May in trouble

MaizieD I wish we had all been well informed I can't tell you what petty, small things seemed to make the difference round here.

The OP flagged up a number of areas of extreme concern. So …. the question is, which party comes close to solutions to these (as PECS says we shouldn't concentrate on personalities but on parties and policies).

The NHS is deliberately being run into the ground. The Labour Party solution is to increase spending and wages and reverse privatisation. They say they will insist on value for money agreements with pharmaceutical companies – they should actually go further and nationalise, where possible, these companies because they need to stop them from making (large) profits out of our health.

Our education system is being cut up and torn apart. Labour promises abolition of student fees and grants to those who need them, an increase in apprenticeships, more investment in schools and teachers, and no opposition to schools wanting to opt out of academisation. They should also promise to bring back all Academies into LEA control.

Families, with young children, are being evicted because housing benefit is either cut, or now being administered inefficiently. The Labour Party pledges to revamp UC and increase benefits. It is promising to build one million new homes. They have stated that some of these will be social housing (though we note they don't say how many). There are enough sites and bricks and the big-housing companies have the funds to do this.

People in work are often tied into poor wages or zero hours contracts. The Labour Party has pledged to ban zero hours contracts and raise the minimum wage to 10 pounds per hour.

Please don't imagine there isn't enough money. We are a rich country and since 2008 have given 500 billion pounds to the banks (who are, incidentally, off again lending beyond people's means) with nothing to show for it.

And for all those who disagree with the above and/or Teresa May (and her party) …. why aren't you standing yourselves – or at least in a party and trying to change it?

As the saying goes – if not you, who? If not now, when?

I don't know what concerns me more, the looming political crisis and Brexit or the fact that there are still some on here who think that the atrocious cuts to public services are somehow the fault of the EU and that nasty Mr Barnier. Give me strength. I assume that whoever it was who was bleating about the 4million EU citizens refuses to be treated by a German GP or a Romanian nurse or are they exempt?

Margaret Thatcher is the root of housing shortage by selling off council housing and not allowing councils to use the revenue to build new homes. So Mrs May is no better than Mrs Tatcher, they are all the same, no real idea of how "ordinary" people live.

Can someone please enlighten this politically naive person as to what's the gain for our politicians in 'wrecking our strengths' e.g. NHS and education? Apart from retaining their fatcat salaries and having huge egos I believe they seek some sort of legacy for posterity? How can this be achieved by various national failures? I'm at a loss. Are they basically all against our own country in their hearts?

It is hard to understand isn't it Kim19, we should be able to assume that anyone entering politics is doing it for what they see is the over all benefit of the country. To put it simply, the Tories seem to be obsessed with keeping taxes down, and get elected on this basis. The flip side of keeping taxes down is a reduction on public services. So, one person's reduced personal tax is another person's operation cancelled. Simplistic I know, but that I think is what it boils down to. Flip the philosophy for a Labour government led by JC.

You're right maybon1 but at the time a lot of people thought it was a fantastic opportunity to get on the housing ladder. A very good friend bought her council house via this scheme, and of course was delighted. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Fine, Nigglynellie, to sell the stock. Perhaps a good idea if a long term tenant is the purchaser, but the key point is the money should have been used to build new social housing. Instead, private landlords had to fill the gap charging much higher rents, fuelling a boom in buy to let, an additional factor in the rise of house prices.

I never had any problem with selling houses to long term tenants, but had a huge problem with the fact that the monies raised could not be used to build or purchase other homes for tenants. Where both my DD and DS went to university ( two cities hundreds of miles apart), the vast majority of the ex-council house stock was being used for over priced, poor quality student housing. Surely this was not the intention?

I totally agree, grannypauline. There is nothing to stop those who feel strongly about these matters from getting involved in a practical way. No one gets into a position of power unless they put themselves forward. As we can’t pressgang people to stand as our representatives in Parliament we surely have a responsibility to put our money where our mouth is, so to speak.
And talking of money, grannypauline, please can you explain where all this money is that you speak of. Perhaps too much of it is lining the pockets of greedy individuals who lack any kind of social responsibility.

GillT57 Not bleating stating facts, so the 4 million are all doctors and nurses and essential workers I don't think so.

NannyC2 yes I'm another Jacob Rees Mogg fan.

Oh it's not the fact that we now have nearly 4 million EU citizens here

I don't know where you are getting this figure from, Nicenanny3 but there are actually fewer than 3 million EU citizens living in the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-uk-leaves-the-eu-36745584#

No one ever mentions this do they, they all need somewhere to live hence property prices rising and shortage of housing stock

The housing shortage, as discussed above in this thread, is caused by failure to replace councils houses sold under 'right to buy' and by a shortage of building start ups by private building firms. Shortage of housing is to their advantage as it keeps house prices high and greatly improves their profits. Immigrants from all over the world (not just the EU) compete for scarce housing but when we are ruled by a government which restricts councils from building social housing and encourages the making of excess profits nothing is going to change.

