New Labour government - legislative agenda

[wtfftw]

Benefit cap traps families in crowded, rat-infested homes, report finds

Limit on support for low-income families, introduced in 2013, said to be pushing people deeper into poverty

www.theguardian.com

longer this goes on, more it's part of the New Labour government legislative agenda

and again it's going on while the government subsidizes landlords

Nice to see the benefit cap getting more attention.

 

[tommers]

Just heard that my hometown sports centre has closed. The library closed last year.

Meanwhile I'm in Rheims, on a Tuesday night, and the cafes and restaurants are full with everybody having a nice time eating and drinking. We got into town using a tram that runs every ten minutes and cost about a fiver return for a family of, actually, up to 7 people.

I'm not going to extrapolate based on two events, god knows France also has its issues, but it does bring things into sharp contrast. "They" have really run shit into the ground.

 

[alex_]

Just heard that my hometown sports centre has closed. The library closed last year.

Meanwhile I'm in Rheims, on a Tuesday night, and the cafes and restaurants are full with everybody having a nice time eating and drinking. We got into town using a tram that runs every ten minutes and cost about a fiver return for a family of, actually, up to 7 people.

I'm not going to extrapolate based on two events, god knows France also has its issues, but it does bring things into sharp contrast. "They" have really run shit into the ground.

I’m currently in southern Germany, there are buses in the deep countryside ( halfway between Lindau and Memmingen ), really great country roads even away from the autobahn, small towns are clean and have libraries.

The U.K. is a fucking mess compared.

 

[redsquirrel]

The RN have just reached a new high water mark, the AfD is polling well. Both France and Germany have had serious protests and far-right organisation in recent years (in Germany a plot to overthrow the government).

And try going to some of the banlieues in France to see what state they are in.

EDIT: There is a bizarre mirror - conservatives and liberals both moaning that the 'country is going to the dogs'.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Apt to see comparisons to the situation in Europe on this thread.

What should not be in doubt is that the Starmer government is going to be very upopular, very quickly. The question is what kind of backlash is their brand of elite centrism going to promote?

On Panorama last week Streeting and other Ministers were surprisingly open about the effect of a failure by Labour 'to deliver for working people' and the failure of its growth 'plan'. He was blunt in acknowledging that it could lead to a further rise in right populism similar to the surges taking place in France and Germany (and also Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Greece, Holland etc). Whilst it does not go nearly far enough the employment rights bill set out in the Kings Speech does suggest - as does other limited aspects of the Labour programme intended to slow down the destruction and elimination of public services - that it recognises that capital has to be reigned in to some extent if that scenario is to be avoided here.

But, on the other hand the content of Reeves statement on Monday and the trailing of spending cuts and tax rises in the Autumn seems to suggest that Labour is already reaching for the Macron approach of punishing ordinary people to satisfy the markets. We know where this leads.

Finally, the recent GE suggests that a form of left populism - probably centred around a red/green alignment and which pushes for electoral reform and fights for minimum demands around the cost of living, employment rights, housing, the environment - outside of Labour would not be without support or hope. It's baffling to me that much of the debate on here is about Labour rather than what we might be able to do.

 

[PR1Berske]

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

 

[teqniq]

This is a complete shitshow, they had no mandate to do this but it is far easier to target the poor and vulnerable than it is the rich who will have paid large sums of money to ensure that their interests are protected:

The Labour government has made a policy error in denying Winter Fuel Payments

Nearly 2.2m pensioners live in poverty.

leftfootforward.org

 

[brogdale]

This is a complete shitshow, they had no mandate to do this but it is far easier to target the poor and vulnerable than it is the rich who will have paid large sums of money to ensure that their interests are protected:

The Labour government has made a policy error in denying Winter Fuel Payments

Nearly 2.2m pensioners live in poverty.

leftfootforward.org

Setting aside the worse than vermin nature of this legislation and the harm it will cause to some older people; it's just such poor politics. There has to be a chance that the bulk of the small reduction in public spending will be off-set by the corresponding rise in Pension Credit, which is, of course, a 'gateway benefit' for other forms of welfare. Also, some of the concern/dissent on their own side could have been mitigated had they extended the WFP, not only to those on the means-tested PC, but also those on needs-tested benefits like legacy DLA, AA and the like.

All in all, a complete shithead move.

