2015 Election season ..........stuff it in here.

[l444ry]

This is how it's done Ed!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a2FDivU16I

[sphericalfox]

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coalition-has-shifted-money-from-poorest-to-betteroff-through-welfare-cuts-and-tax-reductions-study-claims-9863557.html

 

 

The Coalition government's welfare cuts and tax reductions have transferred funds from the poorest to the pockets of the better-off, an academic study reveals.

The reductions in low-income and disability benefits financed tax breaks for the more financially privileged, although the richest were also hit, and this transfer of wealth made no net effect on public funds.

The groups hit hardest are single-parent families, large families, children and middle-aged parents, who make up the poorest 5 per cent of the country.

The most financially-disadvantaged experienced cuts of nearly 3 per cent of what they would have earned if Britain's tax and welfare system of May 2010 was retained.

 

Those who gain from the changes include couples who both work and those in their 50s and early 60s, with an increase of between 1.2 and 2 per cent in disposable income.

The study's authors, Dr Paola De Agostini and Professor Holly Sutherland from ISER and Professor John Hills from LSE, wrote: "Whether we have all been 'in it together', making equivalent sacrifices through the period of austerity, is a central question in understanding the record of the coalition Government," as reported by The Observer.

The top 5 per cent of the country's highest earners lost one per cent of their potential income, however the reduction in top rate income tax from 50p to 45p meant that the one per cent earning the most also had a small monetary net gain.

The Treasury said the changes implemented since 2010 had ensured the richest households had made the biggest contribution to reducing the deficit.

"The Government has published groundbreaking, cumulative distributional analysis with every budget and autumn statement of this parliament," a spokesman said.

"We will go on working through the plan that is securing a resilient economy and a brighter future," they added.

Almost 3,000 people paid more income tax in the current financial year than the poorest nine million, figures obtained from HM Revenue and Customs through a Freedom of Information Act request show.

 

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "This is a damning analysis of David Cameron and George Osborne's record. It demolishes any last pretence that we are somehow all in this together."

"Ed Miliband and I are determined that Labour's economic plan will deliver a recovery for the many, not just a few. And our plan to balance the books in a fairer way will start by reversing David Cameron's tax cut for the top 1 per cent of earners," he added.

[Nick]

Manifesto watch: Where parties stand on key issues

The main UK-wide political parties are putting together their manifestos for next May's general election. Here's a guide to where they currently stand on the issues voters say they care about most (according to pollsters IPSOS Mori).

Immigration

Conservatives: David Cameron has promised to put reform of EU free movement rules at the heart of his renegotiation of Britain's relationship with the EU. This could involve caps on the number of new arrivals from certain countries but no details have been announced. The party has a continuing goal to bring net immigration down to below 100,000 people a year (it currently stands at 243,000).

Labour: "Stronger" border controls to tackle illegal immigration with "proper" entry and exit checks. "Smarter" targets to reduce low-skilled migration but ensure university students and high-skilled workers are not deterred. Employment agencies who only recruit abroad will be outlawed while the fines for employing illegal immigrants will be increased.

Lib Dems: Reintroduce exit checks at borders, so the government can identify people who are overstaying their visa. Will require all new claimants for Jobseekers Allowance to have their English language skills assessed, with JSA then being conditional on attending language courses for those whose English is poor.

UKIP: Introduce an Australian-style points policy, used to select migrants with the skills and attributes needed to work in the country - covering people from inside and outside the EU. Bring net immigration down to 50,000 people a year. Priority lanes for UK passport holders. Increase UK border staff by 2,500. Tougher English language tests for migrants seeking permanent residence. Opt out of the Dublin treaty to allow the UK to return asylum seekers to other EU countries without considering their claim.

Greens: Progressively reduce UK immigration controls. Migrants illegally in the UK for over five years will be allowed to remain unless they pose a serious danger to public safety. More legal rights for asylum seekers.

Taxes and the economy

Conservatives: Eradicate the deficit by 2018. An income tax cut for 30 million people by 2020. Tax would start to kick in at £12,500 a year, instead of £10,500. This will cost £5,6bn. The higher tax rate, 40%, would start at £50,000 instead of £41,900, again by 2020, at a cost of £1,6bn. This will be paid for through £25bn in additional spending cuts and economic growth.

