My youngest child has just turned 3. Cheers Jeremy.
Westminster Politics
- Thread starter altodevil
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
It's a good idea if they match the payments to the childcare providers to make up the free hours otherwise the pressure goes on nurseries. Bit late for me as my youngest is 2 and I'm not sure when this will be implemented. We already fork out nearly £70 a day for nursery. However the nurseries themselves are putting prices up due to the cost of living with heating etc and the actual staff don't get paid that much. There are also a finite number of places in each provider so with the lack of providers will this now mean there are even less spaces and therefore less provision for parents. We shall have to see how it plays out.
If this is the case, then I wouldn't expect to hear much policy from Labour until we get into the General Election window.
It has always been the case. Oppositions at this stage of the electoral cycle lay themselves open to accusations of having no policies, but that is better than giving their policies away. Manifestos are what count, and yes, I do know governments selectively forget them once in power, sadly, but on the other hand many things in the manifestos are made to happen, for good or ill.
Agreed, sadly a lot of the current Labour haters conveniently forget this fact and slate them for not having policies.
It’s something I seriously need to look at. I have a soon to be one year old and soon to be two year old.
We currently pay £550 a month for the oldest for 2 days a week, but the idea of putting both in even part time was just prohibitive in the context of what my wife earns.
It is not really the issue of actual policies, its more to do with 'big ideas'. Labour needs to come up with the 'big ideas' that identify the ground on which the next election should be fought.
The Tories are past masters at this, e.g. coming up with a big idea on how to provide for realistic/safe migration to the UK is something that is not going away, and the Tories proposed Illegal Immigration Act is one they are already embarked upon and as they are the current Government they are in a position to set the scene. To the Tories 'power brokers' it really doesn't matter if the Act works or not, it stokes the fires and keeps the engine running. To counteract this Labour needs to identify their own 'big ideas', whether on immigration or climate change or energy/water control etc. Inflation has to be something the Tories don't want to fight on, because its happened on their watch, but Labour have to come up with ideas on inflation busting/protections/diffusion, etc, going forward, not specific policies, but ideas for the future.
Starmer is already taking a gamble on his 'make Brexit work' theme, but as long as he talks about the future and not the past, he can keep the Tory party on the hop. At this stage he doesn't need detailed policy, he has to wait and see how successful or otherwise Sunak is over the NI situation. Brexit is no longer the 'wrecking ball' it was for Labour, it still however carries a threat of internal strife within the Tory Party, so he needs something to stoke the issue, without getting drawn into detail.
The 'big ideas ', like the post WW2, Education and National Health Service Acts, which has changed the lives of millions, have to affect people directly, to be capable of making their lives and the lives of their children and grand children better over time. One 'big idea' like this, that resonates as 'an idea whose time has come', might be all Starmer needs to get the massive parliamentary majority he is going to need to really make the next Labour Government count.
It's going to save me and my wife around £500 a month and we will get the option to stick our youngest in nursery another day a week instead of having my mother look after her.
Still won't vote Tory over it though, feck em. This is what the policy should be anyway; my wife had no choice but to return to work after 9 months mat leave with our second child because we couldn't afford her not to at the time.
That's quite the money-saver in regards to childcare.
Nevermind, I've just seen the dates
. Not convinced this will get people back into work with any real rush!
They really need to fix the High Income Child Benefit Charge thresholds though. How can two people who earn £49k each not be penalized but a household with a sole earner earning £60k fully penalized?
Nevermind, I've just seen the dates
. Not convinced this will get people back into work with any real rush!They really need to fix the High Income Child Benefit Charge thresholds though. How can two people who earn £49k each not be penalized but a household with a sole earner earning £60k fully penalized?
Last edited:
So aside from a change to childcare. Was anything decent actually announced?
GBBies.
It seems the 30 hours of free childcare doesn't actually come into action until September 2025:
"As a result, it will be a staged introduction, with 15 free hours of childcare for two-year-olds in April 2024, and in September 2024 for those aged over nine months, then 30 hours for all from September 2025."
