General Election to be called today?

Hear, hear GrannyGravy. 👏👏👏

Germanshepherdsmum

*Maizie*, the fact that a small number of people send their children to independent schools does not mean that within that number there are not ‘average’ people. Two working parents each earning an ‘average’ salary could make the choice to pay for a child’s education.
www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/average-uk-salary-by-age/

I do agree, when my son attended his prep school back in the late 80’s/early 90’s he had a wide mix of friends, mix of scholarship boys (him), two working parents (mum working just to cover school fees), but overwhelmingly wealthy families who had multi generation family members attending the school. So “average” people were very much in the minority, a minority of a minority who choose to educate their children in the private sector.

nanna8

The Labour Party are always full of good ideas but they never seem to be able to manage the economy so people vote them in, they seem to be compassionate and ‘right’ minded but the truth is things for the average Joe Blow get worse, not better. Hope I am wrong but I wouldn’t count on it.

It’s a fallacy about Labour not managing the economy. If you actually look at the figures across the last few decades I think you’ll find expenditure is more or less equal. I hardly think this govt has “managed the economy”

vegansrock

We’ve been gaslighted into believing that we can’t afford libraries, youth services, probation services, social care , clean water, roads without potholes etc etc but we can afford huge payments for building unused Brexit borders , contracts for privatised companies supplying the NHS at inflated prices, profiteering by Tory donors, private helicopters and private jets for government ministers. It’s led many to believe we must continue this decline.

I live in a commuter belt village (not big enough to be called a town)

There are two libraries, 15 minutes walk in my road, the closer one five minutes walk away on a different road.

We have a Sure Start Centre, under used.

The senior schools have youth clubs along with after school activities, along with their own swimming pools.

The three closest primary schools (two in my road, and attended by GC) have swimming pools.

Two council run leisure centres, gym, pool, etc.

Two church run youth clubs one with skate park.

Not every area is on its knees, but acknowledging this doesn’t suit the anti Conservatives rhetoric.

Maizie, the fact that a small number of people send their children to independent schools does not mean that within that number there are not ‘average’ people. Two working parents each earning an ‘average’ salary could make the choice to pay for a child’s education.
www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/average-uk-salary-by-age/

I have a feeling this is going to be a hat trick 😉

Remember when the polls said Labour would win last time and Corbyn was itching to get into No 10? They suffered the worst defeat since WWII.

Remember the Brexit Vote when all the polls and pundits were saying we would remain in the EU and those famous words echoed out. “The British people have voted and they voted to Leave the EU”.

I believe the Conservatives will get in again.

You’re lucky! It was for my son.

Germanshepherdsmum

Nowadays you have to live within the catchment area, no option of driving a significant distance to a ‘better’ state school.

Not round here, parents put their preferred choice of schools in order on the form, catchment area is not the overriding decider.

It would be instructive to have a definition of 'average'.

A tiny percentage of the population sends their children to private school. They cannot be called 'average'.

Not here in Wales you don’t, children from my area can choose any school in the county, and they do. Parents club together to find minibuses to get them there, because the only restricting factor is that transport is only free to the nearest school.

Nowadays you have to live within the catchment area, no option of driving a significant distance to a ‘better’ state school.

Germanshepherdsmum

I never cease to be surprised by the holidays ‘ordinary’ people take. The cost of those holidays over a year would equate to the fees for a minor independent school. However, many ‘ordinary’ people go without nice holidays, and make other sacrifices, in order to afford school fees.

I thought you believed in choice?

Germanshepherdsmum

You think things would be different with Labour?

Why not?

Freya5

MaizieD

Joseann

Who on earth else is going to pay for it if not the citizens of the country in which they live.
That's the trouble for me with Labour. They like to bang on and say that it's the wealthy they are targeting, but the real rich won't particularly care much anyway. It is the average hardworking citizen, (like with VAT on school fees), who will feel it most, so just be honest and say.

Just who is this 'average hardworking citizen'' who is to be hit by VAT on school fees, Joseann?

By many criteria the fact of paying for privilege immediately takes people out of the 'average' group...