 

[stethoscope]

Not only is there the winter fuel payment, but also more pensioners who will be tipped into paying more tax but aren't well off (like my parents with their state pension and a small private one that already has returned little for what they paid into it, and no other savings/inheritences - not all boomers are well off).

HMRC to 'write off' tax bills and cancel demands for thousands of people

The tax office has confirmed that it would not be sending demands to pensioners who owe 'tiny' amounts of tax as it would be too expensive to collect

www.mirror.co.uk

There's been a lot of warnings about the potential timebomb of this and in conjunction with winter fuel payments. The HMRC do now appear to be intending to lessen the burden here for those that are close to the threshold, but winter fuel payment cuts are still going to hit. That said, my parents got £300 more in their state pension last year, and then got taxed £388 on it! It then rises to £400 but thats likely to get wiped out too!

 

[brogdale]

Not only is there the winter fuel payment, but also more pensioners who will be tipped into paying more tax but aren't well off (like my parents with their state pension and a small private one that already has returned little for what they paid into it, and no other savings/inheritences - not all boomers are well off).

HMRC to 'write off' tax bills and cancel demands for thousands of people

The tax office has confirmed that it would not be sending demands to pensioners who owe 'tiny' amounts of tax as it would be too expensive to collect

www.mirror.co.uk

There's been a lot of warnings about the potential timebomb of this, and HMRC do now appear to be intending to lessen the burden here for those that are close to the threshold. That said, my parents got £300 more in their state pension this year, and then got taxed £388 on it! Next year £400 and likely to get that wiped out too.

The "hard decisions" that derive from excusing capital of its tax burden.

 

[Pickman's model]

This is a complete shitshow, they had no mandate to do this but it is far easier to target the poor and vulnerable than it is the rich who will have paid large sums of money to ensure that their interests are protected:

The Labour government has made a policy error in denying Winter Fuel Payments

Nearly 2.2m pensioners live in poverty.

leftfootforward.org

Yet we give a £3bn subsidy to Ukraine for an indeterminate time

 

[Dystopiary]

Nope. Unlike trivial idiots like you some of us have friends actually in government.

Is that why you've got nothing to say about how shit it is already?

 

[alex_]

Yet we give a £3bn subsidy to Ukraine for an indeterminate time

A total bargain compared to letting putin move closer to the baltics.

 

[stethoscope]

Is that why you've got nothing to say about how shit it is already?

@Kid_Eternity seems to have had more to say about the Tory leadership battle than what his Labour are doing in government the last few weeks.

 

[The39thStep]

@Kid_Eternity seems to have had more to say about the Tory leadership battle than what his Labour are doing in government the last few weeks.

and gaming

 

[Elpenor]

@Kid_Eternity seems to have had more to say about the Tory leadership battle than what his Labour are doing in government the last few weeks.

He didn’t say which government his friends were in

 

[alex_]

In other, totally unrelated news nearly a million pensioners now pay either 40% or 45% income tax

Alex

 

[zahir]

Setting aside the worse than vermin nature of this legislation and the harm it will cause to some older people; it's just such poor politics. There has to be a chance that the bulk of the small reduction in public spending will be off-set by the corresponding rise in Pension Credit, which is, of course, a 'gateway benefit' for other forms of welfare. Also, some of the concern/dissent on their own side could have been mitigated had they extended the WFP, not only to those on the means-tested PC, but also those on needs-tested benefits like legacy DLA, AA and the like.

All in all, a complete shithead move.

I may be overthinking it but is part of the point of this (and keeping the 2 child benefit cap) to set a kind of loyalty test for Labour MPs so that they have to make the choice to vote against their conscience if they want to keep the whip? I'm wondering if this is being led by factional interests and creating "concern/dissent on their own side" is part of the strategy.

 

[Pickman's model]

A total bargain compared to letting putin move closer to the baltics.

He can hardly move closer to the baltic states than he already is as a glance at a map will show

 

[two sheds]

Never mind all the labour MPs with a conscience can vote against removing the winter fuel allowance

and be suspended for 6 months

 

[teqniq]

In other, totally unrelated news nearly a million pensioners now pay either 40% or 45% income tax

Alex

Actually this is something which has really pissed me off. I reached retirement age last year but chose to continue to work and claim my state pension. Prior to reaching retirement age I was paying about £150pcm tax and NI and now I have been paying just over £400pcm tax only so essentially i am paying the government to work. I have now had enough and requested and been granted a reduction in my hours from 37.5 to 21.5 p/w.

