to me about mortgage stress tests, I didn't realise it's the impact of everything else on top, rather than the increase in payments themselves. I listen to Radio 4 and they talk of some people having to find 4-600 more a month for their mortgage. I was only looking at that.

I could have written your last post. I didn't vote for any of this. I'm happy to make sacrifices for the good of society but let's be honest, the government could do so much more.

Haven’t read the whole thread so apologise if this has been already mentioned
It is an appalling unfair situation !
.in the short term : ask for quotes from your lender lengthen the term of your mortgage To bring down the monthly payment . I’ve done this in the past and overpaid the mortgage to catch up in later years .

Totally understand- I'm in the same boat. Our 5 year fix ends in May. It's currently 3% and will be 6.7% at least.

We had to move for work and needed to move quicly and so have what is now a buy to let property where we used to live (which is meant to be our pension). That was on a 5 year fix too which ends next year. We will have to sell it. I feel awful for our tenant but the mortgage hike means it will be costing us money to house her. We spent £20k on a new kitchen and bathroom at her request last year which we probably won't get back when we sell as prices will have dropped by then.

I absolutely get people saying "you should have thought of that and factored it in" but people have different circumstances. I agree with the person who said we all got used to low interest rates.

Our business is in the hospitality industry and our business plan for the next few years is based on an estimate that our income could fall by 20%.

The difference would be that our exports would now be around 30% higher than they currently are and GDP of the country would also be higher leading to more VAT and tax receipts that could be spent. As it is now there is a huge gap in government finances that is a result of Brexit, Ukraine and covid, other countries are only dealing with the last two and not Brexit as well, hence why they are all doing better than the uk at post covid recovery.

The other issue about Brexit is that ending free movement has lead to a massive staffing problem for many businesses, and there are just not enough British citizens living here willing to work. The lack of staff means that many businesses cannot expand, which is needed for growth, and in fact are struggling to provide services with existing resources.

I understand. I don't think the comments were aimed at you specifically, more at many members of the public complaining who are directly responsible for some of the misery that was entirely avoidable.

Brexit is currently costing our economy £120bn per year in GDP which equates to around £40bn in lost tax money to HMRC. They have a £50bn black hole to fill, so most of that would not exist if not for Brexit. Sunak talks about being honest with the public (ha ha) so why does he not mention this elephant in the room? We could avoid the additional pain of all the cuts and tax rises he's about to propose by rejoining the single market. This would also curb inflation and increase the value of the pound so reduce the need for further rate rises.

I don't see how our current predicament can be discussed rationally without discussing this HUGE aspect of it.

Nobody can control the war in Ukraine and nobody asked for Covid, although it could have been managed far better if Government were adequately prepared.

But by persisting with deliberate trade barriers we are shooting ourselves in the foot and for the Government to pretend there is nothing they can do to improve things is yet another blatant lie. The answer is staring them in the face.

It's also very, very disappointing that Labour are just as weak and failing to point out the obvious remedy to make things very substantially better for all UK citizens.

Really this. Couldn't have put it better myself. This was all very obvious at the time and frustrating to anyone capable of seeing consequences. We were well and truly warned about brexit.

As for covid I think it was a case of a rock and a hard place because the government could have let more people lose jobs there and then but it was totally new and thinking was that furlough and lock down would be short and the cost to the NHS would be huge if we didn't lock down. Still when it went on and on and so many people got used to paid holiday, decorating their houses and sitting in their gardens it was hard seeing such heedless complacency. I think the Tories were remiss not calling time on it much sooner.

The tories are to blame for Brexit and to blame for wasting so much more money than needed due to covid. Look at all the crooked PPE contracts given to rich mates.

Low cost of borrowing for so long has been a benefit and cant complain we had ot too good for too long. The government and the BofE can be blamed for propping up the housing market bubble. In particular the stamp duty holiday boosted prices and fuelled house price rises further.

Nonetheless people voted for the tories in 2019. After 9 years of mismanagement and funnelling money to the rich at the expense of the poor. Turkeys voting for Christmas.

Recession happens. Its not as much in the control of government and central banks as we'd like.

@Hillary17

No one is denying your right to a bloody moan or doubt that you are struggling as many of us are to varying degrees. What is being challenged is placing the blame solely with the Government rather than the voters, wider public and even friends and family. Now I appreciate it is easier to blame a nebulous concept of "Government" than people you actually know but the reality is that we are in this mess because of choices either made by or supported by everyday people including you and me.

Let's take Brexit as an example. I can give you a real life personal example. So imagine you are in a one hour passport queue in a hot country with two young children who are having a meltdown and an older family member who you know actively supported and voted for Leave. The same older relative then complains about the ridiculousness of the queue for the full hour whilst you are trying to keep the children happy. At some point you will snap (as I did) and point out that the reason we are in this ridiculous queue is because of stupid choices by people like the older relative in voting leave despite being warned at the time of the referendum of the consequences.

I also never voted Conservative but the fact is we live in a democracy and the 13 million voters at the last election did and voted for a known serial liar and chancer. Now I have to accept their voting choice in a democracy but what I will criticise them for is when they then complained that Boris was a serial liar and a chancer. Now of course people will always then seek to justify their choices with "well the alternative was the bogeyman Corbyn" or even they were stupid and didn't realise Boris was a serial liar.

The same principle applies to Covid, the lockdown and the measures taken. Now it is easy to blame the massive Covid spending on fraudulent bounce back loans or dodgy PPE contracts and yes some are more to blame than others but the reality is that we are all to blame for supporting it. I myself clapped like a performing seal on a Thursday night for the NHS (to my shame) and I also took part in the insane £600 million spent on eat out to help out and ordered and received free Covid tests at a cost to the taxpayer. The fact is we are all to blame to varying degrees.

