#Labour budget 2024 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

probablyasocialecologist · 2 months ago

Text

There are two main ways of comparing military budgets: as a percentage of GDP or as a percentage of the total national budget. Israel stood high on both: in 2022, Israel’s military budget amounted to 4.51 percent of its economy — the highest percentage among OECD countries. That same year, Israel's military budget stood at 12.2 percent of its total annual budget. And that is not the whole story. Economist Yossi Zeira points out that the above GDP figure is partial, as it does not take into account the loss of GDP caused by the fact that a large number of young men are outside the civilian labour force, a fact that translates into a 5.7-percent loss of GDP per year. Once the defence budget is determined, not much is left for other, non-military civilian budgets. In 2023, while the average civilian public expenditure in OECD countries stood at 42.2 percent of GDP (not including interest and military expenditure), in Israel it stood at 32.9 percent — a quarter less. With all those resources, Israel finds it hard to finance the full costs of maintaining its “imperial” military status without foreign assistance. Today, foreign financial and non-financial military aid comes mainly from the US. In the past, it had more varied sources: in 1956, such aid came from France and Great Britain and from 1967 on, from the US. According to the US Council on Foreign Relations, US aid accounts for some 15 percent of Israel’s defence budget. At the time of this writing, the US has signed a memorandum of understanding assuring Israel nearly 4 billion dollars per year through 2028. As for the actual fighting in the present war with Hamas, the US provided Israel with tank and artillery ammunition, bombs, rockets, and small arms, and was considering further supplies, including 50 F-15 fighter aircraft. Enough to keep the fighting going.

[...]

From the very beginning of the present war, Israel’s prime minister and almost all IDF generals have frequently warned that the war will be long. The Bank of Israel seems to agree, as it recently published a figure of 250 billion shekels for the total cost of the present war with Hamas — if the war lasts until 2028. That means a permanent very large military budget, continuous large aid packages from the US, and growing pressures on the budgets for social services, demands for which increase as a result of the ongoing war and seemingly unending dislocations.

18 September 2024

#israel #palestine #zionism #usa #military

48 notes · View notes

sourcreammachine · 5 months ago

Text

GREEN PARTY MANIFESTO 2024 SUMMARY

tldr: there's a feeling of tension in this manifesto, between youthful zennial climatic ecosocialism and old-guard hippy-liberal environmentalism. this year the greens may well go from 1 MP to the dizzying heights of 2 (there's whispers on the wind that they may even get 3...), and the green council delegation is at 800-odd now, so this could easily be a changing-of-the-guard moment

with the great Berry and the ok Denyer in parliament the party could have more momentum in battling the starmerite government, and with that, it has the ability, the possibility to pick up more momentum. this is a big opportunity in the party's history - over the next five years it can and could be pushed into a holistic ecosocialist movement by the centrally influential mass party membership, and remove the last dregs of its tunnel vision to provide a lefty movement for everyone, green and pink, a Newfoundland coalition. with votes at 16 on the cards and this potential evolution of the party, 2029 could be a big moment for this country's left. whether or not the greens play the role of keystone is up to them

it is also the only manifesto to use the term 'neurodivergent'

💷ECONOMY

wealth tax of 1% on individuals with assets over §10m and 2% for assets over §1b (an extremely humble proposal), reform capital gains and investment dividend taxation to be at the same rates as income taxation, remove the income-based bands on national insurance contributions, ie raising total income taxation by 8% at §50k/a, – altogether raising government revenues by upwards of §70b/a

stratify VAT to reduce it for consumer stuff and hike it for stuff like financial services

permanent windfall tax on banks for whenever they get windfalls

perform a holistic land survey to get the data needed for a new, effective Land Tax

abolish the tax relief on existing freeports and SEZs

heavy carbon tax to raise a boatload of billions, rising progressively over a decade to allow industrial adaptation, for a ~§80b state windfall for five years that'll be for green investment as this windfall starts to recede

renationalise water and energy

§15 minimum wage, 10:1 pay ratio for all organisations public and private (ie §150 sort-of maximum wage, ~§300k/a), mandatory equal pay audits, 'support' lower hours and four-day weeks [clarification needed]

unambiguously define gig workers as workers with contract rights from day one, repeat offenders of gig-slavery will be banned from operating in the country

every City bank required to produce a strategy with a clear pathway to divestment of all fossil fuels "as soon as possible and at least by 2030", every City non-banking organisation simply to be banned from having fossil fuel in their portfolios, credit to be banned for repeat City climate offenders, mandate the BoE to fulfil the funding of the climate transition and climate leadership of the City, FCA to develop measures to ban fossil fuel share trading in the City and immediately prohibit all new shares in fossil fuels

"we will explore legal ways for companies to be transformed into mutual organisations"😈

develop regional cooperative banks to invest in regional SMEs, coops and community enterprises

diversify crop growth, promote local agricultural cooperatives and peripheral urban horticultural farms, give farmers a sort of collective bargain against grocers

aim towards a circular economy: require ten-year warranties on white goods, rollout of right-to-repair

tighten monopoly laws on media with a hard cap preventing >20% of a media market being owned by one individual or company and implement Leveson 2

