The Labour Government

[Alan Harper's Tash]

 

[PPT]

I’ll wait until they have had 12 months to implement their plans to get the U.K. out of the shit it’s been left in before I make any snap judgments one way or another.
If they do prove over time ( and 3 months isn’t anywhere near enough, even for the attack dogs who have camped in this thread since the election) that they are no better than those they replaced then they will rightly be castigated.
The conservatives have a few years to get their shit together, if they do they will be voted back in and round and round we go.
As it stands though, there’s no redeeming qualities whatsoever about that mob and I doubt things would be any better right now had they stayed in power. Those thinking it would be are deluded.

So you would be OK with Labour axing the single person council tax discount?
A yes or no answer will be suffice.

 

[Semper aggressus]

Scrapped Rwanda plan and the Barge. Terrible gimmicks.

Junior doctor pay rises - no strikes.

Hardly any Train strikes at present.

Working with EU again and leading nations.

Dealt with the riots and locking up dangerous racist fuckwits.

GB Energy looks a great initiative - and not relying on foreign investors.

Coming down on the water firms.

Tacking the massive 22 billion hole the Tories let happen.



Early days but a great start considering the mess of a nation they inherited.

Remember when Sunak and the Tories kept repeatably saying that Labour have no plan!

Some of their policies are good, others are bad.

Their huge tax increases and targeting of the wealthy is a real sickener though and means we will move abroad to avoid fucking huge annual tax bills. I don’t see how it’s fair to tax people on foreign income that stays abroad, so I’d rather move away and we’ll spend our money elsewhere.

Also, Labour seem to be reverting to type and being absolutely shite for defence despite the current state of the world and Russia in particular. Some serious investment in the Navy and in air defence is needed yet they are actually planning more cuts.

 

[69FACUPfinal]

And that will confirm ‘the vengeful dislike of the elderly and pensioners’.

This.

 

[Phil1]

So you would be OK with Labour axing the single person council tax discount?
A yes or no answer will be suffice.

I’m not ok with any decision any government makes that will potentially lead to hardship of the most vulnerable in society.
I’ll wait and see what happens though before deciding that this is the worst Labour Party in history.

 

[ZenHalfTimeCrock]

An old statistic from a footnote in Tony Judt’s Ill Fares the Land:

‘In its last year of operation, 1994, state-owned British Rail cost the taxpayer £950 million. By 2008, Network Rail, its semiprivate successor company, cost taxpayers £5 billion.’

And from the same page:

‘The only reason that private investors are willing to purchase inefficient public goods is because the state eliminates or reduces their exposure to risk…The purchasing companies were assured that whatever happened they would be protected against serious loss - thereby undermining the economic case for privatization: the workings of the profit motive…The outcome has been the worst sort of ‘mixed economy’: individual enterprise indefinitely underwritten by public funds.’

 

[PPT]

I’m not ok with any decision any government makes that will potentially lead to hardship of the most vulnerable in society.
I’ll wait and see what happens though before deciding that this is the worst Labour Party in history.

They are far from being the worst Labour Party in history. That is an extremely high bar to be fair.
However, they are shaping up to be the most disliked Labour Party in history, which is also a very high bar.

 

[Phil1]

They are far from being the worst Labour Party in history. That is an extremely high bar to be fair.
However, they are shaping up to be the most disliked Labour Party in history, which is also a very high bar.

Not everyone is as rabid as you in their dislike of them.
Like I said, it’s worth revisiting after 12 months.

 

[BrianW]

How Tory industrial policy works:

'Does it pay?'
'No.'
'Shut it down.'
'But it's a vital strategic industry! If we close it we'll be entirely dependent on foreigners for <important strategic product>'.
'Never mind, shut it anyway. What could possibly go wrong?'
'It's a vital public service.'
'Well, if we really can't shut it, transfer it to the public sector. If it still makes losses we can blame it on inefficient public-sector management.'
'Trebles all round.'

 

[SkyBlueFlux]

‘Vengeful dislike of the elderly and pensioners’

You lot are fucking insane.

I thought literally two days ago because of the triple lock it was announced the pension is increasing by £400. Am I imagining it?

Surely, if they hated old people so much and were really listening to the metropolitan elite, the very first thing they would do is get rid of the economically insane triple-lock? It would save a fucking shed load as pensions are the most expensive part of the welfare bill. And the triple-lock is extremely unpopular with anybody under 40 in London. With enough time, it is mathematically certain to bankrupt the country.

I should caveat - I have nothing against the £400 increase. Our national pension isn't exactly good, and I'm not monotonously tribal like some of the people in here. But the idea of locking it into these rated increases has turned it into a toxic political football which will fuck us immensely years down the line.

If I was a metropolitan elite who hated the elderly - it is blindingly obvious that ditching this is the first thing I would do. Forget the single person tax discount, people seem to be conveniently forgetting that this benefits young professionals with no families as well. You know... the young metropolitan elite.

 

[PPT]

Not everyone is as rabid as you in their dislike of them.
Like I said, it’s worth revisiting after 12 months.

And we will.

 

[jimharri]

Not living in Blighty, I don't really keep abreast of domestic UK politics. Or come on here that much. But I just saw a couple of videos on YT, of people discussing the possibility of the government scrapping/ limiting the winter fuel allowance. Is that right?

