@deanjames2476 without a doubt. The House of Lords is filled by people who have no problem taking from the country. Both houses expenses is disgusting. The people who clean the toilets don't get expenses for their rent/mortgage, utilities etc but still have to pay the extortionate prices. If they have expenses it should be the same expenses as all other sectors, not a way to increase their already generous salaries.
Sadly Labour is sounding increasingly like the Tories. "I totally understand the pressure that families are under right now"... Sounds like Rishi Sunac. When you see Starmer and Blair talking like old mates, you get a glimpse at what Starmer is all about. Will he, like Blair, leave office exponentially richer than when he started?
We Scots wouldn't give Red Tory Starmer house room, this New Labour, Blairite . Red Tory wants to win here in Scotland Dream on, your just another Tory.
Living in Lambeth there has been little to differentiate our labour council from the Tories for many years. Claims of no money to spend when they can find hundreds of millions to spend on failed building companies.
I live in Ireland, so my views are from an outsider. I couldn't believe that this policy was actually in place over there, the conservative, and now Labour , party have policies that are disgustingly discriminatory against working class families so blatant they don't care, almost a coalition of the upper class against the majority. It's disgusting
labour should promise not to send anymore weaponry to ukraine - scrap nuclear weapons, cut overseas aid to only serve natural disasters, put a stop to anymore boatloads of illegals coming to the uk & tax the wealthiest more heavily!!! voila!! think of all the money that would be saved & could be used for better things to help the indigenous people of the uk!! oh! & get rid of starmer & replace him with andy burnham or angie rayner & reinstate jeremy corbyn back to the labour party!!!
Absolutely fantastic summary of the evil of this. To find this a position of the Labour Party is astonishing. Brilliant piece, thank you, Prem, for talking to us and taking it apart, piece by piece. And thank you, Crispin.
I've never voted Tory in my life, and I'm not going to start now. I need an alternative to Tory light Starmer's dictatorial Tory-Labour. Attlee must be spinning in his grave. I've not forgotten the Lib Dems' betrayal of the country when they supported Cameron, but it seems Starmer has forgotten what happened to them at the next, and subsequent elections. The way he's going Starmer will be a one term PM and he is likely to destroy the Labour Party's support for the foreseeable future.
The way he's going I doubt he will be able to gain enough seats to form a government, which would be a huge stroke of good luck for the country! What we need is for the nation to completely shun both main parties and instead vote for independents and minor parties.
The Labour leadership position is a nonsense as Prem Sikka eloquently demonstrates. A future Labour Chancellor would have huge scope for making lives better, while the City has noticed there’s a shortage of demand in the economy so would welcome public spending to raise incomes. So why do Starmer and Reeves cling so desperately to austerity as the way forward? It can only be the lobby of the very wealthy, led by Blair and Mandelson that is pulling their strings. But where is the rest of the PLP?
The City doesn't give a damn about a shortage of demand in the economy, when push comes to shove. Austerity is a policy in a bid to maintain the value of the pound in order to support the City.
When they say “there is no money left” they are talking complete ballocks. Reasons: 1. They mean “we believe in a society that looks after the wealthy”. 2. Real wealth is generated by activity - its not a fixed pot, investing in the many will improve life for the many AND generate economic activity. There is nothing better than investing in people. Starmer is a Tory and this policy is Dickensian. We are becoming America.
Not forgetting all the money, the Country does have, apparently. Kings Coronation plus ( massive uplift in allowances. Ukraine, MPs expenses & always more for MPs Salaries. Signal is 'Lord of the Treasury' he can literally print money!!!!!!!
Except that the Americans have grasped the potential of government spending much better than us - look at the trillions Biden has levered into the economy to tackle climate change, while Starmer has removed the paltry £28bn in his proposed green budget, despite recent events telling us action is required without delay.
@@MomMom-cq3ih Don't forget the £50million pay rise for the King, whilst his "subjects", having endured years of austerity are deciding between eating or heating
I would never describe Starmer as "cocky"; he is - in plain and simple terms, a coward; afraid of debating policy with those who disagree with him, demonstrated by his egregious expulsions from his party of left-wing politicians who argued strongly against his policies..
Interest rates and inflation at a high level? Inflation is being driven by corporations(especially the energy companies) driving up their prices BECAUSE THEY CAN!!! And interest rates have been set by the BoE in a misguided(criminally) attempt to curb inflation. The governor of the BoE gets to set interest rates, something which effects EVERYONE in the country, yet no one in the country gets to hold him to account! The PM should have the power to tell the governor of the BoE, "NO!! ... NO!! ... BAD!!" so that the PM can then be held directly accountable for the increase in interest rates.
