Where would you begin if you were the next government?

If I were the next government I would begin with a root and branch reform of the tax system - closing up loopholes etc. This seems to me to be the soundest and fairest way to provide the funding needed to turn around the failing state of our precious public services such as NHS, education etc.

kittylester

First thing the next government should is to admit that the NHS as it was initially conceived is not fit for purpose and should be totally rethought for the age in which we now live. There should be more computerisation and far fewer 'managers'. It should not be a sacred cow which noone dares to dismantle.

Totally agree with you. The services the NHS provide must be revised. Also wastage on procurement needs to be looked at.

Start sending 'illegal' immigrants back to their own countries and stop spending the millions if £s spent housing and supporting them, to the detriment if our 'own'. Make sure anyone from overseas wanting medical help from the NHS pays BEFORE treatment - so much money is never refunded, e.g. the quadruplets born here with, as publicised, a wealthy father back home! Also foreign aid as paid to India, who can afford to have their own space programme!
No one Government can be accused of the state of the Country, there is good and bad in all Parties.

I would force the sale of all second homes and empty homes. That would free up so much accommodation.
I would ask people who had been affected by violent crime - knives, drugs etc - to go into schools and talk to the older children in graphic detail, hopefully making them stop and think.
I would make Natural History part of the school curriculum.
I would bring back some kind of national service (not necessarily the military but instead perhaps some kind of social or environmental work).
I would ban children under 18 from having smartphones.
I would close down certain websites.

I would start by making as sure as possible that all members of the Cabinet were able to distinguish between truth and lies and stick to telling the truth. After that I would want to ascertain that each Minister actually had some knowledge of his or her ministry's concerns and the ability to listen and take the advice of the competent civil servants in their ministries.

After that it would be time to start reducing poverty, increasing employment and starting to deal with the environmental issues.

Unfortunately, I doubt, whoever comes into power will be able or willing to do any of the above.

Katie59

I’m sure the top 1% do pay 30% of the taxes quite rightly, it’s the next 20% of the population that are wealthy and don’t need state help but take everything the welfare state offers.

What do you call wealthy. Lets have a definition. Anyone earning above 80,000 or higher. Again they pay taxes, at 40% they may use private health care, pay again,or private education, pay again. They are taxed as the tax law stands.
They can't claim benefits, child benefit not avaliable to them. They have paid more into the system than low paid workers, who are able to get benefits, Unless you're single with no children of course. Politics of envy.

1 negotiate with all striking and settle it.
2 pass a law that all private dentists must take 10% NHS patients to be 50% children
3 abolish uni fees for teachers dentists doctors nurses midwives
4 increase Personal allowance for pensioners
5 increase tax on large businesses
6 deport all economic migrants withdraw appeal rights for those
7 employ more workers in immigration to speed up paperwork
8 Allow and encourage migrants to work part time and adjust benefits while awaiting decisions
9 increase funding for schools
10 revert to matrons and training nurses on the job like SEN SRN years ago. All these managers are costing too much.
That's it for now

HousePlantQueen

the first thing I would do is review the tax code so that anyone who does business in this country pays tax in this country. Not a return to the punitive taxes of the 60's of course, but a good look at situations which (legally) permit the Ritz hotel in London to pay no Corporation Tax for years. Too many large companies don't pay proportionate tax, and no, I don't think an organisation the size of Amazon will just up and leave if they have to pay a bit more tax on their massive income.

I agree with this. I'd start with a tax of 3% on all UK turnover, to be offset against standard corporation tax (with various safeguards in place to protect genuinely British businesses in start-up or hard-time circumstances). Certainly not impossible.

I'd then look at executive pay. Nobody but nobody needs to earn more than half a million, and I would jack up the rate of tax to 90% above that. Every extra million in the chief execs bank account is a million less in our pension funds.

I wouldn’t charge tax on anyone earning under £20k and adjust benefits to this. No point at all in raising wages and then charging people more tax, except as a benefit to the government. I would also make it worthwhile for people to work more than 16 hours a week rather than cutting benefits. Make it easier to work not harder by giving good childcare benefits to workers.
Make solar panels mandatory on new builds and ban fields being taken from food production instead.
Ban working from home unless you want to be self employed, especially HMRC employees.
Make every business operating in the UK pay Uk taxes.
Make a flat tax rate for everyone, no loopholes.
Gosh this imaginary government is going to be so busy!!

orly

pascal30

We need lower rents, more housing, more NHS staff and funding, more funded nursery places, the waterways cleaning up, much better legislation re ecological issues, big tax cuts for the lowest paid, more social provision for care at home, the list is endless...but whether Labour will be able to deliver changes is questionable given the way the Conservatives have run down the country

......and New Labour in the years before them. Whoever gets in should not be allowed to use the "problems inherited from the previous government" as an excuse for promising much but delivering nothing.

I completely agree with you, but we'll see won't we Orly.. I don't hold out much hope really..

I would re-nationalise water - it should never have been privatised. Also the railways. I wouldn't give a penny in compensation to the shareholders - they've already had millions. My GD came home from Keele university on Wednesday. Her train was cancelled (from Stoke-on-Trent) and she had to go via Derby - the train was so full it was unreal, and she had to stand all the way to St Pancras.

