General News Thread

[kenny]

20 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

BBC News - UK net migration 20% lower in 2024 than first thought, ONS says - BBC News

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2emzjre62o

 

That's quite a large error of 20%!

The driving factor behind the change is that more British nationals are thought to have emigrated in 2024 than initially recorded, with 100,000 fewer now thought to be living in the UK.

 

I wonder how many of these are the high net worth individuals that are absolutely not leaving the UK due to the actions of the current government?

[leicsmac]

33 minutes ago, kenny said:

The driving factor behind the change is that more British nationals are thought to have emigrated in 2024 than initially recorded, with 100,000 fewer now thought to be living in the UK.

 

I wonder how many of these are the high net worth individuals that are absolutely not leaving the UK due to the actions of the current government?

... and I wonder how many are firstly ones from the former half of 2024 or planning before, so for whom the current government bears zero responsibility, and secondly are simply people like myself 15 years ago? 

 

So yes, a lot of wondering to be done. 

 

The classically British inclination to tug the forelock at those with more power (money driven, in this case) clearly remains. 

Edited 18 November 2025 by leicsmac

[kenny]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

... and I wonder how many are firstly ones from the former half of 2024 or planning before, so for whom the current government bears zero responsibility, and secondly are simply people like myself 15 years ago? 

 

So yes, a lot of wondering to be done. 

 

The classically British inclination to tug the forelock at those with more power (money driven, in this case) clearly remains. 

Maybe they hung around long enough to vote out the Tories then left just to laugh from abroad about what we are left with?

 

It's just so hard to tell.

[Lionator]

Trump is SO unintentionally funny, I’m sorry if this makes me a terrible person (I obviously hate his politics). 

 

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1990839006171472256?s=46

[Parafox]

On 17/11/2025 at 15:39, Leicester_Loyal said:

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/rachel-reeves-budget-milkshake-tax-5HjdMtH_2/

 

'Reeves to announce 'milkshake tax' in bid to fill £20bn budget black hole'

 

That'll find us the money 

 

 

 

[CornwallFox]

3 hours ago, kenny said:

The driving factor behind the change is that more British nationals are thought to have emigrated in 2024 than initially recorded, with 100,000 fewer now thought to be living in the UK.

 

I wonder how many of these are the high net worth individuals that are absolutely not leaving the UK due to the actions of the current government?

Firstly, there's zero evidence of high net worth individuals moving abroad in numbers. 

 

Second, even if there were, so what? They can't take their fixed assets with them. Property doesn't move. Businesses aren't going anywhere. Put a tax on moving money out of the UK. Let them go. Let somebody a little more patriotic fill the gap and make the money they would have done.

Edited 18 November 2025 by CornwallFox

[ALC Fox]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DROz9ddkfN_/?igsh=MWp2NG9weHF6dDd0NQ==

 

A short little video from Led by Donkeys on BBC bias 

[ALC Fox]

13 hours ago, CornwallFox said:

Firstly, there's zero evidence of high net worth individuals moving abroad in numbers. 

 

Second, even if there were, so what? They can't take their fixed assets with them. Property doesn't move. Businesses aren't going anywhere. Put a tax on moving money out of the UK. Let them go. Let somebody a little more patriotic fill the gap and make the money they would have done.

 

 

The video is about New York rather than the UK but the pushback against the myth of high net worth individuals leaving is very succinctly and effectively made

 

[kenny]

14 hours ago, CornwallFox said:

Firstly, there's zero evidence of high net worth individuals moving abroad in numbers. 

 

Second, even if there were, so what? They can't take their fixed assets with them. Property doesn't move. Businesses aren't going anywhere. Put a tax on moving money out of the UK. Let them go. Let somebody a little more patriotic fill the gap and make the money they would have done.

I can almost hear Rachel letting everyone know there are plenty more high rate tax payers where they came from.

 

Assuming they each pay £20k per year in tax, which is conservative, it has cost the UK £2bn a year in tax alone.

[leicsmac]

4 minutes ago, kenny said:

I can almost hear Rachel letting everyone know there are plenty more high rate tax payers where they came from.

 

Assuming they each pay £20k per year in tax, which is conservative, it has cost the UK £2bn a year in tax alone.

