With Reform neck and neck with Labour, not a chance. The UK’s first past the post system means every lost vote for Labour is a vote for Reform. Labour voters aren’t going to risk a Reform government. Of course, the next election is many years away, and much can happen in that time.
They have a far left contingent but they don’t have much leverage right now. I think the reality is that the UK’s high spending, high historical debt, and already high taxes don’t leave much room for pet projects and populist spending. If they increase the deficit they risk credit downgrades and much higher cost of debt servicing, exacerbating their issues during their tenure. If they increases taxes even more, they suppress what little economic growth they’re likely to see during their tenure, and risk recessions. Their only realistic path here is very centrist: rein in spending to focus more on infrastructure and R&D. Especially the energy grid, which is fucked. If they plunge the country into recession or make things even worse, they guarantee a Reform government in 2029.
There is a ray of sunshine. I’m seeing really promising legislative changes re planning and zoning. Removing a lot of the red tape and disallowing councils from blocking new developments will allow far more housing to be built. This is arguably the single biggest quality of life issue for Brits. Bringing rent and the cost of ownership down could cement Labour as the next winners.
Isnt the main issues that voters have the cost of living, failing nhs, landlords?
Planning regulations aren’t going to see any wins, nor is improving energy girds, important as those things are.
Its been shown that increases in housing stock has minimal effects on rent prices. A very cheap solution to this is rent control, it literally costs nothing. They could also build social housing if they wanted to invest money in something useful.
The NHS needs money, there is no getting around this unfortunately. All the fat trimming has been done.
Cost of living is obviously more complicated and i won’t pretend to understand that level of macro. But you seem to be concerned that increases in deficit ie borrowing would cause debts to increase. This always happens when any government does anything remotely left wing, look at how the USA treats cuba. The political fact is that to be left wing you have to accept USA aligned countries making it more expensive for you to borrow. If Corbyn had won we would have been battered by this, but the trick is to nationalise the economy and become independent.
I can sympathise with some of what you’re saying,but you make it out as if néolibéral policy is capable of doing those things as well as positioning it as the only route possible, which is disingenuous. You’re making a political statement, not a descriptive diagnosis.
This is mostly targeted at NIMBYs who are worried about high density housing hurting their property values. There could very well be environmental impact, though that’s not immediately clear. With so many people experiencing housing insecurity, I think the bigger issue right now for them is housing.
There are ways, but they’d be immensely unpopular with the corporate overlords, and thus, aren’t an option.
God forbid they close loopholes to stop the exporting of profits to overseas entities, for example. Along with all the other ridiculous tax avoidance wheezes multinationals use to obfuscate their way out of paying their fair share, we could cover the welfare budget twice over and have change left.
For anyone who is dependent on their disability benefit to not be homeless, starving, cold, or a combination of all three, they are making it a lot worse.
As I understand it, the plan is to get long term unemployed who can work back into work. I have seen no evidence that the plan would result in the permanently disabled being made homeless, but please cite what you’re referring to.
Use your brain - if they are cutting it by 5bil then they will make it harder for people to get PIP that is undoubtedly true as how else would they make savings.
Those people will no longer be able to afford essentials. Hence, could become homeless.
many of those on PIP already work bear in mind.
In order to make savings, they will have to force those unable to work to work which will either cause them to have worsened chronic health issues (which will cost NHS more), or cause them to be homeless as they cant work, or force them to rely on carers even further.
The idea that there are lots of people on PIP who could work with some encouragement is frankly ridiculous
If I lose my PiP, my partner and I cannot afford to keep the roof over our head, food in the freezer, and the house warm.
The heating will be the first to go. We don’t run the heating downstairs as it is usually, to keep the costs down a chunk. That’s not going to help either of us physically or mentally, and it will damage the house, which we can’t afford to repair.
In order for me to re-enter the workforce, I would need retraining, as I can no longer work in the field I used to. In order to do that, I need to find the money to pay for college, to be able to go to university. University and the loans I would need would be partially based on my disability status. Great, except if I lose my PiP, even if only temporarily, I lose my funding and get booted from Uni.
All of that assumes that someone would even employ a fresh uni graduate who would be nearly 50 by that point.
You see, unless UKgov is actually going to properly rebuild the system (it’s not), I am stuck where I am and there is pretty much fuck all I can do about it.
Taking away the money that literally makes the ends meet isn’t going to miraculously heal me, train me and make me employable, is it?
What it will do is ensure we bleed out to the point of having to sell the house, and use the proceeds to pay off the mortgage. We’d end up with more money left over than you can have and claim UC, so we’d have to burn that to pay rent till it was gone, then claim UC and this time housing benefit too.
