Greg2607

if you are all alarmed at what the trump administration are doing and the type of people that he is putting into positions of power, then this is exactly what it would look like in the UK under a Reform UK Government. It would be exactly the same kind of playbook.

We've just booked 10 nights all inclusive at a Royalton hotel in Riviera Maya in Mexico at the end of January. The wife has upgraded us to a swim up room that also comes with a butler 🤣🤣🤣 Thoroughly looking forward to it!

Thanks mate, it's valuable insight. By the same token.... Didn't Cooper win a youth world cup?? I'm not an expert on the Dutch league, but wouldnt it be like managing one of the best teams in the league and also having some of the best talent in the youth setups?? Cooper was lucky to have the talent he did in his England squad.... Was it the same for RVN?? (I don't know btw, just asking the question)

Why are people so keen on RVN?? nothing in his managerial career to date shows he has the skills to rebuild us as a club. It is Moyes for me. Was in the summer and remains that way now.

I agree by the way. I don't think potter is the messiah. He potentially over achieved with Brighton, but they are even better since he left. Failed at Chelsea and then had the arrogance to assume he would be the next England manager. He would almost certainly see us as "beneath him" or as a stepping stone. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm hopeful it isn't bloody potter!

I actually do think that what Wes Streeting has been talking about is a really valid point. We need to invest more into the community Care setting rather than relying on Hospitals and A&E taking the weight of a failing Primary Care setting. If we get access to primary care right and push more care out into communities (Mental Health as an example) then it would remove the burden on hospitals and also help to stop people arriving there in the first place with much better outcomes. it's a bit of a revolution and heavy reform that seems to be needed. Rather than tinkering around the edges with some process improvement. IF they get it right, it will transform most people's experience of healthcare in the UK.

so is water wet or what?

I think the single biggest indictment of the governance of the UK since 2008 (regardless of your political persuasion) is that they have somehow managed to build an economy and society where 43% of working people don't earn enough to pay income tax. that figure alone should be a national scandal.

I did read today that those who cannot pay immediately, do have 10 years to be able to make the payment..... also, the £1m relief is on top of the £1m allowance... so in effect, farms that are worth over £2m. Doesn't make it any better... but doesn't make it sound as drastic as it could have been.

Given Tom's job, he will be well placed to know how this will impact on SME's and jobs in general. However, I do think that business will need to shoulder some of the burden of tax increases, as will those of us with broader shoulders. In my eyes, the uplift in Carers Allowance, Minimum Wage and Apprentice Wages as well as an uplift for those under 21 is a real positive for those that are most in need. It means that they will be shielded from the rise in bus fares as their extra earnings will far outweigh the extra bus cost. I think Farmers have been hard done by and the £1m cap on IHT really isn't large enough for most farms and absolutely will result in sales having to be made to pay for the IHT bill. The bit that I struggle to see, is how we drive wage growth as a country. it's criminally low and is the root cause of all of the "cost of living" crisis. This budget does nothing to help that in general terms with the added cost of employment for business. (i do realise that is contradictory to my above point about businesses shouldering the burden more) - That being said, even without that extra burden, they really weren't driving wage growth anyway and below inflation wage rises is just the norm for the UK.

explain how they are shafting people? The funding for caps on fareswas due to run out at the end of 2024... so there wasn't ANY cap pencilled in. They are also increasing rail infrastructure across the north... seems like that might help people to not to have to rely on cars so much.........OR if they do.. Fuel Duty has remained Frozen.

possibly true.... but wherever you look, there is an absolute need to increase taxes somewhere. They are continuing to freeze Tax Rate thresholds, so fiscal drag will pull lots of people into higher rates of income tax. I think it's a positive that Minimum Wage is going to be increased as well as the wage for under 21's and for apprentices. Ultimately, and I appreciate that this is my personal opinion, the role of the government is to protect the most vulnerable in society. Wage Stagnation since around 2010 is crippling. The AVERAGE wage in Germany for example is now around 52,000 Euro's, which I think is around £43,000. Ours is around £10,000 less than that. Our economy is really similar to Japan and it didn't play well for them! We really need to start making things and innovating again. We can't really on a service economy. Lots of US businesses are now offshoring work to the UK, because our labour is so cheap. I find that astounding!

