Election Promises

“Hedge funder” don’t know how well paid being a “hedge finder” would be

ronib

keepingquiet Private schools have a budget for bursaries which I guess might be depleted to help with paying 20 percent VAT payments. Sad decisions. Sad government. No vision.

Bursaries, although on the surface seem great, the fact is if much lower paid families manage to get one on the basis of having a very bright child, on the whole said child would be most uncomfortable, especially at Secondary Level, being in a school without any peers, not having all the advantages afforded to the majority of pupils and can end up feeling “subservient” and in some cases bullied (yes, I do have some personal insight into this)

Education should be about improving EVERYONE’s life chances whether their father is a hedge finder, a judge or a milkman!

Education shouldn’t be just about “climbing the social ladder”, it’s about learning acceptance and tolerance, team building, sporting and academic achievement, building confidence and aspiration. Being the very best you can, not comparing incomes, not who’s going ski-ing this year, or to Cannes or the Caribbean.

Want to opt out and educate your children privately, be my guest, but be prepared to pay VAT, it’s a business, not a charity, however much one wants to pretend it is!

LizzieDrip nope wrong again. My horror is reserved for the self entitled very wealthy left wing who take up State school places and push for Oxbridge.
My horror is reserved for anyone who wants to do the very best for their own children but will find it even more difficult now- thanks to the political posturing of Starmer. So much for freedom- you can whistle for that.

I think what Ronib may be conveying is her disdain for Left Wing / working class people having high aspirations.

How very dare they😱 Get back in yer box working class folk and doff yer cap to the elite. Remember yer place in society … and it’s not the highest performing state schools or Oxbridge🤷‍♀️

keepingquiet

I really don't think many people understand what a dire situation this country is in, that they thought any new government could come in with a magic wand and make everything better?

Labour told people time and time again that their job was not going to be easy, in fact it would be very difficult to get the country back on its feet. They were lambasted then for not having clear policies. They can't win.

We still have the impact of austerity ( massive cuts to public services) Brexit (lack of investment and trade) Covid (the delays in the NHS) and wars in Ukraine and Middle-east to which we are committed.

What did people really expect?

As for private education- don't get me started. Why shouldn't every child in this country have a good education? When people are struggling to pay bills and put food on the table, there are those who think they could also pay school fees?

I live in a nation of mad people.

Education for all, at the same level, in schools which suit each pupil the best (I have no issues with grammar schools and wish that they were available in countrywide still), should be a basic right for all children in this country. Every single child should be given the same opportunities irrespective of their parents incomes and “standings”.

Every child should be taught to achieve their own potential and be able to access the tools to do so.

If you choose to opt out and pay for your child’s education, then be prepared to pay the VAT. Independent schools are not charities, should not be treated as such, and not given tax breaks. They are businesses.

ronib

keepingquiet yes the social ladder has well and truly been pulled. You approve and I don’t.
I am surprised if you hadn’t figured out the connection between social mobility and educational achievement. The left wing will do anything to get to the highest performing State schools and then on to Oxford or Cambridge. Without paying a penny in school fees. So righteous.

What’s the problem here????

SillyNanny321

There are some things I agree with & some I do not but my main grievance is a selfish one! Being almost 80, disabled & a obviously a pensioner the WFA was going to help me with my fuel bills! I do receive Pension Credit but have been told that because I receive DLA I will not get the WFA. How true this is I have no idea but if true will be a struggle even with getting DLA which really helps with my disability needs! Come on Labour bit more thinking before deciding on another penalty for pensioners & disabled people please?

DLA (or attendance allowance as it’s now called for those over pension age) is a non means tested benefit and my understanding is that provided you still qualify for PC, you WILL receive WFA.

Maybee70

“At least the Conservatives weren't taking away people's freedoms, banning smoking, shutting pubs early.”

Sorry, Tories weren’t going to ban smoking in certain places, their supposed legislation was going to out a stop to smoking permanently (eventually)

keepingquiet yes the social ladder has well and truly been pulled. You approve and I don’t.
I am surprised if you hadn’t figured out the connection between social mobility and educational achievement. The left wing will do anything to get to the highest performing State schools and then on to Oxford or Cambridge. Without paying a penny in school fees. So righteous.

Not selfish at all: all my reading says its not going to be affected, (its partly relevant to me)
as the basis for WFA is your getting Pension Credit,

and DLA/PIP has always been "in addition too" any other income but please do check officially - maybe Age UK will help you?

There are some things I agree with & some I do not but my main grievance is a selfish one! Being almost 80, disabled & a obviously a pensioner the WFA was going to help me with my fuel bills! I do receive Pension Credit but have been told that because I receive DLA I will not get the WFA. How true this is I have no idea but if true will be a struggle even with getting DLA which really helps with my disability needs! Come on Labour bit more thinking before deciding on another penalty for pensioners & disabled people please?

ronib

keepingquiet Private schools have a budget for bursaries which I guess might be depleted to help with paying 20 percent VAT payments. Sad decisions. Sad government. No vision.

Mmm... how very generous of them. I have looked back on your statement about social mobility which just goes to show private education isn't about education at all but climbing the social ladder.

