Election Year or Fear!

[SithHappens]

So the budget didnt turn out to be too hostile, vaguely sensible, but I dont see how it will finance labour's spending plans.

Dividend tax hikes continue to make self employment via a company less and less attractive so may well squash entrepreneurialism which isnt great for future tax planning/ revenues. I like the 2% hike on rental income, although I imagine others here wont agree - but it does raise the question about who is going to invest in private sector rentals to meet the escalating housing needs.

Scrapping the two child benefit cap I think is wrong as it encourages increasing birth rates amongst those who cannot afford to raise children, but Im probably in the minority here.

Finally the new mansion tax - bad luck for rA Towers facing a 2500 tax hike - but its quite well pitched as regards entry values. My concern is that its the thin end of a wedge and will slowly drag more and more people into the net, and at escalating costs. Not sure how it distinguishes between SE England house values and the equivalent property in other areas. There are many 3 bed homes in London costing over 2.5 million whereas the average price of a 3 bedroomed house in Wales is $ 209,000.... but who ever said Labour was about fairness.

Overall B+ it avoids controversy but it doesnt go far enough in revenue growth. I can see public sector borrowing on the rise again in true Labour style - cant afford the promises so dump it on future generations to pay for today's plans. the one day a year I'm happy to be an old git

The 2% on rental income will hit tenants in the pocket not landlords. Appreciate i have a vested interest in this but of course I'll consider increasing the rent to cover this. Or we may consider selling instead, so as you say that's one less home on the rental market.

[Andy_Faber]

The 2% on rental income will hit tenants in the pocket not landlords. Appreciate i have a vested interest in this but of course I'll consider increasing the rent to cover this. Or we may consider selling instead, so as you say that's one less home on the rental market.

Unless its sold to an investor. Mortgage and associated costs are less than rental receipts for low/medium price properties in many local areas. And the new investor sets a rate that excludes even more potential tenants, consigning them to more time in their parents/inlaws spare room. I'm not having a dig, I wish you well as its important for your future, just suggesting there are lots of potential unintended consequences

[Geoff Parkstone]

I just saw a budget headline that said |"Cut to Islamists in budget". I perked up a little but then reread it - it actually said "cut to ISA Limits in budget". Bugger

[swaledale]

Whereas, in this little microcosm, all we tend to see when it comes to comments on the media, are howls of outrage from yourself and Swale about the terrible actions of the right wing press. Everything seems to be their fault: I swear if you **** your pants on the way home from the pub one night you'd find a way to blame it on the right wing press.

Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander

And here for your delectation is a current example of the insidious nonsense pumped out by right wing media in an attempt to stir up up faux rage.

Articles in the Telegraph (supposedly a series paper), the Daily Fail The Express and repeated on reported on GBeebies, about Tesco supposedly "cancelling Christmas".

The Telegraph article claims Tesco are selling an evergreen tree, with no reference to Christmas in their Christmas range WTF??

The claim was they had called it an Evergreen tree instead of Christmas tree, the turth is its one of a range of luxury trees in their Christmas tree range!! The Telegraph even admits that al the trees in their range have Merry Christmas on the box containing the tree!

Apparently Tesco trusts their customers to know that a plastic Tree in a display box labelled MERRY CHRISTMAS is indeed a Christmas Tree!

The Telegraph, Express, GB News and Daily Mail do not believe their readers are capable of that!

And given the comments sections, they’re not wrong!
GBNews, had a report seemingly gleaned from X accounts making claims that Tesco had "stolen Christmas", slightly awkward when on their website the article sits next to a link which claims Tesco have the best Christmas advert this year!!

The Express made a strange choice in their photos to accompany their version.

They were the photos that actually showed the MERRY CHRISTMAS signage around the boxes!

The Daily Mail of course went for the full on ‘woke’ attack line while claiming that ALL of the Tesco Christmas trees had been renamed “evergreen trees”


We’ve entered the “they’re banning Christmas” season on social media. But its mind boggling that actual newspapers (although perhaps thats being to kind to them) would take the confected outrage by anonymous far-Right social media accounts and turn them into “news” stories!