They all need health care, hence delays in GP and hospitals appointments.

Most EU workers are young and healthy and don't need healthcare. In fact, a goodly proportion of them are actually working in the NHS providing healthcare. Also, the taxes they pay in income tax and national insurance contribute to NHS provision. They also contribute to the UK economy by buying local goods and services with their wages.
In fact, it could be said that UK citizens who have retired to the EU are a drain on the NHS when they retain addresses in the UK solely so that they can return to use the NHS. And their income is contributing nothing to the UK economy.

As for shortage of school places; this is a direct result of tory cutbacks and underfunding of Education.

The fact is that we need immigrants. If,as people frequently claim, we have full employment and then drastically restrict immigration who is going to fill vacancies?

Hmm, I should have also pointed out that the NHS has been seriously underfunded since the tories came to power in 2010; delays in GP and hospital appointments are due to this, not to immigrants.

Where I live in the NE we have very few immigrants yet still have pressure on the NHS. How do you explain that away?

Maizie, the gap will be filled by hard working Brits, who have been forced out by those pesky immigrants. Weren't we supposed to be overrun but Romanians? Where are they?

How can there be masses of UK people without jobs if we have 'full employment'? It makes no logical sense at all...

The NHS has been underfunded for a lot longer than 10 years. I worked in it for more than 30 years and don't ever remember a golden time when it was well funded!!
Demand has increased, population has increased and people don't take enough personal responsibility for their own health. Eg the link between smoking, obesity, alcohol excess is well proven. The NHS is expected to mop up our own, often self inflicted, problems. (Steps back into trench and fits steel helmet!)

Liam Byrne on leaving office left a one-line letter,' in which he told the 'then-chief secretary to the Treasury: "I'm afraid there is no money", and signed off wishing him "good luck!"'

That is why some cuts have been made to the public finances. In fact, knowing they were about to lose the next election New Labour embarked on a huge spend up to embarrass the new incumbents. Gordon Brown referred to debt and spending as 'investment'. He put rocket propulsion under the disastrous off balance sheet splurging of PFI which has kept and is keeping government in hock for decades.

As Bill Clinton said, 'It's all about the money stupid.'

If you haven't got it, you can't spend it. Google 'National Debt Clock' and watch in horror as our public money leaches away. It is currently at £2,071,521,032,700 and counting.

Iam64 I agree with you, nobody will challenge TM because sorting out Brexit is a thankless job - and she is going to be the scapegoat. The outcome of the negotiations (even if a settlement is reached) will satisfy few on either side.

The EU don't want to give the UK anything at all in the negotiations, if they had given Cameron something (anything!) before the vote the outcome would probably not have been Brexit. In fact it is getting close to the stage when a hard Brexit could be less damaging long term than the alternative.

I think that TM was pretty brave (or at least dutiful) to take the job on. Calling the election was a mistake, but she's put it behind her and is ploughing on. Its simply a no-win situation.

Give the woman a break, nobody else wants the job. And none of the alternative PM's are attractive propositions in any case.

Lets have Steptoe lead us out of the EU instead, if only to fulfill all those expired election promises to further undermine our public finances.

IMF here we come (again!), just like Argentina.

Like to see them replaced full stop.

A few facts from our ONS:

Ten million workers are over-employed while a quarter of that total are underemployed.

Plenty of work for those of us who want it.

Instead of accepting a zero hours contract as evidence of “a job” those of us who want part-time working could seek another ZHC if we so choose.

Lastly, I’ll never forget the collective gasp of shame from Labour’s MPs when Osborne upped the min wage by £2,000 a year more than Miliband’s best offer.

Of course he was trying to wean employers off subsidizing their low wages with tax credits; long may that quest continue.

She is no better or worse than any other politician. They are mostly parasites and imbiciles

I agree with sluttygran about Jeremy Corbyn. I find him reasonable, honest and a breath of fresh air. The right wing press have done their best to destroy him. I asmit my view is not popular but in my view he qoulx be a huge improvement on T May and the rest of the shambolic tories.

The NHS has been underfunded for a lot longer than 10 years. I worked in it for more than 30 years and don't ever remember a golden time when it was well funded!!

Well said Jane10. There are so many reasons why the NHS struggles and one of them is demand. I too cannot remember when all was well with the NHS, when the budget for the NHS was't discussed at length every election time.

It is a political football and always has been. The NHS is dear to our hearts, a precious institution and no government in my lifetime has been able to say "all is well" and it's coping just fine. It's been ticking over for some time but the strain placed upon it in recent years because of numbers using it and the enormous amount of procedures it undertakes, is rocking it.

If people think all the ills of the NHS will be cured because Corbyn's chancellor holds the purse strings (if he is ever elected) then they are fooling themselves, massively.