🏥PUBLIC SERVICES

abolish tuition fees and cancel standing debt

surge nhs funding by §30B, triple labour's spending plans for everything, the entire budget, the entire state, everything

free personal care, with occupational therapy being part of this

35h/w free child care (eg seven hours over five days, or seven days of five hours)

renationalise many academies under local authorities, abolish the "charity" status of private schools and charge VAT

surge funding for smoking-cessation, addiction support and sexual health service

surge funding for public dentistry with free care for children and low-earners

free school breakfasts in primary school and free school lunches for all schools

one-month guarantee of access to mental health therapies

online access to PrEP

let school playing fields be used in the evenings by local sports clubs

greater funding for civic sports facilities and pools

🏠HOUSING

unambiguously-under-the-law nationalise the crown estate for an absolute fuckton of land and assets for housing and for green energy and rewilding for FREE

rent control for local authorities, ban no-fault evictions and introduce long-term leases, create private tenancy boards of tenants

local authorities to have right of first refusal on the purchase of certain properties at aggressive rates, such as unoccupied or uninsulated buildings

all new homes to be Passivhaus standard with mandatory solar panels and heat pumps

§30B across five years to insulate homes, §12B of which is for social homes, and §9B more for heat pumps, and §7B more for summer cooling

planning law reform: council planning mechanisms to priorities little developments all over the place rather than sprawling blobs, demolitions to require as thorough a planning application as erections, new developments required to not be car dependent

planning laws to require large-scale developments feature access to key community infrastructures such as transport, health and education, often mandating the construction of new key infrastructures, support nightlife and local culture in planning regulations

exempt pubs and local cultural events from VAT

building materials to be reusable, builders' waste rates to be surged to encourage use of reuse

750k new social homes in five years

🚄TRANSPORT

'a bus service to every village', restore local authority control and/or ownership of their busses

renationalise rail via franchise-concession lapsing, slowly assume ownership of the rolling stock (currently leased, and would continue to be so under labour's implementation of renationalisation) by buying a new train when the stock needs to be replaced

electrification agenda across the rail network, strategic approach to rail line and station reopenings

bring forward (sorta, the tories suspended it but labour says they'll reinstate it) the new petrol car ban from 2030 to 2027, existing petrol cars targeted to be off the road by 2034, investigate road-price charges as a replacement for petrol tax, hike road tax proportionally to vehicle weight, drop urban speed limits from 50kph to 30kph (or from 30mph to 20mph if you only speak Wrong), mass funding for freightrail and support logistics firms transitioning away from lorries

§2.5b/a for footpaths and cycleways, target of 50% of urban journeys to be extravehicular by 2030

frequent-flyer levy, ban on domestic flights within three-hour rail distance, remove the exemption of airline fuel from fuel tax, prioritise training of airline workers into other transportational jobs

👮FORCE

abolish the home office, transfer its police/security portfolio to the justice ministry and its citizenship/migration portfolio to a new migration ministry separate from the criminal justice system

abolish the kill the bill bill and restore the right to protest

recognise palestine, push for immediate ceasefire and prosecution of war crimes, back the south africa case, "[support] an urgent international effort to end the illegal occupation of palestinian land"

grant asylum-seekers the right to work before their application is granted

end the hostile environment

abolish Prevent

end routine stop-and-search and facial recognition

commission to reform 'counterproductive' drug regime, decriminalise personal possession

amend the Online Safety Act to "[protect] political debate from being manipulated by falsehoods, fakes and half-truths", ie actually protecting 'fReE sPeEcH' and not everything that rightists imply by that phrase

decriminalise sex work

reform laws to give artists IP protections against ai

cancel trident and disarm

push for nato reforms (in its and our interest, they're not russophiles, they're not galloway, it's ok): get it to adopt a no-first-use nuclear policy, get it to prioritise diplomatic action first rather than military reaction, get it to adopt a stronger line on only acting for the defence of its member states

right to roam🚶‍♂️

🌱CLIMATE

zero-carbon by 2040, rather than the ephemeral ostensible government target of 2050

stop all new oil/gas licenses, end all subsidy for oil/gas industries, regulate biofuels to end greenwashing, end subsidies for biomass

decarbonise energy by 2030, minimum threshold of energy infrastructures to be community owned, "end the de facto ban on onshore wind" with planning reform

massively expand the connections between the insular grid and the UCTE continental grid to increase electricity import and export and prevent the need for energy autarky

more targeted bans on single-use plastics

"give nature a legal personhood" ok grandma let’s get you to bed

§2b/a to local authorities for local small-business decarbonisation

"cease development of new nuclear power stations, as nuclear energy is much more expensive and slower to develop than renewables. we are clear that nuclear is a distraction from developing renewable energy and the risk to nuclear power stations from extreme climate events is rising fast. nuclear power stations carry an unacceptable risk for the communities living close to facilities and create unmanageable quantities of radioactive waste. they are also inextricably linked with the production of nuclear weapons. green MPs will campaign to phase out existing nuclear power stations." because some people just can't let go of the seventies. nuclear is good. nuclear is our friend

invest in r&d to find solutions to decarbonise 'residual' carbon in the economy, such as HGVs or mobile machinery

increase unharvested woodland by 50% (no time frame given), grants to farmers for scrub rewilding, rewet Pete Boggs, make 30% of the EEZ protected waters and ban bottom trawling