Its not the political leaning of these media thats a major concern, its the amount of utterly inaccurate and misleading "news" they push out, often purposely to create faux rage and protest.

What's worrying is that people who I would normally consider to be capable of rational thought, including some on here, seem to believe this stuff.

[Geoff Parkstone]

I hate plastic christmas trees. Last year I saw somewhere (maybe Tesco) a silver coloured "Evergreen Tree". Very festive Im sure, not

[swaledale]

I hate plastic christmas trees. Last year I saw somewhere (maybe Tesco) a silver coloured "Evergreen Tree". Very festive Im sure, not

Each to his own, I long ago dispensed with a real tree on grounds of cost and effort required. TBH. I'd dispense with all recognition of the 2 plus months of excessive consumerism for which the original Pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice has become.


I note that you have no comment on this classic example of media laundering: a fringe claim made by an anonymous account gets political validation, which gives news desks an excuse to ‘report’ on it, giving the narrative mainstream validation.

[Geoff Parkstone]

Dont really have a comment - its just domino effect journalism where the same *******s is copied and pasted from rag to rag so as not to miss out on something in case it is true

[swaledale]

Dont really have a comment - its just domino effect journalism where the same *******s is copied and pasted from rag to rag so as not to miss out on something in case it is true

That's different, even the much lauded BBC seems to do that, adjusting its News agenda according to what other media especially some papers are leading with. There is a clear difference between the increasing tendency of what i call lazy journalism, more than likely with AI used to glean stuff across the media and social media platform's and what I've just described.

This is pernicious, deliberate disinformation pushed in support of a specific agenda, whether it be as in this case a further exaggeration that "British" or "Christian" culture is being "cancelled" or erased or in other cases that Asylum Seekers are inherently likely to be rapists and child abusers.

Back in the summer for instance, there was a clear attempt amongst the right wing press to create a sense that the UK was on the brink of rioting and even possibly civil war. Various commentators, ironically many of whom lived abroad, in some cases for many years were writing Op Eds that warned of the likely hood of riots breaking out, or that the UK was "tinderbox".

[Ramshank72]

I don't usually comment on this thread, because I don't really care for political tittle tattle, but as this budget genuinely impacts people... I don't see it as sensible, I see it as taxing the working class, it's about as "Red Tory" as it could get. People on lower earnings will be hit hardest:

?2k cap on salary sacrifice pension contributions (which is not much over a year, particularly as inflation grows), meaning that any contributions over ?2k in a year, will now be subject to NI. That's 8% for low earners, 2% for high earners. Employers will also have to foot ERNIC costs for this at 15% - guesses for how they'll fund this? Smaller wages and reduced matching contributions. Working class people will be squeezed more and disincentivised to save for their retirement.

Freezing tax thresholds, means that more working class people will be pushed into the 40% tax bracket, as inflation effectively means that the threshold is reduced over time. They'll also lose any associated childcare and marriage benefits.

Basically, if you're a high earner, you'll take a small hit on some of your tax efficient benefits. If you're not working, no change at all. If you're working class, lube up your asshole because Labour are coming to give you a long slow shafting.
But hey, cheaper train tickets may stimulate the takeaway coffee industry, so that people can go and sit in a London office rather than log on from a computer at home, and maybe the extra kids that people get benefits for now will pay for my retirement. And I suppose if all the low earners are pushed into a higher tax bracket, then they'll also only pay 2% NI over the threshold.

[SithHappens]

I wonder how they will monitor the mileage for the levy on electric and hybrid cars that's to come in.

Saw an interview with Reeves and she was asked about it and she said MOTs but obviously new cars don't have an MOT for 3 years, all she said was it's easy to look at your mileage when in your car. Surely if you do mileage overseas that's not going to count either.

The tourist tax sounds like it's not excessive but it will put extra costs on accommodation as businesses have to administer the tax and alter systems to accommodate it.

Labour will be getting the tax rises etc in noe then they will throw in some reductions in the final year or two of this term,just as all governments do.