Labour: Get the current budget into surplus and the national debt falling "as soon as possible in the next parliament". No additional borrowing for new spending. Reintroduce the 50p top rate of income tax for earnings over £150,000. Cut income tax for 24 million people by bringing back the 10p rate. Bring in a "mansion tax" on properties worth over £2m, to raise £1.2bn. Abolish the Married Couples' Tax Allowance. A tax on bankers' bonuses. A 5% pay cut for every government minister.

Lib Dems: Raise the personal allowance - the point at which you start paying income tax - to £11,000 in April 2016 and then to £12,500 by 2020. "Strict new fiscal rules" to ensure the deficit has gone by April 2018, with the wealthy contributing the most. The Lib Dems invented the "mansion tax" but in contrast to Labour have set out how it would operate - along similar lines to council tax bands. There are also Lib Dem plans to increase capital gains tax - paid on profits from second homes or shares - from 28% to 35%.

UKIP: Increase the personal allowance to the level of full-time minimum wage earnings, about £13,500, by 2020. Abolish inheritance tax. Introduce a 35% income tax rate between £42,285 and £55,000, at which point the 40% rate becomes payable. Set up a Treasury Commission to design a turnover tax on large businesses. Cut foreign aid budget by £9bn a year. Scrap HS2. Save £8bn a year in membership fees by leaving the EU.

Greens: People earning more than £100,000 a year would pay 50% income tax. Wealth tax of 1% to 2% on people worth £3m or more. Renationalise the railways and energy companies. Scrap HS2. Allow councils to impose extra business rates on out-of-town supermarkets to fund small local businesses. Crackdown on tax avoidance by multinationals. Allow "the current dependence on economic growth to cease, and allow zero or negative growth to be feasible without individual hardship". Commit Britain to a "zero carbon" future.

The NHS

Conservatives: No real terms cuts in the health budget. In England, everyone would be able to see a GP seven days a week by 2020. Recruit 5,000 more doctors.

Labour: An extra £2.5bn a year to recruit more staff. The money will come from three sources - a new "mansion" tax, clamping down on tax avoidance by big corporations and a new tax on tobacco companies. Patients in England would get a GP appointment within 48 hours and would not have to wait longer than a week for cancer tests and results. Scrap the Health and Social Care Act and end "creeping privatisation" of the NHS. Integrate health and social care services into a system of "whole-person care". Give greater priority to mental health services.

Lib Dems: An extra £1bn for the NHS every year, to be funded by - amongst other things - making higher earners pay more tax on their shares. Half of this will go towards mental health. People who need therapy for conditions such as depression will be guaranteed treatment within 18 weeks. For young patients experiencing psychosis for the first time treatment will be provided within two weeks of being referred by a GP. This is all going to happen from April, with more mental health targets to follow if the Lib Dems return to government. Wants a cross-party review of the future of NHS funding.

UKIP: Ensure all migrants and visitors have NHS approved medical insurance as a condition of entry to UK, with £200m of the £2bn saved to be spent on ending hospital parking charges in England. Tougher regulation of NHS managers. Bring back state-enrolled nurses and return powers to matrons. Monitor and Care Quality Commission to be replaced with county health boards. Stop spending £90m a year on gastric band and breast enhancement operations.

Greens: Funding to be diverted away from centralised facilities towards community healthcare, illness prevention and health promotion. Stop privatisation. Abolish prescription charges. Dedicated NHS Tax to go direct to the health service. Ban proactive recruitment of non-British NHS staff from overseas. A complete ban on the promotion of tobacco and alcohol products, including sponsorship.

Security, defence and foreign affairs

Conservatives: Hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU by 2017, after negotiating the return of some powers from Brussels. Protect foreign aid budget. Replace Trident.

Labour: Push for reform of European Union and prevent Britain from "sleepwalking" towards exit. Commit in law to holding a Strategic Defence and Security Review every 5 years.

Lib Dems: Campaign to reduce the number of Trident nuclear submarines. Push for greater European Union efficiency.

