General British politics discussion thread

If they were to cut taxes to curb inflation (an impossible task), the VAT rate should have been cut from 20% to 15%. That would benefit the poor, and the rich. To cut out the higher rate on income tax only benefits those that pay it (the well off) and the richest, that pay the most income tax, the most.

It was quoted that a person being paid (I wont say earned) a million pounds a year benefits by GB£55,000 a year while someone on GB£20,000 benefits by a few hundred a year.

It is clear where the heart of this new administration lies.

The real killer in both Ireland and GB is the lack of council houses following the Thatcher sell off at half price, and its imitation here in Ireland.

It was not the sell off that was the problem (although it was a blatant vote buying exercise), but the decision to not build any replacements. This was the formula that was a political gift to the Tories that just kept on giving, because it led to house prices rising ever since. The FF FG parties also followed it, realising it was also a gift that kept on giving to them.

What that policy meant was that the prices of property just kept on rising, relentlessly. The formula is best capsulated in the phrase 'property ladder' in which the newly-wed couple buy a 'starter home' (basically a very small basic house not fit for a family) and wait till it rose in value, sold it off and moved to a slightly better house, and funded the new more expensive house with a larger mortgage and the larger residual equity in the old home. Repeat as often as their career allowed. This was followed by the buy-to-let which allowed the landlord to fund the ever increasing house prices by ever increasing rents.

My neighbour bought his house in 1966, and following his death, it was sold a few years ago for over 150 times his original purchase price - that probably equates to more than he earned in his working life. That is a Ponzi scheme - and like all Ponzi schemes will come to an unfortunate end at some stage. [Edit: I made a mistake in calculation - it was 1,500 times since 1966, and 150 times after 1986]

I cannot remember the source, but I heard an economist state that our economy requires, and has always required, about 30% of homes to be subsidised by the state, as is done by the provision of council houses. We built Ballyfermot, Finglas, Ballymun, etc in the 1950s 1960s and 1970s. Then we stopped building any council houses. Now we have a massive housing shortage - Ballymun towers were demolished - could they not have been refurbished?

Currently, the state provides the housing subsidy to private landlords who increase rents way beyond any reason, or the state puts people up in hotels. That is just madness.

An upcoming GBP crisis coming.

Following the Truss Fiscal event, sterling is falling like a stone. €1=92p US$ =£1.04

This is plumbing the depths since Black Wednesday when GBP fell out of the snake.

Balance of payments/trade deficit are reaching alarming proportions, plus a budget deficit going to balloon funded by borrowing with interest rates on the rise. Add in the prospect of a trade war with the EU, and the prospect of a total crash looks inevitable.