As an accountant, can you explain to me how they can claim back VAT for capital expenditure, when they weren't VAT Registered when making that capital expenditure in the first place? I don't doubt it's probably right.. It just seems like a very quirky way to operate for our Tax regime...

That was a savage knockout by Wardley. Looks like it's broken Clarke's temple or jaw. I thought he was having a seizure for a moment.

he is going to be the world's first super villain isn't he.

I guess with RJ or KB as LEader of the Opposition, it does potentially open the door for some kind of merge with Reform.

We had a rat nesting in our garden over winter. We have a retaining wall and it had built a nest behind there..... We have a very nature friendly garden anyway, so we sort of let it be for a while... until our cat decided he'd like to play with it and bring it in to the house as a treat... i'm not joking, it was the biggest rat i'd ever seen. The cat had decapitated it and left it in the hall, but the rats body alone (not including tail) was the length of my forearm. I'm not normally freaked out by these things, but I couldn't sleep for about three nights, as the reality is, if he hadn't killed it, it's first port of call up the stairs would have been my bedroom.

We had a similar thing when we moved.... it was during Covid though which added some extra complexities!! - Our house was all packed up and at the new property and at 16:30 solicitor called to say she'd forgotten to submit some paperwork and we wouldn't be completing. He had to put the contents into storage and then pay for a 2nd removal on the Monday. We also couldn't go to a hotel because... you know.. Covid.... se we spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday sleeping under coats on the floor with not a single item to be able to entertain the kids.... or feed them... lol.... it was a LONG 3 days! No internet, No Tv, no furniture... comfortably the most stressful thing in my life.

ironically, based on my new found zest for spending.. I was looking at a Norwegian Fjords Cruise last night

I'm fully an advocate.... I just don't think i'll ever get to a point where it's a really large figure for retirement. I'm aiming for £100k in a S&S ISA at retirement. BUT my current company pension is worth really piling in to, as my company pays in 12%. That, with my 8% contribution is 20% of my salary a year going into my pension. I see the ISA as a Top up to that, and then by retirement age, assuming my house is paid off, we'll downsize and release equity. We deliberately bought the biggest house we could afford 3 years ago, to give us enough room at retirement to sell and buy something at half the price.... I'm expecting that we could buy something at £400k and bank another £400k at that point to supplement our retirement income. assuming ALL of that goes to plan... I worked out yesterday that we could actually have around £85k a year as a couple on retirement. So... based on other people's posts yesterday, I've also realised, that we are likely to be in a decent position, so can probably afford some more "lifestyle" bits now. Gigs, Meals Out, Holidays etc..... we need to live in the here and now as well as plan for the future.

oh absolutely, if you are planning to retire early... unfortunately, I don't have enough spare income to top up £20k every year! it's taken me 5 years to get to £7k in a S&S Isa.

That makes you the same age as me then.... Just be aware that for us, State Pension is likely to not kick in until we are 70, so make sure you have plenty in hand to cover that 15 year period....

It's a really delicate balancing act isn't it. My wife definitely wants to live much more in the here and now which i definitely do want to do.... but I also see my Mum's situation and definitely DON'T want to end up like that for having no plan.

Congratulations!! I hope you have plans to stay busy, active and engaged. My Dad retired at 64 and he is fishing a couple of times a week and does lots of walking. He also goes to the gym every morning. I went to the lake district with him a couple of weeks back and in his late 60's he was absolutely putting me to shame on the fell walking. not a bead of sweat on him! He has lots of UK breaks and has a generally great life from what I can see. I've never seen him so relaxed and fulfilled. My Mum on the other hand, has hit retirement age, and her and my step-dad are absolutely screwed. They ran their own business for nearly 30 years and never really planned for retirement. I think they expected the business to give them an income in retirement. Anyway, the had to close the business during covid and selling everything off, still left a mountain of debt and they still have a £150k mortgage on their house with neither of them now working. They are about the liquidate the house and have around £180k to buy something to live in. At one point they had over £1m of property. But a combination of being terrible at business and being impulsive, means they never capitalised on that and were constantly selling property to pay tax bills. I hope you have a fantastic retirement and get to do more of the things you love. I'm about 25 years away from that day!! Albeit, Me and wife were looking at our projected pension provision for when that day comes and we have worked out we should have around £65k a year as a couple in retirement all being well. I'm hoping that gives us a comfortable retirement to do the things we've dreamt of doing up to that point.

she's a great example of what happens when people from think tanks get into power.