UK General Election July 4th 2024 - Trading ONLY thread

[Archery1969]

Don’t shoot the messenger…..

Labour's tax and spending commitments 'trivial' - IFS
The tax rises and spending commitments promised by Labour are "trivial" and do "almost nothing" to address the "deep-seated problems" diagnosed by Labour, says the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Paul Johnson, IFS director, says: "On current forecasts, and especially with an extra £17.5bn borrowing over five years to fund the green prosperity plan, this leaves literally no room – within the fiscal rule that Labour has signed up to – for any more spending than planned by the current government.

"And those plans do involve cuts both to investment spending and to spending on unprotected public services. Yet Sir Keir Starmer effectively ruled out such cuts."

[Derek27]

Don’t shoot the messenger…..

Labour's tax and spending commitments 'trivial' - IFS
The tax rises and spending commitments promised by Labour are "trivial" and do "almost nothing" to address the "deep-seated problems" diagnosed by Labour, says the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Paul Johnson, IFS director, says: "On current forecasts, and especially with an extra £17.5bn borrowing over five years to fund the green prosperity plan, this leaves literally no room – within the fiscal rule that Labour has signed up to – for any more spending than planned by the current government.

"And those plans do involve cuts both to investment spending and to spending on unprotected public services. Yet Sir Keir Starmer effectively ruled out such cuts."

He should have just been up front and said he's gonna increase taxes. I reckon the majority of people would be happier paying it than another five years of the Tory circus.

[greenmark]

Don’t shoot the messenger…..

Labour's tax and spending commitments 'trivial' - IFS
The tax rises and spending commitments promised by Labour are "trivial" and do "almost nothing" to address the "deep-seated problems" diagnosed by Labour, says the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Paul Johnson, IFS director, says: "On current forecasts, and especially with an extra £17.5bn borrowing over five years to fund the green prosperity plan, this leaves literally no room – within the fiscal rule that Labour has signed up to – for any more spending than planned by the current government.

"And those plans do involve cuts both to investment spending and to spending on unprotected public services. Yet Sir Keir Starmer effectively ruled out such cuts."

I saw that too. It's a great big mess. If Labour win the hard work begins. As I've said this country has become the epitome of Lions led by donkeys.
If you really want to depress yourself read/watch this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7227ve4e9yo

[Archery1969]

Current UK debt is £2,448.3 billion

Yes, read that again, Jesus Christ.



I wonder if Labour will do what Gordon Brown did and sell off more BOE gold reserves. He was supposed to put back what he sold last time but forgot or financially couldn’t.

Scary times ahead for UK citizens. Hopefully no more pandemics or wars….

[jamesedwards]

It's funny how tax loopholes can only be closed approaching an election. Nothing can be done the rest of the time!

Tax loopholes can be closed whenever a government decides too.

The problem is the moment someone says we going to do xyz. Accounts are busy finding new loopholes and are better paid than working for HMRC.

PWC employ 1 person on a stupid salary to make sure the sultan of Brunei pays the absolute minimum of tax in over 70 financial jurisdictions. Each time one or more of those try to shutdown loopholes the person at PWC finds legal ways around the issues.

If the government were serious then they would employ a team earning £1 million each to write proper tax laws that had no loopholes. Might cost them £50 million but would potentially claw back £billions for the UK tax payer and Treasury every year.

You also need to be very careful you don't push net contributors out of the economy altogether.

The top 1% of earners already contribute 29% of total tax receipts, and the top 10% contribute 60%, so without them we are screwed. You have to be very careful when meddling with taxes for high earners.

[Archery1969]

It's funny how tax loopholes can only be closed approaching an election. Nothing can be done the rest of the time!

Tax loopholes can be closed whenever a government decides too.

The problem is the moment someone says we going to do xyz. Accounts are busy finding new loopholes and are better paid than working for HMRC.

PWC employ 1 person on a stupid salary to make sure the sultan of Brunei pays the absolute minimum of tax in over 70 financial jurisdictions. Each time one or more of those try to shutdown loopholes the person at PWC finds legal ways around the issues.

If the government were serious then they would employ a team earning £1 million each to write proper tax laws that had no loopholes. Might cost them £50 million but would potentially claw back £billions for the UK tax payer and Treasury every year.

You also need to be very careful you don't push net contributors out of the economy altogether.

The top 1% of earners already contribute 29% of total tax receipts, and the top 10% contribute 60%, so without them we are screwed. You have to be very careful when meddling with taxes for high earners.

Yeah, agreed, something Labour cocked up in the 1970s big time.

[Derek27]

YouGov: Reform UK have gone above Conservative at 19/18%.

[jamesedwards]

YouGov: Reform UK have gone above Conservative at 19/18%.

Surprised you're happy about this. I never put you down as a Farage supporter. Learn something new every day.

Must be the first time for a while that the combined Tory/Reform vote has out-polled Labour?

[Derek27]

YouGov: Reform UK have gone above Conservative at 19/18%.

Surprised you're happy about this. I never put you down as a Farage supporter. Learn something new every day.

Must be the first time for a while that the combined Tory/Reform vote has out-polled Labour?

Your enemy's enemy is your friend.

[Archery1969]

Is it just me or does anyone else think Penny and Angela keep looking at each other like something is going on ?

You need to stop watching all that lesbian porn, mate

[jamesedwards]

I reckon it was Sunak, who gave his aid £100 to place a bet on him calling an election.

Really?

Didn't he lose £1K to Piers Morgan in a bet? He needed to recover the money.

Surely then he would have put £200 on? I don't think Sunak paid out in the end because one asylum seeker had been flown out.

[Derek27]

Tories boosting the moral of their voters by telling them if they come out and vote, it can prevent a major humiliation.

[LeTiss]

Tories boosting the moral of their voters by telling them if they come out and vote, it can prevent a major humiliation.

They are well within their rights to do that though, Derek.

I suspect turnout will be poor, very poor. I remember 1997.....there was a genuine air of confidence and excitement at Blair defeating Major. I don't get that at all this time. I think people see Starmer as being slightly more palatable than Sunak, but there's no enthusiasm for him, like Blair.

The thought of a massive majority for any party is not good for democracy at all, so the Tories are justified in saying 'we're probably going to lose, but if you want to stop a seriously madcap lefty government from having too much power, then get off your arses and vote Conservative'

[Euler]

[The thought of a massive majority for any party is not good for democracy at all,

I agree. You never know what will happen if a party has carte blanch to introduce what it likes. Once in power the core ideology will come to the fore and you could end up anywhere.

[Euler]

Probably a bit of a synthentic arb going on with the Conservative / Reform numbers and related markets.