This governments shenanigans

[macliam]

In addition to the above, I bring you the following....

We are told that there is a budgetary "black hole" of £30-50Bn that must be addressed because it seriously endangers the financial stability of the UK. The chancellor tells us that this will be painful and we will all pay more tax.

It should be nothed that the budget for track and trace was thought affordable. The budget for PPI appropriation was thought affordable. The budget for the Nightingale hospitals was thought affordable. The budget for HS2 was though affordable. The budget for Crossrail was thought affordable. The budget for the new Nuclear power station at Sizewell was thought affordable. If you add these together, they far exceed the "black hole".

However, the Tory party needs to assuage it's friends in the City (apart from those who made fortunes shorting Sterling over Kwarteng's budget). They are screaming for proof that the UK can pay its way...

So, it is a perfect opportunity to close down projects that otherwise would be too embarrassing to touch, like levelling-up, or HS2 or Nuclear builds.

It is a perfect opportunity to extend the tax-take by freezing allowances (thus driving more and more people to pay tax and into higher tax bands). It is a perfect opportunity to break the triple-lock (again). It is a perfect opportunity to introduce NI contributions against pension income. It is a perfect opportunity to remove the CGT break on the sale of primary residences...... so may opportunities that would be a death-wish under normal circumstances. But we are in a "black hole", so must respond.

It is a perfect opportunity to drive up the tax-take with 2 years to run before the electorate can vote, trusting in short voter-memories............ and an increased tax-take could build enough to splash out on some goodies ahead of the next election and save some Tory seats.

We'll see what actually happens, but one things certain...... after years of Tory control and the pain of austerity, we are still in a "black hole"..... and whilst Covid and the Ukraine war may not have helped, they affect all economies and we are still the only G7 nation in negative growth.

It's a good job that the Tories are the party of financial stability, eh?

[macliam]

What's the point? I thought this country was short of a bob or two and needed to save money.

Braverman to sign France deal

The Home Secretary is to travel to Paris to sign an updated deal to try to stop people crossing the English Channel in small boats. Under the expanded agreement, the number of officers patrolling the French coast to try to stop people setting off will rise from 200 to 300 and the amount the UK pays France to cover the cost of increased patrols at their end will go up from about £55m a year to £63m. It will also encourage France to “increase the number of migrants who are prevented from leaving”, said the Financial Times.

It will not work and is just a waste of money. It would be better spent on either speeding up processing, or creating safe corridors and allowing people to claim in the country of origin. Identifying those who have no basis for claim and repatriating them PDQ. It is worth noting that this is the fourth agreement that has been made in three years.

I'm surprised the reviewed budget is supposedly going to pay for more patrols, etc. as I would have thought it would only just about cover the drop in the relative value of Sterling against the Euro... so the net increase is far smaller.

It would also be interesting how some politicians think it should be possible for the French to "arrest" migrants who have broken no laws until they arrive in the UK. In the case of the much publicised Albanians, they have a 90-day Schengen visa, so are perfectly OK unless they overstay. Anyone who has tavelled through Calais will have seen the razor-wire barriers that surround the port.... these were built to satisfy earlier UK demands to stop migrants boading lorries. That was after the French demolished the Sangatte camp after pressure from the UK. These barriers and the destruction of a migrant camp would not be allowed in a UK that cannot nove-on travellers who set up camp in a public park, but such actions were so successful that they drove migrants to use the small boats instead. Stopping the small boats in a similar draconian manner will drive migrants to attempt some other form of unofficial entry, until the obvious attraction of the UK as a destination is addressed.

I agree that allowing migrants to register outside the UK is required, but this will only skim off a proportion - because anyone refused official entry or who does not even bother will still try the unofficial route. It is also worth noting that a high proportion of so-call "illegal migrants" are actually granted asylum, once the extended wait for their applications to be processed has passed....

[Richard Frost]

Record fall in living standards

Britain is facing the highest level of taxation since the Second World War and a record fall in living standards after Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement. The chancellor “chose to target middle-income and wealthier households in an attempt to balance the books”, said The Times, while The Telegraph felt that “it’s hard to spot the difference between the Tories and Labour now”. The Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine said “there was me thinking we’d voted in the Conservatives” but the Daily Express hailed “victory” in its campaign to secure a 10.1% state pension increase.

‘From bad to worse’

“From bad to worse” is The Guardian’s summary of Britain’s economic plight following Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement. “Tories soak the strivers,” says the Daily Mail adding that middle earners were “hammered” with a “stealth tax squeeze”. Jeremy Hunt has paved the way for “years of pain”, says the Financial Times and The Times warns that there are “years of tax pain ahead” for the public.

The Week 18/11/22

[macliam]

The Labour government, which built hospitals, recruited NHS staff and reduced child poverty was thrown over due to its inability to see a global financial crash coming. In come the Tories who destroy services with years of forced cuts and oversee the greatest rise ever in the differential between high earners and the rest, because they are "financially astute".

So astute that we are now the only G7 country with no growth - and now it's all down to "things we couldn't foresee" and we hear "everyone's having a bad time". This is a lie..... the global economy is down, but not as far as we are.... and we're on our own having flicked a massive two fingers to our largest trading partner and having sold our soul to the money-men.

...and now, in the most cynical ploy of all, Hunt kicks the can down the road by projecting tax rises beyond the next election..... therefore shackling the new government, whoever they may be.

There may have been a note in the treasury to say "There's no Money" when the coalition took over, but now the Tories have gone one better, there will just be a big IOU to pay!

[macliam]

[macliam]

[Richard Frost]

One of the things that I thought was starting to go the right way was the sorting out of Social Care. Seems to have gone right out of the window now though. The NHS will only get worse, no matter how much money they throw at it unless they tackle this gigantic problem first. One of the things that would help is more money to Councils to pay for the stay these "bed blockers" need in residential and Care homes. It does not help that most councils have now sold their residential homes to the Private sector.

[blythburgh]

One problem with so called bed blockers is there is no enough people working in care homes or for support in own home companies. Not the fault of the businesses as they cannot afford to pay the staff more and some are leaving to get better paid and less stressful jobs elsewhere. The employees might love the job but that does not put food on the table or heat the home.

And of course we cannot get the workers from the EU either

[macliam]

One problem with so called bed blockers is there is no enough people working in care homes or for support in own home companies. Not the fault of the businesses as they cannot afford to pay the staff more and some are leaving to get better paid and less stressful jobs elsewhere. The employees might love the job but that does not put food on the table or heat the home.

And of course we cannot get the workers from the EU either

The problem with care homes is that it's big business..... like private medicine. Few care homes are now council-owned and we all know about the "expenses" creamed off charities by CEOs, etc. Many are owned by companies who are in it for the profit. Likewise, many people are "forced" to use privately-arranged in-home care, due to the lack of capacity and the limitations of publicly-provided services. At the bottom of the pile are the people in need of care..... and the kicking of the Social care can down the road to the next government underlines how little the Tories care...

PS - Has anybody else noticed the new BUPA TV advertising offering GP services?..... it makes me sick

[Sarah]

Obviously easily fabricated or manipulated, but...