Rachel Reeves, Labour Response

She has just been critical of the governments measures in the mini budget.

But then outlines what Labour would do but offers literally nothing that would help the cost of living crisis for those most in need. I did agree with her about re-instating the 45p tax band but the other things she talked about.

Increasing the minimum wage. This is Ok from a certain viewpoint, however combine the massive pressure small businesses are going to face with energy bills etc, this could probably just result in people who were earning minimum wage turning up to work and being told they are being made redundant as the business can't cover the extra costs.

Doubling the number of med school places? How does this help?

Claiming that by re-introducing the 45p rate of tax it would leave money to fund one of the biggest expansions of the NHS workforce in history. This doesn't hold true surely, especially with the public purse as it is.

I was expecting to hear how things would be made easier for those most in need, not just keeping a current tax band and upping the minimum wage.

Our political parties of all colours have to do better, get some fresh ideas on the table. Something that will actually work.

Tories mini budget missed the mark, and seemingly so Labour if that's is what they can muster up. Have they even dropped the idea of a windfall tax? If not, why not even mention it?

See what Starmer has to say in his speech tomorrow, he's got to put more detail in that what his shadow chancellor has done surely.

 

Okay. Stick with Kamikwasi then.

 

Whatever Starmer says or the Party in General t there’ll be calls that it’s not enough etc etc ,
The Tory Press will already have their columns wrote condemning every motion and even adding exaggerated or untrue sentences .
The social media Torys will be putting their usual they’re all the same or Labour offers nothing etc so just keep the Status quo and bend down and take what the Torys offer .

 

Have you tried getting a doctors appointment recently ? Increasing med school grads is exactly the type of long term planning we need, stick with Liz from HR If you like.

 

Labour can't get power till 2024 so none of their policies would make the slightest difference to how the poorest people get through the next 2 years of recession.

So whatever they say about our current situation is the equivalent of "Bully's in, let's see what you would have won.".

I really don't see how that helps to be honest and we really don't know how bad it will be in 2024 so what's the point in trying to put forward serious costed policies? Incidentally, the Tories never put forward serious costed policies even during an election campaign.

 

Labour have already gone on record that they’d windfall tax the fuel and energy companies to fund reductions in utility bills and at the pumps.

There’s quite a bit of help right away. Reduced fuel prices for businesses would also obviously reduce costs of delivering things to shops and so could lead to price reductions of other things too.

Nobody will convince me we’d not be better off under a Labour government than this one.

In fact I actually think we’d probably be better off under a Thatcher or Cameron government than a Truss or Johnson one so that doesn’t really say much.

But realistically I don’t see much worse an approach to the current financial situation than to cut tax income from the highest earners. It’s just bloody illogical and serves to prove they are interested in one thing only.

 

If you're pinning your hopes on the Labour Party, I think you may be rather disappointed. The party thinks it can manage the same economy/society as the Conservatives - just do it a a slightly better/fairer way rather than make any changes that upset the status quo too much. The best you can say of them at the moment is they may be the best ‘worst alternative’ - but I really think we should expect more.

 

The job of the opposition is to hold the government to account.

If you have no alternative policies of your own to shove down their throat, then criticism just becomes pointless noise.

If Labour had some good ideas, then they should be showboating them so at least the voting public know about them.

Looking at the replies so far..

Orsenkaht - 'Okay. Stick with Kamikwasi then.' - How does that even help? If the publc do not hear positive things from Labour, their current polling majority will simply fade away and end up losing the next election.

Marlon - You can't just stick with the line that whaterver Starmer says it won't be enough. Something woud be good because atm, nothing is where they are at seemingly policy wise. Our media are fickle enough that if they see a swell in public opinion towards some Labour policies, they suddenly jump on board. Can't just always claim every media outlet are batting for the Tories, that's a lose lose situation surely.

Wakeyred - Are docs appointments really what 95% of the country are talking about (albeit important I agree). It's cost of living, in ya face atm. People need to hear about how this can be tackled.

Brush - Waiting til 2024 will just see the polls narrow, can guarantee it. Positive policy ideas from a strong opposition now can 100% force the governments hand, u-turns on decisions. But to do that, the voting public need to be behind the alternative. Opposition parties can't just wait until a month before the gen eelection to come up with some ideas.

 

Rachel Reeves in her big moment never once mentioned the windfall tax. It's as though they have given up trying when they should be shouting even louder and force the government into a change of direction.

 

Owts got to be better than what these tory lot put forward. I'm no expert but I know when the working class are being conned by the cnuts.
The new tax cut from 45% puts an extra £55k in someone who earns £1m according to a report yesterday on the radio.

 

I disagree about Labour not Making enough noise and no policies etc imo it’s only Labour detractors making that accusation .
But whether anyone thinks the opposition party’s are doing enough or not surely at some point they look to what a shitshow the incumbents are making of the country and make a decision on that , or maybe not for some .

