Election 2024: The MSE Leaders' Debate

MSE_JC

This thread was created in the runup to the 2024 UK Election

Calling all Forumites!

The next general election is mere weeks away and we at MSE want to put YOUR questions to the political leaders vying for your vote.

We’ve created this special dedicated board for you to submit questions, see other Forumites’ submissions and upvote any that you like. Alternatively, if you’d prefer not to ask a question via the Forum you can submit a question using this form.

To make sure everything runs smoothly and to help you get the most out of it, the board has some special guidelines that we ask you to follow.

• Please stay on topic; we are looking for consumer and financial questions only. Our aim is to help you find out how the leaders' policies will affect the 'pounds in your pocket'. The questions that get chosen will each be put to all of the leaders who participate, so please avoid targeting questions only at specific leaders.
• The usual Forum rules concerning political debate apply. Any questions or posts which do not fall within the scope of the guidelines will be removed.
• Questions can either be submitted via the form here, or as a thread on this board. All questions will be read and considered, regardless of submission choice. Forum submissions should be posted on this board only. Questions posted on other boards will be removed.
• If you choose to post on the Forum, please select the relevant tag/s listed underneath the post; this is so we can group questions by topic and see what the most common issues are. 
• You can submit as many questions as you like, but each must be its own thread - this makes the board easier to read and allows other Forumites the chance to upvote submissions individually.
• Please note that if your submission is chosen we may slightly edit your question or story to keep it brief.

Thanks for reading!
MSE JC

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• Plans for Pension LTA and Pension Inheritance rules | 13 votes
• Energy Price Cap | 14 votes
• Financial Education in Schools | 6 votes
• Fully reviewing and replacing the tax regime | 6 votes
• Are Pension Freedoms Safe? | 10 votes
• Greener Homebuilding | 10 votes
• Electric Vehicle Transition | 13 votes
• Inheritance tax thresholds | 20 votes
• ISA allowance | 28 votes
• Lifetime ISA | 6 votes
• State of Britain's roads | 6 votes

sausage_time

Plans for Pension LTA and Pension Inheritance rules 

What changes will be made around pension LTA arrangements (including age 75) and Inheritance rules for pension pots?

naf123

Energy Price Cap

The energy price cap has now effectively become a state price control that is actively harming competition and leading to higher prices for consumers.
As wholesale world-market energy prices fell, we should be seeing this reflected in consumer costs, but the price cap is keeping them stubbornly high.

What are the political parties proposing to do about this ?

WillPS

What changes, if any, do you propose to make to the Lifetime ISA scheme? In particular, what support will you offer to those who find the only viable options for them as a starter home are valued at above the static £450k threshold, and end up paying a penalty on their own savings in order to do so?

Bridlington1

The ISA allowance has remained frozen at £20,000 since the 2017-18 tax year. Since then we have witnessed periods of high inflation and consequently a real terms reduction in the ISA allowance.

How long will the ISA allowance remain frozen?

naf123

The inheritance tax threshold has remained frozen at £325,000 since the 2009-10 tax year. Since then we have witnessed periods of high inflation and consequently a real terms reduction in the inheritance tax threshold.

How long will the inheritance tax thresholds remain frozen?

bonnyrigger

How can people with no ability to charge at home/work make the change to EVs?

AndrewSteele888

If you were elected would your party raise the standard of new homes so that the energy efficient in them are build to a good level (EPC A, B or C)

LHW99

After the introduction of Pension Freedoms in 2015, many people have benefitted from the ability to choose how to drawdown their DC pensions.

The Freedoms have enabled those who have to retire early through ill-health or redundancy to use their fund to support early retirement, rather than relying on the state. It has enabled those with very small DB pensions to supplement their incomes flexibly in retirement, and has allowed those caught in the interest only mortgage pit to use their fund to support loan payments, giving time to plan downsizing or moving to a different cheaper part of the country, without worry.

The FCA seems to believe that stronger guidance, or new rules for accessing DC pots should be implemented, possibly reverting to something like the earlier "Capped Drawdown" requirements for a minimum retirement income. This, or a requirement for full independent (hence expensive) advice, would inevitably prevent a significant proportion of retirees from taking full advantage of the freedoms as they are now.

What plans do the parties have to review or change this aspect of retirement provision?

MattMattMattUK

Will the incoming government commit to a full review of the tax system, followed by replacement or high levels of reform?

The current tax system is overly complicated, it is the most complicated in the world, governed by more legislation and guidance than in any other country. This not only makes it inefficient but also means that there are hundreds, if not thousands of loopholes as well as meaning tax advisors are often needed for tax planning where as in other countries that submission would be a simple online form.

The income tax regime should be reviewed, we have the largest tax free allowance in the EU, the bottom two thirds of earners have the lowest effective rate of income taxation in the EU, where as the top third have the fifth highest. If we reduced the tax free allowance to £2,000 (around the EU average), and combined Income Tax and National Insurance and then amended the rates to 35% up to £60k, 45% up to £120k and then 49% above that it would generate billions, also bringing us into line with Scandinavian countries. Finally married/civil partnered couples should be able to joint file for tax purposes, sharing allowances and combined thresholds.

Corporation Tax should be reformed to make it similar to the German and Scandinavian models where there are large allowances to encourage reinvestment into the business, but higher rates on businesses that purely extract profit. This combined with a withholding tax on dividend, meaning that base rate income tax is always due unless the shareholder is a charity or pension fund.

Economically damaging taxes such as SDLT and morally unfair taxes such as Inheritance Tax should be abolished.

Council Tax should be replaced with in individual community payment and local income tax, making sure every adult contributes to the local community, but that those with the greatest incomes also contribute more.

Benefits should be fully reformed making them both taxable and and contribution based, but greatly increased for the disabled who are woefully under provided for. Housing benefits should be levelled nationally so that taxpayers are not subsiding people to live in incredibly expensive areas, far more than the average taxpayer can afford, this would also have the benefit of not contributing to the overcooking of the housing market in London and the South East. 

MattMattMattUK

Will all party leaders commit to roll out full financial education to all school children at relevant ages no later than the start of the 2025-2026 school year.