So what do we want?

I want all those things Anya and I'm prepared to pay more in tax to help achieve them. I also want a grown up discussion of the different methods of raising government revenues and how more fairness in that could be achieved.

I want them, too, Anya!

But not everyone is civic minded and it has always been thus. I can remember, in the late 1950s, my (lovely) godparents who ran a village post office hissing about the feckless women coming in to cash their child benefit that they were bound to spend on themselves.Not really so different from the anti 'benefit scroungers' rhetoric we hear today.

Another one here willing to pay more tax to hVe those things.

I want all of those things too Anya and in order to have them I'm willing to pay more tax. But I don't agree with abolishing tuition fees because it's not affordable. When grants were available they were allocated to students whose parents didn't have the money to support them. With the vast increase in the number of universities and students I can't see how even with re introducing grants, all those who applied and fulfilled the criteria would be able to receive them.

I don't agree that everyone above a certain age should receive free prescriptions and winter fuel allowance regardless of their level of income; I think these should be means tested. I don't agree in free child care for all; that too should be means tested.

I believe that we do have a well trained police force and this was clearly demonstrated following the 3 horrific terrorist attacks this country's been subjected too.

I want everyone who needs good social care to receive it and in order for that to happen, those who can afford to financially
contribute to the cost of their own should do so.

Conservatives are regarded by many as being rich and therefore only concerned with the few. Labour's rallying cry is being here for the many and not just the few. What we need is a gov. to serve everyone and for everyone to be willing to work together to make that possible.

I agree with the list but not scrapping tuition fees, why not as Wales does, students apply for a grant .

Agree anya

forgive me if I have this wrong, but aren't people getting a bit confused about tuition fees?

As I understand it, tuition fees are just that, they pay the cost of a student's tuition at Uni. Whereas they have to take out a Student Loan for money on which to live while they are at Uni (like the old 'student grant', but now it has to be repaid).

The loans for tuition fees and living costs are two separate items and will both have to be repaid (that's the bit I'm not quite clear on)?

Maizie You're not wrong. I'm a bit bored with explaining how the system works. There's so much misunderstanding, but people still don't seem to want to take it in.

I want all those things too Anya.

You are right MaizieD. Student loans cover living costs, tuition fees go straight to the Uni. Arguably some universities do very well now charging foreign students very high fees. It does seem unreasonable that this is yet another debt we are willing to land on our Dcs and GCs.
I'm with the pay more tax brigade.

I like Anaya's proposals. Could you write the Queen's Speech, Anya? But spare the goats and write it on A 4. I would accept paying more tax if interested went on those areas. Though I should also like tax avoidance loopholes tightened up.

Re student fees: Tuition fees scrapped but loans for living costs.

Not interested, but it. Sorry, didn't proof read.

Means test prescriptions, means test social care? Yep, let's continue to kick the ill, sick, disabled and let the lucky healthy ones have even more than the luck of good health. To those that have etc

You do realise don't you Smileless that there is nothing JH and his mates would like better than means testing all health care if they thought they could get away with it.

I will tell you what I want. I want the government to stop treating Brexit as if it was a party political issue; to stop commandeering it as theirs to negotiate as they see fit.

This is about everyone; about all parties, and the negotiations should proceed in that spirit. It is nonsense to even think of doing anything else.

Students have to take out loans for fees and living costs. Fees are now up to £9250 per annum.

Most of them also take out a loan for living costs. The maximum loan for living costs is £8200 per annum outside London and £10,702 in London. Halls of residence fees swallow up most of the loan.

Until September 2016, non repayable grants were available on a sliding scale for students from poorer households, but the Conservatives abolished these, so students have to take out a loan for the whole amount.

That means that the loan is £17,450 per annum or £52,350 for a three year course. Any postgraduate course, such as teacher training, is another £17,450.

The catch is that interest is charged on the loan from the day the money is lent at the rate of CPI plus 3%, which means that by the end of the course (and even before they've begun to earn anything) the debt will be considerably higher than the original loan.

When people claim that students can work their way through university, they're living in the past. It really isn't possible to earn enough to do that now.

The majority of money lent will end up being written off. Meanwhile, student loans provide income in the form of interest payments to those who lend the money, which is what it's really all about.

Not only that Rigby but private insurance schemes provide income to those with money to invest. At the moment, asset holders can't find enough opportunities to invest and are falling over themselves for opportunities.

If only there were more confidence in British business, it would be good to see the money invested in real job creation, but investing in lending money for health, education, social care, student loans, etc is a much safer bet. The government is intent on providing the market for people to invest in services.

Lucky absolutely and instead of talking to the parties that millions of us voted for they are talking to 10 bigots who got about 200k votes. What contempt they are showing us. And boy will they be shaking the magic money tree for NI - or will that money come from spending in GB? Talk about adding insult to injury

And ...what response from those on the right of the political spectrum?

Don't you want these too?

Yes Anya I would like all those things too. Yes I am willing to pay more tax for it but I see no point in contributing more to a thread where all Tory voters are wealthy, go to private schools, have money to invest, are never ill (or if they are presumably go to private clinics) are never disabled, don't have any social care needs, don't have children with any health care or schooling needs and are too thick to understand anything about politics or anything else.

I have never made a rude or insulting comment about any Labour voter and I believe all are entitled to their opinion but it seems the general gist is that all Labour voters are kind considerate thoughtful people who only think of others and never themselves and that Tory voters go through their selfish life without a worry. I cannot comment about other Tory voters except to say for this one, that just isnt so.

Fair post Crafting, I am a Labour Party member but have dear friends who are members of the Tory Party

I have never made an insulting comment about a Tory voter Crafting. Yes, I know what you mean about insults on threads but I'm struggling to understand why you or anyone who wants these things too, and is willing to contribute tax-wise to a better system would think a Conservative government is the way to achieve these.

Ignore any rude posts please and let us continue this conversation. I started this thread, and while it doesn't mean I 'own' it, I genuinely want to open up a dialogue.

PS thank you for replying in your earlier post.

What would you expect of a 'dialogue', Anya? Dissent?
I don't think anyone would have the brass neck to come on here and say that they don't want the things on your list.
It seems to me (and you hint at it in your OP) that one of the only ways we might infer what people 'want' is from their voting choices i.e. if they vote for a party which is, (how shall I put it?) not actively working to achieve those things.

But the inferrence doesn't take account of people honestly believing in explanations for shortcomings such as "we can't,as a nation, afford it". Or, making voting decisions based on other priorities.

I don't mean this to be in any way critical of you, Anya. I'm just having a rare mellow moment and trying to understand what makes some people tick...