So my family who borrowed and sacrificed to send child to private school, where he thrived, away from an awful state school where bullying was rife if a child didn't want to join the sheeple, nothing was done.
They are average hard workers.
Service personnel, being sent abroad on a regular basis, wanting stability for children's schooling, average defending the country style parents. Not every one who goes to private school are from wealthy families. Also scholar ships for state school pupils. Should we take that away too. Because if vat is added it will stop your average families from having a choice. Hey let's hammer them because they're all from a priviledg background.

There’s a choice though, I drove my son 16 miles each way every day so he could go to a better state school. It’s those who have the least resources whose children lose out because they have no choice, not those who can ‘scrape together’ an alternative education.

👍 Freya
Limiting people's choices on their lifestyles.

I never cease to be surprised by the holidays ‘ordinary’ people take. The cost of those holidays over a year would equate to the fees for a minor independent school. However, many ‘ordinary’ people go without nice holidays, and make other sacrifices, in order to afford school fees.

Exactly vegansrock, and these things are not ‘extraordinary’. A decent society should have libraries, clean water etc - it’s not as if we’re asking for the moon on a stick!

MaizieD

Joseann

Who on earth else is going to pay for it if not the citizens of the country in which they live.
That's the trouble for me with Labour. They like to bang on and say that it's the wealthy they are targeting, but the real rich won't particularly care much anyway. It is the average hardworking citizen, (like with VAT on school fees), who will feel it most, so just be honest and say.

Just who is this 'average hardworking citizen'' who is to be hit by VAT on school fees, Joseann?

By many criteria the fact of paying for privilege immediately takes people out of the 'average' group...

So my family who borrowed and sacrificed to send child to private school, where he thrived, away from an awful state school where bullying was rife if a child didn't want to join the sheeple, nothing was done.
They are average hard workers.
Service personnel, being sent abroad on a regular basis, wanting stability for children's schooling, average defending the country style parents. Not every one who goes to private school are from wealthy families. Also scholar ships for state school pupils. Should we take that away too. Because if vat is added it will stop your average families from having a choice. Hey let's hammer them because they're all from a priviledg background.

Joseann The "average" citizen can't afford a £10,000 holiday either. The "average" citizen pays for essentials such as mortgage/rent, food, utilities, clothes andf doesn't have much left for anything not essential.

MaizieD

Joseann

Who on earth else is going to pay for it if not the citizens of the country in which they live.
That's the trouble for me with Labour. They like to bang on and say that it's the wealthy they are targeting, but the real rich won't particularly care much anyway. It is the average hardworking citizen, (like with VAT on school fees), who will feel it most, so just be honest and say.

Just who is this 'average hardworking citizen'' who is to be hit by VAT on school fees, Joseann?

By many criteria the fact of paying for privilege immediately takes people out of the 'average' group...

OK, I'm happy to be called out on that choice of word. Perhaps what I meant was, that it won't affect the Etons and Winchesters etc but more the "average priced" little schools where working parents scrimp hard. The very parents who could be equated with those on a different thread who spend around £10k on a holiday.
Anyway, this is my bugbear as you know.

You think things would be different with Labour?

We’ve been gaslighted into believing that we can’t afford libraries, youth services, probation services, social care , clean water, roads without potholes etc etc but we can afford huge payments for building unused Brexit borders , contracts for privatised companies supplying the NHS at inflated prices, profiteering by Tory donors, private helicopters and private jets for government ministers. It’s led many to believe we must continue this decline.

Joseann

^Who on earth else is going to pay for it if not the citizens of the country in which they live.^
That's the trouble for me with Labour. They like to bang on and say that it's the wealthy they are targeting, but the real rich won't particularly care much anyway. It is the average hardworking citizen, (like with VAT on school fees), who will feel it most, so just be honest and say.

Just who is this 'average hardworking citizen'' who is to be hit by VAT on school fees, Joseann?

By many criteria the fact of paying for privilege immediately takes people out of the 'average' group...

Freya5

Oreo

Calendargirl

I would have worn a raincoat.

That looks a bit pervy tho 😉

Oh dear!!!

Out in the deluge and didn’t flinch, I’m still wondering the real reason he called the GE early.

Oreo

Calendargirl

I would have worn a raincoat.

That looks a bit pervy tho 😉

Oh dear!!!