General Election - 4th July 2024

[Churchlawtonblue]

The Tories bring him up and I bite sadly.I should have learned my lesson by now.

Thats quite a lazy assumption, you don't have to be a Tory to see Blairs faults. Just ask any veteran?

 

[Blue and true]

I preferred Brown but he didn't have the charisma that Blair has.

He should have called an election after the Somerset floods as his decisive action won a lot of hearts and minds in a part of the country that would usually go lib dem/Tory at the time.

Many don't appreciate the gravitas Blair had, and the presence he commanded. His legacy was definitely sullied by the Iraq war, but he was the very embodiment of statesman. Unfortunately, Starmer just doesn't compare; but I would still trust he or Ed Davey to run the country over the Tories.

 

[BayernMan]

 

[Kompany Car]

The problem is that it is the lower paid who are paying the most relatively speaking.

Thats not really true, you pay more tax the more you earn.

Someone earning minimum wage pays a marginal rate of 13.2% tax when you take into account the tax free allowance. Someone on 50k pays a marginal rate of 20% whilst someone on 100k pays 31.5%, at 125k its 37.5%.

I think what you're saying is that the lower paid have less disposable income after tax and basic outgoings which is true.

In reality increasing VAT on non essentials would be probably the most progressive, as its a tax on non essential/luxuries consumption i.e. on disposable income. The only problem is its inflationary, which isn't what you want when you have macroeconomic factors already driving inflation which are outside your control.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

I just watched some of that. I like Margaret Hodge, shame she is getting on a bit and not in Starmers cabinet. But Mick Lynch was a bit of a disspointment with his inaccurate one sided statements about self employed people. I expected better tbh.

 

[hilts]

I’m in my mid 30s and grew up under New Labour.

I can only comment from my own personal observations but this country has got measurably shitter in every single way since the Conservatives got in.

I realise being a supporter of Tony Blair will probably get me lynched on here.

I don't think anyone sane would argue that the country hasn't got worse.

 

[Kompany Car]

I don't think anyone sane would argue that the country hasn't got worse.

Its post 9/11 when the world went to shit, everywhere in the western world is immeasurably worse. All accelerated by the third wave of globalisation that stated around 1990 and continues to this day.

 

[Vic]

Corrupt, and have no thought for those who need it most.

Never forget this, there is the rich and then there is … nobody else.

It's not corrupt as such but it's in the article. Wealthy areas have the expertise, time and money to spend on bids. Deprived areas can't risk the effort. It's not corrupt, just Tory policy baking in equality with competitive bids for "levelling up" instead of former EU regional funding based on need. Same with council tax where deprived areas with lower band housing are stuck in a downward spiral of funding (again instead of needs-based central grants that the Tories have cut). It's not corruption, it's Tory policy (see Rushi telling Tunbridge he was diverting momey to them).

 

[Vic]

So the Greens’ idea of increasing tax on the super rich is to penalise anyone earning over 50k.

And the Tories have done the same by freezing allowances.

 

[Vic]

This is what happens when people who don't have any responsibilities or little in the way of materialistic goods have idealistic ideas on how others should live.

Oh gosh. Woe to you who store up treasure on earth... yeah, let's cut taxes for those with materialistic goods (whatever they are) at the expense of those who can't afford food clothing and shelter.