I think this is largely a function of them being trapped by the fiscal situation. They can't fix anything so trying to blame others. It won't work any better than it did for the Tories. - ThreadSky

samfr.bsky.social • 2 days ago

I think this is largely a function of them being trapped by the fiscal situation. They can't fix anything so trying to blame others. It won't work any better than it did for the Tories.

Reposted from James Ball

There is something bordering on abusive in the way ministers today are talking about public services – Jacqui Smith on universities, and Yvette Cooper on care homes.

They are blaming institutions for decisions forced on them by government, without admitting they or changing anything.

Comments

btm9876.bsky.social•2 days ago

They probably hoping universities going bust is popular with voters.

brennick.bsky.social•2 days ago

So timid and unimaginative.

maxrothbarth.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trap of their own making. Fiscal headroom is a choice, not ordained.

beefair.bsky.social•2 days ago

I disagree.. with such a large majority ( and enough idealistic new MPs) they can turn things around. Progressive taxation. Review council tax to properly fund social care.
It may well blow their majority, but something tells me the two politics of yesterday is long behind us now...

btm9876.bsky.social•2 days ago

There is zero chance they will touch council tax.

beefair.bsky.social•2 days ago

Should read two-party politics...

robin.bobin.uk•2 days ago

But surely you would be the first to complain if running on a completely irrelevant manifesto in order to get a majority to do things which you have no mandate for became normalised?

beefair.bsky.social•2 days ago

Hasn't that been the norm for years?

samfr.bsky.social•2 days ago

But the alternative is just to say "we can't fix this problem" and no politician can ever bring themselves to say that.

jasongood.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s such a pity they didn’t use the early window they had to say “oh, the finances are far worse than the Tories had let on, we have to do X”, where X includes easing the fiscal handcuffs they put themselves in to.

brennick.bsky.social•2 days ago

“Jeremy Hunt prevented Labour winning in 2029” - discuss.

insan3gl0ss.bsky.social•2 days ago

Didn’t even need to do that, could have used the market chaos which was ultimately due to Trump as a reasonable excuse to rip it up. Blaming more on the Tories won’t wash a second time after £22bn thing at the start of their term. Now it’s pretty much too late for that.

jwmcp.bsky.social•2 days ago

It is fixable, they’re just in denial about the solutions

garethramsay.bsky.social•2 days ago

...for a good reason, presumably. They're not collectively *that* irrational, en masse. They can't say it because our media and commentariat would crucify them forever more.

garethramsay.bsky.social•2 days ago

"Starmer surrenders". "Reeves raises the white flag". "Government gives up". So it's not really that "they can't bring themselves to...". It's that they can't.

damfray.bsky.social•2 days ago

exactly. day after day and a double dollop on Sundays!

davidbent.bsky.social•2 days ago

But aren’t they trapped by the ‘fiscal situation’ by choices they made on taxes & fiscal rules? If they had avoided the promise on not raising income tax, & chosen better fiscal rules, wouldn’t they have more room for spending & investing?

Also, didn’t blaming Labour work for Osborne in 2010?

thatdlh.bsky.social•2 days ago

Is it “we can’t fix the problem” or “we can’t fix the problem without immigration and reversing as much Brexit as possible”

apjm5.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thoughts on merging some Universities? E.g. ex Poly's like Huddersfield, Leeds Carnegie, and Sheffield Halam coming together as Uni of Yorkshire? Would going back to the Poly model work? Are Russell group plus Oxbridge too big/powerful? What is the solution?

ccurts2.bsky.social•2 days ago

They could just give up the fruitless attempt to pacify Reform voters and tell the story of how good for us it is to have foreign students subsidising our own. And how useful it is to have care workers and a a hospitality industry

don-key1959.bsky.social•2 days ago

Reform voters are, typically, either ex Ukip or conservative.
Trying to win votes by being Reform-lite will drive labour voters to the Lib Dems or elsewhere

seiwilliams.bsky.social•2 days ago

Or socially-conservative ex-Labour voters.

Those people aren't voting Labour next time, no matter what.

