National News Sir Keir Starmer

Labour have now committed to keeping triple lock for five years. I wonder if they will commit to raising the tax threshold of £12500 as its currently frozen till 2028
 
Peterdev said:
Labour have now committed to keeping triple lock for five years. I wonder if they will commit to raising the tax threshold of £12500 as its currently frozen till 2028
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If Britain is copying Oz (which seems to be the playbook at the moment), then Labour will promise to maintain whatever bonkers neoliberal tax traps are brought in by the tories - to avoid controversy amongst swing voters - but will then start tossing things out when the actual time comes - on the basis that it’s better to be right and accused of flip flopping than to stick to commitments that are harmful for the electorate.
 
Sheik djibouti said:
Is he wrong?
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Matter of opinion.

From a Western/humanitarian view - No he`s not.
From an Israeli view - Yes he is.
From a Hamas view - No he`s not. They need to regroup and carry on.

Likewise he wouldn`t have been wrong after 1 month, 2 months or more.............. amazing how he comes out with this after a lot of voters decide to vote elsewhere.

Like many (all?) politicians its all about the wind direction.
 
Essexyellows said:
Matter of opinion.

From a Western/humanitarian view - No he`s not.
From an Israeli view - Yes he is.
From a Hamas view - No he`s not. They need to regroup and carry on.

Likewise he wouldn`t have been wrong after 1 month, 2 months or more.............. amazing how he comes out with this after a lot of voters decide to vote elsewhere.

Like many (all?) politicians its all about the wind direction.
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Largely agreed, this government has made so many u-turns, sometimes they don't know whether they are coming or going but sometimes you can also admit you were wrong. I'm sure I saw Pat McFadden interviewed after the elections last week and acknowledge the need for a rethink.

Actually, I've been looking out for you or Potters Right Boot to point how everything went to plan for the Tories last week. My favourite moment was Sunak loitering around in Catterick in the hope that Houchen was re-elected and then rushing up to congratulate a man who distanced himself from central government and actually had Johnson endorse him a few days before the election.
 
The Police and the Council have said Angela Rayner has nothing to answer. She'll be unleashed again.

Although the Tories are desperately clinging on to this by still demanding she release her tax papers.
 
Marked Ox said:
The Police and the Council have said Angela Rayner has nothing to answer. She'll be unleashed again.

Although the Tories are desperately clinging on to this by still demanding she release her tax papers.
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I am sure Labour would be demanding the same if it was the other way around.

But this is now done as far as the Police are concerned, so time to move on.

If HMRC subsequently find that there is an unpaid tax liability, I am sure it will rare up again. But the election will be well behind us by then I expect.
 
MC Yellow said:
I am sure Labour would be demanding the same if it was the other way around.

But this is now done as far as the Police are concerned, so time to move on.

If HMRC subsequently find that there is an unpaid tax liability, I am sure it will rare up again. But the election will be well behind us by then I expect.
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Agreed that Labour would be doing the same in reverse.

Iirc, HMRC have already said there is no unpaid tax liability.
 
The 10 policies to "change Britain"........

Number 1.............. "Labour’s policy to increase the numbers of NHS appointments will see NHS staff paid extra to work evenings and weekends in order to tackle the backlog. We will also use spare capacity in private healthcare providers to clear the NHS backlog"

Except overtime in the NHS requires folk who WANT to do it. Good luck with that, and private providers already use their "spare capacity" at a cost...............which Trusts pay because it is deemed cheaper than breaching targets.

Number 2 ............. Set up Great British Energy, a new publicly owned British energy company.

Can go with that but it`ll still be subject to "the markets" and if your windfall tax isn`t watertight who is paying for it.

Number 3.......... Closing private education tax loopholes to improve schools.

No figures on that but hey they will do a lot with the money.

Number 4......... Bring back the family doctor and improve local NHS care.

It takes the thick part of 10 years to qualify as a GP so get used to locums for some time.

Number 5...... Stop water bosses’ bonuses when their companies harm the environment

Yep, agree with that in principle but no mention of the shareholders bonuses or taking some of their profit which would "hit hard" so its a generically weak policy.

Hardly inspiring is it?
 
Looks good so far.

Certainly much better than;

Stop The Boats - going really well!
Support the NHS - yep, we're all seeing the benefits!
National Service - no actual plan yet!
Triple Lock+ - saving pensioners 28p a week!
Stop Mickey Mouse degrees - yep, that's killing the country!
 