§4b/a in skills training to stop gas communities getting Thatchered, prioritising shifting these workers into offshore wind

a.. licensing scheme for all pet animals? you guys sure about that one

regulate animal farming with a goal of banning factory farms, ban mass routine antibiotics, ban cages/close confinement and animal mutilation

ban all hunting including coursing and "game", ban snaring, ban hunt-landscaping such as grouse moors, end the badger cull, mandate licensing of all animal workers with lifetime striking off for cruelty convictions, compulsory hedgehog holes in new fencing, 'push' for 'ending' horse and dog racing [clarification needed], new criminal offences for stealing and harming pets, 'work towards' banning animal testing

🗳️DEMOCRACY

proportional representation for parliament and all councils

abolish voter ID

votes at sixteen

votes for all visa'd migrants

restore the electoral commission's prosecutory powers and remove the cap on fines it can impose on parties

increase Short Money, especially for smaller parties

create a manifest legal category of organisation for think tanks, to allow better enforcement of lobbying and funding restrictions

consider fun new measures for political accessibility such as MP jobsharing and allowing public provision of offices for all parliamentary candidates

🎲OTHER STUFF

Self-ID including nonbinary recognition, including with an X passport marker

"work towards rejoining the eu as soon as the domestic political situation is favourable", join the eea now (with restored free movement)

let local authorities invest shares in sports teams, including professional ones, dividends ringfenced for public sports facilities and coaching

right to die

#196 #amy724 #ukpol #uk politics

20 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 6 months ago

Text

The New Zealand government has been accused of waging a “war on nature” after it announced sweeping cuts to climate action projects, while making no significant new investments in environmental protection or climate crisis-related policy.

In its 2024/25 budget, handed down on Thursday, the rightwing coalition announced spending on law and order, education, health and a series of tax cuts, as the country struggles with inflation and cost-of-living pressures.

Finance minister Nicola Willis, who delivered the budget against the backdrop of a technical recession and widening government deficits, said it was a “fiscally responsible budget” that was “putting New Zealanders’ money where it can make the biggest difference”.

But absent from the budget documents was any meaningful new spending on the climate crisis. Instead, dozens of climate-related initiatives, including programmes in the Emissions Reductions Plan and funding for data and evidence specialists were subject to sweeping cuts.

In a media release, climate change minister Simon Watts said “responsible and effective climate related initiatives that support New Zealand to reduce emissions, and adapt to the future effects of climate change are a priority.”

He said the government would invest to reach those goals, including funding climate resilience projects such as stop banks and floodwalls through the Regional Infrastructure Fund, a $200m boost for the Rail Network Improvement Programme, and extending the reach of the Waste Disposal Levy to support a wider range of waste-related and environmental activities.

When asked by the Guardian if there was any significant new funding directed towards tackling climate change and environmental protection, Watts pointed to the resilience projects.

Meanwhile, the environment minister, Penny Simmonds, told the Guardian the increases to the waste levy “will mean a broader range of environmental projects can be funded”, including waste disposal in emergencies, cleaning up contaminated sites and freshwater improvement.

But critics said the government’s approach to protecting the environment and tackling climate change was backward looking, while climate resilience projects were the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff without future-facing climate mitigation plans.

Meanwhile, the rail improvement programme was understood to be focused on existing rail lines. It was unclear if it included new rail projects. Changes to the waste disposal levy involved mostly reallocating existing funds.

The Labour opposition called the budget a “catastrophe” that was “taking us backwards”.

The only new investment in the environment section of the budget was a $23m annual commitment to pushing through the government’s resource management changes, including a controversial fast-track bill that could see conservation concerns ignored and projects once rejected for environmental reasons given the green light.

The government says it has found $102m in savings and revenue per year across the environment sector through various cuts, including cutting climate change programmes, reducing spending on specialists that provide evidence and data including updates to environmental standards, monitoring and reporting and scaling back funding for the Climate Change Commission, which advises the government on climate change policy.

In conservation, another $33m a year will be cut. There is a $1m annual investment listed in the budget documents, but government officials could not explain where this money would go, citing “commercial sensitivities”.

The programmes and areas related to climate policy that are subject to cuts across government included:

Māori knowledge-based approaches to agricultural emissions reduction

Community-based renewable energy schemes

The Climate Change Commission

External and internal specialists who supply evidence and data on environmental monitoring and science

Freshwater policy initiatives

Native forest planting

Development of a circular economy, relating to recycling and reuse

Jobs for Nature, a programme creating jobs to benefit the environment

Reducing biosecurity monitoring

New Zealand is still rebuilding from massive destruction caused by 2023’s deadly Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, which killed 11 people and laid waste to large swathes of the North Island’s east coast.

