What do you hope for in the budget?

Doodledog so you propose to ban stay at home mothers? You are planning for State nurseries? No school holidays? What brave new world is on the horizon in your mind?

That m.s Reeves does not add to the depression that has overwhelmed the majority in this country since labour came into power.

Doodledog, in my view mother’s of young children should be able to stay at home with their children without penalty.

I hope that on the day of the budget, Dr Who would gather up all the Labour party in the Tardis and dump them all on the moon.

Maybee, you asked who i would replace K and A with. Some people with integrity and common decency, who listens to peoples concerns doesn't just sweep them away. People concerned about unrestrained immigration, just told they are racist, thus ending any discussion.
Jesse Philips has honesty and is someone I respect. Whether shes p/m material I don't know, I think Sunak was a decent man and honest, but he has gone. I would have to really put my thinking cap on to find decent people that would be prepared to take the job on.
Too many people support a party regardless of the leader. I don't. Politicians make promises to get the top job, no one leaves less than millionaire and a book in them.. i don't think KS is a man of honestly and principle. He spent all lockdown, head below the parapet. Tough decisions had to be made. The people of this country had the vaccine rolled out quickly and were paid to be at home. All that had to be paid for but could we have done less? Yes mistakes were made but it had not happened before and it is not a precise science. Imagine KS in charge of that.
The people I admire and a country needs are people with integrity and honesty regardless of party.

Speaking as someone who will end up using savings to fund nursing home care if that ever becomes necessary, (I hope not), I would like to think that I wouldn’t be paying extra to subsidise those who get the same care for nothing.

Why should self funders pay more?

I hope for nothing in this budget, other than survival.

I'm hoping that protection of the environment won't get ignored, and that funds will be allocated for greener projects to benefit everyone. It all seems to have been forgotten recently.

Doddledog I worked until I had my daughter and had intended to go back to work part time after having my son unfortunately my health got worse when he was 6 months old and couldn't work. So I was a stay at home mom . I was born disabled and when my health made it impossible for me to work . I tried for benefits as our GP advised us to do . Luckily my husband earned a good salary but had to be careful with money .

Unfortunately he died aged 47 and not entitled to any benefits luckily his private pensions paid out lump sums which we lived on . I wasn't brought up with money so have always been careful with money . Once the children left home only thing I could get was 25% off my council tax.

My husband's money was running out and then my mom died so inherited half her estate . Which I knew wouldn't last until I got my state pension this year.

Since my husband died tried for disability benefits but turned down as they said no diagnosis no money. Finally had my diagnosis April 2022 and I was born with a rare hereditary neurological genetic mutant in my brain receptors as I knew from my neurologists letter he had answers for me I asked for my PIP forms . I got given zero on everything. Only with the help of the Brain Charity and they getting me a solicitor pro bono she put in papers to go to tribunal in July 2022 got to tribunal August 2023. And awarded enhanced PIP for living and enhanced PIP for mobility indefinitely and back dated until the date I asked for the forms. While waiting for the tribunal my solicitor told me to claim universal credit which I didn't know I could get and my caseworker sent for the.heath u c forms and had face to face assessment and I didn't trust phone ones after PIP one. And got it.

Because I was so worried about running out of money even with the both UC winter of 2022 only had heating on 3 hours a day . My daughter said to have it on more and they would pay but I wouldn't do that . I couldn't have money off my child.

I couldn't even go out of the house by myself when my health got worse in 1988 and so we could go out as a family because my walking was so bad went in a wheelchair as my husband would never leave me behind. Until the children where older . I have used a stick since I was 29? He said we will altered our life style and be a normal family. The children never suffered or missed out on anything having a disabled mom .

I had saved all my life and we brought our own home by going without things and having no holidays until we had our daughter then it was a week in a caravan. Same holidays when we had our son . As they got older had a holiday cottage holiday in this country or Ireland . Only had one holiday in France in a gite. 2000 went to Switzerland for 10 days.