UKIP: Leave the European Union. Remove the passports of any person who has gone to fight for a terrorist organisation and deport anyone who has committed a terrorist act. Cut foreign aid budget by £9bn. Create a Veterans Department to look after the interests of ex-service men and women.

Greens: Referendum on Britain's EU membership. Want reform of EU to hand powers back to local communities. Boost overseas aid to 1% of GDP within 10 years. Scrap Britain's nuclear weapons. Take the UK out of NATO unilaterally. End the so-called "special relationship" between the UK and the US. Stop EU-US free trade deal TTIP.

Jobs

Conservatives: Create three million apprenticeships to be paid for by benefit cuts.

Labour: Guarantee a job for under 25s unemployed for over a year and adults unemployed for more than two years. As many young people to go on an apprenticeship as currently go to university by 2025.

Lib Dems: An extra £1 an hour for the lowest paid apprentices. Campaign to create a million more jobs.

UKIP: Allow firms to offer jobs to British workers first "without the fear of being sued for discrimination".

Greens: A national energy conservation scheme to create thousands of new jobs. The party wants to create "sustainable jobs" and promotes more local production of food and goods.

Education

Conservatives: Continue with free school and academy programme.

Labour: All teachers would have to be qualified. Parents of primary school children would be guaranteed childcare from 8am to 6pm. The amount of free childcare for three and four year olds would be increased from 15 to 25 hours a week. Compulsory sex and relationship education in all schools.

Lib Dems: Protect the education budget from cuts. Guarantee qualified teachers and a core curriculum set by independent experts, as well as compulsory sex education, in all state schools including academies and free schools. More money for disadvantaged school children and free childcare for all two year olds. A two-thirds discount on all local bus fares for young people aged 16-21.

UKIP: More grammar schools. Scrap sex education for children aged under seven. Scrap tuition fees for students from poorer backgrounds who take degree courses in the sciences, technology, maths or engineering. Greater emphasis on vocational education with new Apprenticeship Qualification Option. School governing boards must be made up of at least 30% parents of children at the school. Allow universities to charge same amount for EU students as non-EU students.

Greens: End performance related pay for teachers. Replace Ofsted with an independent National Council for Educational Excellence. Bring Free Schools and Academies into local authority control. Ensure all teachers are properly qualified, abolish SATS and Year 1 phonics tests. Raise school starting age to 6 if parents want it. Scrap National Curriculum.

Housing

Conservatives: First-time buyers in England under the age of 40 would be able to buy a house at 20% below the market rate, with 100,000 starter homes to be built for them.

Labour: Build 200,000 houses a year by 2020, including new towns and garden cities. Cap rent increases in the private sector and scrap letting fees to estate agents to give a "fairer deal" to tenants.

Lib Dems: Build 300,000 houses a year, with up to five new garden cities in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

UKIP: Protect greenbelt land by incentivising the building of affordable homes on brownfield sites. Establish a UK Brownfield Agency to hand out grants, tax breaks and low interest loans. Major planning decisions to be ratified by local referendum.

Greens: Abolish right to buy. Give councils the power to borrow money to build houses or buy them on the open market. Introduce a rent cap to prevent exploitation by private landlords. Set up a living rent commission, to work out how to bring rents back in line with incomes. Home owners unable to meet mortgage payments or under threat of repossession would get right to transfer ownership to the council, at less than market value, and pay rent as council tenants.

Law and order

The Conservatives say that public sector workers - like police officers - are being dragged into higher rate tax

Conservatives: Banning orders to outlaw groups that incite hatred or cause fear. Extremism Disruption Orders (EXDOs) to stop "disruptive" individuals from speaking in public or holding a position of authority. A new law setting out victims' rights. New laws to make it easier for the police to collect information about internet activity by suspected criminals. A Communications Data Act, requiring companies to start storing certain types of information. Replace Human Rights Act with Bill of Rights to give UK courts and Parliament the "final say".

Labour: Scrap Police and Crime Commissioners, which the party says would save £50m. Local residents to be given a say in deciding crime fighting priorities and have access to police planning meetings. Bring back control orders to combat extremism and revive Prevent strategy. Ban convicted child sex offenders from working with children. More money for frontline policing to prevent cuts in officer numbers. End £17m "subsidy" for cheap gun licences. New commissioner on domestic and sexual abuse and cash for a national network of refuges.