Lord David Blunkett in Metro said he regretted bringing in IPP orders. He says, he took advice from experts about the sentences which only let prisoners leave if a parole board agreed no threat to the community. Apparently 1,000s have been jailed for indefinite periods for crimes such as stealing mobile phones. IPP was abolished in 2012. But 2800 people remain in prison. WHY?

Oh but it does.
Manned crisis centres for domestic violence victims.
Free breakfast clubs.
Rioters stopped in their tracks.
Pay rises for the nhs workers, who appreciate it much more than people outside clapping them every Thursday.

There is lots changing.

Nothing changes especially with Labour...

keepingquiet Private schools have a budget for bursaries which I guess might be depleted to help with paying 20 percent VAT payments. Sad decisions. Sad government. No vision.

I won't repost what cossy and pomegranatejuice have said to avoid long quotes, but they do reflect my thinking.

To begin slightly off topic: I had a walk round local Botanical Gardens this morning, and I could see how much less they are being looked after than a few years ago. The council doesn't have the means. I thought of the money having to go into care, how very many people are affected by the state things are, in in a myriad of ways.
I thought about Blame. Things were very difficult earlier this year. Strikes, hospitals, food banks, what we all know.

Yet we face a barrage of blame against a government who not only have only been in power 12 weeks, but dared to tell it like it is at the election and subsequently.

Yes, I agree with others about the levels set on WFA

*but what is missing in the press and on here to some extent is opposition that doesn't just seek to blame but actually puts forward opposition voices putting forward alternatives to what the Labour government have done.

Where are these alternative policies? what are they? Or is a full on negative blame culture the only option for the right?

Well you clearly don’t remember the Assisted Places Scheme? Abolished by? Tony Blair? I think there’s an ideological war going on against private schools and I can’t see how it benefits the young of this country. But that’s just my opinion…

ronib

keepingquiet you have missed the point on education. Under Labour only the very rich are allowed private education. There has been a steady decline in upward social mobility here for some time. It looks to continue. Why?

I don't think I missed the point at all. The very rich are not the real issue here, they will always sort themselves out even if there are many more very rich in this country than there was even ten years ago. The private welath in this country is being held among the very rich, whilst the very poor shoulder the main burden of taxation.
I wonder why there has been such a decrease in social mobility?
I thought you may be able to answer that question yourself- it is due to austerity, education cuts and cuts in family support services.
I don't agree that it looks as if it will continue.
Private education only provides mobility for those that can access it, what about those that can't? They are stuck at the bottom where those that have some money to pay for education think that's where they belong.

Mollygo

Oreo

foxie48 that’s all very lovely for you and other well off pensioners but I can assure you there are very many pensioners out there that missing the WFA will affect badly.

Yes, but not worrying about that’s the sign of a true LP member, starting with Starmer.

"I'm waiting to see what's in the budget and tbh if we end up paying more in taxation, that's OK as like many older people, we're fairly well off. I'd like to see benefits increased for people of all ages who need to claim them. I can't imagine how difficult it must be trying to live on them especially if you are disabled."

Above is what I actually wrote in my post!

pomegranatejuice

I am delighted that Labour is here. I do note that the media is out to get rid of him, and they are being vicious because that is their job and much of the Press do not wish to see anything change in the system that might have any deleterious effects on their mega earnings.

How on earth any of us feel we can judge within 11-12 weeks is totally beyond me. Even more so when we look at how our welfare systems have been systematically and not always systematically dismantled over 14 years. I can see no way that this can be remedied swiftly...although children will now soon get free breakfasts in school! And us pensioners are being encouraged to claim all our benefits that have for so long not been claimed.

Ofsted is being changed and about time too.

The workers that make our systems work are receiving more pay, and employment legislation is being tightened. All those younger and older people on zero hours and contracted work will become more secure. So many younger people on short contracts so they get no employment security.

BRING IT ON LABOUR. THAT IS SO MUCH IN 11 WEEKS.

At last, some positivity!

Many of us LP supporters are not happy with the WFA and think accepting donations for clothes was a mistake, but still think the LP will do more for the majority than their predecessors.

vegansrock

The freebie were declared. They weren’t lied about it covered up and they were not using taxpayers money or getting contracts unlike the Johnsons and their excesses. If Victoria S wears a British designer dress and that dress sells out it hasn’t cost the taxpayer anything and is a boost for British business. Samantha Cameron and the P of Wales have done the same. I think it’s a shame that the right wing press are on a smear campaign yet supported Johnson, his lies and coverups.

👏👏👏

There was an awful lot of rhetoric at the Labour Party Conference drawing the expected rapturous applause but they were preaching to the converted!
Rather than big promises, I'd like to know the detail; an example would be, how many teachers will the forthcoming VAT on private school fees pay for? Where will these teachers come from and will they have the appropriate specialisms?
I think that it is clear from my comments that I don't think that Labour has got off to a good start!

Oreo

foxie48 that’s all very lovely for you and other well off pensioners but I can assure you there are very many pensioners out there that missing the WFA will affect badly.

Yes, but not worrying about that’s the sign of a true LP member, starting with Starmer.