Conservatives closing the gap on reform

[Pinkponyclub3]

Any conservative supporters here ?
Recent reports say the gap on reform is closing
Having watched some clips of kemi in action,I was quite impressed
But I don't know much about the party having never voted conservative,
Have they more of an insight in to current feeling than labour?

@Southernecho
Corporation tax in Ireland is 12.5%. I accept that the UK still had low growth when corporation tax was lower (19%) but this is not as low as Ireland's. I also accept that not everyone in Ireland is experiencing the benefits of this economic growth.
Increased employer NI is leading to an increase in unemployment and less economic growth whereas an increase in income tax would not have been so detrimental to the economy. Middle earners in the UK pay less tax than other Western European countries. There could have been an increase in taxation for those earning over £40,000. Capital gains tax could also be increased so it is more in line with income tax (but without a tax on the initial investment +5%) to increase revenue and prevent tax avoidance.
We have the third highest deficit of all the European countries at the moment and our interest payments equal the entire education budget.
We can't keep spending money without being in a precarious position hence my questions about whether the triple lock pension is the best place to spend the money we have or whether we could decreasing child benefit payments after the 1st/2nd child or decreasing benefits for 16-24 year olds who could work. £330 billion is spent on welfare at the moment (about one quarter of all government spending). Would this money to be better spent elsewhere e.g. NHS, education, police, prisons?

You think anything that isn’t brand new must be ‘rags’ 😂😂😂

I could buy new clothes for my kids but I choose not to as I think Vinted is better value, I can buy quality brands and reuse to assist in the general effort to reduce waste.

Are my children now Victorian poorhouse kids?

@Southernecho
I don't think it is wrong to ask people on benefits to work if they can-especially young people. People gain a lot from work. And before you say what about disabled people or those with mental health issues. Letting people sit at home doing nothing isn't actually good for anyone. I know two young people in wheelchairs who are adamant they want to work. Work can really improve people's wellbeing and sense of achievement (lots of psychological research on this-look up flow and positive psychology).

And it can also destroy it. I was one of those people who worked through life long mental health struggles.

At 57 it became too much. The stress was unbelievable and broke me.

Have i said otherwise?

People in wheelchairs, generally speaking, will find it harder to get work.

Work, with support for those who need it, can be excellent for the individual but schemes to get people off benefits need to be long term, not a merry-go-round of 6 month placements, chucking them back on benefits for another 2 years before they are eligible again (which is what can happen now)

the number of of boat migrants is up on last year, these are the main concern because we’ve no idea who they are.

TBH we don't know who comes here on visas either... plus tourists can come here for 6months, no checks.

There is huge fraud, overstayers, then dependants come in too, almost always from cultures alien to the UK, then again, we did vote for this.

We have no idea who anyone coming here is. At least those arriving on boats claiming asylum are in the system and their whereabouts are known. People overstaying visas are invisible.

Yes and it costs a lot. The pp was incorrect re who did the policies for legal migration falling but if Labour think Chsnnel crossings aren’t a factor they’ll struggle.

I do love the posts that claim anything good is down to the Tories but anything bad is down to Labour.

Immigration is down, Labour have been in for 18months, that success is down to them and no one else.

Labour is doing far more than the Tories ever did on x channel migration (and have returned over 50,000 illegal migrants) but unless the French accept back arrivals and or stop at source, short of sinking the boats (yes i know some on here want that) its an extremely difficult issue.

Even Farage has said he wont be able to stop the boats.

That’s not correct but it doesn’t matter those types of posts aren’t helping them anyway, not even on here.

The boats can be stopped obviously. We just have to take more drastic action which may be unpalatable and not within current national and international law.

Who knows if it might come to that. If we say we can't stop the boats that means we have given up on a defendable border.

@Snowonground We had a defendable border, until Farage and Brexit came along.
We have a UK border in France, we policed that well, now we have the French apparently powerless to stop crossing and out of the EU, no means to address the issues.

I suspect that were we still in the EU, we would have joint UK and French forces patrolling the french coast by now.

On "Drastic action" such as?

We've always had problems with illegals. They just came in on the lorries and still there were problems getting rid of them.

Re drastic action I have no idea. Luckily Im not in government. But we have no guarantee of the type of government we get and what they feel is necessary. China probably wouldn't put up with what we put up with.

My point is Im not advocating drastic action. Im just saying that you are wrong in saying that the boats cannot be stopped as a fact. They can..just not within current law.

No one has a ‘defendable border’ within the EU. Posting this stuff doesn’t help.

The only way to ensure one is hardline action as some countries do.

