Bye bye Starmer

[Jobbo]

I'm amused at the left forum not actually being outraged by anything going on. Your economy is being trashed by these lacklustre grifters.

The economy was already given a kick in the balls by Truss and Kwarteng. Under Starmer we’ve had the best economic growth in the G7 this year: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyprjddgj3o

Not sure ‘trashed’ is the right description. How’s the US economy doing? And reason why the U.K. would be any different under Farage?

You own a business. Your taxes are up. What have they done for you?

The economy is growing, that’s what they’ve done for my business. There’s economics activity and that means I have clients wanting me to do work for them.

[Broccers]

The economy was already given a kick in the balls by Truss and Kwarteng. Under Starmer we’ve had the best economic growth in the G7 this year: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyprjddgj3o

Not sure ‘trashed’ is the right description. How’s the US economy doing? And reason why the U.K. would be any different under Farage?

You own a business. Your taxes are up. What have they done for you?

The economy is growing, that’s what they’ve done for my business. There’s economics activity and that means I have clients wanting me to do work for them.

Absolutely lost the plot. The economy isn't growing at all. They've done nothing for you by the way.

[Jobbo]

You own a business. Your taxes are up. What have they done for you?

The economy is growing, that’s what they’ve done for my business. There’s economics activity and that means I have clients wanting me to do work for them.

Absolutely lost the plot. The economy isn't growing at all. They've done nothing for you by the way.

Ok, so the figures for my business are just down to my efforts then. I’ll take that.

[Broccers]

The economy is growing, that’s what they’ve done for my business. There’s economics activity and that means I have clients wanting me to do work for them.

Absolutely lost the plot. The economy isn't growing at all. They've done nothing for you by the way.

Ok, so the figures for my business are just down to my efforts then. I’ll take that.

More than likely. Your tax bills are up.

[Jobbo]

Yes, they would be when profits are up.

There’s no point discussing this with you - I’ve already posted evidence of the economy growing in this thread last week. Do your own research, don’t just tell me I’m wrong when I’ve already proven my facts.

[Gavster]

Net migration down to lowest level since 2012, plus NHS waiting lists reduced in line with manifesto pledge. It's wild how people think the government isn't doing anything.

[Rich B]

Net migration down to lowest level since 2012, plus NHS waiting lists reduced in line with manifesto pledge. It's wild how people think the government isn't doing anything.

almost like they’re being constantly told the opposite isn’t it…

I can’t help but think we’d all be better off if our media took as much delight in celebrating wins as they do in failure, regardless of parties.

Then again, that won’t sell papers.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Net migration down to lowest level since 2012, plus NHS waiting lists reduced in line with manifesto pledge. It's wild how people think the government isn't doing anything.

Net migration has been returning to the same pre-Boriswave levels since 2023, so it's impossible to say how much of that is down to Labour. And waiting lists are down because people have been simply punted off them

You know the saying about statistics.

[MikeHunt]

Only happened since reform won the council elections, coincidence?

[Alex88]

That's quite the drop in immigration numbers. Credit where it's due.

Having a sensible immigration policy is just common sense, and the acceptance thresholds under the Tories were comically low.

That said, apparently we've had a hell of lot of British nationals leave for opportunities overseas. While the net figure is obviously encouraging, I'd also be interested in the gross figures.

[Alex88]

Apparently..

Emigration: 642k
Immigration: 813k
Net: 171k

Could also be a fair share of Brits returning within those immigration numbers.

At least the thresholds are more stringent compared to a few years ago.

[Mito Man]

Is that all the millionaires leaving?
Would be good to have some context to the figures.

[Beany]

Who gives a fuck if some spiv who inherited forty properties from daddy leaves? That's chicken feed.

www.lse.ac.uk/news/latest-news-from-lse ... tax-havens

The vast majority of Britain’s extremely wealthy people would never leave the country for tax reasons, partly due to the stigma involved in doing so, according to new research from the International Inequalities Institute at LSE.

Tax advantageous destinations are widely regarded by the wealthy as ‘boring’ and ‘culturally barren’ and tax migrants are judged on moral grounds as unduly economically self-interested. Moving to a tax haven therefore constitutes a perceived reputational risk, the study found.

Researchers Professor Sam Friedman, Victoria Gronwald, Dr Andy Summers and Dr Emma Taylor conducted in-depth interviews with 35 people in Britain’s top one per cent of income and/or wealth. They found that none were currently planning to migrate out of the UK for tax reasons or were actively considering tax migration in the future. The sample was politically balanced to include individuals who lean both to the left and the right on issues of tax policy and wealth redistribution.

Typical interviewee responses included:

"What puts me off it is that I have a nice life here (in London), you know. My clients who moved to the Bahamas were bored to death. Sun, sea and sand. Okay, it’s great for a couple of weeks to charge the batteries but after a while you think, well, I’d quite like to go and watch an opera, well, you can forget that, there’s not a theatre in the Bahamas." (Luke, 50s, law)

"I wouldn’t go to a tax haven. Can you imagine anything worse than going to a tax haven? Some tiny little place with just people with yachts and servants. So no, I wouldn’t leave for that kind of reason. I mean I do despair of, I mean I want to live in a vibrant economic climate where there’s room for innovation and you know people are inventing and I think London is like that." (Leanne, 60s, consulting)

....

Interviewees were sceptical about the prevalence of tax migration in the UK, despite persistent media narratives that policymakers have to limit tax increases to avoid large numbers of wealthy individuals leaving. Most acknowledged that tax was a factor in decisions they and their wealthy or high earning colleagues and friends made about where to live, but this was rarely decisive. The report follows earlier research from LSE using tax data, which showed that previous reforms to the non-dom tax status only resulted in modest increases in emigration by those affected.

The paper concludes: "These findings pose an important question: why do they stand in such stark contrast to the prevailing media narrative that ‘the rich are fleeing Britain’ to escape taxes?

"We suggest two main reasons. First, the wealthy voices spotlighted in the media are typically highly selected. Sometimes this is because those interviewed are already known to be outspoken about tax, but more often it is because their perspective has been provided second-hand by tax advisors and other wealth management professionals.

"Second, media reports into migration by the wealthy often appear in the political context of pro-posed tax rises, where wealthy interviewees may have a vested interest in threatening migration or at least foregrounding tax as a factor in their decision."