Labour are wrecking themselves for absolutely no reason.

azlarryan.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'd actually have way more respect for them if they were just this honest. Would make actual and practical solutions more likely! If anyone should be blaming anyone, it's all the fault of the government, especially the treasury and OBR!

helenstyle.bsky.social•2 days ago

They can’t fix it because people won’t vote for high enough taxation to get the services they want.

damfray.bsky.social•2 days ago

I agree. maybe more accurately voters are being played up by foreign/tax exile owned papers.

helenstyle.bsky.social•2 days ago

That is one of the factors. But denial is very powerful too.

damfray.bsky.social•2 days ago

indeed...

wsagcort.bsky.social•2 days ago

“…without putting up taxes”.

So put taxes up and get fixing. The problem is one of Labour’s making.

benniblett.bsky.social•2 days ago

Or to raise some of the taxes they didn't promise not to raise; or create some well-targeted new ones. Maybe.

telson.bsky.social•2 days ago

If they would stop actively making things worse that would be a gain.

criminologist.bsky.social•2 days ago

But equally they can't say they need to raise taxes in order to pay for stuff.

Foot shot + face palm

mgreenaw.bsky.social•2 days ago

They could start by saying to themselves "we can't fix this problem BECAUSE..." and then explaining to themselves why they can't fix it. If any of the reasons why they apparently can't do anything are self-imposed, then they need to accept that they can, in fact, do something about it.

catiomiles.bsky.social•2 days ago

They are being trapped by the fiscal situation, which is not helped by their own red lines on Brexit and also by their own straight jacket of not raising taxes.

They are also trapped by their own immigration objectives.

So 3 traps of their own making, sorry to say.

rupertbaines.bsky.social•2 days ago

That Is a generous (perverse) interpretation. On universities the student visas rules make their situation worse, and also hurt finances. Same on care homes: restricting work visas means costs go up, so homes make less profit, pay less tax, some go bust - making finances worse.

jamesmcneile.bsky.social•2 days ago

What happened to that review going way back to Bunter Johnson’s time? It’s as if austerity and Covid never happened and the game is let’s pretend.

crochetgal.bsky.social•2 days ago

I honestly despair 😞 as my old Dad would have said “We’re going to hell in a handcart” At this present time I think that just about sums it up 🤦🏻‍♀️

damfray.bsky.social•2 days ago

alternative: they are doing what the voters wanted. if Labour had said they would increase taxes to solve problems, they wouldnt be in power

boatdesigner.bsky.social•2 days ago

I suspect that they would have still got in, folks were really fed up with the Tories. Perhaps with a smaller majority. They have boxed themselves in on all the ways they could with taxes and the EU. Even now they could tweak things, but won’t.

damfray.bsky.social•2 days ago

we'll never know but there is evidence: dailymail harping on currygate for 12-13 consecutive days; May's dementia tax

ukanarchist.bsky.social•2 days ago

It could well be that most 'voters' are fucking morons who for some fucking bizzare reason hang on every fucking word of people who became politicians because no fucker was stupid enough to employ them

jonathanhopkin.bsky.social•2 days ago

They’re trying to blame their own voters which doesn’t seem very smart

dextercrisp.bsky.social•2 days ago

sarahrichards.bsky.social•2 days ago

Given how affordable and effective good will has often proved to be at times of national calamity, I’m amazed the government has done so little to cultivate and develop its supply from anyone - bar a very few, hand-picked, “decision makers”. We all have skin in this game.

rouheavymessing.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think the real problem is the electorate don't realise just how shafted we are and what it would take to change that, and our politicians are far too scared to tell them. So we get this instead.

robin.bobin.uk•2 days ago

Yep. The public don't want to hear that despite the previous years of austerity, tax increases and the higher cost of living, taxes need to go up to get things fixed because their previous tax money was simply wasted by the people that they repeatedly voted for.

rouheavymessing.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yeah, it's a deeply complex problem that's been exacerbated by decades of ignoring the elephant in the room - we need more tax which means better ability to pay it which means higher wages and lower living costs and so on. It's a mess.

mikeycamera.bsky.social•2 days ago

The University crisis has been in the making since they changed the way it was run in the late 1990’s.

As for the care homes, again another crisis, they should never have privatised to the extent they have.

telson.bsky.social•2 days ago

Depressingly plausible.

steviegogo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Labour = Red Tories

✅ Vote Green

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