No More Excuses

With the Autumn Budget closing in, we have been told yet again by our failing Government to expect more tax rises. But how many more tax rises can this country sustain? People are already stretched with their own budgets, homelessness and debt related suicides are on the rise. So what have the Government done to prevent all this? Answer - Nothing. When the Labour Party were voted in as the Government in 2024, the country was at breaking point with the Tories, who broke the system (even though they still blamed Labour for it - 14 years after being in power). The country had had enough of rising bills, expensive shopping bills and fuel rising. Leaving nothing in their pockets to do anything with their families. Instead, many had to get two jobs just to keep the house they already had worked hard to buy, over their heads. Labour came in with promises of getting the country back on its feet. A year later, the Labour Government have proven to its voters, that its no better than the Tories. In fact, some are claiming their worse!

The Labour Party was always seen as the party for the working people. It had always looked after the working and middle-class, while penalising the rich who had got away with so much in life. Everyone should be seen as equal, the hard working should be entitled to a house, a car and other privileges the wealthy enjoyed. Today, that is no longer the case. The rich are rich, and the poor are becoming poorer struggling to make ends meet, working two jobs, not spending enough time with their kids, can't afford health care or a dentist, can't afford to run their car with fuel prices being too high, many can't even afford to turn on the heating during the winter months because they can't afford the bills. The promises made during the elections have all turned out to be lies. The truth is, none of our Governments or parties don't give a toss about its hard working, struggling patrons. If they did, you would be seeing more done and food banks would become a thing of the past. Sadly, its all just a pipe dream from those who are suffering and forgotten about.

The cost of living could be reduced to the point of saving a household around £2250 a year. But the Government will not do that, despite other countries including the USA, already doing it. Our Government are more bothered about hitting 'Fiscal' targets. A target that is set by no-one other than the Government. A target that can still be managed even if the Government reduced the cost of living. Yet, they choose to ignore those in need and in severe debt, to keep their own books in order. Then you've got the Prime Minister and his Government stating they're doing a great job. No, you are not! The only time any Government can say their doing a great job is when unemployment is low, taxes are low, the economy is booming, people have more income than outgoings, the NHS is running effectively, street protests are at the minimum, crime figures is low and borders are fully under control. Until you've ticked all those boxes, then you can give yourselves a pat on the back and say aren't we good.

Why aren't the Government trying to stop poverty in the UK?
The truth is they've tried and failed. Their ideas to help those in need haven't worked because they've been cancelled out by rising costs of rent, energy and food bills. Until they finally decide to cut taxes, raise living wages to a realistic level and stabilise benefits. The country will remain or could sink deeper into poverty.

There is no valid reason why the Government won't do what their voters ask. The reason why they won't, is because of the Fiscal target they need to meet by 2030. A target that the Government have set themselves. So, if they fail to meet it, they won't be penalised or fined by anyone. The worse case scenario is that the country might have its credit rating downgraded and it could discourage lenders from giving the country more money. So what? 84% of Adults in the UK are in debt. In the past fifteen years, there was only one time where the market and pound reacted to the Fiscal targets being missed, and the Bank of England had to intervene. On all other occasions, nothing happened.

This country is tearing itself apart with debt, suicides, protests, homelessness and child abuse. Yet, the deluded Government are claiming their doing a great job. Really? Have you actually looked beyond Downing Street and taken a good hard look at what is happening? The Tories broke Britain when David Cameron dangled the carrot in front the general public and asked if the country wanted to leave the EU, even though he didn't believe the UK should leave. The Tories used it as a tool to neutralise UKIP's growing popularity, having tighter control on illegal immigrants, and also lied about how much the country would save if it did leave the EU (£350m).

