| 19 councils to sell assets 06:13 - Mar 1 with 4458 views | gtsb1966 |
to pay for services next year. Obviously this government don't care because they won't be in power next year but what have they done to this country. The next ten years are going to be a rough ride. I read only this week that Babergh is only 2 years from bankruptcy unless it makes drastic cuts. The roads are a disgrace now, imagine what they'll be like in a few years time. Forget the electric car, you'll need a horse and cart.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68439624 |  | | |  |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:26 - Mar 1 with 2696 views | bluelagos |
When I hear people moaning about pot holes I used to think "Is that all you're worried about?"
Now I too moan about potholes. Can't decide if I should punch myself in the face or not.
There's an invite for you  |  |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 with 2666 views | NthQldITFC |
There will have to be a great 'giving back' to society driven by any decent human beings who attain power, because otherwise there will be growing anarchy and nothing to stop it. |  |
| # WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE # | | Poll: | It's driving me nuts |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 with 2661 views | Churchman |
The solution is simple. Restore Rate Support grant and put a few pence on income tax (while raising the threshold to negate the burden on the poorest in society).
Progressive Income tax means the richest in society pay more. It’s not a hard concept but it is of course one the tories fundamentally disagree with.
This tory idea of destroying public services is not only a disgrace, but utterly self defeating. And that imbecilic weed Sunak has the brass neck to mumble on about mob rule. |  | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:43 - Mar 1 with 2661 views | Plums |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:26 - Mar 1 by bluelagos |
When I hear people moaning about pot holes I used to think "Is that all you're worried about?"
Now I too moan about potholes. Can't decide if I should punch myself in the face or not.
There's an invite for you |
They're a metaphor for the state of the nation.
I can't believe anyone who uses our roads concludes 'this is a well run country'.
Perhaps I think too deeply (not as deep as some of the holes round here obviously) about it but one thing the Tories are succeeding with is helping lots of previously uninterested people realise politics really does affect their lives. |  |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:55 - Mar 1 with 2614 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 by Churchman |
The solution is simple. Restore Rate Support grant and put a few pence on income tax (while raising the threshold to negate the burden on the poorest in society).
Progressive Income tax means the richest in society pay more. It’s not a hard concept but it is of course one the tories fundamentally disagree with.
This tory idea of destroying public services is not only a disgrace, but utterly self defeating. And that imbecilic weed Sunak has the brass neck to mumble on about mob rule. |
On the plus side, it seems the general public aren’t interested in Tory ‘tax cuts’ (inverted commas because we all know they give with one hand, and take with another). Research suggests voters would rather see investment in services:
https://www.cityam.com/spring-budget-2024-tax-cuts-are-bad-economics-and-politic
Years of not being able to see a doctor, structurally unsafe schools, roads the developing world would be embarrassed about, seem to have changed the prevailing views on taxation. |  | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:56 - Mar 1 with 2614 views | Dubtractor |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 by Churchman |
The solution is simple. Restore Rate Support grant and put a few pence on income tax (while raising the threshold to negate the burden on the poorest in society).
Progressive Income tax means the richest in society pay more. It’s not a hard concept but it is of course one the tories fundamentally disagree with.
This tory idea of destroying public services is not only a disgrace, but utterly self defeating. And that imbecilic weed Sunak has the brass neck to mumble on about mob rule. |
Protesters are mob rule etc...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/tories-accused-of-hypocrisy- [Post edited 1 Mar 7:56]
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:57 - Mar 1 with 2613 views | TractorWood |
A UK council cannot go bankrupt. It's lazy alarmism from journalists. They just issue some section to state that their forecast income is less than their forecast spending.
Personally, like the NHS, I don't think these institutions are underfunded. They are just ridiculously badly run and inefficient as operations. People obviously work hard but you need to work smart in 2024. Ie not posting everything/digital records etc. |  |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:15 - Mar 1 with 2558 views | NthQldITFC |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:57 - Mar 1 by TractorWood |
A UK council cannot go bankrupt. It's lazy alarmism from journalists. They just issue some section to state that their forecast income is less than their forecast spending.
Personally, like the NHS, I don't think these institutions are underfunded. They are just ridiculously badly run and inefficient as operations. People obviously work hard but you need to work smart in 2024. Ie not posting everything/digital records etc. |
Is it that whilst funding is creeping up, they have been forced (fiscally or ideologically) to outsource everything to the unchecked and ravenously greedy, public purse-pillaging private sector and have very little scope for internal efficiency improvements any more?