Lib Dems: End prison sentences for personal drugs possession. Users would instead receive non-custodial sentences and appropriate medical treatment. Replace Police and Crime Commissioners with Police Boards made up of councillors from across the force area. . Pass a Digital Bill of Rights to help protect people from unwarranted intrusion and give them more control over their own data. Make 'stop and search' more accountable by making the wearing of body cameras by officers compulsory in some areas and for firearms officers.

UKIP: Repeal Human Rights Act and replace it with UK Bill of Rights. Withdraw from European arrest warrant. No votes for prisoners. Those responsible for criminal damage forced to carry out unpaid work in area where it was committed. Those jailed for offences affecting their community should be banned from returning to live in the area, as a condition of their release. "Complete overhaul" of police taking into account "best practice from other countries".

Greens: Decriminalise cannabis and axe prison sentences for possession of other drugs. Legalise prostitution. Ensure terror suspects have the same legal rights as those accused of more conventional criminal activities.

Benefits/Poverty

Conservatives: No increase in benefits for working-age people for two years to save £3bn. Affects those receiving jobseekers' allowance, income support, tax credits and child benefit. Cut maximum amount a household can claim each year from £26,000 to £23,000. Withdraw Jobseeker's Allowance from young people after six months unless they take part in "community projects". And 18 to 21-year-olds wouldn't be entitled to housing benefit. Ban on zero-hours contracts which stop people getting work elsewhere. Raise the personal allowance - the point at which you start paying income tax - to £11,000 in April 2016 and then to £12,500 by 2020, which means that if you work on minimum wage for 30 hours you will pay no income tax.

Labour: Freeze energy prices until 2017. Increase in the minimum wage from £6.50-an-hour to £8-an-hour by 2020. Ban "exploitative" zero hours contracts. Rises in child benefit capped at 1% for the first two years of the next parliament. Winter fuel allowance would be withdrawn from the wealthiest pensioners. Repeal what the government calls the removal of the spare room subsidy, dubbed the "bedroom tax" by Labour. A million interest-free loans to help people insulate their homes. Rail fares would be capped.

Lib Dems: Raise the personal allowance - the point at which you start paying income tax - to £11,000 in April 2016 and then to £12,500 by 2020 (the Conservatives are promising the same thing). Nick Clegg has said he would not accept Conservative plans to freeze working-age benefits without taxing the rich too. He hasn't said he would block welfare cuts altogether. Withdraw eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment and free TV Licence from pensioners on the 40% rate of income tax. A "yellow card" system to deal with benefit claimants breaking the rules, rather than imposing sanctions without warning.

UKIP: Only pay child benefit for the first two children for new claimants. Increase the Carers' Allowance to the same level as Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA) and pay a higher rate of JSA if you've been in work and already made tax and National Insurance contributions. Prevent anyone taking up permanent residence in Britain unless they're able to support themselves and any dependents they bring with them for at least five years and stop them receiving benefits. Stop paying child benefit for children who don't live in Britain. Scrap what UKIP calls the "detested bedroom tax". Boost "credit unions".

Greens: The party backs a Citizen's Income, a fixed amount to be paid to every individual, whether they are in work or not, to be funded by higher taxes on the better off and green levies. But in the short-term it would increase the minimum wage to £10 by 2020. Ban zero hours contracts. Axe the "bedroom tax". Abolish the work capability assessment and restore the level of the former disability living allowance.

 

 

Green, green, green, green, green........

[Strokes]

Green, green, green, green, green........

Ban zero hour contracts, that would fook my family up massivly. Why would they do that when some people are on them by choice?

[Rincewind]

This is how it's done Ed!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a2FDivU16I

A very passionate speech.

[lavrentis]

Ban zero hour contracts, that would fook my family up massivly. Why would they do that when some people are on them by choice?

 

People choose to work on zero hour contracts?

[Webbo]

People choose to work on zero hour contracts?

It works both ways, you're not forced to work hours you don't want.

[lavrentis]

It works both ways, you're not forced to work hours you don't want.