 

Understatement of the year I’m afraid, it never aimed at ‘the mark’ to start with. Indeed, the claim that it is beneficial to all is so deliberately wide of the mark, it’s not even registered as a miss/ attempt

 

Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, who probably knows a bit more than any of us when it come to the economy says:

"Investors seem inclined to regard the UK Conservative Party as a doomsday cult.”

So it's Labour or a Doomsday Cult. Tricky

 

I don’t see myself as politically without knowledge but struggle to come up with any positive plans Labour are putting forward to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Labour can’t just wait until 2 weeks before a GE to supply alternatives. They need to do so now to change the narrative and get on the front foot. The are failing to do so.

It’s true to say that virtually any govt would be better than this one. But that would say include Thatcher it’s no yardstick to measure whether a party has progressive ideas to push forward society.

 

I think the response of the financial markets & the inevitable rise in interest rates is the real indicator as to how wise the current policies are. Stagflation is something I predicted 2 years ago. The worst of all possible worlds.

We have been run by idealogues for a while now that say the market is the answer to everything. Sadly it isn't. Some things are better run by the market & some things are better in public ownership. The free market approach has left us in a mess. Raw sewage from water industries, terribly over priced rail network,people not being able to get a GP appointment, closing economic coal mines & not investing in alternatives, getting rid of gas storage facilities, are just a few. (We continued to import coal, btw, rather than digging up our own that had a lower carbon footprint). Changing the rules on fracking & proceeding with this approach is gonna leave is in a mess for a decade. (Fracking will make very little difference in terms of energy output & is clearly linked to leukemia as well as ruining watercourses. It might be viable in the US desert? As yet we don'y have a desert... TBH I can see us all being on our knees at the end.

Sadly a lot of folks are going to read the Express, Mail, Sun, et al & all that is pushed out on social media & keep blaming the unions for fighting for ordinary people's rights. Expecting anything to change is unlikely.

Seeing Mussolini's party reelected in Italy, says we are not the only ones going far right. Le Pen came close in France & even Germany is seeing the rise of the far right in Hitler's own homelands.

At least we are 5th in the table.

 

I think you will find that this is Labour policy and has been since the announcement of removing the price cap by Ofgem. They have a policy on employee protection and maintaining existing employees protection, brought in through being in the EU. They have suggested a new formula for minimum wage, something brought in by a Labour government.
Can I just point out that there has been a conservative government for 12 years. I really don't know what your motivation and agenda is with this thread. The UK government has announced increases to long term borrowing for this country, which will rise to the trillions and have to be repaid this century,by people's children and grandchildren.
To attack another party and individuals and blame them for not solving a crisis they didn't create, seems absurd.

 

Agree with 99% of the above but Brothers of Italy are not even close to being fascists. They do have policies that are unacceptable to many but to describe Meloni as a direct link to an ideology and a Fascist leader dead for nearly 80 years Is sensationalist claptrap. The media and particularly the BBC are behaving like tabloids with sensationalised headlines. An article this morning had a headline about Berlusconi stating he was sympathetic to Putin and implying he was forced into the war and Berlusconi supported it and Russia against Nato and Ukraine. The first two paragraphs supported the headlines only for the latter half of the article to contradict the headline and first half. Berlusconi (albeit a controversial dinosaur) categorically states he supports Ukraine, Nato, sanctions and is desperately disappointed in Putin's actions and condemns them.

 

I'm saying under the current financial climate, if the suggestion of putting up the national minimum wage is the best that they can muster, it is time to sweep the front line clear Inc Starmer. No matter how bad the government are, people seem just happybto have a non credible government replace the current. It's like saying ok they aren't quite as bad but they are called Labour so it will be all rosey.

I'm sorry if it offends any completely blinkered staunch Labour follower. But I also voted for them and I demand better than the bland alternative being put forward, now wrong with that.

The national min wage issue would see big unemployment rises amongst small businesses who can't cope with it.

A windfall tax even though the shadow chancellor forgot to mention it, is a one off suggestion.

It's not good enough, it's just Tory lite, nothing more.

 

99% is good enough for me. I'm rarely that correct.

At least Italy does have a PR system that usually leads to compromise. Same with most European counties TBH. She does represent Mussolini's old party though, or at least the fall out of it.

I like your posts. I agree with some & disagree with others. I'm glad you always give a reasoned reply to your posts.

Italy was a small bit of my post to be fair & I can't see a lot on the election results in Italy to be positive about TBH, given in the UK we have a government that due to our ridiculous constitution we have inherited, despite the last leader being shown to be less than honest ousted by his own party.

 

There's a cost of living crisis.

Labour have been very clear that to help cut energy bills they will impose a windfall tax on the energy companies making record profits.

The Tories have said they will cut taxes for the richest in society.


If anyone can honestly read that and say "labour aren't doing anything to help the cost of living crisis" then God help them. Or us.