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[Politics] The Labour Government







Bry Nylon

Test your smoke alarm
Helpful Moderator
Jul 21, 2003
20,573
Playing snooker
Sir Keir would do well to forego any further foreign junkets and stay home for a while and sort the government’s comms out.

From the same source that brought us news of the growing animosity in the Cabinet toward Sue Gray months before the media picked up on it, I hear further news of approving whispers across Whitehall and in dark corners of Westminster tearooms for Angela Rayner’s recent PMQ performances and Labour MPs reporting that 'the more constituents see of her, the more they like her.'

Apparently, Ms Rayner has the happy knack of coming across as, “normal – and not like a Dalek.”
 




Mellor 3 Ward 4

Well-known member
Jul 27, 2004
10,233
saaf of the water
Yes and add also the effect of the 3% employer pension contributions for those that haven't opted out of the scheme! I think you made the right move bailing when you did as small business owners are the only people in this economy that are getting an effective wage decrease!

We are in this ridiculous situation where we are getting squeezed from all sides, costs going up, taxation going up, regulatory compliance increasing. When the minimum wage goes up all hourly rates need to increase and salaries need to increase due expectations or you lose staff, and with the employment market as tight as it is, people are a nightmare to replace. As a small business there are very few things I can do to increase efficiency or run leaner, the most obvious would be to reduce the salaried workforce but this will have an impact on the quality of the service I provide. When you can't put up prices anymore the cost increases end up coming off your bottom line.
I'd love to see a list of the the current Cabinet, and see how many of them have actually started their own business, or run their own small business.
 


jcdenton08

Offended Liver Sausage
NSC Patron
Oct 17, 2008
14,526
I just don’t agree it’s “anti business” like the right are screaming. I think it’s protecting citizens. I’ll happily give them a shoeing on their performance so far (not good) but not on this one.

But - need the full budget to really know just how bad it’s going to be.
 




Weststander

Well-known member
Aug 25, 2011
69,287
Withdean area
I’d suggest if a business can only afford to pay minimum wage and can’t pass on a small increase it’s probably not a great business.

People often churn that one out.

It’s the cumulative effect. I’ve seen a pub’s accounts for a long time. Payroll costs used to be £140k, after not so many years £280k. R4 You & Yours had a recent special just on restaurant closures, it was something like 30% lower numbers than in 2019, spiralling costs were cited by former restaurant owners as the main reason including payroll. Ers NI hikes would be the ‘icing on the cake’ for more.
 


Rdodge30

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2022
626
I am crossing my fingers that it won't be at the upper end of that estimate as I am (genuinely) not sure what I will do!
I fully expect it to be higher than all those estimates to be honest. I really don’t know what I will do. In order to maintain fairness and staff morale all the higher earners will have to get an increase equal to the percentage increase the Government puts on the Living wage.

Worried doesn’t cover it
 


LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
48,421
SHOREHAM BY SEA
Sir Keir would do well to forego any further foreign junkets and stay home for a while and sort the government’s comms out.

From the same source that brought us news of the growing animosity in the Cabinet toward Sue Gray months before the media picked up on it, I hear further news of approving whispers across Whitehall and in dark corners of Westminster tearooms for Angela Rayner’s recent PMQ performances and Labour MPs reporting that 'the more constituents see of her, the more they like her.'

Apparently, Ms Rayner has the happy knack of coming across as, “normal – and not like a Dalek.”
Always wins a trophy in her second season….oh hang on thats another Ange
 






A mex eyecan

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2011
3,875
People often churn that one out.

It’s the cumulative effect. I’ve seen a pub’s accounts for a long time. Payroll costs used to be £140k, after not so many years £280k. R4 You & Yours had a recent special just on restaurant closures, it was something like 30% lower numbers than in 2019, spiralling costs were cited by former restaurant owners as the main reason including payroll. Ers NI hikes would the ‘icing on the cake’ for more.
People churn it out just shows how little they understand what business are up against. Still maybe they’ve never tried to create or run a business of their own, maybe an employee.

its not just the wages, minimum pay, Ni’s that have squeezed and squeezed.
I’ll give a few examples of things that have pushed companies such as mine were affected during and just after covid. Set against a backdrop of our trying to keep all our employees jobs open, no redundancies.

Covid lockdown saw turnover drop from circa 95%
Not being in entertainment or pub trade weren’t entitled to any grants
A landlord who refused point blank to give any break whatsoever in the rent, (and in fact went on to increase pthe rent by 30k when the lease was renewed in the following 18 months)
No break in paying rates

The period between shutdowns and return to work saw around 20% customer base closed down or dramatically reduced hours.