Where is the money coming from to do all these "needed" things. The only way is taxation. Which ends up affecting the poorer paid much more than the higher paid. The only other way to have the money to spend on the important things for the country is to stop wasting it on so many unnecessary research and quangos.

pascal30

We need lower rents, more housing, more NHS staff and funding, more funded nursery places, the waterways cleaning up, much better legislation re ecological issues, big tax cuts for the lowest paid, more social provision for care at home, the list is endless...but whether Labour will be able to deliver changes is questionable given the way the Conservatives have run down the country

......and New Labour in the years before them. Whoever gets in should not be allowed to use the "problems inherited from the previous government" as an excuse for promising much but delivering nothing.

Some very interesting and sensible propositions on here! It seems that most of us, irrespective of our political beliefs, want much the same things, all of which involve investment in public services, which in turn must mean a fairer taxation system to fund it. Even if one only looks at things from a balance sheet point of view, and ignores the social and moral effects, it simply is 'cheaper' to run Surestart centres, and potentially intervene with families who are troubled, rather than dealing with those same families when the children are truanting, getting involved in crime etc.

I agree that the taxation system needs a radical overhaul, especially the personal allowance, it is starting to bite now, can you imagine the impact by 2028 when it is set to be reviewed? Every single recipient of state pension, even if it is their only income, will be paying income tax. Utter nonsensical situation.

Well after 13 years of neglect we have huge issues to be addressed. Housing, mental health, Doctor’s pay, education, Nursery provision, Train services and that’s just National issues. It’s going to take another 13 years to sort it out. Remember this in the next General Election

I believe that Britain give around 95 million to India for aid every year. My question is why are we giving any to a country that has it's own space program? I know aid is needed in some parts but!!! I would also start with looking at the budget of parliament. I know no-one will but it beggars belief what they spend on things like water!

We need politicians who have been successful in their lives and careers before becoming MP's. The career politicians we have at the moment may know the theory - but many have lost touch with the real lives of ordinary people.
If I was in charge -
POWER/GLOBAL WARMING
- no new homes, warehouses, offices etc to be built without solar panels and solar panels to be fitted retrospectively to all homes over the next 5 years (with loans available if needed) - global warming is coming and we need to prepare for it!
NHS
- every hospital should have a block of self catering flats attached, where people who no longer need a hospital bed can be looked after by relatives or carers. (the carers would have their clients in one place to cut down travelling time and expense) and there would be medical staff on hand in case of emergency (these people are more likely to need ambulances etc if they are already frail)
TRANSPORT
- abandon vehicle tax (which can be dodged!), and increase petrol diesel costs to cover it (which can't be dodged!)
- Fill the potholes (cheaper than dealing with all the insurance claims (which also incur expensive legal fees)
- Take railways back into government control and subsidise public transport (you won't get people out of cars if going by car is cheaper (as well as more convenient)
- make all car parks payable by card or cash on exit (makes it impossible for scammers to pose as "Ringgo" etc! and makes it easier for drivers to pay for parking.
I could go on but that's enough, from the top of my head, for now.

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Oooh!

If I was able to makes laws etc. as a government person, first of all I'd bring in the death penalty for ALL animal abusers/killers, I don't care what their age, gender, mental or physical capabilities, social status, if they fell off their potty when they were 2, backgrounds, excuses, they'd get the noose.

Then I'd get the NHS/care system sorted.

After 13 yrs of Tory dominance, we can see that the trickle down effect does not work so I'm voting for Labour.

👏👏👏

janthegranx6

The first thing to do is go on all the TV networks and give an honest and straightforward 'state of the nation' summary, no holds barred. Then regular updates as to the true state of the economy and everything else. Realistically it will take years to return to a sustainable state of affairs.

there is no agreement about the state of the nation, the Tories believe that if resources are concentrated at the top that will create income and wellbeing for those at the bottom - its called the trickle down effect.

Meanwhile Labour believe that the money doesn't trickle down, it all gets spent on yachts and companies that squirrel it away offshore. Labour say everyone should have a fair income and that generates well being and spending for those with less money.

After 13 yrs of Tory dominance, we can see that the trickle down effect does not work so I'm voting for Labour.

No personal income taxation below earning of £20k and then a straight 15% on everything over, no matter what you earn andcwith no exemptions. That will make everything clear and negate the need for tens of thousands of government tax officials and lead to more money in the pot than now.
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stop the fighting between parties, unite as one party, put the needs of the vulnerable first, do something about the estimated 50 trillion dollars in offshore accounts, then i woke up!

It will be a colossal mess to deal with for Labour. The NHS,reinstating Sure Start,sorting out the water companies and renationalising the railways would be a start. Also getting the lost billions taken for unusable PPE ,given to Tory cronies should be taken back to the Treasury
immediately.Don’t get me started on potholes!

Goodness I wouldn’t know where to start - immigration, NHS, energy costs, the economy! All huge issues with no easy fix. I’m guessing Labour might be the next government and I do wonder exactly what their plans are, they’re playing their cards close to their chests at the moment. It’s certainly easier to be in the opposition.