Among the spending promises in the budget was $1bn to rebuild the regions hit by these disasters.

Human-caused climate breakdown has increased the occurrence of the most intense and destructive tropical cyclones (though the overall number a year has not changed globally). This is because warming oceans provide more energy, producing stronger storms.

‘Head in the coal’

Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick described the government as a “coalition of cowards” that was allowing the climate crisis to “rage on unchallenged” and whose attack on the climate would ripple through future generations.

“The other day, government parties said, ‘drill, baby, drill,’ and today, they may as well have said, ‘burn, baby, burn’,” Swarbrick said, adding that the budget had seen funding from almost every major programme in the Emissions Reduction Plan gutted.

The government was “choosing to bury its head in the coal,” she said. “It has made the choice to put cynical politics ahead of people and planet, serving the short-term interests of wealthy donors over the wellbeing of all of us.”

The first budget from the rightwing coalition – made up of the centre-right National party, libertarian ACT party and populist NZ First – is a sharp departure from the previous Labour government’s commitments to protecting the environment. In 2017, Labour prime minister Jacinda Ardern said climate change was her generation’s nuclear-free moment and put climate policies high on her agenda.

In 2022, her government unveiled the most significant announcement on climate change action in the country’s history – $4.5bn for a climate emergency response fund (CERF) to try to drive a low-emissions economy and prepare the country for the effects of climate collapse.

On Thursday, the government said $2.6bn of climate change initiatives previously funded by CERF would continue, including a public network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, decarbonising public transport, and public transport concessions for community service card holders.

But the climate change minister also said the government would discontinue the practice of ring-fencing money raised through emissions trading for that climate fund, meaning the previous government’s ambitious fund would be absorbed into the usual budget process.

Environmental group Forest and Bird said the budget signalled another blow in the government’s “war on nature”, and singled out its funding of the fast track bill.

“The government’s biggest new investment in the environment is to implement reforms that are going to cause untold environmental harm through the fast track,” said Richard Capie, the organisation’s general manager for conservation.

“In the middle of a climate emergency, you don’t walk away from investing in climate action – this isn’t business as usual, and to call it such is head-in-the-sand stuff.”

16 notes · View notes

darkmaga-returns · 3 hours ago

Text

Is there a bigger agenda to the farmers’ inheritance-tax ‘sick joke’?

BySally Beck

November 14, 2024

THE British farming community is planning a mass lobby of Parliament next week and will be joined by Jeremy Clarkson. Farmers say Labour has declared ‘war on the countryside’ and that the government has broken its promise by introducing a ‘crippling’ inheritance tax on family farms. Nicknamed the ‘suicide charter’ by the farming community, the policy has already resulted in one death, while elderly farmers wonder if they should kill themselves to save their family’s legacy.

Clarkson, a fierce critic of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s recent Budget and its inheritance tax changes, said farmers were ‘very angry and anxious’ about their future. He owns a 1,000-acre farm in the Cotswolds called Diddly Squat, which made just £144 profit in its first year.

Our Parliamentary representatives are indifferent, as demonstrated last week by their response to the deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice. He asked in the Commons: ‘Are the Minister, the Secretary of State and the Chancellor aware that so serious are the consequences of this policy that the heads of farming families in their 80s and 90s are seriously considering committing suicide before it comes into place?’

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle prevented further debate on the subject, while Daniel Zeichner, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, seemed to be lost for words. He said: ‘I find it hard to respond to a question like that.’

National Farmers Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw is livid and warned that Labour’s move would further fuel a mental-health crisis among farmers. Farming already has a high suicide rate with 36 per cent of farmers admitting they are depressed, while 47 per cent say they struggle with anxiety.

3 notes · View notes

insidecroydon · 22 days ago

Text

Dear Rachel: Croydon's a microcosm for much of what is wrong

Ahead of next Wednesday’s Budget, the first Labour Budget in 14 years, columnist ANDREW FISHER, right, has penned this open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves Dear Rachel, Record NHS waiting lists, a housing crisis, growing levels of child poverty, backlogs in the courts and asylum systems. Most of our dedicated public servants – whether in councils, schools, hospitals or even in Government…

View On WordPress

#Andrew Fisher #Budget #Budget 2024 #Chancellor #Chancellor of the Exchequer #Croydon #Croydon Council #Labour #London #London Borough of Croydon #Rachel Reeves #Steve Reed OBE #Streatham and Croydon North

0 notes

eaglesnick · 4 months ago

Text

“We are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich” - Peter Mandelson

The other day I made the assertion that when the people of Britain voted for Keir Starmer, what they were really getting was Tony Blaire. To be fair this was partly tongue-in-cheek but having read the Kings Speech setting out the Labour Party's plans to change Britain it is closer to the truth than is comfortable.

The Tony Blaire Institute for Global Change has a paper entitled: The Economic Case for Reimagining the State that was published July 9th, 2024, just five days after the UK elections. Some of the wording in this report is almost identical to some of the wording in the Kings Speech.

