Your predictions under Labour

[Taf]

So what are your predictions?

The Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol will be extended to England, and hiked for the whole of the UK "to help the Hospitality Sector".
Revaluation of all homes for Council Tax increases.
Congestion Charge extended to EV's.
A full roll-out of 20mph speed limits, LTN's and ULEZ.
Road Charging.
Parking Charges at work.
The removal of the Tax Freeze on fuel.
Hefty taxes and restrictions on vaping.
The continuation of the policy not to increase Personal Tax Allowances.
Disabled people pushed towards work and/or training.
Disability Payments changed from cash to coupons for devices and modifications.
Streamlining asylum applications by reducing checks.
Recognising Palestine.
A law protecting islam from blasphemy.
Building on Grey Land.
A tax designed to push people to spend rather than save.
A tax on internet usage.
Whatever the Unions demand.

[jfman]

You are kidding yourself on if you think the Starmer government is in the pockets of trade unions.

Significant effort went into purging the party of any semblance of a left wing party. Despite the popularity - along the population at large - of some of the policies in previous manifestos.

I predict an extremely vanilla two years before being prodded into action by a slump in the polls. Whether that action is a lurch to the left or right is a toss of a coin.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Taf

So what are your predictions?

The Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol will be extended to England, and hiked for the whole of the UK "to help the Hospitality Sector".

No

Revaluation of all homes for Council Tax increases.

yes, or something similar

Congestion Charge extended to EV's.

already happening

A full roll-out of 20mph speed limits, LTN's and ULEZ.

yes

Road Charging.

yes or similar

Parking Charges at work.

yes or tax it

The removal of the Tax Freeze on fuel.

no

Hefty taxes and restrictions on vaping.

no, they’ll ban vaping and smoking

The continuation of the policy not to increase Personal Tax Allowances.

no

Disabled people pushed towards work and/or training.

no

Disability Payments changed from cash to coupons for devices and modifications.

possibly

Streamlining asylum applications by reducing checks.

yes and approving all.

Recognising Palestine.

no

A law protecting islam from blasphemy.

an absolute cert.

Building on Grey Land.

should do

A tax designed to push people to spend rather than save.

tax savings? I could see that.

A tax on internet usage.

no

Whatever the Unions demand.

no

[denphone]

Easy prediction and that is we won't have the daily psychodramas, arrogant entitlement to power and internecine warfare we had constantly under the Tories.

That just in itself is a improvement.

As for policies well nothing is working in this country so the only way is up.

[Itshim]

A load of we didn't say that, we offered nothing and a load of nothing is what you get.

[Escapee]

As he has concentrated on telling the voter what he's not going to do and not what he is going to do, It's difficult to predict. The question is, will he do very little or will he be Blair 2.0.

He can't do much different unless he hits the public with higher taxes, he's unlikely to grow the economy. So I guess he's either going to have a short honeymoon period until those that voted for him realise, or he's going to get radical. He doesn't seem like the radical type, he's Mr cautious but it depends on who he has advising him. (Maybe Blair!!!!)

* Give the Welsh Assembly more powers.

He can then distance himself from them and the shambles they have been responsible for over the past 25 years. (I refuse to call that town hall council a government)

* Some spite taxes on those in the middle earning a good wage to appease those that suffer from envy.

They know they can't tax the rich, so better off workers are an easy target as the are generally despised by those on benefits, low paid, part-time or pensioners.

* Further privatisation of the NHS by stealth with PFI type deals like the last Labour government.

What they have said about increasing the contracting of NHS patients to private hospitals would have resulted in screams of "Privatisation of the NHS" if the Conservatives had proposed the same.

* Building their 40 new hospitals will most likely be some sort of PFI deal with the private sector. The Conservatives couldn't afford it, but perhaps he's going to screw those in the middle enough to pay for it.

* GB Energy or whatever it's called is just another deal to throw money at the private sector. Even if does reduce energy bills it will have been funded by the extra tax collected from the worker.

* Abolish the 40 & 45% tax relief on pension contributions, and reduce the annual allowance from £60k back to £40k. (Envy tax)

* Abolish the 25% tax free amount that you can take from your pension pot after 55 year of age. (I could foresee an election and a Labour government later this year, so even though I didn't really need the money when I combined my private pensions in April this year I took my 25%)

All in all personally I find it depressing, I'm less than 2 years off 60 which is when I plan to retire or partially retire. So from a personal point of view I'm hoping he ignores his advisors and follows his gut instinct, which means he will probably procrastinates for at least a year and then do very little.

I just wonder how long it will take for the centre-left to realise, or should I say admit, that things are no better.

[heero_yuy]

Very few carrots. Just bigger and better sticks plus a lode of woke nonsense.

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Very few carrots. Just bigger and better sticks plus a lode of woke nonsense.

Sounds good to me.

Bring on those hidden tax rises for those that are bleeding us dry.

[Pierre]

They have no money to do anything, so it’ll be token gestures in the culture war.

And tax rises.

[Angua]

I don't expect a lot of drama, as there is a huge mess to sort out.

Tax thresholds won't change - this will impact pensioners and would be the same had the Tories got back in.

Much will be expected from the Covid corruption Tsar claiming funds back, but this will take years.

The low and middle earners cannot be taxed more as this would be self defeating. Ultra wealthy may find they are taxed more, along with those who make money from property, again this will only affect a few.

I have already received a leaflet from Labour outlining their first steps. None of which are hugely contentious or massively ambitious.

[LakieLady]

Originally Posted by Escapee

What they have said about increasing the contracting of NHS patients to private hospitals would have resulted in screams of "Privatisation of the NHS" if the Conservatives had proposed the same.

That's exactly how Blair reduced waiting lists, and I don't recall there being a huge outcry at the time.

The trust where I live has been using private hospitals ever since then, I had an NHS op in one a couple of years ago, because my wait was about to breach their target time. It frees up NHS capacity to concentrate on the more complex cases that can't be done in the private sector.

[peanut]

I have no idea on what's to come or how they're going to sort things out. But for me to feel cautiously optimistic is at least a step in the right direction.

[Angua]

Originally Posted by peanut

I have no idea on what's to come or how they're going to sort things out. But for me to feel cautiously optimistic is at least a step in the right direction.

The new MP for Leicester NW is a friend and colleague. Also a bonus that the former MP lost his deposit.

---------- Post added at 09:54 ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 ----------

Originally Posted by LakieLady

That's exactly how Blair reduced waiting lists, and I don't recall there being a huge outcry at the time.

The trust where I live has been using private hospitals ever since then, I had an NHS op in one a couple of years ago, because my wait was about to breach their target time. It frees up NHS capacity to concentrate on the more complex cases that can't be done in the private sector.

As the private surgeon who operated on a friend pointed out, they are chasing the same nurses as the NHS and costs constrain what they can pay.

ID cards is one to watch. Last Labour government wanted them and it could help with immigration which is one area Labour will be going all out to combat.

Although as soon as I type that they're on tv denying it.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Damien

ID cards is one to watch. Last Labour government wanted them and it could help with immigration which is one area Labour will be going all out to combat.

Although as soon as I type that they're on tv denying it.

Personally l have a strong hunch we will be hearing a lot more of ID cards.