I know very little about this, but it seems to me that the damage was done some time ago and the T*ries are just kicking a nearly dead man, stealing his vest and underpants whilst scattering a few coppers around and saying "It's all your fault". | |
| # WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE # | | Poll: | It's driving me nuts |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:16 - Mar 1 with 2551 views | Pinewoodblue |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 by Churchman |
The solution is simple. Restore Rate Support grant and put a few pence on income tax (while raising the threshold to negate the burden on the poorest in society).
Progressive Income tax means the richest in society pay more. It’s not a hard concept but it is of course one the tories fundamentally disagree with.
This tory idea of destroying public services is not only a disgrace, but utterly self defeating. And that imbecilic weed Sunak has the brass neck to mumble on about mob rule. |
Perhaps, for once, when Labour respond to next weeks budget we will get some idea how they will do different. Don’t hold your breath. |  |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:20 - Mar 1 with 2539 views | Churchman |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:57 - Mar 1 by TractorWood |
A UK council cannot go bankrupt. It's lazy alarmism from journalists. They just issue some section to state that their forecast income is less than their forecast spending.
Personally, like the NHS, I don't think these institutions are underfunded. They are just ridiculously badly run and inefficient as operations. People obviously work hard but you need to work smart in 2024. Ie not posting everything/digital records etc. |
How they are run and whether they are inefficient is one aspect. Funding is another. I don’t know if they are or they aren’t not having worked within them. My personal experience in recent months with my late father then Mrs C is that the service provided has been brilliant to date.
I suspect they are badly run and inefficient (five years ago NHS England had a rubbish reputation) but I don’t know how much of that is tory rhetoric and propaganda used to destroy them, not having worked in their world. If you have hard proof, by all means share it.
Undoubtably, services could be more efficient and joined up. Improvement in anything is always possible and should be striven for. But they do work at it - when you see the process of Continuing Healthcare in Suffolk, you’d be amazed at how joined up it is. I witnessed it first hand. The changes in things like death notification in five years is noticeable. These are things I’ve seen. Hard evidence, albeit minor, small sample.
The people working in public services need support to help them do their work better. None are in it for the money or an easy life. Aside from getting better people or better training for people to run these services, they need money.
While we are spending less per capita than our peers in Europe on for example healthcare, stuff like ‘working smarter’ (that cliche was doing the rounds 15 years ago) we’ve got no chance. [Post edited 1 Mar 8:31]
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:30 - Mar 1 with 2496 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:57 - Mar 1 by TractorWood |
A UK council cannot go bankrupt. It's lazy alarmism from journalists. They just issue some section to state that their forecast income is less than their forecast spending.
Personally, like the NHS, I don't think these institutions are underfunded. They are just ridiculously badly run and inefficient as operations. People obviously work hard but you need to work smart in 2024. Ie not posting everything/digital records etc. |
Councils can declare a 114 notice which is, to all intents and purposes, declaring itself bankrupt.
I think you are conflating, 'going bust', which involves winding up and liquidation with bankruptcy, and they are not the same by any stretch of the imagination.
Councils that declare a 114 can cut all non essential services and only provide those services required by law, for example refuse collection or repairing potholes over 75mm in depth, there is no legal requirement for surface area of a pothole, only the depth, imagine what that'll do to your alloys.
The NHS, and even more importantly, social care, (funded by local councils declaring 114's) are hugely underfunded, anyone suggesting otherwise is little more than an apologist for this vindictive, disgusting government. [Post edited 1 Mar 8:33]
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:31 - Mar 1 with 2496 views | itfcjoe |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 by Churchman |
The solution is simple. Restore Rate Support grant and put a few pence on income tax (while raising the threshold to negate the burden on the poorest in society).
Progressive Income tax means the richest in society pay more. It’s not a hard concept but it is of course one the tories fundamentally disagree with.
This tory idea of destroying public services is not only a disgrace, but utterly self defeating. And that imbecilic weed Sunak has the brass neck to mumble on about mob rule. |
Why don't we tax dividends and CGT opposed to constantly going after income tax? Workers on PAYE have to suffer the burden every time whilst the non-working rich don't |  |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:32 - Mar 1 with 2487 views | TractorWood |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:20 - Mar 1 by Churchman |
How they are run and whether they are inefficient is one aspect. Funding is another. I don’t know if they are or they aren’t not having worked within them. My personal experience in recent months with my late father then Mrs C is that the service provided has been brilliant to date.
I suspect they are badly run and inefficient (five years ago NHS England had a rubbish reputation) but I don’t know how much of that is tory rhetoric and propaganda used to destroy them, not having worked in their world. If you have hard proof, by all means share it.
Undoubtably, services could be more efficient and joined up. Improvement in anything is always possible and should be striven for. But they do work at it - when you see the process of Continuing Healthcare in Suffolk, you’d be amazed at how joined up it is. I witnessed it first hand. The changes in things like death notification in five years is noticeable. These are things I’ve seen. Hard evidence, albeit minor, small sample.