Tony Blaire Institute: “reforming the UK’s antiquated planning system is a high priority that could unlock much needed infrastructure investment and help un-gum the UK’s housing market.”

Kings Speech: “My Ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing."

Tony Blaire: "Normalization of relations with the EU: A full reversal of these losses may be politically unattainable during this Parliament, but there is a path to a better post-Brexit relationship in the coming years"

Kings Speech: My Government will seek to reset the relationship with European partners and work to improve the United Kingdom's trade and investment relationship with the European Union

Tony Blaire: "The new government will need to lean in to support the diffusion of AI-era tech across the economy by adopting a pro-innovation, pro-technology stance, as advocated by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.”

Kings Speech: "It will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models.”

The Kings Speech is, by necessity, very brief and gives virtually no detail how the government’s aims are to be achieved. We will have to wait and see how much more of Keir Starmer’s vision for the future of Britain mirrors that of Tony Blaire. If Starmer is as closely aligned to Blaire as these comparisons suggest then public sector workers beware.

Blaire places great reliance on the introduction of artificial intelligence to ALL sectors of the economy, but especially within the public sector. Once introduced Blaire predicts a productivity gain of “one-fifth workforce time”

Public sector workers, having adopted the new AI and having increased productivity by 20% can then expect the sack.

“If the government chooses to bank these time savings and reduce the size of the workforce, this could result in annual net savings of £10 billion per year by the end of this Parliament and £34 billion per year by the end of the next – enough to pay for the entire defence budget.”

This is the true Blairite mindset. Nothing about sharing the productivity gains made by workers in the form of higher wages, nothing about the redistribution of wealth or tackling income inequality. In Blaire’s Case for Reimagining the State poverty is not mentioned once. Inequality gets one mention but only as a statistic relating to workers forced to use food banks.

What Blaire and Starmer – like the Conservative Party - appear to have forgotten is that public services are exactly that – services. Yes they need to be efficient and cost effective but NOT to the extent that the service element is lost. The rich can afford to buy service, ordinary working people have to rely upon government for basic services and over the last few years they have been badly let down. Poor pay, increasing workloads, job insecurity and private sector creep have all contributed to bringing Britain’s public services to the verge of collapse. Let us all hope Starmer and Blaire don’t push them completely over the edge.

#uk politics #keir starmer #tony blaire #peter mandelson #AI #poverty #redundancies #public sector

5 notes · View notes

aurianneor · 5 months ago

Text

2024 UK general election: choosing the Right or the Left.

The Left and the Right are two ideologies that recognise the importance of having elites. For the Right, some people are considered to have fewer rights than others: women, black people, workers, etc. The elite is composed of Oxbridge. The people have to sacrifice on their housing, health and education to give to the elites. The Right take advice from the richest. For the Left, elites are appreciated but the people are not asked to sacrifice for the elites. The elites are there to inform the people and help them to do better.

For the Right, everyone has to support their leader and repeat their ideas. That’s Rishi Sunak’s or Nigel Farage’s programme. For the Left, a plurality of opinions and strong debate are expressed.

Poverty in the UK has escalated since 2011 to reach 19% of the population. The cost of leaving has increased exponentially up to 12% per year. Energy has increased by 19% since 2022, rent 69% and food 40%.

Cost of living statistics UK: 2024 – Finder: https://www.finder.com/uk/banking/cost-of-living-statistics

Meanwhile, since 2017, tax havens have increased (to avoid paying tax). The UK rich people are getting richer. The top 10 billionaires in the UK are three times richer than 15 years ago. With the Tories in power during Brexit, work standards have been lowered (security, social and environmental measures) to the profit of the owners who became even richer. The Tories signed free trade agreements with developing countries with low security social an environmental standards creating an unfair competition with the UK workers. The British producers can hardly sell in those countries. Those free trades only benefit the owners of the factory there.

The UK’S Rich Are Getting Richer – Statista: https://www.statista.com/chart/amp/27505/uks-richest-are-getting-richer/

Deregulation and standards after Brexit – what Naomi Klein’s ‘disaster capitalism’ can tell us – City University of London: https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2019/10/deregulation-and-standards-after-brexit-what-naomi-kleins-disaster-capitalism-can-tell-us

Trade deals: What has the UK done since Brexit? – BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47213842

In the past, when the left has rallied, it has benefited the country: the population has increased its standard of living without sacrificing public spending or the performance of its economy. Let’s remember the spirit of 1945 and the New Labour in 1997. In 1945 was created public service of steal, health (NHS), rail and energy. In 1997 the left multiplied by four the budget for public health, reduced youth unemployment by 75%, they doubled the budget of public education, they introduced the minimum wage, 2 million people have been helped out of poverty. From 1997 to 2007, there were ten years of consecutive growth. The Labour of 2024 has the same ambition as the one in 1945 when they want to restore public services of energy and rail.

