Briggsy Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Budget is coming up soon so we shall see what the government has planned then. Be interesting to see if they scrap the top rate of income tax. If they've got any sense, they'll do something about fuel too because that is one of the biggest problems at the moment - the knock-on effect its having on food, and even industry is really hitting everyone in the pocket. During the TV debates last year, Cameron promised that one of the first things he'd do if he came into power is abolish the current policy of taking a percentage of the fuel costs and replace it with a fixed 'pence per litre' tax instead - which is a much fairer way of doing it. He's now in power - and that hasn't happened. I'm not sure whether its because he's been held back from doing so by the Lib Dems - or whether it was just one of those "i'll say what the public want to hear to get me some votes" talks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kml Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I think they will freeze the fuel duty rise but I can't see a fixed price being implemented by this government. They should scrap the VAT on all fuels. I imagine Corporation tax will be reduced and the 50% tax band will go. Can't see there being much help for low income families. Public sector pay and pensions will take a hit. Hoping they don't slaughter child and working tax credits. It would be nice if they set a price of 60-70 pence per unit of alcohol for supermarkets and off-licenses. This should bring in much needed tax revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I bet the price of petrol doesn't go down though, and I doubt the Lib Dems have held them back on anything either. But yeah let's see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kml Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I bet the price of petrol doesn't go down though, and I doubt the Lib Dems have held them back on anything either. But yeah let's see. As each day passed the Lib Dems become weaker. The Conservative strategy is to ensure this happens. Then the Lib Dems will take a hammering in the next election and the Conservatives will hope to have an overall majority to form a Conservative Government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I bet the price of petrol doesn't go down though, and I doubt the Lib Dems have held them back on anything either. But yeah let's see. The Lib-Dems have done some restricting so far though - it was them that wanted our defence submarines scraping (the Tories felt we needed them) - and they've been scrapped. The Lib-Dems have also blocked the Tories proposed foreigner cap. As KML said though, the Lib-Dems are getting a hammering, the Tories are going to lower morale amongst the public for the 'cut-throat' way they're handling making cuts - particularly NHS workers, the Police, Defence, etc, so people aren;t going to rush to vote for them next time around - and a lot of people have seen the damage that Labour have caused, so I think the only positive thing out of the current government situation is that at the next general election, I think all three "major" parties could suffer badly - and one or two of the smaller parties could gain votes and 'break-through' - maining we'll have 4 or 5 main parties rather than the 3. I think this is what we need in order to put the pressure on the other parties to perform. The Tories and Labour keeping swapping stints in power - and they're both useless. It'd be nice to finally see an end to that with smaller parties becoming bigger and putting pressure on - and hopefully getting into power one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simcut Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) The government should drive the Police to increase the charges on fines for drunk & disorderly behaviour, speeding, using a mobile whilst driving, robberies, burglaries, drug use, things like that. The extra money from these fines goes towards clearing our country's deficit. Drunk & disorderly behaviour seems to be getting more and more frequent, I bet a fortune can be made over a period of time. Edited March 17, 2011 by Simcut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Kane Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I don't think we will ever get a legitimate fourth party & to be honest the Lib Dems are f***** whatever they do at the moment. They deserve it though - they have sold out on so many policies which they classed as non-negotiable. The BMA (British Medical Assoc) has given the government both barrells over the NHS reforms - but it's too late. So many people have been laid off, taken voluntary redunancy or simply left the NHS now that it's practically f*****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 The government should drive the Police to increase the charges on fines for drunk & disorderly behaviour, speeding, using a mobile whilst driving, robberies, burglaries, drug use, things like that. The extra money from these fines goes towards clearing our country's deficit. Drunk & disorderly behaviour seems to be getting more and more frequent I agree. The 'punishment' for driving without insurance, an 'incorrect license' (which usually means its a provisional license), no MOT and no Tax is pathetic - they usually get a £150 fine and a ban from driving (the ban from driving is pointless because they didn't have a license to start with and that never stopped them from driving!). Its wrong when people are paying £500+ to drive legally, whilst some muppet that drives illegally gets a £200 fine. How is that a deterrant? The fine should be in excess of what it would cost to drive legally, PLUS additional fines on top of that. I'd also ditch those pointless community support officers. They're next to useless! I think Moonman once said on here - for what it costs to pay 3 community support officers (with no arresting powers), they could employ one 'proper' copper instead - one that can actually do something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 to be honest the Lib Dems are f***** whatever they do at the moment. I think they all are to be honest. The Lib-Dems made themselves look a bit silly even before they joined up with the Tories because some of their policies were just not do-able. They were just saying what the public wanted to hear knowing full well they'd never get into power. As for the Tories - well, its hard to tell if they're being 'the same old Tories' - or whether they're having to be so severe because Labours mess was so bad. I don't think we'll ever get to see "the real Cameron" because he'll probably never get to do the things he wants to do as PM because it will take years before the money is back into the country to do it - by which time, I suspect people will have got sick of the cuts they're having to make and vote them out before they have money to play with. And Labour f***** up big time and I don't think people will forget that any time soon. Milliband has made very little impact either since he took over leadership - he's almost non-existant. I can't think of one single speech that hes done that makes me think hes got what it takes. The problem with the voting in this country is