Good to see that Labour will reinstate the ban on sale of ICE cars in 2030.
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>> Good to see that Labour will reinstate the ban on sale of ICE cars in
>> 2030.
>>
I'll believe that in 2029.
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I share your pessimism by at least it’s a step in the right direction.
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>> I share your pessimism by at least it’s a step in the right direction.
Not really
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If Labour are serious about their energy policy and reducing death and illness resulting from air pollution the sooner they get on with it the better.
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For a party that has plastered "CHANGE" over its battle bus, and insists it will stop the chaos and rebuild Britain, the manifesto is a triumph of rhetoric over substance.
The changes proposed in spending and taxation are complete trivia - around 1% of GDP.
Where explicit expectations are created they are close to inconsequential.
6500 new teachers out of a teaching profession totalling ~500k is scarcely detectable.
40000 new NHS appointments a week (2m pa) against 122m outpatient appointments digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-outpatient-activity/2021-22 is welcome but scarcely transformational.
Gone are material changes to House of Lords, nationalisation of utilities, ending universal credit etc to be replaced by a few aspirational weasel words.
I can readily understand why there is so so little attraction for many in a Tory victory. But this has all the hallmarks of "don't do anything to rock the electoral boat". There are few possible conclusions - Labour:
- are bereft of worthwhile ideas
- when confronted by the same economic, international etc constraints can change little
- once in power much will be done that has be exposed
It would be easy to form the conclusion that nothing much will change bar the name on the door. Disappointing.
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It’s not ideas that they are bereft of, it's money. Both major parties are explicitly bound to a policy of no tax increases, the can’t really borrow more and say they don’t want austerity. This leaves them with little room to try something new. In my view this is positive.
I’m voting Labour in the hope of
1 To get rid of the Conservatives. The worst government in my lifetime.
2 Hopefully a more competent government
3 a more efficiently run country that is respected around the world.
I don’t expect radical change overnight or particularly want it.
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>>I can readily understand why there is so so little attraction for many in a Tory victory. But this has all the hallmarks of "don't do anything to rock the electoral boat".
You've got it.
They can't do anything unless elected. The 'Corbyn' manifesto I thought was directionally OK but there was just too much in it and nobody believed it, although Corbyn himself was a dud as leader/PM.
I still think there's more substance in the Labour manifesto than the Conservative one, especially if you exclude the gimmicks - and the funding hole is bigger in the Conservative one for sure. I haven't read both in full.
I'm sure there will be new taxes, possibly levies for specific purposes like social care, I hope some levelling up of investment taxes vs. PAYE (with a reasonable tax free allowance so as not to capture simple savings) and new borrowing for investment.
I actually think Labour has constrained itself too much, and more than it needed to. Especially by excluding a return to the single market.
If the growth doesn't materialise it will be a long siege. But it will be worth it if the current version of the Conservative party is wiped off the face of UK politics. If Reform were to replace it at least people would see what they are.
A local farmer I know well asked me yesterday if I will vote for Reform, implying he was not satisfied with the Conservatives. He expressed great surprise that I said my natural choice has always been Labour. It hadn't occurred to him that he could vote for anybody else. Then he surprised me by saying that farmers had generally done better under Labour than the Conservatives. There's nowt so queer as folk. But farmers are driven by hatred of tax IME.
Last edited by: Manatee on Fri 14 Jun 24 at 09:50
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