Last train to Stockport from Man Piccadilly is at 23:36 on a Friday night. This is a thriving night economy city. Passengers with accessibility needs don’t have a hope in hell it’s demeaning to everyone. The trains need to run later @northernassist@networkrail@NetworkRailMAN
'Nobody wants to work anymore.'
Real wages haven't risen since 2008. The 40% tax band kicks in at £50,270 and hasn't moved since 2021. Earn between £100K and £125K and you keep 38p of every extra pound. Every promotion drags more of your salary into a higher tax band, where the government takes more than the rise was worth. Final salary pensions got replaced with auto-enrol pots you fund yourself. Pension age keeps moving. Annual leave entitlements haven't budged in over a decade. Sick pay is £123 a week. Council tax went up 5% this year while the bin men come once a fortnight. Childcare costs more than most second salaries. House prices are ten times average earnings. Loyalty got downsized the second the share price wobbled. Working from home got rescinded the second managers wanted their car parks full again.
And the people who did all that are confused about the attitude problem.
There is a myth, very widely held in Labour, that we achieved an huge popular victory in 2024 under Starmer.
In fact we won 9.7 million votes, over 3 million fewer than in 2017 and half a million less than the 'disastrous' 2019 poll.
We won because the Tories imploded in 2024.
@cabinetofficeuk There isn’t a single part of this that isn’t just a little bit crap. It’s just landscaping a park - the best bits already exist in some form. Entirely unambitious ‘meh’ architecture and certainly not a timeless addition that will last.