We have the paradox that if no-one out there in the public is supporting Labour's policy stances on such issues as the two-child cap, why in the polls are so many planning to vote Labour unconditionally? Yes, Tories out but fools us if we sign Labour up on unappealing and inappropriate terms.
It is genetically impossible for me to ever vote for a Tory, I could not care less what the Tory in question CALLS himself or what colour rosette he wears, and by every measure I apply to the kid starver by both his deeds and his words, I only see a TORY. F U Starver. NOT MY LABOUR PARTY
I know how you feel, it's somehow far worse when it comes from 'your own' we know what to expect from the real Tories, it's what they do, they're just Tories being Tories, we know what to expect every time they get elected and they never let us down. But when the party you have been a loyal supporter of for your entire adult life, suddenly becomes everything you hate about the Tories, then I honestly don't give a shit who wins the next election, because the poor, the sick, the low paid and the vulnerable will lose no matter which Tory party gets elected.
We need to see what the creep is up to, though. I thought the double act was very revealing. I reckon it was Blair who asked Starmer to join labour as a potential stooge.
Very very interesting interview. Learnt so much from this. Please have this chap on again and let him go into more details on the economics side so we can all understand how it works👏✌✊
I followed a water van the other day and i couldnt believe what i read, it said "water is prescious dont waste it, every drop counts" when i reported a leak two weeks ago and it is still leaking. Also if its precious why are we not building reservoirs 😢😢
Thank you both, Crispin and Prem, for a blast of fresh air. I just cannot see why people are so resistant to basic policies that would make the lives of the poorest better. The economic madness of squeezing workers in order to increase or maintain profits, dividends, and investor (many pension funds included) income is also the path the economic destruction. Starmer and Reeves were frighteningly cold and callous. We need an electoral change to get half a chance of positive change.
Totally don’t understand the dire situation young families are going through! It costs is 39 billion to keep 4 billion children in poverty, so is precise opposite of fiscal responsibility!!!!
Can I tell Rachel Reeves that in our little charity we spend £110 a month per family with 3+ children to prevent starvation? That's properly costed. We are also spending £80 per month per family with children who are in deep debt and fuel poverty.
@@tomfinney3416 ??? Do you mean that figure is incorrect? Do you disagree that the cost to society of keeping 4 million children in poverty is at the very least in excess of 39 billion? Exactly what are you in support of here? If I’ve made a mistake would gladly be corrected as I have no desire to put out even more misinformation. If you have expertise on this subject that I’m ignorant of please share them.✊
@@julielevinge266 4 million children , we agree live in poverty in the uk and this number is rising , the error in the original post i refer to is the post says 4 billion children , i hope this clears up any confusion
I am so sick of Labour’s endless litany of ruthless proclamations and dishonesty, I really dragged my heels but in the end, watched because I always want to hear what Prem Sikka has to say. And glad I did! Because he makes what should be the two most important points when it comes to confronting this regime: 1. The ‘there is no money’ premise on which the entire narrative rests, is simply not true. 2. ARE the Tory’s worse than this version of Labour?? is a real question. The latter is directed at the ‘not as bad’ polemic. I would love more on these points. Thank you for this great show and all your work .
I recall Stewart Hall’s comments on Thatcher’s economic policies “markets will be free and people will be disciplined” Seems nothing has changed Every time capitalism is in crisis “people, or the many, have to be disciplined” by the few
"I totally understand the pressure that families are under right now, which is why........" we're going to make sure that all the poors in the economy continue to bear the brunt, tighten their belts and suffer, because the new owners AHEM! I mean 'donors' love it and - Lord knows! - we haven't had a chance at troughing this deeply for years.
If labour can't commit to finding just over a billion pounds to reverse 2 child policy because the economy and debts are so bad where will they find the money for any of their policies unbelievable
How about all the back benches all walk out and form a new party. If this is the future, they're letting us down by not standing against those horrors( which had to be fast forwarded by me) .
however, Ukraine, The new funding takes the military aid given to Kyiv to £2.3bn - and the UK has also spent £1.5bn in humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine.
Apparently that's an investment, as Ukraine sits on massive Lytham deposits which is used to make lipo batteries and just so happen to be building a battery factory.
