Everything is going up except our income.

I don't think that's fair at all. Some people have low income or earnings. It would be unfair to me to see their taxes rise further. I do believe income tax is more fair (on earnings).

I thought that CT was worked out across the Borough and not by individual towns Yorkshiregel ? It certainly is where I live.

Or do you mean tax in general?

I think Scottish and welsh butter was £1.30 a pack in M&S last time I looked and it is good but I prefer Le President salted which has now gone up to £1.75 a pack in Sainsbugs.

Our council tax is collected by the borough council. I resent the fact that people in our little town pay more tax per month than those in the big town of the borough council, which is trying to take credit for and pretend that things in our town belong to them. My tax is going towards a huge building complex for this big town and hardly anything is spent in our town. We have lost our police station, our fire station, our one hotel, and our refuse collection depot. They on the other hand are building ten screen cinemas, a bowling ally, a central police station/ambulance station/fire station. We nearly lost our library too which would have gone the same way except that people in our town were up in arms and we managed to fight them off. We are used as their cash cow.

You are so wrong though Norah. A fair tax should be where we all (rich and poor) pay according to how much we have. How can it be fair that someone living in (and earning enough to live in)a million pound house in Kensington pays less in CT than someone living in a £150,000 house in say Newcastle?

That's like a cleaner on minimum wage paying more income tax than Mr Amazon.... Oooops my mistake they probably do!

Supermarkets, and petrol stations, will use any excuse to put their prices up. Just greed imo. My son had a part time job, while he was looking for a proper job, at a food warehouse. They delivered tins of food etc to the supermarkets and he said that 'own brands' are the same brand which ever shop you go to. All they do is have a different label put on them. For everyday ordinary things like tins of beans, toilet rolls, kitchen towels, washing powder and conditioner, tea or coffee, milk and bread try using b & m, so much cheaper.

Precisely Rigby46 income tax is fair, the council tax scheme can be unfair (property rich and cash poor). However, comparing one boroughs council taxes to another is off, the costs are higher if one chooses to live in some area. That's the whole point.

My DD works in a very well known coffee shop. Moondollars.

Her store manager has been on maternity leave for almost a year now and my DD is doing her job. My DD however is (only) a shift manager and has not been paid a penny more for doing the store managers job which carries a huge amount of extra responsibility.

It makes me mad.

My DD2 works in the office of a local independent department store. An interesting job definitely not bottom of the heap, but minimum wage along with everyone else there who's not got manager in their job title. She tells me she'll be getting a £25 pm pay rise. A couple of years and she'll catch up with the lower managers who've not had a rise for years. Watch this space!

Yes I have to agree Rigby46.

Fair to me means those with the most should help those with the least. and not begrudge it Norah

Whether council tax is fair or not depends on how 'fair' is defined. I think the 'fairest' taxes are related to income ie progressive.

Lego and Lurpak what's not to like?

I love M&S Food, not expensive in my view, fruit & veg keep better than any other Supermarket. Some items are expensive but if you pick & choose, especially offers. Even DD pops in sometimes, DGS loves their grapes.

Lurpak is the only butter/spreadable I will buy (slightly salted), nothing else has the same taste. The other week DD, her OH & DGS came to me mid-morning, she brought her own bread to make toast as "Nanny always has Lurpak"

I am a Retired Civil Servant (Early Retirement at 50) with a small pension, I rely on Benefits, if Pension rises then Benefit falls, so no gain there. I have not had a rise in my Pension for at least 3 years due to low inflation rate, my Pension rises at the same rate as Civil Service Salaries. Although I a only 61 I cannot work due to health issues.

My Council Tax has increased but due to Discount (single occupancy) & low income I do not pay anything. Electricity will go up from April, haven't heard about Gas yet. Less disposable income I only have a small LIDL, no ALDI near me although there is ASDA, Tesco & Sainsbury. I do shop around but will not waste fuel to do so.

My DH used to work quite a lot in Denmark GillT57. He said the people were lovely and always seemed very happy. I am really into Hygge so would probably love to live in Denmark.

I used to do almost all my late grans shopping in M&S harri cakes,scones,dinners,more cakes, more scones,biscuits.... Choosing her food felt like I was enjoying them without getting fat. I agree that the quality does not justify the price though. I very rarely shop there for myself as our local M&S closed down.

GillT57 I'm not so sure I caught myself out. Denmark is where Lurpak is made and does have very taxes. I wouldn't want to live there, I wouldn't be at all satisfied - no matter their satisfaction rate. The social clime there is dodgey, imo. I must not agree with you either.

We don't shop in M&S for food, we found the price too high for the quality. We started buying fresh meat in Aldi and found the quality exceptional. I used to buy meals for GC in M&S and they wouldn't eat them, when I tasted them I found they had way too much pepper and strong herbs for youngsters.
We are so disenchanted with M&S that we returned our cards.

granh1, UK pays £13billion into EU each year and only receives £4 billion back so UK will be better off eventually even if we do pay billions to leave. Countries like Luxembourg get a lot more back than they pay in.

Ps my sis had a weekend job in M&S in the '60s to pay her way through university. Staff had the pick of returned clothes with minor flaws at low low prices .... my mother looked very smart! I shopped in Chelsea Girl and Biba!!!

Yes Gillybob ..... A first for me in M&S. I was sooooo excited! but not as brave as some who were actually checking the dates on some foods and asking the chap to reduce them. He obliged! Perhaps I could turn late nights at M&S into a new hobby.

I adore the cranberry loaf .... Very expensive and so good that I can polish off the entire loaf in a day! My secret passion. Who needs men .......

Yes, I believe that the Brexit is being used as an excuse (note I do not use the word 'reason') to jack up prices - but if it wasn't that it would be something else.

I do VERY much resent that a sizeable wodge of my Council Tax is devoted to paying for a Police & Crime Commissioner that I deem unwanted and (so far) pretty useless. In Lancashire, where I live, it appears that the turnout to vote for the candidates for this surplus post ran at just 14%......

But, I digress. Now that inflation is running somewhat above the Bank of England's desired 2% and there are rumours that the bank will be forced to start hiking up the interest rate from it's historic long-time low than that will be yet another perfect excuse for further increase in prices.

Increase in wages and pensions? Sorry, we have to go to the back of the queue behind all the greedy profiteers whilst they submerge their snouts in the trough - again and again!

The problem is though that in some areas/jobs the wages do not go up accordingly NfkDumpling.

Brexit is going to cost billions - what a pity that money wasn't invested in social care etc. instead of following a Brekit dream based on very little facts, but gut feeling, which was manipulated by the far right politicians and newspapers. I'm afraid we have got what was voted for, no use complaining when the reality hits home - It will be too late!

With the cost of food, it seems to go up in jerks. Always has. There'll be a shortage of something so the price will rise and over a short period the rest of the shopping basket will follow. Eventually wages will catch up as the overall price never seems to drop.

The plummeting pound caused partly by Brexit is the cause for the price rises. A small not for profit organisation I belong to had to by three m=new laptops recently and they went up £100 in the few weeks it took to get them.