[Politics] Are Labour going to turn this country around?

[darkwolf666]

You’ve got to love these sort of stories, whether it be politics, football or whatever. The people in charge make a decision, which gets roundly criticised, with calls for a rethink. Those in charge then do precisely that and get labelled weak for changing their minds.

in this instance Labour got it badly wrong with not applying a taper to the WFA payments and lazily setting the bar too low to align with Pension Credits.

I well remember Thatcher‘s “the lady’s not for turning” speech - and am glad Starmer has the ability to see he was wrong, rather than the dogmatic approach of Thatcher or more lately Johnson and Truss…

 

[TomandJerry]

https://www.theguardian.com/society...chemical-castration-for-serious-sex-offenders

"Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, is considering mandatory chemical castration for the most serious sex offenders, according to government sources.

The minister’s department is planning to expand a pilot to 20 regions as part of a package of “radical” measures to free thousands of prisoners and ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales."

 

[rippleman]

https://www.theguardian.com/society...chemical-castration-for-serious-sex-offenders

"Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, is considering mandatory chemical castration for the most serious sex offenders, according to government sources.

The minister’s department is planning to expand a pilot to 20 regions as part of a package of “radical” measures to free thousands of prisoners and ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales."

Is chemical castration reversible? Just asking for when it is discovered in 20 / 30 years time that the castrated person is, in fact, innocent.

Peter Sullivan - "sex murderer" - 38 years - Innocent

Andrew Malkinson - "rapist" - 17 years - Innocent

Stefan Kiszko - "paedophile murder" - 16 years - Innocent

 

[n1 gull]

ONS reports; borrowing hits 20 Billion (4th highest ever recorded for April since records began) despite tax increases

 

[A1X]

I well remember Thatcher‘s “the lady’s not for turning” speech - and am glad Starmer has the ability to see he was wrong, rather than the dogmatic approach of Thatcher or more lately Johnson and Truss…

One of my theories is that that speech has led to more bad policy and decisions than almost anything else in the 40ish years since as PMs have made poor decisions then absolutely refused to change their minds (even when the evidence tells them to do it) because to do so would be seen as “weak”.

 

[Bozza]

One of my theories is that that speech has led to more bad policy and decisions than almost anything else in the 40ish years since as PMs have made poor decisions then absolutely refused to change their minds (even when the evidence tells them to do it) because to do so would be seen as “weak”.

Indeed, and it's likely happened again here.

I have no doubt the policy was well-intentioned: let's stop giving cash to rich oldies who don't need it, but it was appallingly implemented as it targeted millions of people who were far from rich.

But, as one of the first major policies of the shiny new government, they dug their heels in, wishing to look strong. Starmer told us he was willing to take unpopular decisions.

The right course of action would have been to say "OK, what we were trying to do was stop giving cash to some rich oldies who don't need it, and put that money to better use. But we've listened and we can see that the proposed implementation is too severe and we're going to change that."

The change could either have been to change where the line was drawn and/or taper the benefit or, if time didn't allow for that, leave the universal payment in place for last winter, with a plan to implement a fairer system for winter 2025/26.

As it is, they've taken an absolute battering for 10 months, before making a very spurious claim that the economy has improved sufficiently to allow the policy to be reviewed and relaxed. There's absolutely no indication of any contrition, no holding of hands up with a "You spoke, you're right and we hear you."

They've driven voters into the arms of Reform - god knows what those idiots will do with the councils they now control, and the longer-term impact of Reform's rapid growth is a worrying thought.

 

[A1X]

That's going to piss on Farage's escargot

 

[TomandJerry]

More tax hikes on the way?

"UK government borrowing unexpectedly rose in April on the back of increased public spending, piling pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of a high-stakes spending review next month.

Figures published on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics showed that borrowing was £20.2bn in the first month of the new tax year, up from a shortfall of £19.1bn in April 2024."

Quoted from the FT