that people vote for particular parties whatever the circumstances - they're loyal to one party as if they're a football team. I've never leaned towards any particular party - I vote for who I think is right at the time. I've voted Labour in the past because I felt they were right at the time, I voted for the Tories last time because I felt we needed change - and next time, i'll vote for who I think is right then - if its Labour, i'll give them my vote. If its the Tories, they'll get my vote. I can't see how people can remain loyal to one party - surely its about doing whats best for your circumstances at the time you vote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Kane Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I voted for The Green Party last time (purely because they would benefit me the most) and then proceeded to buy a 'gas guzzler' of a car two days later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I voted for The Green Party last time (purely because they would benefit me the most) and then proceeded to buy a 'gas guzzler' of a car two days later haha I bet they all drive around in BWMs and Jags themselves anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I agree with Briggsy about voting for who seems right at the time. I also voted Tory at the last election cos I also felt that Labour had got the country into a real financial mess. I think we definitely need to try and reduce the massive debt we are in and to do that it's gonna be tough, there is no easy way. I know things are likely to get worse for a good few years but I guess we just got to live with it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 You obviously earn more than I do tho. Coz I am really struggling atm just to get by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 You obviously earn more than I do tho. Coz I am really struggling atm just to get by. We all are - but we can't change it. Its a case of gritting our teeth and getting on with it. All thanks to Blair and Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Yeah the situation has affected everybody but I guess circumstances are different for everybody. I don't earn a big salary at all but I still live at home with my Mum so I can afford to live perhaps more easily. It is all relative to the circumstances. I could certainly not afford to buy my own place yet or support a family so I sympathise with those who do have those pressures. On the flip side though I don't have any of those things and the future doesn't look bright for getting on the property ladder or starting a family etc. I'm 26 and still living at home, not great in some ways but then again sometimes I do feel like I'd have far more to worry about by now if I had moved out on my own a few years ago for example. The picture doesn't look bright for any of us but as Briggsy says what can we do but grit our teeth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I'm only working part-time now, so i'm seriously struggling each month - but i've had to accept that this is how its going to be and theres bugger all that can be done about it. I'm thinking positive and hoping that once Labours mess has been mopped up by the current government, the severity of everything thats happened at the moment will start to reduce and the government will start to ease off on their taxing, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Mental Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 It would be nice if they set a price of 60-70 pence per unit of alcohol for supermarkets and off-licenses. This should bring in much needed tax revenue. I disagree with this wholeheartedly lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Budget was absolute cock-shit then?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Kane Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Budget was absolute cock-shit then?! I quite liked the budget actually. Could have used some VAT coming off of petrol but the corporation tax levy being lowered was a good move and of course the freeze in alcohol duty was welcome (purely selfish here). Glad that 2% is going on, additional to inflation, on tobacco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simcut Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Budget was absolute cock-shit then?! What were you expecting exactly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Considering the mess the country is in, i'd say it was a really good budget actually. I was expecting to have my wallet raped for the next year - but it was nice to see that, despite all the money problems, we were being given a little extra in our pockets (only a little - but it was better than Labours constant taking away of our money). Fuel could have easily come down by 5p per litre at least - but at least it was a step in the right direction by reducing it (again, as opposed to Labours constant increase in fuel). I can't really see how Milliband had the audacity to stand there saying more should be done on fuel because "it was grinding the country to a halt" - when his party constantly put fuel prices up at every opportunity. Twat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I think there should have been more duty on alcohol a better drop in the tax on fuel. Just for starters.. What extra in your pocket? There's no extra in my pockets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I think there should have been more duty on alcohol a better drop in the tax on fuel. Just for starters.. What extra in your pocket? There's no extra in my pockets? We were given a bit of extra tax relief giving us an extra £45 or so a year extra in our pockets. Its only £45 quid - but if Labour had bene in power, they probably would have taken £45 off us instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Oh yeah, well that 87p a week will come in handy now I'm already having to spend an extra £30 on food an extra £15 on petrol not to mention the water, sewerage, gas, electric and rent per week, I can add that 87p to my £1.00 per week wage rise and be much better off eh NOT That's just a piece of bullshit to say 'it's not all bad' But actually IT pretty much IS all bad from where I'm sitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Oh yeah, well that 87p a week will come in handy now I'm already having to spend an extra £30 on food an extra £15 on petrol not to mention the water, sewerage, gas, electric and rent per week, I can add that 87p to my £1.00 per week wage rise and be much better off eh NOT That's just a piece of bullshit to say 'it's not all bad' But actually IT pretty much IS all bad from where I'm sitting. We're all in the same boat - you're not the only one. The thing is, the Labour government, that you thought we were better off with, did this - its them that put fuel up, which then had a knock-on effect on food prices. It was also them that sold off our gas and electricity companies that then put our prices up. So yeah, this government did well in the budget really considering Labour really dropped us all in the shit. Sure the current government aren't going about these job cuts, etc the right way - but at least they're trying to be fair in other areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts