Current Affairs The Labour Party
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Yeah, can't see that happening.
Unpalatable political truth is the country is in a bit of a financial hole years in the making.
I don't see what any party, who are aligned with what you'd broadly call neo-liberal in economic position, does without cutting public services even further.
Of course, folk will shout 'socialism' but we ain't in a place where that style of government is picking up votes.
At some point the country needs an honest conversation with itself about all of this. I rather feel it won't like what it hears.
Thomasc
Formerly known as By God I'm Blue
Reeves set to speak today about infrastructure projects going forward to boost growth.
Obviously anything they do will be pilloried, criticised and pulled apart.
Appears British people prefer decline and stagnation in public services and infrastructure which is all what we witnessed under 14 years of Tory rule.
Obviously anything they do will be pilloried, criticised and pulled apart.
Appears British people prefer decline and stagnation in public services and infrastructure which is all what we witnessed under 14 years of Tory rule.
It used to be the case in the council I was working, that council tax was waived if you were solely in receipt of benefits. Then the council applied a min charge of £2.50 a week which obviously led to total chaos and fines as most folk had no idea how to pay or any inclination to pay. In the end the council tax was deducted directly from peoples’ universal credit.
Essentially the DWP giving money to the local council. It’s a ridiculous state of affairs and a complete waste of time and resources.
A big part of that conversation should be how neo-liberalism benefits nobody but the rich and we need to reclaim the Labour Party back from liberals.
The UK government spends a higher proportion of GDP than the Chinese government (or indeed the Russian government). I'm not sure "socialist or not" is even the right discussion. I mean the French government spends around 57% of GDP, yet I'm not sure the French are happy with things either. As you say, perhaps we need an honest conversation about things.
Yup - there's no shared vision of what a good Britain should look like and what to prioritise. Or why things are so expensive to run (and if they should be).
It's all blaming migrants, the public sector/civil servants for being lazy rather than evaluating past decisions and thinking long term. There is a huge disconnect between expectation from the state and willingness to pay.
The system never allows for such grown up discussions though. Pensions and migration are obvious examples. It's clear that the demographics of the country have changed and that pensions take up a growing portion of the budget, yet attempts to change the retirement age to make things more sustainable always get shouted down.
Similarly, it's clear that the evidence shows migration to be beneficial, yet those evidence-based discussions never get any exposure. I read a paper this morning looking at the impact the forced displacement of people from America would have on the construction sector (and housing market generally), and it's nearly all bad news, with Americans not getting more work (less in fact) and also being worse off because house prices rise (despite "migrants not taking our houses...")
Aye, I only half listened as I was driving, but a similar discussion was on the radio on Tuesday re: migration. Migration into the UK basically helps keep the birth to death rate stable. And that inbound migration is due to increase.
Without it we'd soon see population decline and the erosion of workforce and tax base because the 'indigenous' population' birthrate isn't high enough.
Now, the causes of the low birthrate are arguably complex and varied (anything ranging from falling fertility and economics, social policy etc). If you address the socio-economic issues that's going to cost. So migration it is. Which makes folk mad and also requires infrastructure, which also comes with a cost.
There are some quite tangible things. For instance, the Economist had an article this week on the rising number of deaths on British roads, and how investing more in safer roads (and lowering the speed limit) would have a tangible difference, both on people not dying but also on GDP as people generally aren't productive when they're injured or dead. Similarly, investing in infrastructure more generally is usually seen as a positive thing. The problem is, building things in the UK costs a bloody fortune, and a lot more than comparable nations. Having a grown up conversation about that would be hugely valuable, not least as many of the challenges involved in building infrastructure also affect building homes or energy infrastructure.
It's a bit reminiscent of the hoohaa about this Chinese AI this week, as for months Silicon Valley has been saying to improve we need to throw more money, water, and electricity at the job. Then a little Chinese firm comes along and blows them out of the water. The government does need to get much better at spending money, which isn't an attack on the civil service but rather a reflection that we're just not very good at doing certain things and asking tax payers to spend even more money is crazy.
There was a similar analysis done a while back about the small number of folks who use up the majority of health resources, and investing more in them pays off. We have so many people currently off work through sickness that making genuine headway on that would be huge (and that means making them well rather than forcing them back to work).
If you ever go to someones house and they`ve got a load of Brew Dog in the fridge, it`s a universal sign that they know nothing about beer and want to appear cool and hip.
It`s in the exact same bracket as Carling, Carlsberg ( UK stuff ) and the likes of Greene King real ale - utter pish.
Dreadful, overpriced beer for knobheads.
They used to make some OK stuff tbf, these days they just churn out crap, over-hopped IPA's with nasty fruity flavours.
They seem to be more concerned with the art work on the cans, rather than what`s inside.
Does Heathrow really need a third runway?
The problem Labour have with issues like this is that much of their core support are going to disagree and much of the people that do agree are not going to vote or back them anyways.
The problem Labour have with issues like this is that much of their core support are going to disagree and much of the people that do agree are not going to vote or back them anyways.
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