 

Don't understand how anyone can survive pay rent dossing their arse off on 20 hours a week

[DennisNedry]

Don't understand how anyone can survive pay rent dossing their arse off on 20 hours a week

 

People I know on zero hour contracts are students wanting a bit of extra cash for nights out, or wives of full time employed husbands making use of the free time they have. Not everybody is earning to meet essential costs, many are earning to help afford luxuries.

[lavrentis]

People I know on zero hour contracts are students wanting a bit of extra cash for nights out, or wives of full time employed husbands making use of the free time they have. Not everybody is earning to meet essential costs, many are earning to help afford luxuries.

 

oh

 

so why the controversy over zero hour contracts if this is what they're used for, everyone's happy right?

[Rincewind]

Don't understand how anyone can survive pay rent dossing their arse off on 20 hours a week

And you do not know when those 20 hours will be. You could get a phone call 10pm to start at 6am. Yo cannot have an out of work life. Book appointments because you may be called to do a shift which means the difference of paying the months rent arrears. It is fine if you have an assured routine but for many there is the hassell of signing on and off JSA and attending JCP when they tell you to.

A guaranteed set number of hours and the security of a living wage is far better for the majority of people.

[Rincewind]

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11604492.Double_amputee_killed_himself_after_benefits_slashed__say_anguished_family/?ref=twtrec

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/woman-with-a-lot-to-live-for-took-her-own-life-after-flawed-atos-work-capability-assessment-slashed-her-benefits-by-a-third-watchdog-says-9216975.html

 

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/bungling-atos-rake-500million-botched-1879598

[ADK]

I'm not really a fan of banning certain types of contract. If I were in power I would be in favour of scrapping the minimum wage. This is one area I don't really agree with Green policy.

[MooseBreath]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coalition-has-shifted-money-from-poorest-to-betteroff-through-welfare-cuts-and-tax-reductions-study-claims-9863557.html

The Coalition government's welfare cuts and tax reductions have transferred funds from the poorest to the pockets of the better-off, an academic study reveals.

The reductions in low-income and disability benefits financed tax breaks for the more financially privileged, although the richest were also hit, and this transfer of wealth made no net effect on public funds.

The groups hit hardest are single-parent families, large families, children and middle-aged parents, who make up the poorest 5 per cent of the country.

The most financially-disadvantaged experienced cuts of nearly 3 per cent of what they would have earned if Britain's tax and welfare system of May 2010 was retained.

Those who gain from the changes include couples who both work and those in their 50s and early 60s, with an increase of between 1.2 and 2 per cent in disposable income.

The study's authors, Dr Paola De Agostini and Professor Holly Sutherland from ISER and Professor John Hills from LSE, wrote: "Whether we have all been 'in it together', making equivalent sacrifices through the period of austerity, is a central question in understanding the record of the coalition Government," as reported by The Observer.

The top 5 per cent of the country's highest earners lost one per cent of their potential income, however the reduction in top rate income tax from 50p to 45p meant that the one per cent earning the most also had a small monetary net gain.

The Treasury said the changes implemented since 2010 had ensured the richest households had made the biggest contribution to reducing the deficit.

"The Government has published groundbreaking, cumulative distributional analysis with every budget and autumn statement of this parliament," a spokesman said.

"We will go on working through the plan that is securing a resilient economy and a brighter future," they added.

Almost 3,000 people paid more income tax in the current financial year than the poorest nine million, figures obtained from HM Revenue and Customs through a Freedom of Information Act request show.

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "This is a damning analysis of David Cameron and George Osborne's record. It demolishes any last pretence that we are somehow all in this together."

"Ed Miliband and I are determined that Labour's economic plan will deliver a recovery for the many, not just a few. And our plan to balance the books in a fairer way will start by reversing David Cameron's tax cut for the top 1 per cent of earners," he added.

at the Ed Balls quote. He obviously hasn't even bothered to read the study, but if he has and a tired and irrelevant labour cliché is the best analysis he can offer, it doesn't speak particularly well for his potential as Chancellor.

Personally I think that's quite a positive report. The welfare 'dependent' have taken a hit, the rich are paying their way, while ordinary working folk are seeing benefits.

[MooseBreath]

oh

so why the controversy over zero hour contracts if this is what they're used for, everyone's happy right?