Brexit back fired on Cameron, who resigned when the country voted in favour of leaving the EU. The vote was based on nothing but lies. The country is still paying around £5-6 billion to the EU, illegal immigration is higher than ever, and they agreed on the worse deal for imports from EU countries to the UK. As a result, everything began to rise, putting a bigger hole in people's pockets. To be honest, the Tories are not solely to blame, as those who voted to leave should be blamed too, especially when nothing was set in stone on the country's departure from the EU. Even to this day, the Government should be putting their foot down and say no to the EU about paying into their system. Why should we? We are not a part of the EU anymore. The EU have taken the piss and screwed the UK over, like a spoilt child having its favourite toy taken away from them. The EU claim we are one of their closet allies, yet, they've ripped us off by raising import costs from 8 to 12%, that has a knock effect for the cost of food shopping that is constantly rising. A lot of red tape suddenly came down that has now caused the UK a lot of problems and they demand a "divorce" settlement, that the Tories agreed to, knowing full well it would cripple the country.

So what should the Government actually do?
The Government need to start taking responsibility on its actions and stop being petty by blaming each other for state of the economy. Whatever happened is now in the past, and needs to be corrected so we can all move forward. That means stop paying the EU anymore money. If their not going to make a new realistic deal with the UK, then lets have a clean break. This country needs to grow a big pair of balls and start saying 'no' to the bullies. They also need to start paying attention to the country as they're losing control of its patrons and immigration. They need to be a party for the working classes again, and lose its communist tendencies. Starmer and Reeves need to go, there's no doubt about that. They are clueless and the past year failings have proven that. The Government need to start running the country like a business, which this lot seem to have no experience in doing.

If they made the following changes, the Government could still hit their own Fiscal targets by 2030. If they didn't but the economy boosted and the Government were confident that they could return the balance later. They would be no major issues. Markets would likely reward stability and growth rather than punish small deviations. It’s when governments ignore the arithmetic or undermine oversight (like 2022’s mini-budget) that trouble starts.

The UK could get itself back on its feet, if the Government reduced the cost of living, and that means by a lot, not just a few pounds a year.

VAT is one primary tax that needs to be cut. Not in a few months, but within weeks. If VAT was cut from 20% down to 5% on energy bills, food and fuel. That would save a household around £2780 a year. It can be done, there isn't any excuse to why it can't be reduced. That would boost the economy and put money back in people's pockets.
In the UK, the public are charged 73% tax on fuel. If both VAT and Fuel Duty was removed, the cost of fuel at the pump would drastically drop to 81p (unleaded) and 89p (diesel) per litre, saving around £33 a full tank (based on 50 litre tank). Yes this would cost around £25-30 billion a year to the Treasury, however, this could be easily made up by that £1.70 difference being split across other avenues, such as Car Tax and Congestion Charges.

Even EV public charging would reduce if VAT was scrapped costing the average EV motorist around 33-46p per kWh on a fast charge.

Many countries have actually done this, including the USA, to help with the cost of living. So why not the UK? The Government choose not to as they claim its to encourage people to reduce carbon emissions. What utter nonsense! The UK is amongst the highest in the world for fuel. No surprises there.

Energy prices could be lower if the Government reformed the energy market to decouple renewable energy from gas prices. Even though wind farms and solar farms have been created in the UK to help reduce the cost of energy prices, at the moment, its all been a waste of time and money as no-one is benefiting from renewable energy due to prices being tied to the cost of gas. They need to reform the market and de-link renewable energy from gas pricing. This could cut household bills by 20-30% when fully implemented.

There are still hundreds of Wind and Solar projects waiting years for permission to connect to the National Grid. Why? The system is clogged with paperwork and outdated infrastructure. They need to simplify grid connection approvals and invest in modern, flexible grid that can handle green power quickly. So many of those Wind Turbines and Solar Farms across the country are actually doing nothing.

Food shopping in the UK is more expensive than in European countries, including Ireland dues to a combination of Brexit-related import costs, global inflation, higher VAT/levies, retail structure, and operational costs. Discount chains help offset some of this, but the average shopping basket price at major supermarkets remain higher.