When you are widowed at 45 in 2004 the government gave me £2,000 to help with funeral costs but we had put that money aside already so I gave it to the children.

Had my first holiday in May for 19 years and went again earlier this month . Just in this country for 5 days each time .

After 20.5 years I don't worry about money but still very careful with it .

So am I classed as a scourger who shouldn't be entitled to my state pension,PIP and luckily a bit of pension credit. Not to forget the 48p a week I get from my husband's state pension. He paid lot of tax and NI for the 30 years he worked .

I am dependent on no one and even though being in constant pain in my legs my whole life and fallen all the time plus all my other problems plus being born witn a hole in the side of my heart which I found out in 2020. I looked after both parents and mother in law until there deaths. My mom lived with me the last 18 months of her life she had cancer and dementia any only allowed 6 months carers allowance because I was told by the benefits system my mom would get better. 🤬. Dementia killed my mom long before her body died . I looked after herself by myself even when she turned violent the last 4 months I could put her in a home . But I am proud of the fact my mom never had a sore on her body when she became bed ridden .

I do not live in the lap of luxury but we always brought our own homes. I live in a bungalow I own outright and paid to have it adapted for my needs at my expense .

I have never nor will I ever be a scourger .

Couldn't put my mom in home but could ..

BevSec

Doodledog, in my view mother’s of young children should be able to stay at home with their children without penalty.

So do I. I never said anything about stopping holidays or nurseries either, although in an ideal world there would be free nursery places for all children of working parents. I said that I don’t see why anyone should be subsidised not to work - not a brave new world, just a fair one. Parents (mothers or fathers) of pre-schoolers, yes, but why should parents of ten year olds be funded to clean their own houses when others have to work? If they can afford to stay at home and fund their own pension I’m not suggesting that they should be penalised, although there is an argument that every able-bodied adult using things like the NHS, roads, police and other public services should contribute to their upkeep. As it stands, for every year a parent stays at home (even when all their children are at school) they get a year’s pension - currently £11.5k - which is funded by those who can’t afford not to work, which I think is wrong.

That’s a small part of what I’d like to see in the budget though. I agree that keeping the £2 bus fares for all age groups is a good idea, but would like to see huge subsidies to ensure that all areas are as well served as London when it comes to public transport, so given the state of the economy that might have to wait. I wouldn’t like to see pensioners’ subsidies withdrawn in the meantime, as the ability to visit friends and family is vital to good mental health and to local economies.

I would like to see student loans scrapped, and a personal fund available to everyone, so they can access free education through their lives on the basis of ability. If you have one set of qualifications you should be able to access courses at the next level without charge. This should include things like trades as well as ‘academic’ subjects on a mix and match basis, so eg an NVQ in bricklaying would count towards access points in the same way as a GCSE or A level in Geography (or whatever). Levels of equivalence would need to be determined, so people accessing courses are doing so at the same level of ability and knowledge, so standards would be maintained. Perhaps entrance exams could be introduced as an alternative to school-based qualifications to encourage mature students. There could be cheap loans to fund accommodation, but long term I would prefer to see more hostel-style student residences and limits on the amount universities can spend on expensive buildings with high rents.

I’m interested in what others would like to see, rather than arguments against what they think might happen though.

Not could

BigBopper

I hope that on the day of the budget, Dr Who would gather up all the Labour party in the Tardis and dump them all on the moon.

I’d like a free dose of hallucinogenics too - just so I can say I’ve tried them 😂. In my anti-democratic fantasy it would be an entirely different group of people who would find themselves Moon-bound, but we can all dream. Is this a matter for the budget though?

Calendargirl

Speaking as someone who will end up using savings to fund nursing home care if that ever becomes necessary, (I hope not), I would like to think that I wouldn’t be paying extra to subsidise those who get the same care for nothing.

Why should self funders pay more?

Agreed. 100%.