But you are very naive if you think or thought that spending £450 billion on Covid was simply going to lead to "some" pain. Even the Chancellor whose job it is to paint an optimistic picture has stated there will be "eye watering difficulties ahead". Be under no illusions this is going to be incredibly painful on a scale not seen in a very long time and YES your entire life and many many others will have to change.

Lastly and not disputing the difficulties that you currently face but please try and appreciate that there are very many in society right now that didn't benefit from receiving furlough or any other Covid support measures yet are facing and will be facing much much greater problems than the cost of a bottle of wine to share with friends or not having a baby this year or treating yourself to a Chinese takeaway this weekend .

And please try to be understanding (as my older relative failed to do so in the passport queue ) when it is pointed out "we told you so".

I don't think anyone is saying YOU voted Tory/Leave nor is anyone implying you sat on your arse during furlough. Just that you can thank all the people who did these things for the current situation.

As well as the Tories. They did this.

I agree with you BTW. I am Labour/ Leave all the way and didn't get a cushy paid leave furlough at all during covid.

Personally I support price rises due to cutting down on Russian gas but blame governments for failing to sort the emerging energy crisis which has been ongoing since before Russian intervention in Ukraine. See also letting China invest so much in our infrastructure and property development. Big mistake.

Our fix runs out in the spring.

Currently paying just under £1500 a month for a bog standard 3 bed in the South East, which we brought we a pretty healthy deposit.

It looks like it's going to go up to around £2150ish.

Not sure where we'll get that extra £600 a month from. Especially as if you take into account tax, NI and student loan we'd have to add over an extra £10k to our joint salaries a year to absorb it.

To add. We have friends in much worse situations.

They maxed out and brought £450k-500k houses with 90% mortgages in the covid boom. That may sound extravagant but that's the starting point for basic family home here.

When their 2year fix mortgages end they're looking at around £1000 extra month!

People always blame the GOVERNMENT as it is comforting to think that there is someone who is actually in actual control, can cure all ills and knows what is going on. Sadly, that is far from the truth… our governments have lost power. Banks/money markets/the very rich/dodgy foreign leaders and certain foreign governments have substantial power over us.

I know people weren’t blaming me by the way. As I said, the whole thing is just so frustrating that it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t it? Especially when it’s for things I didn’t want, didn’t vote for and would never choose. I just want to be able to enjoy the simple things again and not be constantly worried about every penny.

I feel awful as well for moaning about it. People are much worse and we’ll be fine really. We’re not at major risk of losing the house because we didn’t max out our offer, we can cut back, we won’t take any holidays etc. But it doesn’t make it any less shit.

Glad to see I’m not the only one feeling this way!

This. People have chosen this. They may not have understood how bad it would get, but actually, lots was very clearly signposted and a very obvious consequence of choices.

No, but they had complete control over the policies around it. We could have not been in lock down so long, they could have not wasted billions on PPE, they could have put limits on who could be furloughed and paid less than 80%. They behaved like there was a magical money tree and threw cash all around, but it was not theirs to throw. Now it has to be paid for. Right when there is another crisis to deal with. Which their policies also impact on. So no, they did not create the issues. They have spectacularly mismanaged though.

We should be more than cross at this Government.
When the Govt tells you to do something as re lockdown for the covid years were we supposed to say no?
When the tiny majority voted for Brexit in a democratic vote were we supposed to riot in the streets as we did not want, or agree to it?
Every bad decision the Tory govt made is hurting us badly now and it is absolutely their fault.
They need to go , and we must stop turning a blind eye to the obscene gap which seems to be ever increasing between the elites and the hard working citizens.
As to what we can do about that I don't know , unless it is to vote them out asap.

Why do people assume that people in government think we can find the money?

they know full well many won't be able to.

What if we're not meant to?

Rishi is saying he will do everything he can to help people with mortgages ! I can't see them letting large sectors of the population , many with young kids lose their homes as there is no emergency accommodation and no social housing available and very little in the way of affordable private rented accommodation either. Either they will see widespread homelessness or they will have to step in to help. I reckon it may be along the lines of some help from Universal credit towards mortgages or increasing the work allowance even higher for those not claiming the rent element, although god knows where the money is going to come from to fund it.

And also there are large numbers of single people in their fifties and sixties who still have mortgage often through having to re-mortgage after seperation or divorce or being widowed, and many are on very low incomes and not entitled to any benefits either. This group are another big worry as barely getting by now before mortgage increases. i work for a charity for the elderly and we are getting lots of queries about equity release etc.

Rishi is saying he will do everything he can to help people with mortgages ! I can't see them letting large sectors of the population , many with young kids lose their homes as there is no emergency accommodation and no social housing available and very little in the way of affordable private rented accommodation either. Either they will see widespread homelessness or they will have to step in to help. I reckon it may be along the lines of some help from Universal credit towards mortgages or increasing the work allowance even higher for those not claiming the rent element, although god knows where the money is going to come from to fund it.

They could bring back MIRAS, which the boomers had to help them. That would make a huge difference.

Will they?

Nope.

This so-called "compassionate" budget would at least recognise that the current spike in mortgage rates was unnecessarily exacerbated by them, so the least they could do if they're all about "earn more, get a better job" is let people offset some of the additional costs that they caused against that tax bill.

If you voted for the Tories and/or for Brexit then I have no sympathy to be honest.
If you didn't then you have every right to be angry.

The front page of The Times has Rishi Sunak saying the state can't solve your problems, so don't hold your breath

They've been in charge of the economy for 12 years, but now we are going to be made to pay the price for their mistakes.

Mostly in ever shittier public services like education and health.