Labour hate people like me

[Meadowtrees]

I feel sick at the thought of how much our lives are going to change.

This is not a thread to bash or criticise people nervous about Labour. It’s a place for those of us who are feeling very anxious to have a bit of space - it’s not something we are ‘allowed’ to say in public without being called ‘scum’ ‘selfish tories’ or similar. I’m not particularly linked to any party and not sure how to vote, I may spoil my ballot.

Labour have made it very clear that they intend to make us poorer and our lives harder.
I’m a woman - Labour intend to remove women’s rights
I’m rural - Labour aren’t interested in rural areas
I work in a private school - enough said
I have teens - I expect Labour to put vat on uni fees
We both work full time and have slogged our guts out to now be in a position where we have a comfortable (but not high) income - I expect to be taxed more heavily.
We have elderly parents - I expect the cost of care and inheritance tax to increase.

Maybe it’s selfish but we’re screwed and I don’t expect that what we lose will be put to efficient or good use. It feels like we will be punished for having worked hard and being ambitious.

OP, you have clearly fallen for all the tosh that certain people put about in order to get your vote.

I know it’s a bit late, but, wake up?

Zotter- the that’s what you define as wealthy. Labour have been very careful NOT to define ‘wealthy’ or ‘working people’, and they’ve been asked repeatedly what they mean by ‘working people’, so you can be sure that it’s not a figure they think people will like. It could be anyone in the top 50% or earning over the median salary of just under £36,000 for all we know. Starmer said that working people were those with no savings.

@ActivePeony- she was accused of saying it -and denied it. Which would be a bit daft in a place where everything is recorded if she had said it! And in the other example she did not deny it- and apologised.

@Meadowtrees Could you describe what you think a Labour voter is like?

They have been clear they will not raise income tax.

As I wrote above, living standards have dropped for the majority of population in the last 14 years. Public services have been decimated too. Standard of living is now worse for vast majority.

I do think that it’s revealing that a thread in which I particularly asked for space free from personal and attack and which I said I had no particular party loyalty has seen me being accused of being from conservative part hq or being a shill (not entirely sure what that means) and receiving some presumptive and unpleasant comments.

I particularly object to being told it’s my turn to contribute - I already pay my taxes.

It is very clear that Labour does indeed hate people like me, they are not a party for the ‘squeezed middle’.

Which party do you think is for people like you OP?

Curlew - there are lots of different Labour voters. Some just want a change and are fed up with the Tories. Some will be voting Labour because other people around the are. Some believe Labour have the best thought out policies and a good plan. Some are optimistic but naive. Some are motivated by a desire to see other people punished (old fashioned class envy). Some think they are morally superior to others because they are left wing. Some are believers in identity politics.

what do you think conservatives are like?

I suppose you will soon find out if your fears become a reality. The biggest problem actually is that we have a deep intractable crisis in our public services and no money to pay for them. Labour have tied themselves to matching the Tories fiscal rules at least for the first two years so will have little room to do anything about it unless the economy grows. And clearly Brexit has made growth really difficult. So pray for growth if you want to see things improve.

cupcakes - I wish I knew!!

They can’t double the VAT on food because there isn’t any to double. Why do you expect them to take your life savings? The catastrophising here is bonkers.

The Squeezed Middle is a large part of the population. Which party is the best for us if Labour is so intent on shafting us. I mean I'm still trying to crawl out of the Trussenomics fall out.

I thought this poster was being sarcastic but if they aren't....😂

I will put my hands up too as a previous Labour voter I feel Ed Davey speaks to me more than Starmer. So I don't really get the fear.

Most of your expectations have zero basis in fact. But I don’t really see what your point is. Don’t vote for them, if you don’t want to. Vote for whoever you agree with. Your views appear to be economically and socially right-wing so why would you expect a left-wing party to espouse them?

I think it's a joke.

Well, Starmer was pretty clear as to who are working people:

Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer clash over whether working people have savings after Labour tax pledge | The Independent

"Asked what he meant by “working people” in a radio interview on LBC on Tuesday, Sir Keir said: “People who earn their living, rely on our [public] services and don’t really have the ability to write a cheque when they get into trouble” he said.

“So the sort of people I’m meeting pretty well every day now. It’s quite a big group because these days there are many people obviously not so well off.”

So OP, I'm with you - grew up in severe poverty, burst my guts working 70-80 hours a week, especially in my 20s-30s to get where I am, DC in private school now and I have some very modest savings. I'm dreading Labour coming to power.

Those like us should vote tactically to minimise Labour's win

How does what Starmer said negatively affect you?

You'll find that the job market at the moment is horrendous even for graduates. Partly due to the lack of investment in the country because of Brexit and our horrendous reputation.
Where have labour said they’ll introduce VAT on uni fees ?
Tories have massively cut spending in state schools so having a well educated numerate work force has been made that much harder. There again, they’d rather have millions migrating over here to save them money and fill any jobs.

I don’t remember this level of catastrophising in 1997. It’s so weird.

I'm sure there was, we just weren't online. The press supported Blair anyway.

I was really excited and delighted then. Different party, policies, people, country and issues now it’s not the same. Labour were far more centrist then - 1997 is over two and a half decades ago now!

I can address some of your fears...

I really don't think they'll put vat on uni fees. There'll be enough of a battle over private school fees. They will want to get re-elected, and remember what happened to the Lib Dems when they helped vote in an increase in uni fees? So that's just not a worry. Plus the vat on private school fees is about levelling up. The same justification cannot be used on uni fees. And crucially Labour haven't said they'll do it - this is some weird Tory scare tactic that seems to have been put around. Don't swallow it

Care costs may rise. But that will also attract more carers. Take it from someone who has been through the care thing with her own parents - if your parents need care the biggest headache is getting carers in the first place, not paying for them! Of course carers need to be paid (and respected) more. That will be an ADVANTAGE for you,

Rural - well I heard a very interesting interview the other day on the radio from a farmer who is voting labour. She said she wanted a Labour MP because her Tory had done nothing for them, and she felt having a Labour MP in the government tent so to speak would be a huge advantage. So perhaps try to think of it that way. Slightly smarter!

Women - yes I agree you may have a point. And I'm worried about taht too.

Edna - Labour in 1997 was a much more centrist party, the economy was growing and things were looking good! It wasn’t so alarming!

Funny because you can clearly hear her saying it as did the MP speaking at the time and the Speaker.