We the people of the UK

[moyesp]

11 years ago, People migrated from London to the suburbs as rents, mortgages, leases and council taxes rose to the levels of telephone numbers, and people’s wages did not.

They are not the affluent members of society. They do not have the capacity, finance or ability to afford second homes. They are the hard working skilled and unskilled members of society who were ‘forced,’ out of the city so that the landscapes are restructured from high rise developments for the ‘social set,’ to the penthouse apartments for the higher income levels.

So, what is this blog about? It is a message to the London authorities, Planners, Developers andTransportation Executives. We the manual and skilled labour workforce are fed up with being the people who are targeted to “pay the Toll.” We have been bled dry by little or no wage increases. Forced out of our homes due to High Interest Rates. Forced to live in the countryside because we cannot afford to raise our families in the areas they and we were born into.
Now you are forcing us all to become potentially unemployed because of the latest fare increases. You are not allowing us the means to earn more to offset these additional sums you are placing upon our finances.

You who are the infrastructure of London’s and UK Cities development. You forget that it’s the Rank and file members of society such as the CLEANERS, TRANSPORTATION WORKERS, WASTE DISPOSAL AND SANITARY EMPLOYEES OF SOCIETY, WHO ARE BEING TARGETED. THEY CANNOT AFFORD SUCH INCREASES. THIS MEANS THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO THE JOBS YOU SO DESPERATELY NEED DOING IN THE CITY.

Where senior medical staff will probably be able to claim expenses.
Hospital Porters, Disability and Geriatric Carers, The Ward Nurses, Health Care ancillary staff and Clinicians. How are they going to be able to afford to get into the city if their wages do not accommodate transport fare increases.

Many of them will end up unemployed despite their skills being vitally needed in the cities hospitals. All because they cannot afford to come to work. Furthermore, shop assistants will no longer be able to travel to the city, Restaurant Waiters and kitchen staff will not be able to attend their places of work due to the such fare rises.

Either give us the mass members of society affordable housing in the city or keep the fares down the choice is yours. Otherwise the next time you go to the restaurant there will be no one to serve you!

We left London 6 years ago. We managed to scrape about 13k together over 5 years. We were both on 30k per annum. This paid for deposit and fees outside London on three bed house with garden, it wouldn't have been enough for a bedsit in a rough part of town this was what forced us out.

Sounds a lot, but we lived in zone 4 so spent £300 getting into town, rent was £1200 per month, council tax £200. That was one wage gone the other wage was spent on student loans, bills, food, clothes. We could save 2-300 per month. We had to be creative when socialising buy one get one free vouchers etc.

We now live in small rural town. Our mortgage is £450 per month, council tax £100 and £200 travel it equates to half a wage.

Everything else is cheaper.

We miss the big smoke, but it was getting to a point where we had no spare cash to enjoy it, if we were going to save for a home. We now go back and have a blast once a year as we now have money to spend.

Do we regret leaving not for a second. The people near the bottom are squeezed so tightly in south east. We found it laborious on 30k per annum and I knew people living there on half the salary. Heaven knows how they did it.

This is not anti London rant, I loved the place, and still do, but the government has to start looking at ways to make it viable for low earners or they will be serving themselves in restaurants.

Glad to hear that you like where you live now. Unfortunately many of us ex Londoners do not. Know of one couple that was renting from Landlords in Outer London area (Zone 5 & 6). They spent the last 20 years do the same civil service jobs. They got taken over by a private developer as their accommodation was ex housing association. It was a three bedroom flat they lived in with three kids. Now has had to move out of to the countryside. All they can afford is a two bed flat to rent and then the rent is on short hold tenancy which means that they only are allowed it for a year before its one months down one months deposit all over again. Now with the fares going up they say they will not be able to keep their London Jobs and at their age will find it very difficult to get similar jobs at their wage levels.

Since they are civil service workers you'd think that the government and the transport authorities would have taken these people into account before inflicting these policies on them.

I worked as civil servant for couple of years in London. I now work in civil service outside London. The London weighting is about 3-4k when I was there it should be more like 15-20k.

My current salary plus London weighting would not be enough to live on in South East, especially if I were single. The government doesn't care for the lower classes Tory or Labour... big business rules hence tax avoidance running into the tens of billions. They will continue to squeeze the poor and the less fortunate as they have no means to fight back...

The government and senior civil servants have made their life's comfortable with inflation busting pay rises, expense accounts and subsidised bars /canteens. 3.4% rise in train fares will not affect them.

Just spoke to a Nursing friend of mine she still lives in the Big Smoke. The Nurse says she has a 1 bed room flat rented from the Council as a key worker. However, as the rates and expenses are so high she cannot afford to accept a permanent position at the London Hospital she currently works for. With an ailing elderly mother to keep an eye on she must be flexible enough to work and go home to the countryside at a moments notice. So she's taken agency which pays better. But is still not enough for the expenses she has. Other friend of hers are saying they trained in the UK. They have worked for a good 10 years plus in the UK. Here they can only afford flats or very cheap/leasehold houses. The USA is short of Nurses, they are offering relocation expenses, plus free medicare and assistance to purchase detached properties with swimming pools. And they wonder why they are losing the front line staff.

its a no brainer live in the countryside commute give the workers incentives - cheaper fares. Live in the City give the workers a liveable wage. Its not rocket science surely they can see this.

I'm wondering just how much longer things can go on like this as it feels like we're slipping back to Victorian levels of poverty and quality of life for low paid workers

Especially after Brexit, who will be doing low paid jobs in London?

I left London after I broke up with an ex. I couldn’t afford to rent on my own and had previously lived in hi flat, rent free.

Outside of London, on £5k a year less, I can easily afford a mortgage on a 2 bed and cost of living is cheaper. Looking at equivalent public sector jobs in London, I would be flat sharing for ever if I was single!

Out of interest, what do the people who work in the zillions of Starbucks etc do? Or cleaners? How can they afford to live and travel in London if people in “professional” office jobs can barely afford to live in London?

I used to have 2 jobs (in the olden days BC & BM)... One in the day time office for rent and bills (1bed flat / zone 5) and one evening stucking shelfs in the local supermarket for food and going out. It just got too much and moving was the best thing I have ever done! I'm hindsight, working 2 jobs just to survive was ridicules... sadly I think this will be the future for many workers in / around big cities.

The cleaners and Starbucks staff, are the young who live with mum and dad, people who have partners who work well paid jobs, students and immigrants living in overcrowding conditions and therefore have low overheads. I think these people will continue to fill the jobs, they are supported or using the job as stepping stone and either get income from other sources or avoid paying all the bills. If they are not as described above heaven help them.

The people being squeezed are those in 20-40k bracket. They get no tax credits, might travel more, have expectations from employers. When I was working I would be expected to pay for expenses and then claim them back so had to have certain amount if cash flow. They are aspiring to buy. They won't get assisted housing from council or housing association. They will have to cover all bills from their income. They are being squeezed as their income is stagnant whilst inflation has ticked along nicely.

Hubs and I have an average income of £70k annual, working in the center living in zone 6,we are paying rent £2000 all in(we are immigrants) for a 3br house,transpo at 450,council tax £150, etc. Each month I or we both end up with no savings. Looking forward to move out of the center :(