Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said that hard work should be rewarded with tax cuts. So, why haven’t we got anything to show for the tax we paid before? (Credits: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)
Who broke Britain?
In today’s MetroTalk an impassioned reader tells us exactly who they deem to be responsible, question is: who can fix it? Is it time for Rishi Sunak to call a general election or are tax cuts something the country needs?
Meanwhile, readers share their opinions on the lifestyle choices of Sadiq Khan, explain how George Galloway won voters, fume at rail fare increases and wonder, where are the liberal democrats?
Share what you think about these topics in the comments.
‘The Tories must be doing something wrong if we’re paying so much tax and getting so little for it.’
We’re in ‘Rishi Sunak’s recession’ (Credits: Adrian Dennis / Pool Photo via AP)
Britain is broken, and the Tories broke it. Nothing works.
Millions can’t get to see their local doctor. Some are waiting four weeks for an appointment. You can’t go to Accident & Emergency instead. Waiting times are a record there, too. More than seven million are on waiting lists for hospital treatment. They will wait years. Millions can’t get an NHS dentist. Some dentists’ waiting lists are more than ten years.
Hundreds of schools are falling down because they were built with inferior materials. Many parents desperately need to work but can’t get childcare. The cost-of-living crisis continues, as we go into recession again. Rishi Sunak’s recession.
Gas and electricity prices are still high while fat-cat energy bosses enjoy record profits. Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget crashed the economy and put mortgages up by several hundred pounds per month. That made buying a property even harder. Millions of young people won’t get on the housing ladder. Renting is much harder, too, as rents have massively increased, and there aren’t enough rental properties – 25 people are chasing each new rental.
The police are invisible, so people don’t report crime even if they can find a police station. More people are on strike, not because they are greedy but because they have to earn a decent wage.
You can’t even swim in the river because it’s polluted, and the Tory government won’t tackle incompetent water-company bosses pouring sewage into them.
With public services this bad, you’d have thought the Tories had cut tax and had no money to spend. But taxes have never been higher. The Tories must be doing something wrong if we’re paying so much tax and getting so little for it.
Now, after about 25 Tory tax rises since 2019, they want to bribe you with tax cuts in the Budget. Don’t trust them.
Sunak says he wants to deliver for people – so give us the general election we want and need. David Bodimeade, Essex
‘Is it any wonder our armed forces are short of recruits?’
Is tax relief more important than UK security? (Credits: REUTERS)
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt thinks tax relief is more important than the defence of our country. Has he been asleep for the past few years? He should be thinking first about our security and putting money into our armed forces.
Our forces have been decimated by the government’s stupid actions over the past few decades. Every time our armed forces came back from a conflict in some far-off country, our wonderful government sacked most of them. That’s a great way of saying thank you for putting your lives on the line in any country we send you to.
All our armed forces are really short of recruits. Is that any wonder?
There are thousands of people from our Commonwealth countries wanting to join the British forces, but this government is too ‘woke’.
Well, it’s time this government woke up and built our forces up with people who want to be in them. DKC, Via Email
Sadiq Khan a modern day Dick Turpin?
Some harsh words on the Mayor of London (Photo by Nicola Tree/Getty Images)
‘Don’t drink, don’t smoke, what do they do?’ (MetroTalk, Fri).
Adam And The Ants also had a hit record with Stand And Deliver.
We now have a 21st-century highwayman – London mayor Sadiq Khan – who’s another incompetent, money-grabbing, sandal-wearing, yoghurt-knitting do-gooder, robbing the motorist of their hard-earned money.
He’s like a modern-day Dick Turpin – although Turpin wore a mask to conceal his identity. Malcolm, Stockport
Where are the lib dems?
Can somebody please explain to me what on earth has happened to the Liberal Democrats?
Why does it have to be that we have no choice but to pick one of the same old two – Labour or Tory – who are both awful. Come on, Lib Dems, step up to the plate. You can’t hide or sit on the fence for ever. There must be thousands of floating voters out there, and I have no idea what the party stands for, what with all that’s going on in this mad world. Steve, Sutton
Why Galloway won Rochdale
The only reason the people of Rochdale voted for George Galloway, leader of the Workers Party of Britain, in Thursday’s by-election was as a protest against the Israeli involvement in Gaza. Richard Farrar, London
George Galloway has been sworn in as an MP, following his successful election last week (Credits: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)
When it comes to Gaza, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer may indeed be ‘two cheeks of the same arse’, as Galloway said, but on every matter other than Gaza, Galloway is the one between the two cheeks. Nick, Southampton
Galloway won because voters (66 per cent) want a ceasefire and an end to genocide. George is right – Sunak and Starmer are two cheeks of the same backside. It’s not about them, it’s about one million people being starved to death. J L Fynaut, London
The politicians going on about extremism are partly to blame for creating the situation. They are responsible in their attitude towards people by their divisive politics. Nitram, Via Email
Why can’t the UN and people across the world make Russia stop the war in Ukraine, like they are busily trying to make Israel stop the Gaza war? Neutral Man, Falklands
The cost of train fare isn’t enticing people here, is it?
Lowering fares could get more people to use them (Credits: Getty Images)
The policy of increasing rail fares linked to inflation needs to be addressed. The revenue that train companies receive from fares is more than adequate as seen from the salaries paid to their staff.
The cost of fares should entice the public to travel by train, but these annual increases are a huge burden on financially stretched rail passengers. Due to the cost of living crisis, it’s impossible to make savings elsewhere – and travelling by car is not a feasible alternative. Mark, Essex
Since early December 2023, the combination of changes to ticket structures – supposedly to facilitate contactless payments, although those still aren’t available – plus Sunday’s 4.9 per cent increase (Metro, Mon) mean that my daily return from West Ruislip to High Wycombe has increased from £13.60 to £17.40.
I assume a lot of people have been hit like this, although the authorities assure me that some people are now paying less. Does anyone know any? Andrew Balaam, Ruislip
The rail service in this country puts me in mind of that quote George Best once made about David Beckham: ‘He doesn’t score many goals. He can’t head a ball. And he can’t tackle. Apart from that he’s all right.’
With the rail, this would translate to something along the lines of ‘Always on strike, always cancelling trains and services, surly staff, the trains that do run are often late. Other than that it’s quite good. Dec, Essex
MORE : What can we expect from the spring budget 2024?
MORE : Galloway says he despises ‘little’ Rishi Sunak after PM claims he ‘supports Hezbollah’
MORE : Where is Rishi Sunak’s backbone? His MPs need disciplining