So another exaggerated lie in our budget for 2023/2024. I'm sure the BBC will make that clear in their headlines though.
"30 hours free childcare for 2 year old and those aged above 9 months from September 2025, announced in the 2023/2024 budget"
Of course they will after all the unbias claims of the last week.
Maybe Jeremy will announce a free spaceship for everyone for September 3023 while he's at it.
"As a result, it will be a staged introduction, with 15 free hours of childcare for two-year-olds in April 2024, and in September 2024 for those aged over nine months, then 30 hours for all from September 2025."
So another exaggerated lie in our budget for 2023/2024. I'm sure the BBC will make that clear in their headlines though.
"30 hours free childcare for 2 year old and those aged above 9 months from September 2025, announced in the 2023/2024 budget"
Of course they will after all the unbias claims of the last week.
Maybe Jeremy will announce a free spaceship for everyone for September 3023 while he's at it.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
It's all a big con, the major challenges for providers is business rates and energy prices, fees are being raised back of this. There is not enough providers and nothing in the announcement indicates that will change. But as ever, people will not read beyond the headline I bet. Also its staggered due to the election, no other reason.
So basically this budget does absolutely nothing for anyone who currently has young children and feels they can't afford to work because of it, and is unlikely to do anything for people planning to have children because there will be no capacity for nursery spaces. Sounds about right really, now I want to know what it is in the budget that they wanted to distract us from.
2024 for half support then 2025 for full inplentation. No rush then. Just before the GE. In the meantime they can use a "fixed child care" line as PR. Too little too late.That's quite the money-saver in regards to childcare.
Nevermind, I've just seen the dates
They really need to fix the High Income Child Benefit Charge thresholds though. How can two people who earn £49k each not be penalized but a household with a sole earner earning £60k fully penalized?
The Tories just can't resist giving a big tax cut to the very (as far as I'm concerned) wealthy, every single budget. This time in tax relief on pension contributions, just when everyone else's tax is actually going up because of the continued freezing of personal allowances. The excuse is to stop surgeons retiring early, which they could have addressed by raising surgeon's wages or increasing their government pension contributions, ie without giving every very high earner in the country a big tax cut. But they're Tories, that's what they do.
I doubt if they'll have to wait until 2025 either.
I doubt if they'll have to wait until 2025 either.
Last edited:
Exactly, when they are in power the Tories look after their own.
I think Starmer has now got Labour 'out of bed'.... but they are far from 'up and dressed and ready for the off'... although I am pleased to see he is already saying, (less than 24 hours later)and apparently unequivocally, that Labour will reverse this 'Pensions Pantomime'.
Well done Keir. Incidentally, I thought his response to the Chancellors budget speech was one of the best he's made in a 'head to head' with any Tory minister in the house since he became shadow PM.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-your-money-64975682
The government own figures reveal that the budget back to work proposal will cost £70,000 per job.
That is some magic money tree.
The government own figures reveal that the budget back to work proposal will cost £70,000 per job.
That is some magic money tree.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
But why?
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
Hopefully they are keeping her there under lock and key
Straight out of the Orban playbook that one. Scares the shit out of me what has happened to this country in the last five years. I really need to retrain in something and learn a new language because I’m out if they get re-elected.
Inviting the gutter press along for the jolly. Nice.
Am I being conned by this soothing voice and calm demeanour or does he speak a lot of sense?
Tax payer funded propaganda trip
Matthew Goodwin is an ideologue whose views should be taken with a massive tonne of salt.
Exactly that.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
He describes a lot of the dire political hinterland very accurately and that there is no real alternative to the two party system ever emerging until new positions are taken within that hinterland.
I feel his 'sense' is reflective of how things are right now, whether we agree with it or not.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
I gave him 7 minutes. Think he's full of shit. Lots of people are afraid of the boogeyman we've created. Metropolitan, woke, elites ruining shit not letting us trash our economy and send all the brown people to rwanda. Its nonsense.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
That’s 8 minutes longer than I’m prepared to give him.