To be surprised how many threads on here are about …

[Ednasharples]

Labour making a hash of things. It’s like we are living in a weird kind of masochistic Stockholm syndrome. Most of us are experiencing the reality of broken Tory Britain, where nothing works (unless you live in a very well off area I guess) but we’re being gaslit that everything is hunky dory.
I listened to Oliver Dowden literally shouting over the interviewer on LBC this morning, telling us how taxes will shoot up within 6 months of KS being PM, how British children are the best readers in the universe, how Rishi single handedly brought down inflation (but funnily enough had nowt to do with it going up). I read on here that Labour hate women, hate rich people, hate aspiration, and will raise the red flag over Buckingham palace after Starmer has been overthrown by Corbyn.

It’s like the country is facing an existential threat to its survival if Labour win despite Tory Brexit, Tory austerity, Tory cronyism, life expectancy falling because of a whole scale drop in living standards, children becoming fatter and sicker. It’s just all very odd and I’m struggling to understand it …

But Labour isn’t hostile to foreign investment, big business and wealthy people. Reeves has spent the last two years courting them. Labour has openly said they don’t care if people are rich as Croesus if they pay their taxes.

@EasternStandard

"The IFS agree with you about the reality"

Well maybe the IFS might change their forecasts if they simply "opened their minds" and stopped believing "Tory myths". 😀

Your implication is the hard left or hard right could fix it. By which you mean "hard right" as there is no hard left in the UK.

I think the hard right are all mouth and no trousers. We saw it with Brexit, I think the French are about to see it with Le Pen.

I also think most people are voting Labour because the Tories have been proven to be lying incompetents who delivered nothing of their 2019 manifesto.

I doubt anyone has an expectation of things being "fixed" any time soon. But just a return to basic standards of honesty and accountability in politics will be a start.

@BIossomtoes

But Labour isn’t hostile to foreign investment, big business and wealthy people.

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/labour-energy-policies-already-impacting-north-sea-business-13148786

https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/05/09/labour-s-ideal-world-spells-problems-for-investors/?gadsource=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwp4m0BhBAEiwAsdc4aBPPzYezEUgiVglLWBhrZtc1XbGH--cm2RGTLFjvSNE2dkPlOHG7HRoCzpwQAvDD_BwE

And let's not forget VAT on school fees...

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/labour-more-trusted-tories-economy-094130227.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMa7VK6XrauAKFEeD0Mux5YRXQMRijRo2c7eaIdicKIGR1mKELnF14wJixc0vJhgoPjwubNOLfe6diQymhxVmyqf5nc_lGstuuanffrAcAtuc_UMronqHJloPD0fhLSwm8koq_5WmanT0vSWvo-RQMQn5H-21hbCiKHu0NQCSsQw

We could trade links all day, couldn’t we?

@CassieMaddox

"Your implication is the hard left or hard right could fix it. By which you mean "hard right" as there is no hard left in the UK."

There is no implication that the hard left or hard right can fix it. They will simply hold out such a promise to voters with simple messages that they then fail to deliver on.

The way to fix the situation is through solutions that no voter would ever support. Theresa May came close with ideas such as means testing the winter fuel allowance but that cost her massive support.

As for the hard left not existing, yes it does but is currently quietly contained in the Labour Party. They will no longer be quiet when Labour fails to meet the unrealistic expectations of those voting for them.

Just to add there would be exactly the same situation if the Conservatives were re elected.

The first link there - I’m surprised it hasn’t been picked up much but investors are behaving as they will with a Labour win

I think most voters aren't stupid. We have all been burnt by Brexit, then Boris over promising and under delivering. I think people can spot the tactics now, hence why the Conservatives aren't gaining ground.

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/labour-tories-economy-poll-stock-market-b1167849.html

XTB UK Managing Director Joshua Raymond said: “We were shocked by how strong the pro-Labour feeling is amongst investors. While a lot of people remain undecided on some questions, the overwhelming view is that Labour would be a better custodian of the economy than the Tories.”

I hear this as well, I’m not canvassing but my Mum lives in a part of the country where there is now quite an old demographic. Not my Mum but I would imagine from conversations with neighbours in the past, that 90% were Conservative voters but older people are more likely to have health complaints and public services they rapid decline is the main point of contention. The Conservatives in Westminster are so privileged that they don’t even realise how out of touch they are with that kind of voter.

