Call for a General Election-petition exceeds 200,000 signatures

[ForsythiaPlease]

In six hours, this is unstoppable-please sign and share
https://t.co/0aZ6Q6VhZD

That spike was felt in many countries

But those global issues only effect the UK when the Conservatives are in Government ?

I am fairly middle ground politically speaking. I do think that if those people who signed this petition actually lobbied their local MP about the things that are important to them, they might be suprised at what they can achieve.

Starting with the basics, most people want somewhere safe and comfortable to live, to earn enough to pay for it and their bills and food/essentials , with a bit of disposable income left to spend in those businesses that rely on discretionary spending, and a bit for their pension and possibly some savings. Most people aren't asking for a lot in return for their labour and yet are made to feel as though wanting to have 'enough' is somehow greedy.

I’m not sure if I’ve misunderstood or whether you’ve phrased it badly if what you’ve meant is future inflation rises will be due to the budget but the recent one isn’t.

There are lots of things that involve inflation going up and down that aren’t within the control of the government whoever that government is. The bugger than expected fall in the rate of inflation recently didn’t have much to do with labour this recent slight rise hasn’t got much to do with them either. The same is largely true of the Tories although there wasn’t any need for inflation to hit the levels it did just because of energy price rises. They could have done more to mitigate that for customers and chose not to.

I don't think Labour MPs care much about lobbying. Many people lobbied over the WFA cut. It was spoken about in the HOC

It didn't change anything, Labour also refused an impact assessment

Farmers are lobbying that's not doing much either

Schools too. Basically there's loads of pressure already

On inflation everywhere comparable pretty much spiked in the same way

What do you mean by you people…

Many people lobbied over the WFA cut.

That's encouraging to hear, do you have any figures to back that up ? I actively encourage people to contact their MP, after all, they do work for 'us' , regardless of if you voted for them or not. Make them work for that subsidised heating bill

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mps/

Is HMRC easily able to see household income on its systems though? I have a feeling they don’t, or at least they didn’t which is why the child benefit thing ended up being so ridiculous with different families with the same income having different eligibility because in some both parents income was below the threshold but in some one had an income above it.

I’m not sure that it’s that easy to do that in the U.K. It’s just more cost effective to define those living in poverty as claiming UC or pension credit. If you do that you need a big safety net to catch those who aren’t eligible but might still be in poverty. Especially if you are going to decrease eligibility for those benefits.

The cut off point is wrong but it seems to be a standard government one now. If the media and people worrying about old people being murdered this winter started promoting the discretionary funds and showed those who need it where to get more help that might actually be useful.

If the media and people worrying about old people being murdered this winter started promoting the discretionary funds and showed those who need it where to get more help that might actually be useful.

I always say to the people struggling, keep yourself warm and alive now, deal with the aftermath later. I am suprised that energy companies aren't required to ensure that vulnerable people have enough heat to keep them alive, given their massive profits ? Or maybe there are things that are out there, that people aren't aware of ?

Gosh when you think about it, it's almost like the energy companies could afford to cover the WFA ? But that would be ludicrous, because the private sector is shrinking

Local authorities will have a discretionary payment that people can apply to.

And yes nobody seems bothered by the fact that the energy companies could probably take £200 off everyone’s fuel bill and still make a fortune for their shareholders. That should be what’s pissing people off.

What's with the emoji?

I see we cross posted but are thinking along the same lines there @Dymaxion.

@Dymaxion do you think it's not the case?

Here's The Guardian headline from two days ago.

'U.K. private sector is contracting as firms give "thumbs down"

'U.K. private sector is contracting as firms give "thumbs down"

I asked previously but you may not have seen @EasternStandard , what does this actually mean ? a reduction in manufacturing ? a reduction in footfall ? Who in the private sector is this significantly impacting ? Energy companies seem to be doing fine so far, so who is contracting ?

It's in the S&P report for PMI

Manufacturing declining faster but services looking less confident over the next year

It impacts jobs a fair bit and investment

50.0 is neutral under that is a contraction

This is Bloomberg which says budget related and payroll plus other concerns

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-22/uk-private-sector-stagnates-after-budget-tax-hike-pmi-shows?embedded-checkout=true

Economics
UK Private Sector Stagnates After Budget Tax Hike, PMI Shows
Index drops just below level dividing growth from contraction
Slowdown blamed on budget increase to employer payroll levy

Excuse large type just copied and pasted headline

I am going to give you an example of who might be impacted, using mine and my colleagues spending habits. So inflation went sky high, rents went up, interest rates went up, food bills went up and energy/fuel bills went up.
Amongst my colleagues who work in the public sector and earn a maximum of 36.5k, this means no/less holidays/short breaks, or choosing much cheaper options, such as camping. Can't remember the last night out that wasn't held at someones house, less if anything spent on takeaway's, coffee's, lunch's from local businesses. Less spending in local independent shops, more spending online using credit for essentials like school shoes. Less spending on things like hair appointments, quite a few are using model for trainee opportunities. Most people are using Vinted or charity shops to update their and their childens wardrobes. Clubs for their children are being massively cut back, most are still doing swimming from a 'it might save their lives' point of view and maybe football, but anything else is seen as a luxury they cannot afford. Not one of them is going to go out into our local town Christmas shopping, they are all buying via online sites where the cost can be spread. nobody is planning on moving house, buying larger purchases unless absolutely necessary, decorating, having extensions, garden projects/upkeep etc. We are not having a Christmas party or get together this year, because everyone is skint and can't afford it.
And remember we are all earning less than the median average wage in the UK, despite most of us having been in the job for between 5-20+ years !

Wages are important to businesses in more ways than one, if people don't have any money left for discretionary spending, then those businesses who rely on it are going to struggle, and those businesses who supply those businesses will also struggle.

And we are paid relatively decent wages in the grand scheme of things !

1.7 million now.

@Winter2020 Furlough during COVID? A special benefit for the vulnerable from the tories?
Well the alternative was what?
Inflationary linked increases to benefits and pensions including 10% rises. If even true but while inflation was running at 12%?
We should immediately sign the petition and get the labour party gone straight away!

What would people want from a general election? Conservatives back? What short memories people have. Reform? We'd be in Trump's back pocket. Both of these parties are really good at lining the pockets of the already wealthy. The Conservatives took us out of the EU, which is the most damaging thing that could have happened to farming in the UK.

We've had 14 years of incompetent corruption. It's mind boggling that the whole country knows what a bunch of venal, selfish, corrupt, greedy, self serving muppets the Conservative government were, yet some appear to want them back.

You can't do politics and policy in sound bites.

the public seem to rely on the sound bits rather than critical research before voting,

Their profit margins are too low to sustain it. The money from higher bills went elsewhere in the value chain.

Everyone is getting poorer because of policies which put up energy bills, reduce investment and tax jobs.

When winter fuel allowance was introduced HMRC & benefits offices didn’t use the same system to see what incomes people were receiving

A true , but terrifying analysis..

It's just a list of hyperbolic Daily Mail headlines. Where's the analysis?

That would require some thought