There is no controversy, labour are just desperate for a crisis so are making shit up. They were planning to run on the 'cost of living crisis' but now wages are rising faster than inflation that one is scuppered, so they've put their best and brightest minds together and came up with a new one, "the zero zero economy". zero hour contracts for the poor, zero tax for the rich it is so poor, so embarrassingly poor from labour.

[Strokes]

And you do not know when those 20 hours will be. You could get a phone call 10pm to start at 6am. Yo cannot have an out of work life. Book appointments because you may be called to do a shift which means the difference of paying the months rent arrears. It is fine if you have an assured routine but for many there is the hassell of signing on and off JSA and attending JCP when they tell you to.

A guaranteed set number of hours and the security of a living wage is far better for the majority of people.

Not all zero hours contracts are like that, my partner is a nurse and works on a zero hour contract for the NHS bank. She can pick and chose her shifts around my work and it saves us a fortune on childcare. my job requires me to do emergency call out on set weeks, if she was fulltime, I wouldn't be able to do it.

[Nalis]

The support for the Greens policies is interesting, also mirrors this survey... http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

[ADK]

Not all zero hours contracts are like that, my partner is a nurse and works on a zero hour contract for the NHS bank. She can pick and chose her shifts around my work and it saves us a fortune on childcare. my job requires me to do emergency call out on set weeks, if she was fulltime, I wouldn't be able to do it.

 

In truth, it's unlikely this arrangement would be affected. As you say, she is the one granted the flexibility. The issue is where it is the other way round.

[Rincewind]

Not all zero hours contracts are like that, my partner is a nurse and works on a zero hour contract for the NHS bank. She can pick and chose her shifts around my work and it saves us a fortune on childcare. my job requires me to do emergency call out on set weeks, if she was fulltime, I wouldn't be able to do it.

I would say that was more flexible hours than zero hour. Your wife as you say is allowed to choose. What is wrong is when a person does not have a choice. Agencies work this way. Inconvenient for anyone relying on the work for the main source of income.

I have nothing against flexi hours if an agreement has been made of a guaranteed number of hours.

[Strokes]

I would say that was more flexible hours than zero hour. Your wife as you say is allowed to choose. What is wrong is when a person does not have a choice. Agencies work this way. Inconvenient for anyone relying on the work for the main source of income.

I have nothing against flexi hours if an agreement has been made of a guaranteed number of hours.

It is still a zero hour contract and she isn't excluded when figures get banded about, so it shouldn't be ignored.

[Alf Bentley]

There is no controversy, labour are just desperate for a crisis so are making shit up. They were planning to run on the 'cost of living crisis' but now wages are rising faster than inflation that one is scuppered, so they've put their best and brightest minds together and came up with a new one, "the zero zero economy". zero hour contracts for the poor, zero tax for the rich it is so poor, so embarrassingly poor from labour.

 

Wages rose fractionally faster than inflation in 1 month's figures and only according to 1 measure. In the other measure (including bonuses), real pay continued to fall.....and that's after they had fallen almost continuously, 12 months per year for 6 years!

Even if real incomes rise every month between now and the election (unlikely), most people will still be much poorer than they were 4 or 6 years ago. Get a grip, Moose, with your slanted Tory propaganda!

Here's some balanced data for anyone who's interested:  http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6994/economics/uk-wage-growth/

 

Admittedly, Labour's political campaigning has been pretty crap in recent years, but that "zero-zero" concept could have a lot of mileage if they present it well. A hell of a lot of people are getting by on low wages or want to move off short, insecure hours, and resent hand-outs for millionaires and global corporations making billions out of us and then avoiding tax.

 

Even the 1 month improvement in real pay might not be good news in the long run (though it might be, and I hope that it is). It's been caused by rock-bottom inflation, not soaring incomes. There's a distinct risk of deflation, low growth and a return to rising unemployment if we don't watch out, particularly with the Eurozone economy looking very shaky.

 

 

The support for the Greens policies is interesting, also mirrors this survey... http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

 

The Greens ought to push that message - the popularity of their policies - but focus on a few key policies. Even as someone who fully intends to vote Green, their policy programme does look a bit like a costly wish list....but, then again, for years the main parties have got away with lying about what they could and would do in office (e.g. providing wonderful public services but cutting tax).