The Spirit of ’45 – Ken Loach – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_%2745

Labour governments’ achievements – Shrewsbury Labour Party: https://www.shrewsburylabour.org.uk/labours-top-50-achievements/

What’s more, the stock market did better when the Left was in power. The ones who suffered were the ultra-rich who had ill-gotten gains (tax breaks, tax reductions, etc). The ultra-rich don’t need the poor to struggle to benefit from their wealth. The Left isn’t milking them for all they’re worth, it’s just asking them to contribute their fair share. The economic crises have occurred when the Right was in charge : 1982 (Margaret Thatcher), 2019 (Boris Johnson). The Right didn’t deal with Covid very well: they didn’t stop economy soon enough and had many death. They gave the money borrowed to support the economy to the ultra-rich.

Early 1980s recession – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_1980s_recession

UK swiftly exits its third recession in 16 years – Resolution Foundation: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/press-releases/uk-swiftly-exits-its-third-recession-in-16-years/

Labour is right: billions were lost to Covid fraud, and the public deserve a reckoning – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/11/labour-billions-covid-fraud-pandemic

COVID, CONTRACTS, AND CONFLICT: THE YEAR CORRUPTION TOOK CENTRE STAGE – Transparency International UK: https://transparency.org.uk/COVID-contracts-conflict-2020-2021-year-corruption-took-centre-stage

The neo-liberals and the identitarians point to the bad guys; they target the foreigners, the “lazy” or the misfits. They give priority to the ultra-rich, who have more rights than others.

A very strong and very democratic state is needed to protect the workers against unfair competition from badly-treated foreigners and against the social and environmental dumping of foreign products. The people need to be richer so that they can buy quality goods and have quality public services (health, pensions, education, etc.). This wealth has been captured by the ultra-rich, not by immigrants or ‘idlers’. Britain is rich but inequalities are high.

Believing that the solution to the problem is to attack the poor, the disabled, the people of colour, etc. by treating them badly (inadequate pay, fewer rights) hurts the whole system: old diseases like cholera re-emerge, poorer working conditions are accepted, and so on.

Many people are angry and worried about their livelihoods, their health, their children’s education and so on. Providing public services for everyone everywhere will be very expensive. Neoliberals are asking the poor to have less (by cutting pensions and public services) because they think they don’t deserve enough. The identitarian right-wing is calling for the poor to be made to pay. The right is diverting people’s anger away from the bourgeoisie. The Left is calling for the ultra-rich to pay the price of these reforms, but they will still be very rich. To restore prosperity to the people, taxing capital and controlling prices is the way to go.

Even then, the laws passed by the House of Commons must not be blocked by the House of Lords, which is not elected by the people and is not a power check serving the people.

It’s a shame that the Brits don’t have the right to a referendum on popular initiative and that the only way to express themselves is by electing representatives!

10 Labour policies to change Britain Under the Tories, the NHS waiting list has tripled, and drastic action needs to be taken to get patients seen and receiving the care they need. 10 Labour policies to change Britain: https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/10-labour-policies-to-change-britain/

WATCH LIVE: Keir Starmer launches Labour’s manifesto. – Labour Party: https://youtu.be/gyna0dYUUSI?t=2061

Labour’s fiscal plan – Labour Party: https://labour.org.uk/change/labours-fiscal-plan/

Kickstart economic growth – Labour Party: https://labour.org.uk/change/kickstart-economic-growth/

Expert economists back Labour’s plan to end economic stagnation in UK – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/19/labour-plan-end-economic-stagnation-uk-economists

Woman who pulled out 12 teeth with pliers says government failing on NHS dentistry – ITV News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdWonwyrNiY

Genesis – Selling England By The Pound (Full Album Remastered) With Lyrics: https://youtu.be/GEE3T35C7Y8?si=fCicsBgsqtLVm850

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Législatives 2024: choisir la gauche ou la droite.: https://www.aurianneor.org/legislatives-2024-choisir-la-gauche-ou-la-droite/

Restricting personal wealth: https://www.aurianneor.org/restricting-personal-wealth/

A slice of the cake: https://www.aurianneor.org/a-slice-of-the-cake/

Oui au Référendum d’initiative populaire: https://www.aurianneor.org/oui-au-referendum-dinitiative-populaire-petition/

Immigration: https://www.aurianneor.org/immigration-2/

Living with dignity: https://www.aurianneor.org/living-with-dignity/

Rob the poor to feed the rich: https://www.aurianneor.org/rob-the-poor-to-feed-the-rich/

Le RIC – Référendum d’initiative citoyenne: https://www.aurianneor.org/via-httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv-e2lnzwuy4ks/

Price ceilings and price floors: https://www.aurianneor.org/price-ceilings-and-price-floors/

The Senate, the power to piss people off: https://www.aurianneor.org/the-senate-the-power-to-piss-people-off/

Humiliated by the Republic: https://www.aurianneor.org/humiliated-by-the-republic/

Nos ancêtres les marrons: https://www.aurianneor.org/nos-ancetres-les-marrons-il-nexiste-quune-seule/