... assuming any kind of proportion of them are high rate payers in the first place. 

 

Assumptions can be dangerous things, as discussed yesterday. 

[kenny]

1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

... assuming any kind of proportion of them are high rate payers in the first place. 

 

Assumptions can be dangerous things, as discussed yesterday. 

Very true. Other countries could indeed be desperate for our deliveroo drivers or maybe our unemployed.

 

Another one of those we will never know moments.

 

The radio is grim listening with this news though. 

 

 

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, kenny said:

Very true. Other countries could indeed be desperate for our deliveroo drivers or maybe our unemployed.

 

Another one of those we will never know moments.

 

The radio is grim listening with this news though. 

 

 

There's a lot of grim listening going on right now tbf. 

 

Most of it likely on the heads of those wanting to maintain increasing inequality and are willing to cause a lot of harm if they don't get their way. 

[CornwallFox]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

I can almost hear Rachel letting everyone know there are plenty more high rate tax payers where they came from.

 

Assuming they each pay £20k per year in tax, which is conservative, it has cost the UK £2bn a year in tax alone.

You've entirely made those numbers up. Just complete fiction. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24028k7edo

 

Look at that absolutely shit heap

[danny.]

Anyone on around £73k pays £20k income tax and NI. Not sure where your stats are from @kenny? How did you get to £20k and £20bn?

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24028k7edo

 

Look at that absolutely shit heap

The ship and the entire idea behind it being there are both so farcical. 

Edited 19 November 2025 by leicsmac

[st albans fox]

16 hours ago, CornwallFox said:

Firstly, there's zero evidence of high net worth individuals moving abroad in numbers. 

 

Second, even if there were, so what? They can't take their fixed assets with them. Property doesn't move. Businesses aren't going anywhere. Put a tax on moving money out of the UK. Let them go. Let somebody a little more patriotic fill the gap and make the money they would have done.

are we arguing that a multi millionaire and a cleaner are making the same annual contribution to the uk exchequer ??

and that the cleaner will build that same wealth over the next decade ?

 

irrespective of your position on this, the idea that it’s a good thing for wealthy people to leave the country is ridiculous. 

 

there are no easy answers to this. 
 

I suspect if they’re going to bring in a wealth tax of some kind then the easiest one will be to just levy a fixed amount (£4k)  on top of council tax top band H.  Otherwise you’re introducing lots or new costs and complications if you try and revalue to current levels or try and tax actual  ‘wealth’.  
of course that means those owners of a £2m property will pay the same as a £6m  or £20m.  That will lead to lots of complaints, especially in the se but that’s not an area of the country labour is desperate to please. 

[danny.]

4 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

are we arguing that a multi millionaire and a cleaner are making the same annual contribution to the uk exchequer ??

and that the cleaner will build that same wealth over the next decade ?

 

irrespective of your position on this, the idea that it’s a good thing for wealthy people to leave the country is ridiculous. 

 

there are no easy answers to this. 
 

I suspect if they’re going to bring in a wealth tax of some kind then the easiest one will be to just levy a fixed amount (£4k)  on top of council tax top band H.  Otherwise you’re introducing lots or new costs and complications if you try and revalue to current levels or try and tax actual  ‘wealth’.  
of course that means those owners of a £2m property will pay the same as a £6m  or £20m.  That will lead to lots of complaints, especially in the se but that’s not an area of the country labour is desperate to please. 

It's bonkers how much people need to earn to even be net contributors. The Government spends around £17k per person per annum, and on PAYE you need to earn just over £65k to pay that. Over 90% of people earn less than that, so we have the vat majority being a net drain (loose figures, of course someone might pay in other ways and there is VAT, fuel duty etc. but they don't significantly change the problem). If we lose a significant amount of the top 10% there are real issues without massively putting up taxes.

[st albans fox]

4 minutes ago, danny. said:

It's bonkers how much people need to earn to even be net contributors. The Government spends around £17k per person per annum, and on PAYE you need to earn just over £65k to pay that. Over 90% of people earn less than that, so we have the vat majority being a net drain (loose figures, of course someone might pay in other ways and there is VAT, fuel duty etc. but they don't significantly change the problem). If we lose a significant amount of the top 10% there are real issues without massively putting up taxes.

we all pay lots of taxes on consumption.  Wealthier people pay more than poorer people because they consume way more.  It’s not a debate. 

