Mailwatch(ed) Forum

But then you're hit with the sheer political difficulty of it. For far too long in the UK any governing party - or party aspiring to government - proposing even modest increases in taxation is treated as if they were proposing the wholesale slaughter of the first-born child in every family. If you're Labour, you won't get elected even if the tax increases you propose are absolutely the right thing to do - because the electorate believes Tory lies and Tory client journalism ( again) and votes the party of cunts in again for another round of suffering.

If we can solve how to crack that eternal riddle, we really are onto something.

There have been plenty of tax rises by freezing thresholds. But I agree that raising rates is much more difficult. The circumstances have changed though, as Labour says,

Post-Covid was the time to raise income tax - "You got furlough, now you have to pay for it." That would have taken a Chancellor with integrity.

In fairness, Sunak did that. But then cut a load irresponsibly before the election.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2898n721yo

Ministers, facing potential cuts of billions of pounds from the welfare budget, have announced plans to use 1,000 work coaches to help the long-term unemployed into work.

The coaches are already employed by job centres but will be redeployed to focus on tackling economic inactivity, said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

It said the staff would provide personalised and "intensive" support to thousands of sick and disabled people.

But the Resolution Foundation, a think tank focused on people on low incomes, said only a tiny percentage would actually find a job.

The coaches will offer tailored employment support to people on health-related benefits and help them access support with writing CVs and interview techniques, the government said.

Ministers hope moving thousands of people into jobs will help them unlock the benefits of work and cut the rapidly rising cost of health and disability benefits.

But the Resolution Foundation said only about 3% of the hundreds of thousands of people likely to lose benefit payments were likely to find a job.

In a report called Delivering the Undeliverable, the researchers argue the causes of the rising welfare costs include the country getting older and sicker and that while ministers are keen on quick financial cuts, truly effective reforms will take time to deliver.

As long as it is done fairly I'm fine with it. Although I would like to see a focus on the 2 million young people who are out of work as well.

ITV News have gotten hold of the details here.

https://www.itv.com/news/2025-03-07/gov ... s-shake-up

£5bn in savings by making it harder to qualify for Personal Independence Payments - a benefit not linked to work that is meant to help people with the additional costs of their disability

Further savings by freezing PIP payments next year, so they do not rise with inflation

Raising the basic rate for Universal Credit paid to those searching for work, or in work, while cutting the rate for those who are judged as unfit for work.

A billion pounds of savings ploughed into a major investment for employment support for those who are looking for a job

That doesn't sound too bad to me but as you can guess has gone down like a bucket of cold sick in the welfare support forums/groups that I'm in, mainly from the PIP claimants. I hope that billion quid for the employment support doesn't just end up in the hands of those companies who ran the Work Programme and Restart like it usually does.

Everyone on Bluesky/Twitter is mad as hell over these proposals.

A shame becasue it overshadows good stuff like this.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... s-benefits

Ministers are to scrap a controversial “computer says yes” program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants’ universal credit benefits without their consent.

Last month, a judge ruled that the “click-screen” program used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to process tens of thousands of deduction requests each year was unlawful.

It came after a challenge brought by tenant Nathan Roberts who argued it was an “abuse of process” that the DWP did not ask him before docking £500 from his benefits at the request of his landlord, with whom he was in dispute over repairs.

The work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, confirmed on Monday night that the DWP would not appeal against the judge’s decision and would examine ways to replace the automated program with a system that gives tenants more say over benefit deductions.

See what the budget actually says. I didn't expect to say this, but Liz Kendall has some good ideas. Looking back to the Autumn Statement, I would belatedly give her some credit for at least pushing cuts back while looking to see what she could do first. But the problem seems to be Starmer-Reeves aren't going to give her the time.

Didn't we already have a budget?
I thought this was a spending review.

You’re probably right.

Yeah I think that on the 26th the obr says things are bad then in June it's the spending review.

So we've just got open season on the government for 3 months? Great.

This is what's being reported. £5bn sounds like a mad amount of money to get from restricting PIP. Lots of people who you think should get it now don't get it.

I think it's unlikely that happens, but that the other policy changes which cost money won't happen. That would still leave a mad amount to get from PIP.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 5:37 pm So we've just got open season on the government for 3 months? Great.

Yeah I'd rather things be kept behind Closed doors or announced closer to the date.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 6:05 pm This is what's being reported. £5bn sounds like a mad amount of money to get from restricting PIP. Lots of people who you think should get it now don't get it.

I think it's unlikely that happens, but that the other policy changes which cost money won't happen. That would still leave a mad amount to get from PIP.

In the end what do you think will happen?

Good question.

My preference would be for tax rises and/or shift the fiscal rule a bit. I think they can do better with employment in time, the planning reforms should be felt, lowering some barriers with the EU. But I appreciate there's not much room for manoeuvre on borrowing.

One thing that might happen is investment gets reduced compared to what was planned. Not to say it's lavish now (planned 2.6% of GDP, compared with 1.7% planned by Sunak). Normally I say don't cut investment, for obvious reasons. But I think it's better to cut that than benefits in the short term. And as I say, there are some possibilities of improved growth later.

Yeah I read they were going to be spending less money on GB Energy.