So yeah, great job. It’s going to ensure that we end up costing the state even more in the long term. Yep, saving fucking loads with this manoeuvre.
Edit: Also of note; As things stand right now, we can’t afford to “go out”, we can’t afford to travel, we can’t afford “nice” food. We have no “life” as it stands, it’s not like we’re going to lose the Friday steak night or Saturday at the pub, those things went with my ability to work, a long time ago.
Edit 2: The only chance I have to dig myself out of this hole would be to find a way to turn a hobby into a business. The only problem with that is that hobbies cost money too.
Without divulging specifics of my medical history (which I’m obviously not doing here), the chances of me not having to go through the tribunal process at my next assessment (for lifelong conditions that never go away) are slim to none. That tribunal process takes over a year now.
I’ve been through the whole process four times so far. What a complete and utter fucking farce. Each and every time the tribunal has looked at the paperwork with shock, then utter contempt for the DWP for wasting their time and money with obvious shenanigans, before awarding me with what I should have had, plus back pay.
Starmer’s “plan” involves more of exactly what the Tories have been doing for decades; making it harder to qualify for PiP by increasing the number of “points” required, (ie. “Lesser” disability no longer qualifies for help, despite it still being a showstopper as far as work is concerned) and changing the wording of the questions (yet again) to prevent some problems ever being asked about.
This is the core of how they’re going to “save money”. Abandon those disabled and ill that aren’t literally crippled and stigmatise them as “just lazy”.
All this is doing is kicking the can down the road, and making the national situation worse in the long run.
Genuine, serious question,What is going to happen to everyone they take PIP from?
Do you really think all these people are going to suddenly become employable? Jobs will just pop up for disabled and ill folk and we all sing kumbaya?
To look at it from that greedy prick’s neoliberal POV it still makes no sense. That money is being spent on goods and services to make people’s lives possible, it’s not being sent abroad or stashed in tax havens, it’s a not insignificant chunk of what’s keeping the fucking economy ticking.
To take that money away is likely going to negatively affect consumer spending, which is going to mean yet more spending cuts, and so on. The Tories have tried this shit for 14 fucking years, how did that work out?
Is there any chance of a rebellion within Labour over this?
With Reform neck and neck with Labour, not a chance. The UK’s first past the post system means every lost vote for Labour is a vote for Reform. Labour voters aren’t going to risk a Reform government. Of course, the next election is many years away, and much can happen in that time.
Good point. I guess there’s no strong unified opposition within Labour on this doing anything at the moment?
They have a far left contingent but they don’t have much leverage right now. I think the reality is that the UK’s high spending, high historical debt, and already high taxes don’t leave much room for pet projects and populist spending. If they increase the deficit they risk credit downgrades and much higher cost of debt servicing, exacerbating their issues during their tenure. If they increases taxes even more, they suppress what little economic growth they’re likely to see during their tenure, and risk recessions. Their only realistic path here is very centrist: rein in spending to focus more on infrastructure and R&D. Especially the energy grid, which is fucked. If they plunge the country into recession or make things even worse, they guarantee a Reform government in 2029.
There is a ray of sunshine. I’m seeing really promising legislative changes re planning and zoning. Removing a lot of the red tape and disallowing councils from blocking new developments will allow far more housing to be built. This is arguably the single biggest quality of life issue for Brits. Bringing rent and the cost of ownership down could cement Labour as the next winners.
Isnt the main issues that voters have the cost of living, failing nhs, landlords?
Planning regulations aren’t going to see any wins, nor is improving energy girds, important as those things are.
Its been shown that increases in housing stock has minimal effects on rent prices. A very cheap solution to this is rent control, it literally costs nothing. They could also build social housing if they wanted to invest money in something useful.
The NHS needs money, there is no getting around this unfortunately. All the fat trimming has been done.
Cost of living is obviously more complicated and i won’t pretend to understand that level of macro. But you seem to be concerned that increases in deficit ie borrowing would cause debts to increase. This always happens when any government does anything remotely left wing, look at how the USA treats cuba. The political fact is that to be left wing you have to accept USA aligned countries making it more expensive for you to borrow. If Corbyn had won we would have been battered by this, but the trick is to nationalise the economy and become independent.
I can sympathise with some of what you’re saying,but you make it out as if néolibéral policy is capable of doing those things as well as positioning it as the only route possible, which is disingenuous. You’re making a political statement, not a descriptive diagnosis.
Thank you for that information. I guess there isn’t the simple solution of “tax the rich”, because it’s more nuanced than that?
So long as that red tape being removed isn’t going to negatively affect the environment or anything like that?
This is mostly targeted at NIMBYs who are worried about high density housing hurting their property values. There could very well be environmental impact, though that’s not immediately clear. With so many people experiencing housing insecurity, I think the bigger issue right now for them is housing.
