Hunt, the Chancellor, gets his figures wrong!

Indeed. He said the Tories had created 4 million jobs since 2010, 8000 jobs for every working day since they had been in office.

Assuming he's talking about a seven day working week -
Fourteen years is 5110 days give or take a leap year - call it 5000 which is 800 not 8000.

Well, he confirmed that the Conservatives are putting the pensions triple lock in the manifesto.

he may have created the jobs, but many didn't last very long.

Calendargirl

Well, he confirmed that the Conservatives are putting the pensions triple lock in the manifesto.

Of course - they obviously still need the 'grey' vote.

It will put more pensioners into the tax bracket, too.

Sort of giving with one hand whilst the other is fumbling around in your back pocket to take some of it back again!

Yes Dickens...Hunt has just conveniently forgotten to mention that his pension rise is putting many pensioners into paying tax for the first time since retirement. Funny that isn't it.

Well promising to retain something already in existence is hardly imaginative policy. But they have to find votes from somewhere, and I seem to remember that it didn’t stop them from reducing the increase a couple of years ago, even though they had promised to retain the triple lock in their last manifesto.

There was such annoyance over the reduction that they didn’t try it again -especially leading up to the election.

But Tories don’t tell the truth so I would think their manifesto was not worth the paper it was written on, unless it benefited the wealthy.

Mr Hunt finds it difficult to manage on £100000 a year, so I expect he will look with horror at the pension, and give us a magnificent rise!

I wish. Whitewavemark2🤣

Whitewavemark2

Well promising to retain something already in existence is hardly imaginative policy. But they have to find votes from somewhere, and I seem to remember that it didn’t stop them from reducing the increase a couple of years ago, even though they had promised to retain the triple lock in their last manifesto.

There was such annoyance over the reduction that they didn’t try it again -especially leading up to the election.

But Tories don’t tell the truth so I would think their manifesto was not worth the paper it was written on, unless it benefited the wealthy.

... and I seem to remember that it didn’t stop them from reducing the increase a couple of years ago, even though they had promised to retain the triple lock in their last manifesto.

Ah, but they possibly thought they didn't need our vote at that time, but as their support is dwindling among the electorate, I think they might have changed their minds.

It sounds rather mercenary to say these things - I'm aware that by comparison with some less affluent societies, we're not too badly off, but it's the ethics that bother me.

There's also the matter of elderly care when we reach that stage where we need it, and it's an issue that has not been addressed... I mean the whole shebang - elderly and often unwell spouses caring for their other half with complex needs; care homes charging what appear to be exorbitant fees, etc, etc.

In that light, the triple-lock promise (already in place anyway) seems like a bribe.

And of course, it can just as easily be removed - it can become "unaffordable", so I feel we're at the mercy of a government casting around for votes, certainly not one that is concerned about the long-term welfare of pensioners.

I can't help feeling that this discussion is purely academic. Hunt won't be Chancellor for much longer and the tories face wipeout whatever they do to try to bribe the electorate.

MaizieD

I can't help feeling that this discussion is purely academic. Hunt won't be Chancellor for much longer and the tories face wipeout whatever they do to try to bribe the electorate.

Oh oh oh - don’t tempt fate. 😮😮😮😮

MaizieD

I can't help feeling that this discussion is purely academic. Hunt won't be Chancellor for much longer and the tories face wipeout whatever they do to try to bribe the electorate.

I would like to feel 100% certain you are correct, BUT...

... it isn't just a question of what they pull out of the goodie-bag to bribe the voters - it is also what the dirty-tricks-department might be planning.

Those who have faith in Labour under Starmer might well be immune to any 'smear' campaign levelled at him or the party, but those who are wavering - and I don't know how many they are - could easily be persuaded to withhold their vote if something is unearthed (whether true or false) between now and the election.

As I listen to him telling us that as the economy is growing he will be able to maintain the triple lock plus other Father Christmas presents it occurs to me that as they are unlikely to be in power he can promise what he likes and let the Labour Party pick up the pieces.

Will promising to put a little money in people's pockets compensate for polluted watercourses, expensive energy, shortage of GP appointments, long hospital waiting lists, broken criminal justice system, poor education facilities, even more people falling into absolute poverty year on year, potholes , bankrupt local authorities cutting services to the bone and selling public assets.... etc, etc?

MaizieD

Will promising to put a little money in people's pockets compensate for polluted watercourses, expensive energy, shortage of GP appointments, long hospital waiting lists, broken criminal justice system, poor education facilities, even more people falling into absolute poverty year on year, potholes , bankrupt local authorities cutting services to the bone and selling public assets.... etc, etc?

I agree it’s all diversionary talk. The country is in a mess but according to the Tories there is a golden horizon in view if we vote them in again.

Those who have faith in Labour under Starmer might well be immune to any 'smear' campaign levelled at him or the party

They're desperately struggling to find anything to smear him with...

I think that the greater part of the electorate is so desperate to get the tories out that smears won't influence them. After all, the UK has fallen apart under the tories and they've not proven to be incorrupt....

The polls can't be so wildly wrong. Can you see the tories coming back from being 22 percentage points behind Labour, with Reform's results rising and them grabbing many of the tory's voters?