What are labour doing? It seems crazy and weak not to debate these issues. We, labour have nothing to fear from the conservatives. All the options should be considered and debated , including taxation. I would happily pay more tax for fully coated sensible policies. Stagnation and stuffing opportunities is not the way forward.
it's not us that need to pay more, if you pay PAYE. It's the millionaires that get money, I nearly said earn, outside PAYE that dont pay their fare share
"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." George Orwell, 'Animal Farm'.
All this talk about costing; have they considered the long term cost associated with supporting these kids who fall outside of the government benefit cap and are born into poverty ? They seem very interested in figures, so check the figures for kids born into poverty and the long term physical and mental health costs, policing and justice costs, life time of benefits which a lot of these kids fall into themselves, educational and social cost and loss for the kids their community and the country.......I would personally say removing the benefit cap would be a bargain at 10X the price !!
Why don't they kick starmer out they are supposed to be the party of the working class but they are now the conservative party's reserve team. What's wrong with the Labour Party. Just sack him he is a conservative plant anyway. If you are a Labour mp remember you can be kicked out by your constituents. If you keep starmer in charge even The torys were shocked when they held borises ex seat
Prem Sikka rightly pointed out the macro-economic effects of poverty. It costs £39bn p.a. in terms of help from the NHS, benefits and more. He's a professional economist and Labour peer, so Starmer & Co should take him seriously. Not very likely...
Kier Starmer moved to Oxted in (not cheap) Surrey with his 4 siblings (mouths to feed, shoes to buy) He attended music school in London on Saturdays (not cheap: travel and dues). Does this really sound affordable for combined income of any Nurse and Toolmaker you know? 4 kids, Piano and Violin lessons! What are they hiding do you think?
"There is no money left" when there is more money in circulation than ever before. The money is in the hands of the 'Kleptocracy' and needs to be taxed back into the real world where it can be used to do some good. Many millionaires have expressed a wish to be taxed more because they realise that the present situation is not sustainable.
Hey! - guess what! Anyone familiar with the old sitcom, Porridge? Well, Kier Starmer: 'Harry Grout' (Peter Vaughan, Actor) - is it just me, or does anyone else find something relatable between the projected mannerisms of the two? 😁😊🤗
If he refuses to follow the wishes of the PLP not only can they trigger a leadership contest but if that fails they can in large numbers resign the Labour Party Whip and remove Starmer as leader of the opposition as the SNP would then be the biggest party in opposition and the Tories would really crap themselves then.
With oil on it's way out and lipo battery powered cars on the rise, the need for Lytham to make these batteries is needed. Ukraine sits on massive Lytham deposits and we are building a battery factory, now do you see why they're sending money to fund this war?
As a former member, I dont agree with Labour in any respect any more. The obvious compromise would be to increase the cap to 3 children and plan from there but it seems they dont want to consider any socail improvements. Im confused what they actually stand for now
The Ukrainian war is an investment for the future, they have some of the biggest deposits of Lytham which is needed to make lipo batteries, and are building a battery factory, do you see the link?
Just re-watching the Reeves interview and it strikes me how exactly alike she and Starmer are - they're like two robots, a female and a male, both with the same voice and mouthing exactly the same crap.
The decision to maintain this policy results from wage depression. This policy came in because of an impression that a working family on a low incum with two children had a lower disposable income than a family on benefits with 4 or 5 children. Its not the economic cost of reversing this policy its the fear of alienating hard working class people by increasing benefits in a time of wage depression and a cost of living crisis. The intellectuals of the left might want the working class to be a single united group but there not and never truelly have been. This runs culturally far deeper than blaming simplistic right wing divide and conquer tactics.
I don’t understand the concern over what you get on benefits. I thought it was just a short term safety net not a lifetime entitlement. As for caps on child benefit, pay for your own kids. Your already getting cash for 2. Many working families choose not to have kids based on their income. I would have thought that would be a no-brainer for people on no or low incomes. As for investing in people I agree. Responsible Families should have been encouraged to have more kids decades ago and more should have been invested in training and education to plug skills gaps and shortages. Rather being fed the pile of nonsense that is that countless dinghies of foreigners is actually doing us a favour.
Exactly how I feel, in fact with the Tories in power at least it's someone I am used to despising, it's going to be a strange experience for me, hating the party I have voted for and supported my entire adult life.(I've been old enough to vote since 1970) but that's the sad reality.
There's one question that has not been asked?what is starmer and his chosen few going to get out of right wing policies when they leave government. They have been coached by Blair and mandleson who are very rich.they are supposed to work for everybody.