There are ways, but they’d be immensely unpopular with the corporate overlords, and thus, aren’t an option.
God forbid they close loopholes to stop the exporting of profits to overseas entities, for example. Along with all the other ridiculous tax avoidance wheezes multinationals use to obfuscate their way out of paying their fair share, we could cover the welfare budget twice over and have change left.
The red tape being removed just means lower quality housing. Don’t fall for sloganeering.
For anyone who is dependent on their disability benefit to not be homeless, starving, cold, or a combination of all three, they are making it a lot worse.
Let’s gloss over that though, shall we?
As I understand it, the plan is to get long term unemployed who can work back into work. I have seen no evidence that the plan would result in the permanently disabled being made homeless, but please cite what you’re referring to.
Use your brain - if they are cutting it by 5bil then they will make it harder for people to get PIP that is undoubtedly true as how else would they make savings.
Those people will no longer be able to afford essentials. Hence, could become homeless.
many of those on PIP already work bear in mind.
In order to make savings, they will have to force those unable to work to work which will either cause them to have worsened chronic health issues (which will cost NHS more), or cause them to be homeless as they cant work, or force them to rely on carers even further.
The idea that there are lots of people on PIP who could work with some encouragement is frankly ridiculous
I cite my own personal experience.
If I lose my PiP, my partner and I cannot afford to keep the roof over our head, food in the freezer, and the house warm.
The heating will be the first to go. We don’t run the heating downstairs as it is usually, to keep the costs down a chunk. That’s not going to help either of us physically or mentally, and it will damage the house, which we can’t afford to repair.
In order for me to re-enter the workforce, I would need retraining, as I can no longer work in the field I used to. In order to do that, I need to find the money to pay for college, to be able to go to university. University and the loans I would need would be partially based on my disability status. Great, except if I lose my PiP, even if only temporarily, I lose my funding and get booted from Uni.
All of that assumes that someone would even employ a fresh uni graduate who would be nearly 50 by that point.
You see, unless UKgov is actually going to properly rebuild the system (it’s not), I am stuck where I am and there is pretty much fuck all I can do about it.
Taking away the money that literally makes the ends meet isn’t going to miraculously heal me, train me and make me employable, is it?
What it will do is ensure we bleed out to the point of having to sell the house, and use the proceeds to pay off the mortgage. We’d end up with more money left over than you can have and claim UC, so we’d have to burn that to pay rent till it was gone, then claim UC and this time housing benefit too.
So yeah, great job. It’s going to ensure that we end up costing the state even more in the long term. Yep, saving fucking loads with this manoeuvre.
Edit: Also of note; As things stand right now, we can’t afford to “go out”, we can’t afford to travel, we can’t afford “nice” food. We have no “life” as it stands, it’s not like we’re going to lose the Friday steak night or Saturday at the pub, those things went with my ability to work, a long time ago.
Edit 2: The only chance I have to dig myself out of this hole would be to find a way to turn a hobby into a business. The only problem with that is that hobbies cost money too.
I asked for evidence that Starmer’s plan would result in you losing PIP. I understand you losing PIP would be bad.
Without divulging specifics of my medical history (which I’m obviously not doing here), the chances of me not having to go through the tribunal process at my next assessment (for lifelong conditions that never go away) are slim to none. That tribunal process takes over a year now.
I’ve been through the whole process four times so far. What a complete and utter fucking farce. Each and every time the tribunal has looked at the paperwork with shock, then utter contempt for the DWP for wasting their time and money with obvious shenanigans, before awarding me with what I should have had, plus back pay.
Starmer’s “plan” involves more of exactly what the Tories have been doing for decades; making it harder to qualify for PiP by increasing the number of “points” required, (ie. “Lesser” disability no longer qualifies for help, despite it still being a showstopper as far as work is concerned) and changing the wording of the questions (yet again) to prevent some problems ever being asked about.
This is the core of how they’re going to “save money”. Abandon those disabled and ill that aren’t literally crippled and stigmatise them as “just lazy”.
All this is doing is kicking the can down the road, and making the national situation worse in the long run.
Genuine, serious question,What is going to happen to everyone they take PIP from?
Do you really think all these people are going to suddenly become employable? Jobs will just pop up for disabled and ill folk and we all sing kumbaya?
To look at it from that greedy prick’s neoliberal POV it still makes no sense. That money is being spent on goods and services to make people’s lives possible, it’s not being sent abroad or stashed in tax havens, it’s a not insignificant chunk of what’s keeping the fucking economy ticking.
To take that money away is likely going to negatively affect consumer spending, which is going to mean yet more spending cuts, and so on. The Tories have tried this shit for 14 fucking years, how did that work out?