Reviewing the Coalition

kabayiri

purch wrote: »

I think a lot of the things done by the Coalition were quite sensible, and difficult to argue with....

Unfortunately the way many of the policies were sold, and/or put into practice left a lot to be desired.

Substance over style, which is what the country needs but which doesn't always win the votes.

I really don't understand the need for thresholds. It creates artificial division.

What's wrong with wider sliding scales? It's a chance to make those expensive computers work for a living.

Why have an arbitrary stamp duty threshold?

Thrugelmir

CLAPTON wrote: »

currently the UK tax payer benefit from tax on HSBC world wide earnings
if they move their HQ abroad then the UK tax payers will only benefit from HSBC UK earnings

not sure whether that counts as holding the public to ransom.

Precisely the issue. The proposed new level of levy will more or less wipe out the profit made by the entire UK operation.

theEnd

I don't really see what they've done.

Transferred a load of jobs from public to private. Big deal.
Introduced the bedroom tax. Wasn't that a Labour policy anyway?
Printed some more money, just like Labour.
Added a few more stupid house buying schemes, just like Labour.

I'm hoping no coalition is possible this time and we see what this country will be like without a government. I bet it runs exactly the same. Still sleep walking into financial collapse.

Thrugelmir

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

So my response was to mumof2's statement that the recovery was not built on debt and showing the debt incurred was higher in the las parliament than the one before.

Your response is that it's not the Con/ Dems fault but that still of Labour.

Well yes. The incoming Government will be jumping onto a runaway train. Governments do little more than pull levers. Many of which the impact won't be seen for many years. Just consider how much money is now spent simply servicing the accumulated debt.

Anyway if Labour's plans are spend more than the coalition then the situation is not going to improve any time soon. As borrowing and servicing costs will simply continue to rise faster.

None of the parties has really addressed the real issues seriously. So many unanswered questions. Once US interest rates rise. Then we may be in for a far more volatile roller coaster ride.

Ps.

Restructuring the public sector after GB created 500,000 additional posts has also come at great cost. Very expensive to make redundancies in the Civil Service. No shortage of volunteers around here when there's £50k on the table for even lower graded staff members.

IveSeenTheLight

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Well yes. The incoming Government will be jumping onto a runaway train. Governments do little more than pull levers. Many of which the impact won't be seen for many years. Just consider how much money is now spent simply servicing the accumulated debt.

Anyway if Labour's plans are spend more than the coalition then the situation is not going to improve any time soon. As borrowing and servicing costs will simply continue to rise faster.

None of the parties has really addressed the real issues seriously. So many unanswered questions. Once US interest rates rise. Then we may be in for a far more volatile roller coaster ride.

Ps.

Restructuring the public sector after GB created 500,000 additional posts has also come at great cost. Very expensive to make redundancies in the Civil Service. No shortage of volunteers around here when there's £50k on the table for even lower graded staff members.

I fear you missed my post about more debt accumulated in the last parliament (2010 - 2015) than the previous 5 years (2005 - 2010)



Any incoming government should make far greater strides in adjusting and gaining control rather than say that the parliament result were still based on the previous administration

Thrugelmir

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I fear you missed my post about more debt accumulated in the last parliament (2010 - 2015) than the previous 5 years (2005 - 2010)

I'm missing your point entirely I'm afraid to say. As isolating a period of time tells us absolutely nothing. Far too simplistic. To save money costs money. As the savings come longer term. While short term borrowings rise as a result of cancelling contracts.

michaels

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I fear you missed my post about more debt accumulated in the last parliament (2010 - 2015) than the previous 5 years (2005 - 2010)



Any incoming government should make far greater strides in adjusting and gaining control rather than say that the parliament result were still based on the previous administration

I agree, we should have had more austerity and also saved a few quid but getting rid of the gross inequality of the Barnett formula - hopefully going forward with no Scottish MPs in the ruling coalition there will be no blockers to restoring fairness

crash123

MumOf2 wrote: »

We're what I'd suppose you'd call middle class from working class stock (mining and scrap metal, working in service, etc.) not living in the home counties. We both benefitted from the class mobile education system of the 1960s and 1970s but we both hold onto our working class roots with an iron fist. Our children will never forget what their grandparents went through to give us the future we're now building for the next generation.


Where we live, the success of the last government is before your eyes everywhere. Everyone has benefitted. It's a mixed area economically and socially, but the building work that's going on (business and domestic), tradesmen's vehicles outside houses (you can't get an electrician or plumber for love or money), new or nearly new cars (and these aren't fleet), people improving their homes, taking the most amazing holidays. And not on tick - this recovery isn't built on debt.


Personally our salaries and those of our (many!) children have gone up and up. We've been able to put more and more money back into the local economy which can only be for the good of everyone. Smaller shops round the corner are flourishing and the local mood is buoyant.


So what do you hear in the media - that people don't feel that they're benefitting. Well, you can say anything for the camera, you can 'feel' anything you like. But the reality is there for all to see.


And what's going to happen in this ultra marginal? All predictions are that a Labour candidate will be returned to boot out the Conservative MP. I know that each person has their own story and democracy rules but memories are so short and people seem to have forgotten the profligacy of the last Labour government.

If it is as good as you say it is the Conservatives should be miles ahead in the option polls.

Tromking

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Restructuring the public sector after GB created 500,000 additional posts has also come at great cost. Very expensive to make redundancies in the Civil Service. No shortage of volunteers around here when there's £50k on the table for even lower graded staff members.

'Restructuring' would suggest a modicum of thoughtfulness and organisation in the policy of reducing the public sector head count, thats not been my experience.
It`ll be interesting to see when the scorched earth cuts cease if its not been the biggest false economy ever.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

I really think we should have done more internationally. We really scaled back on fighting overseas during the last 5 years because everybody was terrified to end up being called a war criminal like Tony Blair. But look at ISIS, they could have been destroyed in a weekend if we'd have been willing to commit troops to Iraq instead of pulling them all out to save money, who knows what the future will bring to our shores there. Look at
Syria and Lybia, now we have hundreds of migrants a week dying as they attempt to flee. Then there's Russia.

In this day and age you can't just sit back and hope that somebody else deals with all of this.