@BIossomtoes

The yahoo link is to a survey of individual investors who are also voters. Personally I would rather be guided by the actions of large institutional investors rather than someone with a few shares in BP.

As I said don't get me wrong the Conservatives would face exactly the same problem if they were re elected.

Yes, even more so because of the volatility in other parts of Europe and the world that is a result of the extreme right gaining traction, the pound will be stronger as a result. People I know who work in positions of influence in the City are saying this.

https://news.sky.com/story/more-than-120-business-leaders-back-labour-to-achieve-uks-full-economic-potential-13144149

We would be in a worse position if the Tories got re-elected especially as our own little homegrown right winger, Farage wants to form the opposition- how does that help with stability and economic growth in any way which is what this country needs after the economic suicide that was Brexit!

Yep Labour with their intentions to improve society for all children, they are right shady ba**s aren't they!
https://x.com/AngelaRayner/status/1807509821400215962

@Fightthepower

I'm not doubting the good intentions of Angela Rayner or Keir Starmer- it's just that there is not a lot that they can do without the money to deliver them.

To be fair the last few years with COVID and the Ukraine War would have been a headache no matter which electoral party was in power.
As with all governing parties - they try and do their best when they are in power - whether it results in an improvement or the opposite can only be seen when looked at in retrospect.
Would love a Dr Who Tardis and a dual time line - so I could see what would happen and when - and ultimately who would have been right!! But life isn't like that unfortunately - we have to live through each party tenure and hope we survive it!

Like we ordinary mortals can forget something that affects 6% of the population…

But money will be spent but the political will of where it’s directed differs. I live near where they are building HS2, a complete money pit for something no-one even wants!

Just watching the news and they were discussing Labour’s plan to invest in more clean energy (wind & nuclear) making us less reliant on oil & gas (& the volatility in buying this in) while significantly progressing towards 2030 targets while at the same time it should reduce consumer bills. I say yes please to that!

There is going to be a lot on investment and this is why the FT, the Economist are endorsing Labour. The Conservatives could have done this themselves at any point in the last 14 years. Instead they didn’t bother and FDI has collapsed and we’ve got crumbling infrastructure. Slow clap Conservatives

But there’s more than two ways of raising it.

keffie12 · Yesterday 21:10
I'm voting Labour and happy to be doing so. Ours is a safe labour seat anyway.
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No one is saying all problems will instantly be solved, or ever solved,
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It's just a different vibe with Labour. A serious government with intent who won't be lurching us from one crisis to another.
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We can get back to what politics is supposed to be about - not the utter madness of the last 8 years.
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When politics works, it's boring. When it's on the media every day, it's failing
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If I want to be entertained I'll go to the theatre”

Hear, hear. It’s insane, that an hitherto reasonably sensible nation has just accepted the lunacy of the last several years. At 60, I can recall a time when the UK was admired, not just a laughing stock.

@Fightthepower

"Just watching the news and they were discussing Labour’s plan to invest in more clean energy (wind & nuclear)"

If you want to see a money pit have a look at Hinkley Point power station and the £92 indexed linked CfD.

www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/hinkley-point-c-could-go-28bn-over-budget-as-edf-predicts-further-delays/

amp.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/23/hinkley-point-c-could-be-delayed-to-2031-and-cost-up-to-35bn-says-edf

Which would put it on a par with HS2 at £65 billion:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67932247.amp

I think those who intend to vote for the conservatives are terrified and trying to discredit labour as much as possible in every way with lies and accusations ! Time for change , it can’t get any worse and can only improve!

@1dayatatime did you read the piece you linked?
Stuart Crooks, the project’s managing director, in a message to staff.
Crooks said: “Running the project longer will cost more money and our budget has also been affected by rising civil construction costs. It is important to say that British consumers or taxpayers won’t pay a penny, with the increased costs met entirely by shareholders.”

HS2 has cost the taxpayer a lot, especially for a project with very little end benefit. It would be better for us all ithough if in the future large scale projects were costed out better and those responsible for delivering them were properly held accountable for delays and large overspends.