Who would pay for those who can’t though? A budget has to think that through, and I just don’t know. Short of bringing back workhouses what do we do to make social care fairer?

I would like to see energy companies and water companies taxed heavily if they put up prices again. Won’t happen I know but hey ho in an ideal world.

escaped

I'm hoping that protection of the environment won't get ignored, and that funds will be allocated for greener projects to benefit everyone. It all seems to have been forgotten recently.

Yes, that’s a good point. Maybe every application for state funding should have to include a statement of environmental impact (with benchmarks for evaluation and penalties for not meeting targets) before it can be considered?

Babs03

I would like to see energy companies and water companies taxed heavily if they put up prices again. Won’t happen I know but hey ho in an ideal world.

Absolutely. And penalties for polluting, too. I’m in favour of the nationalised energy company that is being worked towards, too.

Whiff I am not suggesting that the disabled should be penalised. I am saying that if people are capable of work they should contribute (financially) to society. That way, those who are not able to do so can be subsidised, eg with decent sick pay and an education system and NHS that caters for us all.

Too many people opt out of contributing and IMO that should be stopped. That doesn’t mean that those who genuinely can’t work should be forced to. The welfare state should provide for anyone who needs it, but for that to happen everyone who can has to contribute to it.

I would like to see less scrabbling about, grasping and greed. Less pitting people against each other. More community and kindness.

Sorry, off topic I suppose.

Who would pay for those who can’t though?

No idea, but I don’t see why it should be me if I am already paying for my own care at the full whack.

And if that makes me sound uncaring, well, so be it.

I’d like to see a massive focus on public transport. Working towards making it ubiquitous, reliable and affordable to get rid of our reliance on cars would bring benefits, and savings, in so many areas. Free dental care for all children at the very least. School meals brought up to the standard of the Scandinavian countries’. The reinstatement of Sure Start as it was intended to be rather than the watered down version we have now. Yes, all costing money, but for future public health and societal gains.

Also, getting Amazon and other massive multinationals paying their fair share of tax. And a higher rate of tax for the super rich. And much tighter regulation of public works - every single facility repair or “upgrade” round here now seems to call for a year of “consultation” at massive cost followed by at least a year of closure.

We can dream, can’t we?

M0nica

I hope for nothing in this budget, other than survival.

Do you think it’s as bad as that, M0nica? I don’t. I think there has to be a reassessment of what it means to live in the UK, and if we want that to mean that we have a fair society in which everyone can flourish then those who are used to being subsidised will have to start paying. At one end that means stopping things like credits for not working, so that people can’t get the same amount for a 16 hour week as for a 40 hour one, while their neighbours get up every morning to do a full day at work. At the other it means making employers pay decent wages instead of relying on taxpayers to fund their profits.

It means finding ways to stop a few people from hoarding money whilst others haven’t got enough to live on.

Personally I’d like to see that achieved without squeezing the ‘squeezed middle’ more than usual - partly for selfish reasons as I am one of them, but mainly because I don’t want to belong to a society where it is impossible to make a better life by working and saving. Means-testing removes any incentive and I really don’t want to see more of it in the budget.

I realise however that I have asked for this thread to be about hopes, not fears or negativity , so I will stop there.

Smileless2012

I'm surprised at you Doodledog. People are entitled to respond without being accused of nastiness and ignorance and perhaps you should take into account the sheer frustration and disappointment that many are feeling right now.

This!

eggplant

I would like to see less scrabbling about, grasping and greed. Less pitting people against each other. More community and kindness.

Sorry, off topic I suppose.

No! That is very much on topic. After months of listening to moaning and criticism I am keen to hear more about what the population wants to see happen, rather than complaints about what they don’t.

Why is anyone surprised at me?

I’m nothing if not consistent and have said everything I’ve said on this thread many times before. It’s not about me though. Instead of griping (and goodness knows there are plenty of threads on which to exercise that entitlement) I’d be interested to hear what would make people happy for a change. What’s wrong with that?