Westminster Politics

Superden

Full Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
2,146
As always, privatise profits and socialise losses. Always money available to bail out companies even if they fecked themselves up. Nothing to bail out citizens who get shafted without doing anything wrong though.
I pretty much posted the same earlier in the bank thread.
Poverty in this country is a political choice, enforced by those who decry handouts whilst at the same time helping themselves to the states coffers. And yet we're supposed not to be too mean to these people??
 

Bert_

Full Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2022
Messages
1,636
Location
Manchester
I remember a time when I thought May as Home Secretary set the bar so low with her attitude to immigrants and asylum seekers, that it couldn't realistically get much worse. Then came Priti Patel who slammed the bar it into the ground.

Now the bar as been well and truly stomped into the dirt with Braverman.

I dread to think what comes comes next if that trend continues.
 

Spark

Full Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2012
Messages
2,335
Shows how far this party has gone. When I arrived here, May was Home Sec and she was seen as the worst. For her to now be the left of the party on immigration is something.
Yeah it's pretty insane to think about. That Overton window has been well and truly shifted.
 

LARulz

Full Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2009
Messages
18,263
Justine Greening on Sky News basically admitting they are stealing the good ideas for the Budget (child care mainly) from Labour
 

Heardy

Full Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
8,879
Location
Looking for the answers...
Extending free childcare is a great idea - but where are all of these nursery places going to come from. With the carer:child ratio being 1:3 for one year olds, places are ridiculously fecking hard to get as it is.
 

Pexbo

Winner of the 'I'm not reading that' medal.
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
69,062
Location
Brizzle
Supports
Big Days
Extending free childcare is a great idea - but where are all of these nursery places going to come from. With the carer:child ratio being 1:3 for one year olds, places are ridiculously fecking hard to get as it is.
Changing it to one to five, which is the same as in Scotland. I have to be honest as the father of a four month year-old, this is going to have a huge impact on us and likely save us something like £900 per month. Obviously, even that wouldn’t be enough to make me vote Tory. It will also be my partner can get back into full-time work and continue her career in which, for the longer term will have financial benefits to us.
 

TheGame

Full Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
19,938
Location
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Extending free childcare is a great idea - but where are all of these nursery places going to come from. With the carer:child ratio being 1:3 for one year olds, places are ridiculously fecking hard to get as it is.
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.
 

F-Red

Full Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
11,024
Location
Cheshire
Justine Greening on Sky News basically admitting they are stealing the good ideas for the Budget (child care mainly) from Labour
If this is the case, then I wouldn't expect to hear much policy from Labour until we get into the General Election window.
 

711

Amadinho is the goat
Scout
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
24,438
Location
Don't sign old players and cast offs
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.
 

Mart1974

harbours delusions of insignificance
Joined
Nov 13, 2013
Messages
3,605
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.
 

Heardy

Full Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
8,879
Location
Looking for the answers...
Changing it to one to five, which is the same as in Scotland. I have to be honest as the father of a four month year-old, this is going to have a huge impact on us and likely save us something like £900 per month. Obviously, even that wouldn’t be enough to make me vote Tory. It will also be my partner can get back into full-time work and continue her career in which, for the longer term will have financial benefits to us.
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.
 

Maticmaker

Full Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Messages
4,843
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.
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.
 

That'sHernandez

Ominously close to getting banned
Joined
Oct 30, 2010
Messages
24,601
Changing it to one to five, which is the same as in Scotland. I have to be honest as the father of a four month year-old, this is going to have a huge impact on us and likely save us something like £900 per month. Obviously, even that wouldn’t be enough to make me vote Tory. It will also be my partner can get back into full-time work and continue her career in which, for the longer term will have financial benefits to us.
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.
 

NotoriousISSY

$10mil and I fecked it up!
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Messages
16,319
Location
up north
That's quite the money-saver in regards to childcare.

Nevermind, I've just seen the dates :lol:. 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:

ThehatchetMan

Plz look at Me! Pay attention to Me!
Joined
Oct 28, 2020
Messages
7,418
Supports
Crusaders FC
So aside from a change to childcare. Was anything decent actually announced?
 

ThehatchetMan

Plz look at Me! Pay attention to Me!
Joined
Oct 28, 2020
Messages
7,418
Supports
Crusaders FC
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.