What will Labour do early?

[Davidchecksall]

We can safely assume that Labour will form the next Government. Many of their proposed policies will take a long time to show a difference. They want to appoint many more teachers, but it will take time to develop ways of retaining the ones we have and enticing back those who recently resigned. etc. Recruiting new teachers will take years.
They can impose the VAT on some schools quickly,
Making it easier to change 'gender' or 'sex' can happen quite quickly.
What do you think they will do to show they mean to make changes?

Is it sunny on your planet?

I agree with pp who said they’d settle with junior doctors. Probably offer around 10%-12% raise which would be accepted.
We should also hear about nhs pay rise for 24/25 which is already overdue.

Children’s tooth decay is a real urgent matter. The issue for parents is you can’t get your kid on a NHS list and even if you do, often the appointments are school hours when you work (unless you book 5 months in advance for the school holidays) and what is more, many of these dentists are now insisting on the parents paying for a private service at least once a year. So that means poor people cannot see a dentist. So clearly dentists need to go back into primary schools at least and do it all there. The capex for the mobile equipment will have to be funded by the state and then NHS dentists can rotate across different schools. If the vaccination programme works, then so can the dental one. This is an urgent matter.

Are they the FACTS there, Joe?

And that's why I said "most" parents

I think they will prioritise sitting down with Junior Doctors, GPs. Teachers, Railway workers etc early to stop strikes.

Again, I said "most". Did you not see this? Do you think 93% of parents can't afford breakfast club? Can Keir himself not afford it, for example?

I am not referring to those in severe poverty, very obviously.

It will be interesting to see... I think there will be announcements early, Rwanda/vat on education/NHS, but announcements work on a different timescale to action...

I think they will increase corporation and definitely capital gains tax early on. I've been looking out for any suggestion and they have been suspiciously quiet on this point, in fact a company we are involved with brought forward a big deal unexpectedly meaning we can all have the option to pay capital gains tax on it at the 3rd July rates... So I think there is a general expectation?

You know a lot of families with working parents have to rely on footbanks? You know we don't have a minimum living wage?

93% of parents? Don't think so

The problem is that breakfast clubs should not be universal because plenty of people can afford them. And politicians have form for introducing unfunded concepts and schools are left scrambling for staff to man the breakfast club at 2 pence per child kind of thing. Where right now plenty of schools are running breakfast and after school clubs with a slight profit which then helps the overall school budget! I do wish people would actually engage with the detail.

And do you realise that many of these parents are multimillionaires? eg Keir himself.

What's this 93pc you're bandying about?

This looks like you're saying Keir Starmer used food banks. Maybe read back and try again?

93% are state school parents.

I am saying that of those people, very very many (particularly the multimillionaires!) can pay for their own breakfast club, with no need for private school parents to do this for them via VAT.

I am not suggesting that people who rely on foodbanks pay for breakfast club for their kids. And you know I wasn't.

Well that's bandied about as the % of kids in state schools.

So the state school breakfast club would apply to the 93%.

And of those 93%, many can pay for their own breakfast clubs.

Obviously the very poorest can't, and I acknowledged that at the very start by saying "most" should pay.

Our state primary already runs free intervention breakfast clubs for the kids who need it and they feed them too with the funding they have and they feed them as much as possible with produce from the school garden (London state primary but with nice big grounds and next to a big park). The rich kids don’t need a “free” breakfast club. They can pay for that with childcare vouchers, for example, if still on the old system.

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics

24.6% on FSM - they should get the breakfast clubs, others can pay if they want to join. Breakfast clubs should be eating, talking, emotional support, exercise and academic support in small groups to make a difference to children who need it.
Not the Yummy Mummy Sure Start concept yet again. It needs to be tailored to those who need it. We are not as rich as in the 2000s.

I appreciate your point @paasll, is help being directed where it’s most needed, should this be a universal measure?

If you look at the Government figures they are high, 30% of all children classified as being in poverty & there of course will be more people who are ‘borderline’ https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/child-poverty-statistics-causes-and-the-uks-policy-response/#:~:text=It%20added%20that%20this%20meant,from%2036%25%20in%202011%2F12

Ideally policy shouldn’t stigmatise people so it doesn’t mark people out as ‘poor’. As the figures show the number of children in poverty is growing fast (due to cost of living)

Also in the aftermath of the deaths of children like Daniel Pelka the free school meals were introduced for all children in KS1 to try and intervene & make sure children are getting fed something. It’s not always possible to identify who needs help especially when they are very young so a blanket policy addresses this.

Lastly, there is evidence hungry children don’t learn as well so the idea is to try & help children concentrate and improve educational outcomes.

Starmer was a Pabloite in his youth and may want to create a new chamber to replace the House of Lords giving more power to the regions which will take away from the power of Westminister and devolve to Left wing councils.

New hate crime bill to outlaw 'hate speech' similar to Scotland.

Bill of rights to reduce the power of Parlimant and make us similar to French system.

Of course it will happen. The junior doctors’ pay will be a top priority, I imagine a lot of the groundwork has already been done behind the scenes. And Rwanda will bite the dust very quickly.

The fact no one knows says a lot really.
I don't think they know details even, a lot seems to be just whatever the Tories are doing Labour won't. Apart from Brexit, of course, they still love that.

Our breakfast club is £4 a day here in SW (not even London). That's nearly £100 a month for about 30-40 mins a day I drop my boy before I leave for work.
Luckily, he's my youngest and in year 5 so will be starting to walk alone soon but many parents don't have this to spare atm.

You miss the point. Yes, free clubs for kids on FSM BUT at the moment people on slightly higher incomes who can't get any benefits at all are really struggling at the moment.
FYI, I was better off working less hours as a single mum on UC than I am now. Same type of work, just working more with more taxes to pay.

@Euromonkey “Ideally policy shouldn’t stigmatise people so it doesn’t mark people out as ‘poor”

Teachers know who the vulnerable children are and politicians need to be guided by teachers. The research shows that poorer children benefited from small groups during Covid.
Breakfast clubs are unfunded. Private school tax won’t raise nearly as much as they hope as private schools will go bust en masse and we will need to educate some of those children in the state sector. So the money that is spent has to go on vulnerable children.
After school clubs for poor children with dinner and homework would probably be better for poor children anyway! Politicians need to just ask the teachers, it isn’t complicated.