 

[mexico1970]

Not living in Blighty, I don't really keep abreast of domestic UK politics. Or come on here that much. But I just saw a couple of videos on YT, of people discussing the possibility of the government scrapping/ limiting the winter fuel allowance. Is that right?

It's more that they kept all the shit Tory policies and have no plans to get rid of them after years of calling them cruel.

They are removing the fuel allowance for well off pensioners but the bar will fall to catch others less fortunate in the trap.

 

[inbetween]

Some of their policies are good, others are bad.

Their huge tax increases and targeting of the wealthy is a real sickener though and means we will move abroad to avoid fucking huge annual tax bills. I don’t see how it’s fair to tax people on foreign income that stays abroad, so I’d rather move away and we’ll spend our money elsewhere.

Also, Labour seem to be reverting to type and being absolutely shite for defence despite the current state of the world and Russia in particular. Some serious investment in the Navy and in air defence is needed yet they are actually planning more cuts.

It's a really bizarre state of affairs really our politics.

We previously had a really shite government where just about anybody could of done better. The sentiment at the moment though is because we've dared put Labour in they have to churn out results instantly. Did the Tories do anything whatsoever that is good for the last 5 years? What about even Pep in his first year at city?

Labour aren't going to be perfect and they will be absolutely shite at some things but the fundamental point is they were voted in to be at least 1% better and that's over 5 years and not 2 months. We're going to see evolution and not revolution because revolution is physically impossible, but at least we're not seeing devolution as with the Tories...

The biggest challenge for Starmer is getting his PR machine around this simple problem. A huge chunk of people still actually believe that Labour will be worse than the Tories and you just have to look at the last 15 years and question how?

I could understand if they were good at something. For example immigration is a big topic so were the Tories good at immigration? No they weren't so how can Labour be worse? I'm willing to give Starmer time and if he ballses it all up then he will still probably have done better than Boris, Truss or Sunak ever did.

 

[BridgyDids]

Not everyone is as rabid as you in their dislike of them.
Like I said, it’s worth revisiting after 12 months.

The UK could be a paradise, with all inequality, crime and poverty made extinct in 12 months, and there would be people in here telling us how bad Kier Starmer and the Labour Party is. That’s why after 12 weeks they are saying they are the worst in history.

May as well talk to a wall

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

The UK could be a paradise, with all inequality, crime and poverty made extinct in 12 months, and there would be people in here telling us how bad Kier Starmer and the Labour Party is. That’s why after 12 weeks they are saying they are the worst in history.

May as well talk to a wall

8 weeks!

 

[mexico1970]

It's a really bizarre state of affairs really our politics.

We previously had a really shite government where just about anybody could of done better. The sentiment at the moment though is because we've dared put Labour in they have to churn out results instantly. Did the Tories do anything whatsoever that is good for the last 5 years? What about even Pep in his first year at city?

Labour aren't going to be perfect and they will be absolutely shite at some things but the fundamental point is they were voted in to be at least 1% better and that's over 5 years and not 2 months. We're going to see evolution and not revolution because revolution is physically impossible, but at least we're not seeing devolution as with the Tories...

The biggest challenge for Starmer is getting his PR machine around this simple problem. A huge chunk of people still actually believe that Labour will be worse than the Tories and you just have to look at the last 15 years and question how?

I could understand if they were good at something. For example immigration is a big topic so were the Tories good at immigration? No they weren't and what else is the alternative? I'm willing to give Starmer time and if he ballses it all up then he will still probably have done better than Boris, Truss or Sunak ever did.

I can't wait for them to start taxing the rich companies, instead of not reversing some of the Tories more cruel legislation.

 

[inbetween]

I can't wait for them to start taxing the rich companies, instead of not reversing some of the Tories more cruel legislation.

We're 2 months in, they need to be given time. Not a single party in history runs on a manifesto where every single policy gets implemented. Policies will come and go over the next 5 years however I'd bet that Starmer is more likely to do good things for people than the Tories. What is one single good thing that the Tories did under Sunak?

The Tories melted down into their own division that existed pre-Brexit. They then couldn't do anything because they had no solid policies and they were dragged back by suddenly vocal analogue watches such as Jacob Reese-Mogg who believes that kids should be down the pits.

We'll see what happens with their tax plans but my belief is now that we all need to pay more. We've got used to historic low taxes and there have been consequences. Health spending hasn't actually been cut, but growth of healthcare spending has been. If we grow our population by X% then we should spend X% more on health but that isn't the case, instead a portion of that % has been used to cut taxes.

This is exactly how it is in Europe and the proof is in the pudding, we spend something like 15% less on healthcare growth than the European average. It therefore makes sense that our services are likely to get 15% shitter every year on average versus everybody else.

 

[jimharri]

Please; let's try to refrain from the abuse of other posters

 

[BrianW]

This country is much more divided than it was even in Thatcher's time.

I remember an old PM, possibly Callaghan but maybe Thatcher saying the country was in danger of being 'ungovernable'.

I think that's a more realistic possibility now. Because people seem to have no faith whatever in politicians. Therefore, they are more likely to believe charlatans.

Moreover, I think this is being deliberately engineered by certain malign influences.