 

[Larry O'Hara]

"Torsten Bell, the new Labour MP who used to run the Resolution Foundation thinktank and how is now parliamentary private secretary to Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, has posted this on X saying it would be wrong to describe what Rachel Reeves is announcing today as cuts to public spending."

Always thought him a fake: this confirms it

 

[MickiQ]

Actually this is something which has really pissed me off. I reached retirement age last year but chose to continue to work and claim my state pension. Prior to reaching retirement age I was paying about £150pcm tax and NI and now I have been paying just over £400pcm tax only so essentially i am paying the government to work. I have now had enough and requested and been granted a reduction in my hours from 37.5 to 21.5 p/w.

The state pension isn't really tax free, it's just because it is below the minimum tax threshold from which it gets deducted. I've discovered this since retirement and that I'm only getting a couple of grand of my private pension tax free before I start paying tax. Unless they put tax thresholds up then every £5 rise in the state pension will knock £1 or £2 off a private pension

 

[LakieLady]

The state pension isn't really tax free, it's just because it is below the minimum tax threshold from which it gets deducted. I've discovered this since retirement and that I'm only getting a couple of grand of my private pension tax free before I start paying tax. Unless they put tax thresholds up then every £5 rise in the state pension will knock £1 or £2 off a private pension

I'm over pension age, but still working p/t. I pay tax on virtually all my private pension and earnings.

We got a 3% pay rise this year. Because the pension increase meant I was paying more tax on my other income, my pay rise netted me a whole £9 a month!

 

[two sheds]

Well it's your own fault. You just need to be earning £100,000 a year then you can afford an accountant to offshore all your earnings and you wouldn't need to pay a penny.

 

[Dystopiary]

He didn’t say which government his friends were in

True. But KE was seriously stanning Starmer et al around the election, telling us all how wrong we were and how Labour will be so much better than the Tories.

 

[Hollis]

Actually this is something which has really pissed me off. I reached retirement age last year but chose to continue to work and claim my state pension. Prior to reaching retirement age I was paying about £150pcm tax and NI and now I have been paying just over £400pcm tax only so essentially i am paying the government to work. I have now had enough and requested and been granted a reduction in my hours from 37.5 to 21.5 p/w.

It seems you can stop claiming your state pension and defer it to later if you want to.. but you can only do this once.

 

[Elpenor]

True. But KE was seriously stanning Starmer et al around the election, telling us all how wrong we were and how Labour will be so much better than the Tories.

I like to think he has imaginary friends in both our current and former government

 

[Chz]

The state pension isn't really tax free, it's just because it is below the minimum tax threshold from which it gets deducted. I've discovered this since retirement and that I'm only getting a couple of grand of my private pension tax free before I start paying tax. Unless they put tax thresholds up then every £5 rise in the state pension will knock £1 or £2 off a private pension

The logic of pension vs. savings is that you'll be paying less tax as a retiree, on average. No one promised tax free pensions, and it was never intended to be that. It would be tremendously unfair to the working population if it were.

The tax free allowance should rise with inflation to keep it fair though. And it hasn't, which screws a lot of people. But that applies to workers and retirees.

Labour's original logic is that people were sick of above inflation increases in pension for people in the 40-45% tax bracket. But then they should have targeted exactly those people for the WFA. Extending it to nearly everyone is just pure spite. Their problem is that means testing costs administration money, and it wouldn't have raised enough to cover the cuts in the first place.

 

[agricola]

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

A woeful bit of legislation. Having the right to sit in the Lords as a hereditary peer is IMHO less absurd than having the right to sit there because a PM thought it would be a jolly to put you there.

If we are going to have an unelected chamber, then get rid of the executive's right to appoint whomever it likes, get rid of the people who have been put there for reasons that appall and regularise appointments to it. The main thing the Commons lacks is people who are expert in their fields so give the honour (without the right to claim £300 per day for the rest of their existence) to represent nurses, social workers, lorry drivers, prison guards, prisoners, agency workers, cops, soldiers and matelots etc. The Lords at its best is less stupid and less gullible than the Commons is and this should be protected.