Essexyellows said:
The 10 policies to "change Britain"........

Number 1.............. "Labour’s policy to increase the numbers of NHS appointments will see NHS staff paid extra to work evenings and weekends in order to tackle the backlog. We will also use spare capacity in private healthcare providers to clear the NHS backlog"

Except overtime in the NHS requires folk who WANT to do it. Good luck with that, and private providers already use their "spare capacity" at a cost...............which Trusts pay because it is deemed cheaper than breaching targets.

Number 2 ............. Set up Great British Energy, a new publicly owned British energy company.

Can go with that but it`ll still be subject to "the markets" and if your windfall tax isn`t watertight who is paying for it.

Number 3.......... Closing private education tax loopholes to improve schools.

No figures on that but hey they will do a lot with the money.

Number 4......... Bring back the family doctor and improve local NHS care.

It takes the thick part of 10 years to qualify as a GP so get used to locums for some time.

Number 5...... Stop water bosses’ bonuses when their companies harm the environment

Yep, agree with that in principle but no mention of the shareholders bonuses or taking some of their profit which would "hit hard" so its a generically weak policy.

Hardly inspiring is it?
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Given that you were clearly "inspired" by who you have fervently supported in government for the last 14 years, I don't think anyone really thinks you're that good a judge of what is best for the country. And given that you've plumped for"inspiring" and the politics of personality and it has failed the country badly, maybe you need to adjust your sights a bit. #nevertoooldtochange:)

Just on point 4 - maybe the hundreds/thousands of UK junior doctors who have left the country over the last decade because of the appalling conditions they've been expected to work in, will now start to return when they see that there's a government who actually believes in public services and public service. Quick win and way cheaper than training from scratch.

As an aside, I was talking to some dyed in the wool Tories the other day. Late 40's/early 50's, never voted any different, but will not be voting Tory at this election. The reason being they don't want their kids to have to do National Service of any kind:ROFLMAO: I mean, there's a certain irony there of choosing one of the most selfish reasons possible for NOT voting Tory, but there you go - every little helps;)
 
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Sheik djibouti said:
Just on point 4 - maybe the hundreds/thousands of UK junior doctors who have left the country over the last decade because of the appalling conditions they've been expected to work in, will now start to return when they see that there's a government who actually believes in public services and public service. Quick win and way cheaper than training from scratch.
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"Appalling conditions" of an average £41k in their first year is part of their journey to landing a job as a GP (£70-£100k PA) or Consultant (99k to £130k+).

Don`t forget SKS wants NHS Staff to work more hours at evenings, weekends etc to "clear the backlog"........... that`ll be Doctors, Nurses and all the necessary support folk as well, all racking up OT if they want to do more in those "appalling conditions"............ maybe explain how this will be "way cheaper".
 
Essexyellows said:
"Appalling conditions" of an average £41k in their first year is part of their journey to landing a job as a GP (£70-£100k PA) or Consultant (99k to £130k+).

Don`t forget SKS wants NHS Staff to work more hours at evenings, weekends etc to "clear the backlog"........... that`ll be Doctors, Nurses and all the necessary support folk as well, all racking up OT if they want to do more in those "appalling conditions"............ maybe explain how this will be "way cheaper".
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So which is it. Train from scratch (at huge cost) or draw on a pool of qualified doctors with UK citizenship? Either way, you still have to pay both for the work they do - overtime and all, but one way (using the already pretty much fully qualified), you get to use that resource pretty much now when it is needed, and the other way, you get to use them in the "thick end" of 10 years time, having paid for the training.

And after the amount of training they have done to get the that £41k, it is not really an unreasonable starting salary expectation, especially given that average UK salary is now over £35k. And I don;t have any issue with a fully qualified GP earning £75-£100k either. Maybe you should try talking to a few Junior Doctors who have left the NHS to find out exactly why they have left and why they are so much better off having disappeared to the other side of the world. Better working conditions, better work/life balance, better prospects . . .the list goes on. Very poor from the Government to treat these NHS staff, and Junior Doctors in particular, so badly that they leave to do the same job in better conditions in other countries.

Lets face, the last 14 years has been one massively expensive failure across the board when it comes to managing public services. They are in dire straits and it is going to take a huge amount of time and a huge amount of money to try and put it right.
 
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