Oh dear

[victor]

Govt borrowing up to record levels.
Inflation up .
U turn for some but I doubt all pensioners.

Further and faster really seems to be working or does it mean getting away from Reform?

I think someone had better get new batteries for Rachel ( from accounts or was it HR ) to put in her calculator.

The Roy Orbison song " Just running scared comes to mind

Egg on the face for starmer

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[Workingman]

We can learn very little from one month's or even one quarter's figures.

What we do know is that:
* Government borrowing in NOT at record levels
* Even though inflation is now at 3.2% it is nowhere near the 10-11% it was under the Tories.
* Not all pensioners need, or want, the £200-£300 WFA, but a start had to be made.
* With just five MPs the one-trick Reform UK Ltd party has some way to go to even overtake the number of Independent MPs.

A Reform Ltd government with Farage as PM? Oh my word...!

[medsec222]

Oddly enough Frank, after fourteen years of the Tory MP's fighting each other and thwarting any sort of progress, I thought that a Labour government was very unlikely to be any worse, as did many others who were willing to give Labour a chance to improve their lives.

In hindsight I think that the hopeful Labour voters who were more than willing to take their promises at face value, may have followed a muck cart and thought it was a wedding.

Pensioners, farmers, fishermen, large businesses, small business, and the disabled to name a few, may be regretting our choice of government.

Cosying up to Ursula who assures us that 'friends stick together', as well as inexplicably giving away the Chagos Islands, begs the question is Sir Keir more interested in propelling himself onto the 'World Stage', than working in the interests of this country. Many commentators have the view that everying Sir Keir touches turns to dust. They may well be wrong, of course.

[victor]

Well WM according to the ONI this morning April,s borrowing was 20.2 billion which was more than expected.
Also according to the same source yesterday inflation in April was running at 3.5 %.
I have to assume the ONI know what they are talking about.

As regards the pensioners etc although probably only those on benefits will get the Winter fuel allowance reinstated,pensioners as a whole will not forget come local or national elections.

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[Workingman]

Vic, the borrowing was higher than expected, true, but not at record levels as you claimed. The ONS reports inflation at 3.2% (RPI) or 3.5% (CPI) so you are correct. However, pensioners that rely on the state pension and who do not pay tax will still get the WFA. Those, like myself, who do pay tax will now get it reduced on a sliding scale down to £0, and that is fair, but as a whole we have lost nothing because the triple lock is being kept.

Meds, from the very beginning I said that Labour would spend the first 18 months doing the necessary dirty work to undo the mess the Tories (and Brexit) left us in. Once that time and work is done they will spend the next three years or so in loosening the purse strings.in order to try to stay in power. Nobody, but nobody, should be surprised by any of this.

[medsec222]

I don't think Sir Keir will be around for long enough to enjoy the fruits of his labours. Giving away the Chagas Islands and then paying Mauritius for the privilege of renting them back is a mystery to me.

[Workingman]

I think that the Chagos Islands are pretty low down on people's priorities TBH. They were the spoils of the Cold War and it is right that we hand them back. However, the base at Diego Garcia is of military importance so that is why we UK/US are still leasing it from Mauritius.