3 notes · View notes

sourcreammachine · 5 months ago

Text

LIBERAL MANIFESTO 2024 SUMMARY

tldr: tinkering reforms to existing structures and services without bothering to fix the overall problems or their causes. literally less ambitions than their previous manifestos. their whole campaign is mostly just getting u to like ed davey by making him look silly

their five basic points:

small business aid

public service investment

deal with the shitwater

as much bilateral eurointegration as possible

democratic reform

💷ECONOMY

reverse tax cuts on the banks and raise business tax to the international standard, raise the tax on digital businesses

balanced budget pledge, but when possible, cut income tax for the poor via raising the personal allowance

expand the british business bank and reestablish the ‘industrial strategy council’ quango (a policy shared by labour)

abolish the two-child benefits cap, bedroom tax and WASPI discrepancy

consumer-side investment for green energy and climate projects, ten-year plan to insulate and heatpump low-income houses, minimum price guarantee for selling home solar to the grid

windfall tax on oil and gas

increase parliamentary oversight of the department of trade

establish a workers’ protection enforcement authority

“independent review” into a living wage — less of a pledge than seen in labour’s policy programme

keep zerohour contracts, right to request a contact after twelve months (not a full right to a contract), employment strategy ‘fit for the age of the gig economy’ (ie embracing it)

expand the soft drinks levy to sugary juice and milkshakes

🏥PUBLIC SERVICES

8000 more GPs

reform dental contracts to prevent practises going private

remove the medical requirement for gender recognition and recognise nonbinary identities

free school meals — only for families in poverty

free personal care for everyone under a national care agency regulator, increased and expanded carers' allowance with paid respite leave

five more hours of free childcare — only for disadvantaged families

'guarantee' gp access within 24 hours, nhs dental access for urgent care, and access to talking therapy — though not fully enumerating this target

toothbrushing lessons in schools

eliminate the prescription charge for mental health prescriptions and 'review the entire schedule of exemptions' for the charge — not abolishing this indefensible illness tax

refom the mental health act to expand rights, self-determination and patient choice

free sign language lessons for parents of deaf children

free ‘acces to’ period products 'for anyone who needs it' [clarification needed]

various provisions for a focus on cancer care

rejoin erasmus+

freevote on the right to die

🏠HOUSING

local authorities can end right to buy in their area

abolish leaseholding — but cap ground rents not abolishing long leases

ten new "garden cities", the failed nothing plan that helped nothing

abolish the land compensation act, letting local governments buy land at current value rather than speculated potential value

use-it-or-lose-it planning permission laws for 'developers who refuse to build'

local authorities can hike council tax by 500% on second homes and surcharge stamp duty (homebuying tax) on overseas buyers

community asset laws to "protect pubs... and other vital infrastructure" [actual quote]

🚄TRANSPORT

reinstate 2030 ban on new petrol cars, build more chargers (including on-street points)

create a railway agency to manage rail systems rather than nationalising the international humiliation that is the private franchise system

build northern powerhouse rail, review the cancellation of HS2-north, ten-year plan for electrifications, open HS1 to new operators to increase international rail

strategy to expand freightrail as much as possible with keen targets to move freight from road to rail

transport ministry scheme to build local authority lightrail, trams and tramtrains

subject private and business-class flights to VAT and supertax private jets, ban domestic flights under 150 minutes (weird, because that's basically all of them, aberdeen to london included)

👮FORCE

expand the national crime agency and its remit

surge funding for armed forces

don't establish the Rwanda concentration scheme

firewall between all public agencies and the home office to prevent the HO gobbling up personal data

'end the hostile environment' [clarification needed]

end loopholes that allow kleptocratic money laundering, seize frozen russian assets and give the money to ukraine

animal welfare bill, ban foie gras and "crack down on puppy and kitten smuggling"

continue to be the american empire's prettiest bitch

🌱CLIMATE

land use framework to restore biodiversity and prevent environmental waste, 'wild belt' to protect environments

sewage tax on water companies, prevent dumping in protected waters... by 2030

legal requirement for landlords to increase energy efficiency of their lorded properties

fully reinstate ban on fracking, ban new coal mines, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies

deposit return scheme for bottles and food containers

seed more seagrass meadows

🗳️DEMOCRACY

SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE for parliament and for all councils

abolish the lords

make parliament elect the prime minister rather than buckingham palace, repeal the reinstatement of the prime minister's indefensible dictatorial ability to dissolve parliament at will

votes at 16 and abolish voter ID

constitutional convention to draft a new Federal Constitution

let european citizens vote, just like citizens of the so-called commonwealth can

cap donations to parties

make the ministerial code a legalised thing that can be enforced with actual consequences, mandate all ministers' instant messages about government business be archived

abolish police commissioners and end new combined authorities, give such powers directly to existing authorities

regulate tv debates under ofcom

an overseas constituency for overseas voters

🎲OTHER STUFF

recognise Palestine and demand immediate ceasefire, proscribe the IRG

disengage many partnerships with china

ban single use vapes

junk food telly adverts banned pre-watershed

make carer status and care leaver status protected characteristics under the equality act

post offices become community government and banking hubs, if u can still trust them

