The Politics Thread.

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54% is disgraceful 

From my understanding TBS you are spot on. We are in the Carms., CC catchment for council tax & added to the overall majority amount which is set for the property band ( which is for everyone throughout the county) is added specific much smaller amounts for local councils - mine being the LLanybydder parish I think. That is the amount of £50+ being added per annum for the Llanelli T.C. 

Most county councils in Wales are going to raise council taxes by 5% to pay for the ever increasing social care budget. We all need to understand that if we want big ticket improvements in health & social services we have to pay. Your point with regards to overall tax levels within the UK compared to other European countries which amounts to £150 billion per year is spot on & should be the stated aim of the next government.

Both TBS and GPR are spot on.

Our society is creaking at the seams.

I have said before on a previous post ,I would give the public the OPTION, through a ballot,

whether to pay a fixed levy for frontline NHS care, based on they can afford to pay

Ringfenced for that purpose ONLY.

It tough times economically, ATM , when some cannot afford to heat homes.

The last thing I would do , is force an unwelcome tax on people , whichever it happens.

If however ,you have been ,like myself, in an ambulance, for hours , and hours outside a manic A& E,

when your dearest and dearest (In this my wife). was critically ill, maybe the public will think hard.

We cannot go on like this as GPR has eloquently put it, and we have to make hard choices.

I remember the utter desperation and sheer helplessness I felt at the time.

Not something I wish for anyone, but so many have "been to this place", like me. 

Of course its a consequence of policy. We can all argue the rights & wrongs of the B word ( I am mindful that there are those among us who are fighting their own B battle at the moment so using the full word seems disrespectful) but I don't think any of us could argue that since that decision the policy & governance in the GB has been of the worst kind certainly in my living memory. 

I fully understand that tax is a dirty word - direct or indirect - but thoughtfully done making those with the broadest shoulders carry the biggest burden whilst others still contribute is the only way for us fix the wrongs in our society. Labour will never have a better chance to prove to the electorate that tax can be the correct policy thoughtfully conceived and carefully spent. 

When it comes to the B- word, it may surprise you to know that I was on the fence for a long time. There was this narrative on the Left that Corbyn became symbolic of, but stretched back to Benn and others, that the EU had become a largely neo-liberal structure and that our membership prevented the UK from pursuing socialist policies such as nationalisation of industries etc. I've a degree of sympathy with the point of view insofar as there's a cogent rationale even if I'm not 100% on board with the premise. Then there were the arguments about the (un)democratic nature of the commission. Again, there was fair criticism but once more, I couldn't get on board with the premise. I never agreed with the economic arguments but what did it for me was the exceptionalism, a sort of hangover of a different era - Britannia rules the waves jingoism. I accept that wasn't everyone's take but here's where I got swayed to vote remain. I looked at Farage and Rees-Mogg, Gove and Johnson, Redwood et al. I looked at their arguments and I came to the conclusion that they were a mix of British nationalism and self-interest. I'd trust that mob about as far as I can throw them and since they were championing leaving the EU I figured they had some hopeless mal-intent behind it.

For me, Brexit is tied up with the Tories almost entirely. It was a consequence of their internal strife and it was their people who were the big drivers behind it. That their governance of the UK is wholly inept is very much linked. It's about their vision for Britain and I can sum it up like this ... One singular British Nation, English in character, low tax, small state and a place to make a handsome profit. I just find it an anathema wrt my own values. In their attempts to impose this vision of theirs (via a minority vote it should be noted) they've inflicted the worst of their characters on us and given us corruption, poverty and dysfunction. 

I hope that explains why I dislike Brexit. I never believed that there was a viable alternative constitutional and economic offering on the table. You've often made the point that one is perfectly possible and to an extent I agree. It's just that it was never really on the cards and I was suspicious about what was. I think the shower at Westminster have proven my suspicions to be right. But there we are, it's a personal judgement in the end.

That is what a lot of more "progressive" folk in Labour are saying. "Just wait till we're in government, all will be well". I guess I'm just frustrated. I want Britain to get on with the job of fixing/replacing all the broken and dysfunctional components of the State. I guess at the end of the day we all want better government. We'll talk more about this soon SP