There was a huge and prolonged increase on cost of goods. cost pricing increasing order by order, not month by month. An example saw one product group go from pre covid £9.50 per thousand to over £80 per thousand. Another increase by over 65% in less than 9 months.

We needed to renew vans that had been committed to but the costs went up by just over 25%

Gas and Elect costs increased by over 13k per year

The customers understandably kicked back against all increases. Some who refused any increase whatsoever we had no choice other than to stop supplying.

When your GP margin is less than 27.5% and you’ve absorbed an overall increases of 7.5%, maybe more, there isn’t the capability to keep sucking up more and more cost.

So as for stupid comments of not being great businesses I’d counter that they are in fact quite the opposit. There’s hundreds like my old company. Companies who employ thousands upon thousands of staff, companies who try and try to keep their workers jobs open, companies who pay taxes, who help create jobs in outside companies such as their suppliers, their insurers, garages, etc etc. Comapnies who despite it all hang on in there working on wafer wafer thin margins.

Still let’s tax the F out of them and when they start to warn that the straw is about to break and probably jeopardise people’s livelihoods let’s start making snide and ignorant ‘suggestions’ that ‘they aren’t probably great businesses’

Priceless.

EDIT: What would the poster suggest then? close them down? lay off your staff? See those around 50 year old plus struggle to get new employment? Or how about them stuck at home, struggling with mental health issues and claiming benefits from the state? Yet another situation not thought about ..
 
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keaton

Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
Nov 18, 2004
9,972
Agreed, yes.

Getting the country back on its feet is going to cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere. Just make sure there appears to be a perception of fairness, with the broad-shouldered taking the greatest burden etc.

I was merely chipping into this "what is a working person?" debate that still seems to be rumbling on. As I say, it strikes me as entirely self-inflicted through yet more poor comms.
But it's also a case of Tories critising Labour for the same as they've done. The conservative manifesto had 9 mentions of "working people". It's a shorthand they've both used
 




Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,289
Back in Sussex
But it's also a case of Tories critising Labour for the same as they've done. The conservative manifesto had 9 mentions of "working people". It's a shorthand they've both used
But the Torie are in the political wilderness. It doesn't matter what they put in their manifesto - they rightfully lost the privilege of influencing the lives of the people of this country, working or otherwise.

Scrutiny will rightfully be focused on the government if they break their manifesto promise. We'll find out on Wednesday.
 


The Clamp

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jan 11, 2016
26,185
West is BEST
I’d suggest if a business can only afford to pay minimum wage and can’t pass on a small increase it’s probably not a great business.
One should think hard before accepting a job where the boss pays the absolute minimum they can legally get away with.

You already know what that boss thinks of you.
 


jcdenton08

Offended Liver Sausage
NSC Patron
Oct 17, 2008
14,526
One should think hard before accepting a job where the boss pays the absolute minimum they can legally get away with.

You already know what that boss thinks of you.
Of course the issue is of those who can’t be choosers, trying to make ends meet. Pretty much every unskilled job is minimum wage.
 




Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
37,341
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
But the Torie are in the political wilderness. It doesn't matter what they put in their manifesto - they rightfully lost the privilege of influencing the lives of the people of this country, working or otherwise.

Scrutiny will rightfully be focused on the government if they break their manifesto promise. We'll find out on Wednesday.
Surely if it appears in the Tory manifesto then both they and their shill journalists should understand what it means? It's an incredibly simple concept that I've described several pages back.
 






jcdenton08

Offended Liver Sausage
NSC Patron
Oct 17, 2008
14,526
Surely if it appears in the Tory manifesto then both they and their shill journalists should understand what it means? It's an incredibly simple concept that I've described several pages back.
Just for fairness, both sides have shill journalists, selective editing and controlling the narrative. For example try and find anything about Mike Amesbury on the front page of The Mirror website.

The Tories are a mess I agree; but Labour and their supporters need to get out of the habit of falling back on “but the Tories”.
 




Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,289
Back in Sussex
Surely if it appears in the Tory manifesto then both they and their shill journalists should understand what it means? It's an incredibly simple concept that I've described several pages back.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to find the Tory manifesto and search through it for "working people" to see what they said they were or weren't going to do for them. Because, even if I did that, as the Tories are now sitting on the sidelines, we have no way of validating whether they would have kept their word or not. It's an exercise of futility.

In contrast, we know the Labour Party promised no increased taxation on working people and, on Wednesday, we will be able to see if they are going to keep to that promise.

Edit: Just to be clear, I have no interest in arguing the toss on who is and isn't a working person.
 




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