An excess of low-skilled migrants are a concern regardless of route of entry - and regardless of how we justify it - because they cost the UK an average of £200k net each over their lifetime. That cost skews to the future, so we're borrowing yet more for our children to pay back (and ourselves as pensioners). Imagine how much worse the cost of living crisis will be when we're having to pay this short-term productivity back, instead of borrowing it from the future as we currently are!

Migrants bringing values which conflict with ours - and not integrating - is also always a concern for social cohesion. This will get worse as our society comes under increasing economic strain.

The rapid rise in immigration after 2020 took everyone by surprise. It was definitely the biggest mistake of the last Conservative government. Sunak acted fast to stem it with his changes to visas and dependents - so that huge surge ended within a few years, and came to about 4 million total.

Labour have talked the talk about immigration, but I don't think they've implemented any new policies yet have they? I certainly can't think of any (which have actually been implemented) so do please say what they are if I've missed them.

I think the thing to be watching out for now will be emigration, especially of productive young UK-born people. It's worsening as our economy fares badly, especially with rising youth unemployment and lack of opportunities for graduates - which are very much influenced by government economic policy. That is as much of a negative - both economically and for social cohesion - as unskilled immigration.

Net migration is far too crude a measure. We need to be looking at actual immigration rather than net (and particularly broken down by skill level and how well they integrate - Denmark leads the way here) and separately looking at outward emigration (broken down by place of birth, age and skill level).

There's a huge challenge ahead of us. I really do wish that I believed Labour was up to it - 3 years time is 3 years too late.

Good post, I agree on skills and all of it

Good post. I agree.

The rapid rise in immigration after 2020 took everyone by surprise. It was definitely the biggest mistake of the last Conservative government. Sunak acted fast to stem it with his changes to visas and dependents - so that huge surge ended within a few years, and came to about 4 million total

Uh?? Talk about re writing history!

It was the Tories visa policies that caused an additional 4m people to come to the country.
Totally predictable after Brexit, in deed it was even planned for.

"Acted fast" FFS!!

He took 4 years to take any action at all but you re quick enough to attack Labour after just a few months (You ve been at them over this for many months)

Is there anything that you wont hold the previous Government responsible for?

Conservative legislation:

• Ban on dependants for care workers: Took effect on March 11, 2024.
• Skilled Worker minimum salary increased: The minimum salary threshold rose to over £30,000 (with some exceptions) and generally to £38,700 for new applicants, effective April 4, 2024.
• Family visa minimum income threshold raised: The minimum income required to sponsor a family member increased to £29,000 on April 11, 2024
• Restrictions on student dependants: Rules preventing most international students from bringing family members to the UK were announced in May 2023 and came into force at the start of 2024.

Very clearly matches the graph....

Again: what have Labour introduced?

Again: what have Labour introduced?

Key Changes (July - December 2025)
Skilled Worker Route:
Higher Skill Level: Increased required skill level for most jobs from RQF Level 3 (A-Level) to RQF Level 6 (Graduate level).

Salary Thresholds: Increased salary requirements for Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility, and Scale-up visas.

Care Workers: Stopped new Health & Care Worker visa applications for overseas social care workers (SOC codes 6135, 6136) from July 2025.

Immigration Salary List (ISL) & Temporary Shortage List (TSL): Introduced these for some jobs below degree level, but with no dependants allowed for TSL roles.

Family & Private Life (Appendix FM):
New Suitability Rules: Stricter 'good character' requirements, including mandatory refusal for serious criminal convictions (12+ months prison) and tougher rules for immigration breaches.

Financial/Sponsorship Costs:
Increased Immigration Skills Charge (ISC):Raised for sponsors from December 2025.

Illegal Working:
Expanded rules to cover contractors and gig workers.

Upcoming (Early 2026)
English Language Requirement: Increased to B2 (Upper Intermediate) level for most work-related visas from January 8, 2026, including Skilled Worker and Scale-up routes, impacting dependants too.

Overall Goal
These changes stem from the May 2025 White Paper, "Restoring Control," aiming to significantly reduce net migration and tighten eligibility for legal routes, according to DLA Piper and Richmond Chambers.

Can't argue with facts and figures!

Not sure what you re trying to prove with your graph and figures?

they show 2 years of out of control immigration, 4m people allowed in before any action taken.

4m! all people with no intention of ever returning home (just 200k were Ukrainians)
The Tories caused all of this, helped by Farage.

Reminds me of a recent case in France where a Dr was poisoning patients, then rushed in to heal them.

Can't argue with facts or figures!

Immigration has fallen under Labour, not the Tories.