The people working in public services need support to help them do their work better. None are in it for the money or an easy life. Aside from getting better people or better training for people to run these services, they need money.
While we are spending less per capita than our peers in Europe on for example healthcare, stuff like ‘working smarter’ (that cliche was doing the rounds 15 years ago) we’ve got no chance. [Post edited 1 Mar 8:31]
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Good to hear your recent service was good with Mrs C. Sorry again for your loss.
I won't drone on about the financials of the NHS. Feels crass in the circumstances.
All the best [Post edited 1 Mar 8:33]
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:34 - Mar 1 with 2458 views | NthQldITFC |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:16 - Mar 1 by Pinewoodblue |
Perhaps, for once, when Labour respond to next weeks budget we will get some idea how they will do different. Don’t hold your breath. |
Personally I'm prepared to hold my breath until Labour get into power. They might not be anything close to what I think is needed to save this country from societal collapse, but they'll still be a damn sight closer to it than the filthy, thieving traitors and scumbags who have run the UK into the ground. | |
| # WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE # | | Poll: | It's driving me nuts |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:39 - Mar 1 with 2433 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:31 - Mar 1 by itfcjoe |
Why don't we tax dividends and CGT opposed to constantly going after income tax? Workers on PAYE have to suffer the burden every time whilst the non-working rich don't |
Failure to tax the hundreds of billionaires that have popped up through globalisation is one of the reasons the middle class has been so squeezed over the last 20 years. We are told we can’t afford to fund our services (there’s an element of truth there) whilst people own companies that are bigger than some economies. We have so many foreign billionaires resident in the UK precisely because we don’t tax them enough.
Then we invite these billionaire tax dodgers to COP when they’ve made their money running fleets of diesels. We’ve even got billionaire tax dodgers as our Head of State, and fawn over them in the media. | | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:39 - Mar 1 with 2432 views | TractorWood |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:31 - Mar 1 by itfcjoe |
Why don't we tax dividends and CGT opposed to constantly going after income tax? Workers on PAYE have to suffer the burden every time whilst the non-working rich don't |
Dividends makes sense imo as it is logically set below income to encourage people to have a crack at their own enterprises and should reward some of the risk entrepreneurs take. IR35 compliant naturally.
CGT is a wider kettle of fish. The main issue being that it covers essentially every other type of gain across potentially loads of asset classes. Ie same day equity trading to selling a bit of land to Bitcoin, to watches etc. Some is wealth, some is just genuinely flogging stuff that has gone up in value.
Slashing the annual exemption is short sighted as everyone for example atm is bed and isa'ing shares so the return to exchequer is not being realised. | |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:42 - Mar 1 with 2420 views | Churchman |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:31 - Mar 1 by itfcjoe |
Why don't we tax dividends and CGT opposed to constantly going after income tax? Workers on PAYE have to suffer the burden every time whilst the non-working rich don't |
As somebody who doesn’t work, I still pay income tax, the same as those that do. But I’ve no problem with your tax dividends etc proposal.
I’d also go after non tax payers. If there is not enough money for services, a first port of call should be those not paying their share. That includes companies, though that’s difficult when you get a situation like Vodaphone in about 2007.
The government has got rid of 1000s of tax collectors as headcount cut was officially deemed more important than collecting taxes. It was done under the excuse from govt that ‘everybody is honest’.
Given the richest pay the least (the estimate I saw was the rich pay no more than 10% tax, thanks to loopholes, offshore etc), getting rid of people who go after non tax payers certainly did the tories and their mates no harm. | | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:42 - Mar 1 with 2418 views | DarkBrandon |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:31 - Mar 1 by itfcjoe |
Why don't we tax dividends and CGT opposed to constantly going after income tax? Workers on PAYE have to suffer the burden every time whilst the non-working rich don't |
I think this is a good idea. The Tories have reduced the CGT allowance *a lot* which has presumably raised quite a bit. but it is one of those stealth tax raises that only get called out when Labour do it. They also abolished entrepreneurs tax relief, which I'd hope was reinstated. |  | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:45 - Mar 1 with 2412 views | _clive_baker_ |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:42 - Mar 1 by Churchman |
The solution is simple. Restore Rate Support grant and put a few pence on income tax (while raising the threshold to negate the burden on the poorest in society).
Progressive Income tax means the richest in society pay more. It’s not a hard concept but it is of course one the tories fundamentally disagree with.
This tory idea of destroying public services is not only a disgrace, but utterly self defeating. And that imbecilic weed Sunak has the brass neck to mumble on about mob rule. |
The obvious option is to tax the very wealthy significantly more money to address the ridiculous wealth inequality in the UK. The top 10% of people own 43% of the wealth, the bottom 50% own just 9%. Living standards of every day people have declined at their fastest rate in literally centuries.