Dickens

MaizieD

I can't help feeling that this discussion is purely academic. Hunt won't be Chancellor for much longer and the tories face wipeout whatever they do to try to bribe the electorate.

I would like to feel 100% certain you are correct, BUT...

... it isn't just a question of what they pull out of the goodie-bag to bribe the voters - it is also what the dirty-tricks-department might be planning.

Those who have faith in Labour under Starmer might well be immune to any 'smear' campaign levelled at him or the party, but those who are wavering - and I don't know how many they are - could easily be persuaded to withhold their vote if something is unearthed (whether true or false) between now and the election.

My thoughts exactly. The promise of retaining the triple lock on pensions is more about throwing the spotlight on the Labour manifesto, forcing them to state whether they will retain it or not. Obviously, as someone receiving a retirement pension I am interested, but far more concerned about the freezing of personal tax allowances. This will likely bring even people with only a SRP as income, some of whom may be eligible for Pension Credit, into paying income tax.

MaizieD

Will promising to put a little money in people's pockets compensate for polluted watercourses, expensive energy, shortage of GP appointments, long hospital waiting lists, broken criminal justice system, poor education facilities, even more people falling into absolute poverty year on year, potholes , bankrupt local authorities cutting services to the bone and selling public assets.... etc, etc?

It is impossible for them to redeem themselves

I can't help feeling that this discussion is purely academic. Hunt won't be Chancellor for much longer and the tories face wipeout whatever they do to try to bribe the electorate.

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞MaizieD

The Tories are on the back foot with the triple lock though HousePlantQueen, because Labour confirmed that they would be keeping it in place weeks ago.
I don’t think that’s going to be a show stopper at all.
www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news/triple-lock-debate-reignited-after-labour-confirms-commitment/
Labour won’t produce their manifesto until the election date is announced, which seems eminently sensible to me, because it once the election is called that waverers will really make their minds up - and it will stop the Tories stealing more ideas or rubbishing new ones before they see the light of day.

Whitewavemark2

Mr Hunt finds it difficult to manage on £100000 a year, so I expect he will look with horror at the pension, and give us a magnificent rise!

🤣🤣🤣

I'm sure that Hunt rubs along on considerably more than £100k a year. He has his Ministerial salary and doesn't he have some rental properties that he completely forgot to declare on the Register of MPs interests?
It was his poor constituent who couldn't manage childcare cost on hat wage...

MaizieD

^Those who have faith in Labour under Starmer might well be immune to any 'smear' campaign levelled at him or the party^

They're desperately struggling to find anything to smear him with...

I think that the greater part of the electorate is so desperate to get the tories out that smears won't influence them. After all, the UK has fallen apart under the tories and they've not proven to be incorrupt....

The polls can't be so wildly wrong. Can you see the tories coming back from being 22 percentage points behind Labour, with Reform's results rising and them grabbing many of the tory's voters?

I don't know Mazie - once bitten... I mean we were all so sure that Remain would secure the Referendum. I take nothing for granted now.

I doubt there's much to smear Starmer with (not for want of trying) - but they might dig around the others to see what they can come up with. They could put doubt in the mind of the electorate with a little bit of speculation, without making any outright claims.

One of the posters on here mentioned not voting for Labour because she felt sure the "Corbynistas" would creep back in and another is convinced Starmer will march us back into the EU again.

It doesn't take much to heat up these fears in the media, so that those who were undecided decide not to vote for Labour after all. You've only got to play on people's fears a little bit- and the Tories are the masters of this art, as their track record since 2016 proves.

They don't need to find facts- insinuations will do fine.

As for all those things you've mentioned - well of course everything's in an appalling state, but ask around and you'll find quite a few people will throw in Ukraine, the pandemic, immigration, as being the cause... what's a poor government to do faced with all those "unprecedented" events, eh! I've read such on here, on GN, where posters have sympathised with the government, so of course it's not their fault that we can't get a GP appointment or are stuck on a waiting list for surgery, etc, etc. They did their best, don't you know!

One of the posters on here mentioned not voting for Labour because she felt sure the "Corbynistas" would creep back in and another is convinced Starmer will march us back into the EU again. It doesn't take much to heat up these fears in the media, so that those who were undecided decide not to vote for Labour after all. You've only got to play on people's fears a little bit- and the Tories are the masters of this art, as their track record since 2016 proves. They don't need to find facts- insinuations will do fine.

The above is saying we must not look at the whole picture when deciding how to vote. Partys make all kinds of promises ahead of an election, but they are often little more than pius aspirations. Often when any party gets in, at least some of its promises get thrown to the winds for reasons good and bad.

We need to do a SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), analysis before we decide how to vote and that includes looking at weaknesses in each individual party, threats in the party, internal as well as external, to imposing its policies.

This applies to all parties and all parties will major in on the other sides perceived weaknesses. Whining that one party is better at this than the other is irrelevant, it is up to the whining party to get its act in order and learn hot be as good as the alternative party.

It is also insulting to Labour Party supporters to suggest that they are more persuadeable thaan supporters of the other parties. Why do you think this? class/, age?, lack of education? Shame on you.