raise subtitle mandate to 80% of telly

levy gambling companies to 'fund research', rather than actually do anything about the international humiliation that is this country's ultra-lax gambling laws and gambling addiction epidemic

rewrite wedding laws, though not necessarily marriage laws

#196 #amy724 #ukpol #uk politics

4 notes · View notes

influencermagazineuk · 9 months ago

Text

February 2024: A Recap of Key Events in the UK

February 2024 was a dynamic month for the United Kingdom, witnessing significant developments across various sectors. From political discussions and economic updates to societal shifts and cultural moments, here's a comprehensive overview of the key events that shaped the UK landscape during this period: Politics: - Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs): Every Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) on pressing issues, keeping the public informed about government actions and generating lively debates on topics ranging from the cost of living crisis to foreign policy. - Rochdale by-election (February 29th): This by-election, triggered by the death of Labour MP Tony Lloyd, became a test of public sentiment towards the government's handling of various challenges. The outcome will be revealed in early March and might provide insights into the public's mood ahead of potential future elections. - Home Office crackdown on illegal working: The government announced increased fines for employers caught employing undocumented workers, aiming to deter illegal practices and protect the rights of legal workers. This decision sparked discussions about immigration policies and the complexities of managing a dynamic workforce. Economy: - Cost of living crisis: The rising cost of food, energy bills, and transportation remained a pressing concern for many citizens. The government announced various measures to provide financial support to vulnerable households, while discussions continued regarding long-term solutions to tackle inflation and ensure economic stability. - Chancellor's budget speech (March 6th): Scheduled for early March, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's budget speech will be closely watched as it outlines the government's economic plan for the coming year. This will indicate the government's approach to various challenges, including tax measures, public spending, and infrastructure investments. - Strike action: Several industries, including nurses, teachers, and railway workers, considered or took strike action to demand better working conditions and salary increases in response to the rising cost of living. These actions highlighted the pressure faced by various sectors and the need for addressing their concerns. Society and Culture: - Dark Skies Festival: Yorkshire, Cumbria, and other regions hosted the annual Dark Skies Festival, offering opportunities for stargazing, exploring celestial phenomena, and appreciating the beauty of light-pollution-free skies. This event highlighted the UK's commitment to preserving natural environments and fostering public interest in astronomy. - Brit Awards (March 2nd): This prestigious music awards ceremony, scheduled for early March, celebrates the achievements of British and international artists in the music industry. This event attracts attention not only for the awards themselves but also for the performances and collaborations it features. - Changes to TV licenses: The cost of a TV license is set to increase, potentially impacting many households. This change sparked discussions about the accessibility of media and the evolving landscape of content consumption in the digital age. Looking Ahead: While February brought its own set of challenges and milestones, the UK marches onward. March 2024 promises the Brit Awards, the Chancellor's budget speech, and the outcome of the Rochdale by-election, all set to shape the national conversation and offer further insights into the UK's trajectory. As the year unfolds, the UK can expect to grapple with ongoing issues while also embracing new opportunities and witnessing significant developments across various sectors. Read the full article

2 notes · View notes

darkmaga-returns · 15 days ago

Text

Labour’s first budget in over a decade has been announced.

Here’s a couple of key points:

• All government departments will have to reduce their budgets by 2% next year. This will be achieved by "using technology more effectively and joining up services across government".

A 2% cut in costs by using technology – no doubt spending 5% extra to get it!

• The OBR expects public sector net borrowing to be £105.6bn in 2025-26, £88.5bn in 2026-27, £72.2bn in 2027-28, £71.9bn in 2028-29 and £70.6bn in 2029-30.

Keep an eye on those numbers (a quarter trillion of borrowing in the next three years – 400 billion over 5 years) and compare it with this little nugget:

• Public finances will be in surplus, rather than in deficit, by the 2027-2028 financial year. The government claims this means reaching stability two years earlier than planned.

Wtf??? How is a borrowing of 70 billion pounds in 2027/28 consistent with a fiscal surplus????

My guesstimate is that the UK will be seeing deficits of a 100 billion a year by then.

Notice there is no direct accounting of the costs of putting up illegal immigrants in hotels the length and breadth of the country? I hazard a guess ay a million of these “welfare migrants” who are in private accommodation. Hotels that would usually be maybe 60% full of paying customers, this time of year, are now devoid of those and have been replaced by 100% occupancy with taxpayer funded welfare migrants.

2 notes · View notes

beardedmrbean · 11 months ago

Text

Belgium’s already substantial budget deficit is set to continue widening and will likely exceed 5% of GDP by 2026, the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) warns in its autumn forecast.

To reverse the trend, the country needs to save €2 billion annually – a total of €10 billion – over the next five years – NBB Governor Pierre Wunsch stressed.

Although the real interest rate on Belgium’s debt remains low, the primary deficit remains high, he noted.

Only Slovakia's budget outlook seems worse

The public debt ratio is projected to be much the same as in 2023, at 105.2% of GDP in 2024, while primary public spending heads towards stabilisation at 53% of GDP.

With this budgetary outlook, Belgium ranks second from the last in the European Union, better only than Slovakia.