The average monthly UK grocery bill is currently around £525 (at major supermarkets/based on a average four member family). If the Government cut VAT down to 5% on essential food items, and reduced import costs to 5%, which they can do, but won't. It would reduce the monthly food bill to around £441.

The UK can unilaterally lower import tariffs on selected foods, like fruit, vegetables, or staple items. This would directly lower prices for imported goods.
Streamlined border checks and lower administrative fees would reduce costs passed to consumers.
The UK can negotiate preferential trade agreements (FTAs) with exporting countries to lower tariffs, e.g., fruit and dairy from EU countries or other partners.

In summary, everything we've stated can happen. The Government choose not to for their own selfish needs. At the moment, they're running the country on tax increases which is wrong. You wouldn't run a business by increasing your prices when your customers improve. That would scare them away and look for cheaper alternatives. The constant tax rises has cost the UK economy jobs, along with business closures. Unemployment has not decreased as stated recently. Its actually risen by 4.1% since Labour took over the Government.

The Labour Government need a reality check and sort out the country without the excuses. Remove those who haven't a clue and are bluffing their way through their jobs. Yes, in the short-term it would cost the Treasury billions per year, but this can easily be made up from other costs that wouldn't have a major impact on the working people, and if the Fiscal target isn't met, so what? Nothing will potentially happen like it hasn't previously. As long as the Government actually work for its people in confidence and boost the economy, they'll be no impact at all. It will prove that the country is being run properly.

What needs to happen now and not later is to reduce VAT from 20% to 5% on everything. It would save the average working household around £2780 a year, that's an extra £230 per month. Other countries have done this successfully and without any penalties. The UK Government doesn't have a legitimate excuse to why they can't do the same.

Scrap Fuel Duty and VAT on fuels, this would save a driver an average of £33 at the pump. Using the fact that fuel is taxed by 73% in order to reduce emissions as an excuse for its current cost is disgusting and nothing more than a con. If a car isn't emission friendly, then increase the car tax on that vehicle, or as an incentive, promote a scrappage scheme of up to £3000, to help people buy more eco-friendly/electric vehicles. It wasn't that long ago the Government were pushing drivers to use diesel as it was classed as a greener fuel. Now they've gone back on their word, just like they did when drivers were forced into converting their cars from four star fuel to unleaded in 90s.

Energy Costs urgently needs to be reduced. Again, the Government can sort this to make it cheaper by reducing the VAT to 5% across the board, but its not their list of priorities. As stated early, there is around 15% of wind and solar farms still not connected to the national grid. The Government urgently need to make the process quicker and easier to allow these to be added to the grid, sooner rather than later. They also need to de-link renewable energy from gas pricing, as right now, no-one is benefiting from these renewable energy sources. If they did this, we would see a reduction in our energy bills by 20-30%. The government hasn’t fully de-linked renewable energy from gas prices because of a combination of market rules, grid reliability needs, fiscal limits, and the legacy structure of the electricity market. Its not impossible for them to de-link, so why haven't they? At the moment, having renewable energy is a complete waste of time as no-one will benefit from it in the near future.

This saved money will obviously put more money back in the pockets of the hard workers. It would help them to pay off debts, buy healthier foods, spend in the leisure industry, as they're able to spend more time with their families. All this would boost the economy as people would be able to go shopping without counting every penny. They would be able to afford to go out for a drive somewhere as fuel would be more cost effective. In addition, suicide rates would reduce, as would homelessness and its all this that is currently putting a strain on the economy and the people.

Enough of the excuses. If the Government believe this is all wrong and complete rubbish, then do it to prove us all wrong, because we're betting the Government, whoever controls the country, will not have the decency to look after its people properly.

Sources : (HM Treasury, House of Commons Library, Trading Economics, Money Week, Gov.UK, Expactia, Elective, Auto Express and Parliament UK)