[danny.]

1 minute ago, st albans fox said:

we all pay lots of taxes on consumption.  Wealthier people pay more than poorer people because they consume way more.  It’s not a debate. 

I wasn't even arguing with you? Weird response.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c70j210g4e7o

 

As if any more proof were needed that the man is a scumbag. And that could be an insult to vaguely respectable scum. 

[CornwallFox]

24 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

are we arguing that a multi millionaire and a cleaner are making the same annual contribution to the uk exchequer ??

and that the cleaner will build that same wealth over the next decade ?

 

irrespective of your position on this, the idea that it’s a good thing for wealthy people to leave the country is ridiculous. 

 

there are no easy answers to this. 
 

I suspect if they’re going to bring in a wealth tax of some kind then the easiest one will be to just levy a fixed amount (£4k)  on top of council tax top band H.  Otherwise you’re introducing lots or new costs and complications if you try and revalue to current levels or try and tax actual  ‘wealth’.  
of course that means those owners of a £2m property will pay the same as a £6m  or £20m.  That will lead to lots of complaints, especially in the se but that’s not an area of the country labour is desperate to please. 

 Sorry but I'm not a simp to the rich.

The wealthiest are wealthy because our economy has been set up to funnel wealth to the top and there's no longer a fair distribution between labour and capital. We've already let them take more and more of the wealth of the nation. I'm not then running scared of threats to leave. 

I'll repeat, let them go.

[st albans fox]

13 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

 Sorry but I'm not a simp to the rich.

The wealthiest are wealthy because our economy has been set up to funnel wealth to the top and there's no longer a fair distribution between labour and capital. We've already let them take more and more of the wealth of the nation. I'm not then running scared of threats to leave. 

I'll repeat, let them go.

we are where we are 

Your opinion is valid but not caring about wealthy people leaving the country is imo ‘cutting your nose off to spite your face’ (or whatever the saying is) 

 

whatever the govt do, they won’t address taxing the ultra wealthy because it just won’t stick. Really wealthy people find ways around the rules.
 

Those British nationals leaving on the basis of their tax position are doing so out of fear rather than reality.  The non doms who are relocating because of the new rules about taxing their global income is imo a misjudged policy. Would be far better to raise their cost of being here to 500k/annum in the short term and see what happens. I bet that would raise at least what the new rules do and we would still have them all here spending and contributing to the economy. 
 

32 minutes ago, danny. said:

I wasn't even arguing with you? Weird response.

I wasn’t arguing - just continuing on the back of your response to me.  I fear you get so many negative responses that you just assume every reply is picking a fight 😄

[danny.]

6 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

I wasn’t arguing - just continuing on the back of your response to me.  I fear you get so many negative responses that you just assume every reply is picking a fight 😄

Valid!

[CornwallFox]

27 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

we are where we are 

Your opinion is valid but not caring about wealthy people leaving the country is imo ‘cutting your nose off to spite your face’ (or whatever the saying is) 

 

whatever the govt do, they won’t address taxing the ultra wealthy because it just won’t stick. Really wealthy people find ways around the rules.
 

Those British nationals leaving on the basis of their tax position are doing so out of fear rather than reality.  The non doms who are relocating because of the new rules about taxing their global income is imo a misjudged policy. Would be far better to raise their cost of being here to 500k/annum in the short term and see what happens. I bet that would raise at least what the new rules do and we would still have them all here spending and contributing to the economy. 
 

I wasn’t arguing - just continuing on the back of your response to me.  I fear you get so many negative responses that you just assume every reply is picking a fight 😄

There's no proper statistics around wealth leaving the country. None at all. We don't as a nation collect information on who is leaving the country. So it's pure fearmongering/speculation designed to push back on the idea of taxing wealth. Propogated by the wealthy.

 

Maybe they'd leave, maybe they wouldn't, neither of us can be sure without any statistical evidence, but I'm unconvinced that relatively small increases in tax rates will see huge exodus of people who all benefit from being in one of the richest countries in the world with one of the most advanced infrastructures.