The concept of 'running out of money' is such a ludicrous one. It's not a finite resource, the money is still there it's just increasingly with a smaller % of mega wealthy people while ordinary folk get screwed.
The government needs sensible mechanisms to extract that money and redistribute it into areas that will benefit the many rather than the few. |  | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:49 - Mar 1 with 2393 views | Churchman |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:32 - Mar 1 by TractorWood |
Good to hear your recent service was good with Mrs C. Sorry again for your loss.
I won't drone on about the financials of the NHS. Feels crass in the circumstances.
All the best [Post edited 1 Mar 8:33]
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Thank you. I’m more than happy to discuss this. Dragging in personal experience was only to demonstrate what I’ve seen. They’re just two small examples and others may see it, experience it differently.
I don’t disagree with your point about improving and using resources better. That should always be the case. I was just trying to separate out rhetoric from fact in an area I frankly know nothing about. And of course the money issue. I’d be very interested to hear from those that do. I did work with a couple of relatively senior ex NHS England people for a while, but the s0ds wouldn’t talk about it. Grrr. | | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:52 - Mar 1 with 2374 views | NthQldITFC |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:39 - Mar 1 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Failure to tax the hundreds of billionaires that have popped up through globalisation is one of the reasons the middle class has been so squeezed over the last 20 years. We are told we can’t afford to fund our services (there’s an element of truth there) whilst people own companies that are bigger than some economies. We have so many foreign billionaires resident in the UK precisely because we don’t tax them enough.
Then we invite these billionaire tax dodgers to COP when they’ve made their money running fleets of diesels. We’ve even got billionaire tax dodgers as our Head of State, and fawn over them in the media. |
Billionaires, yes, but many (most?) of us still worship personal financial wealth above everything and aspire to nothing more than increasing our bank balance and the things we can do and places we can go with all of our disposable income, even though it should be blindingly obvious that:
a. the environment cannot take the by-products of our gluttonous consumption.
b. a peaceful, functional society cannot take the effects of the inequity.
If we don't see a radical change in attitude at the top AND the middle of the wealth pyramid, both are seriously fked. True wealth is personal peace and the ability to relax in a cool, stable and peaceful world. We all know this at some level. | |
| # WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE # | | Poll: | It's driving me nuts |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 09:01 - Mar 1 with 2352 views | jayessess |
Local authority actually bore the brunt of the actual cuts that constituted austerity and is in a terrible state.
A lot of the chat around "efficiency" in state spending really talks past the actual problem. Large public institutions covering a multitude of services are always going to spend money on things you don't agree with, they're also always going to have pockets which aren't as productive you'd like them to be. But ultimately, we fund a lot of these services less generously than most comparable states (ie. Western Europe), so they're worse. We get a lot of "it's complicated" and "we need reform" stuff from both Labour and the Conservatives, which is largely an exercise in hang-wringing and re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
It's funny because everyone in politics is keen to talk about "common sense" when it comes to economics, but "you get what you pay for" is some of the oldest common sense there is and it seems to be alien to political discussion in this country. |  |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 09:13 - Mar 1 with 2297 views | Buhrer |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 08:52 - Mar 1 by NthQldITFC |
Billionaires, yes, but many (most?) of us still worship personal financial wealth above everything and aspire to nothing more than increasing our bank balance and the things we can do and places we can go with all of our disposable income, even though it should be blindingly obvious that:
a. the environment cannot take the by-products of our gluttonous consumption.
b. a peaceful, functional society cannot take the effects of the inequity.
If we don't see a radical change in attitude at the top AND the middle of the wealth pyramid, both are seriously fked. True wealth is personal peace and the ability to relax in a cool, stable and peaceful world. We all know this at some level. |
(c) It's with the billionaires, I'll pass on the hair shirt and just try and live an enjoyable life, not concerned with things I can't change. |  | | |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 09:18 - Mar 1 with 2270 views | NthQldITFC |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 09:13 - Mar 1 by Buhrer |
(c) It's with the billionaires, I'll pass on the hair shirt and just try and live an enjoyable life, not concerned with things I can't change. |
Each individual billionaire could say the same thing. | |
| # WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE # | | Poll: | It's driving me nuts |
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| 19 councils to sell assets on 09:30 - Mar 1 with 2235 views | Cotty |
| 19 councils to sell assets on 07:26 - Mar 1 by bluelagos |
When I hear people moaning about pot holes I used to think "Is that all you're worried about?"
Now I too moan about potholes. Can't decide if I should punch myself in the face or not.
There's an invite for you |
There's a point where it becomes unsafe to road users that everyone should start to care. |  | | |
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