General Election 2024

If you go to the original article, it loads fine without a paywall. At least, it did for me just then. The comments are quite fun to read

Wild! Maybe that was part is Macron’s plan, arranging alliances and coming out with a united Left after a snap announcement, leaving the Right floundering

Companies can't inherit the assets of a charity, so removing charity status would be an enormous headache

Same.

Enjoyed this stereotypical one:

Colon Cancer
16 HRS AGO
As a GP I tripled my salary after moving to the US. The taxes are low, housing is cheaper, and I get to save 1/3 of my salary plus the 401k. UK is a dead socialisti hell hole , that only knows to take your money to and to give out benefits to the useless of the society. Absolute bonkers if anyone even wants to be a doctor in that country.. Soon US will open doors for UK medics and naturally a lot many would move here.

Ah, yes. I found they dropped it last year, which might be what I remember about it.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/27/labour-backs-down-from-plan-to-strip-private-schools-of-charitable-status

I know lots of people are in favour of it, but the fact that they dropped it was a massive tick for me.

It demonstrated that they're thinking strategically about what to do when they come to power. Where to use their resources, which legislative battles to fight.

Who knows maybe their govt will be a calamitous fuckup that doesn't achieve anything. But it gives me reassurance that they'll do their utmost to have the greatest impact they can.

Isn't it that she would have to giver up doctoring to find a job with hours that suit before & after school care, while her children go to povvo school and huff tiktoks in the playground?

30k fees on a 90k salary. Are they fucking insane?

Add in a proviso that bursary places must be maintained, or even increased year on year.

Yeah... so on that. It turns out that one of the few jobs in lidl* that would actually allow you to do that is the morning cleaning job.

In fact major supermarkets aren't these unbelievable pillars of flexibility, because it turns out other people work there too and there isn't a massive clamoir to only take the shifts with really shit hours.

So you still need childcare or a partner to fill in.

*lidls in the SW may vary.

Two observations; £90k is a part time consultant salary, pay scales are published online and £99k is starting for a brand new full timer.
Anyone who says they would walk away from an NHS pension on a current £90k that would rise to c.£125k automatically before they retire for the want of £6k for a few years is financially illiterate.

Could have been better phrased with "road users" as id appreciate it.

However it wouldn't be as pithy

It's really not that simple. The "take away charitable status" thing is a proper pub-policy that's fine when you're using a magic wand.

It will take time and real skill to draft suitable legislation that is solid and doesn't have negative unintended consequences on charities.

It would be mental to spend time on it when the country is so utterly fucked. The end of the next term? Sure. Maybe.

I do wonder if some of the schools will remove themselves from charitable status to avoid having to do any community outreach and similar.

That should save them a solid 20% of spend.

Most governments have picked an area of tax avoidance/evasion to work on, it’s happened with Construction, Film/TV production companies and IT contracting.
Private schools/charities are just another sector due for reform, i’m surprised there is such a stink over it as so few can afford it.

You'd expect they all would wouldn't you? Under pressure from parents it's one of the first costs they'd cut I'd have thought.

👋

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Labours-Plan-to-Close-the-Tax-Gap.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjx1qGkpNiGAxXgWUEAHQXODZgQFnoECBwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0VByTRPIwc4YrCKQXA7tHn

Tbh I think it generates a lot of content because of the levels of private education in the media and politics.

But if you read some of those Telegraph comments there is also a common sentiment that it is being done out of spite and/or they doubt the economic benefit - the "if everyone went to state school" sort of argument. Which I think is interesting and probably informs one element of choosing VAT and ignoring charitable status that maybe the messaging is easier? Idk but I'd be curious to see focus groups on this. Maybe it's a case of asking people if they're OK with withdrawing a tax break that is easy to understand like vat when kids can't go to school because buildings are falling down. Vs something that then becomes a more complicated argument about charitable status and what that really means.

30k fees on a 90k salary

That's 90k before tax. The article has a little dig that she also loses 30% of that to tax and NI.

So (in this made up article) she's paying £30k fees out of her post tax £60K salary.

This picture is brilliant.

Needs a caption competition.

Reminiscent of the Walking Dead zombie grab.

'Stay away from me, you loser'

I do wonder if some of the schools will remove themselves from charitable status to avoid having to do any community outreach and similar.

That should save them a solid 20% of spend.

It would also lose them the 25% gift aid uplift they receive.

There are a lot of weird charity / gift aid things going on in education.

For example, my daughter's school asks* us to pay £30/mo for laptop provision. This gives the students a standardised laptop with on site support for repairs/fixes. It's an awesome setup.

But, rather than pay £30/mo directly to the school for the laptop the money goes to a charity arm of the school and benefits from the gift aid uplift. And even though we are receiving something in return for our donation (which wouldn't normally be allowed by the gift aid rules) there are exceptions in place for this kind of scheme in educational settings.

(State secondary, but that won't stop people quoting some of this out of context in the GC thread.)

* Those who can't afford it don't have to pay as much or at all and the school still provides a laptop.

Deputy Green Party Leader admits to performing hypnotherapy to
'enlarge' women's breasts in the past

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/zack-polanski-deputy-green-party-hypnotherapy-womens-breasts/

There is a husband as well (earning less than £90k but not clear how much less).

This is exactly the sort of hippy sex cult adjacent shit I expect from a green party member.