 

It doesn't matter much how well-costed the Greens' programme is for now, as they're not going to be anywhere near power after the election. Even in the highly unlikely event that they pick up half a dozen seats and, by a statistical freak, hold the balance of power in the new parliament, they'd only be able to have a slight influence over the policies implemented by the new government. Lib Dems or SNP (or, less likely, UKIP) holding the balance is much more likely

 

I reckon the Greens will do well to get more than 1-2 seats and could easily get none, even if their vote increases nationally, which it almost certainly will. Regardless of that, I think that a significant Green vote nationally (5%+?), preferably with 2-3 seats, could be very important as it'll make it clear to Labour that they can't just keep assuming that left-inclined voters have nowhere else to go. They'll have to look beyond the New Labour tactic of just attracting centrist swing voters....but then they're going to have to do that to avoid losing votes to the SNP and UKIP, too...

 

I know that it's Jon the Hat's nightmare scenario, but I like the sound of a Labour minority with a solid wedge of SNP (to the left of Labour these days) and 2-3 Green MPs, backed by 5%+ of the vote....

[MooseBreath]

I don't think zero zero has any play in it at all. Labour seem to have attempted to make an example out of Sports Direct, a company whose employees are almost all youngsters for whom a zero hour contract makes perfect sense. They've ignored the many others for whom zero hour contracts are convenient and in the case of freelancers, ideal.

The "zero tax" thing is a plain lie. Nobody pays zero tax. It's useless, obvious sensationalism that should play no part in the campaign of any credible political party.

Wages are heading in the right direction. Labour know it, that's why they've shelved the "cost of living crisis". They know full well that if they keep running with that, they'll look like fools come election time when real wages have reached steady growth.

[Webbo]

The support for the Greens policies is interesting, also mirrors this survey... http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

I've taken that survey and none of those options reflected my views.

[Alf Bentley]

The "zero tax" thing is a plain lie. Nobody pays zero tax. It's useless, obvious sensationalism that should play no part in the campaign of any credible political party.

 

 

Facebook pays no UK corporation tax for a second year

 

Facebook paid no UK corporation tax for the second year in a row in 2013, while employees received shares in the company worth tens of millions of pounds.

The world’s largest social media company reported a pre-tax loss of £11.6m in the UK last year, despite its US parent company reporting a net profit of $1.5bn (£900m).

UK revenues rose from £34.6m to £49.8m, according to Facebook UK’s latest financial filing at Companies House published on Wednesday.

Facebook UK classifies its turnover as “marketing and engineering services”, because much of the company’s ad revenues are funnelled through Ireland to take advantage of much lower tax rates.

The company made £371m in advertising revenue last year, a 67% year-on-year rise from the £222m in 2012, according to research firm eMarketer.

Facebook UK incurred a corporation tax charge of just £3,169, and received a credit of £182,000.

The company employed an average of 172 UK staff, who were paid £40.8m last year, almost double the 2012 figure of £21m.

This is because of a £15.5m payment cost for “share-based payments”.

UK staff received 1.52m free Facebook shares worth $118m at their current share price of about $78.

There were also 2.2m shares worth more than $170m “outstanding” as at 31 December.

The government has promised a change in the law to crack down on offshore tax avoidance

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/22/facebook-uk-corporation-tax

 

[Alf Bentley]

The "zero tax" thing is a plain lie. Nobody pays zero tax. It's useless, obvious sensationalism that should play no part in the campaign of any credible political party.

 

 

In case you don't trust the Guardian, here's the FT, saying 1/5 of big businesses pay no tax in the UK. Some will be genuine cases of companies trading at a loss for a few years, but I really don't think that applies to 20% of big businesses!

 

 

A fifth of UK big businesses pay no corporation tax

One in five of Britain’s large businesses paid no corporation tax last year, while more than half paid less than £10m, according to an official report into the mounting cost of tax reliefs.

The National Audit Office calculated that the cost of tax reliefs had increased from 16 per cent to 21 per cent of gross domestic product since 2005.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/46aa42bc-b5d4-11e3-b40e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3JFvgCdcK