I Really Hate Gordon Brown

[Favre]

I've never really been a one for politics but I must admit that Gordon Brown has really made himself a hated man by the future generation and myself.

The future genertation finds themselves priced out of owning a home, thier pensions robbed whilst paying increased taxes for the "boom" generation or as I like to call it the " I want everything for nothing generation"

A person in my position should have no worries if it were any other era other than Browns scandalous period in office.

Aged 24, £32k a year and £45k banked, partner on £20k ( newly qualified teacher) and still cannot afford to move out?!?!

What is this country coming too?

Unfortunatly myself and others of my age group see the only solution as to vote conservative in the next election and rid the country of that evil man Brown.

I for one plan to rent for a while after moving out of home, see how the market goes and save as much as possible because eventually the disgusting era of the baby boomer will be gone, the population will drop and the affordability of housing will reduce to sustainable levels for all.

Favre.

[Rave]

I don't see how voting Conservative is going to help you, now that Cameron has started the 'race to the middle'. Still, I used to vote Lib Dem, and I can't see how they are helping me either.

Spoiling your paper is probably the way forward . Other suggestions gratefully accepted.

[TWT]

I've never really been a one for politics but I must admit that Gordon Brown has really made himself a hated man by the future generation and myself.

The future genertation finds themselves priced out of owning a home, thier pensions robbed whilst paying increased taxes for the "boom" generation or as I like to call it the " I want everything for nothing generation"

A person in my position should have no worries if it were any other era other than Browns scandalous period in office.

Aged 24, £32k a year and £45k banked, partner on £20k ( newly qualified teacher) and still cannot afford to move out?!?!

What is this country coming too?

Unfortunatly myself and others of my age group see the only solution as to vote conservative in the next election and rid the country of that evil man Brown.

I for one plan to rent for a while after moving out of home, see how the market goes and save as much as possible because eventually the disgusting era of the baby boomer will be gone, the population will drop and the affordability of housing will reduce to sustainable levels for all.

Favre.

Hi,

I agree with you on many things. The boom people have had a good time finally.

However, when somone is on 32k and 45k in the bank at 24 hummm, well I call for a halt to too much complain.

Sorry I have my biterness as well and I think income disparity are also bad.

TWT

[Gwailo]

Your best bet - would be emmigrate! (Seriously).

In your circumstances, I would be looking to leave the UK for a few years - locate yourself in a low tax regime country, (there are lots if you seriously looked), gain as much valuable experience as you possibly can, save as much cash as possible & enjoy yourself at the same time.

If your partner is a qualified teacher - you literally have a World of choice!

I think you would be better off leaving the UK to ahem........'settle down' for a few years.

Good luck!

[dessie123]

Cant agree more. Left the UK in utter frustration 2 years ago. Rented a room in crap part of London in a terraced house which was 'valued' at 320,000 and got burgled 3 times in my last year. As a teacher I was also exposed to some of the most brattish kids you could imagine( unfortunately, i believe, mainly due to the get rich quick, i dont need to work/need skills/ celebrity culture the UK has become). Hong Kong is by no means perfect, BUT after the property crash a few years ago (70% falls acroos the board) there is more realism in the market. Anyway to the point, a 15% tax rate and less dubious stealths enable you to save far more in many countries abroad, or at least feel less cheated. I read this forum with interest fully aware that the day will come when logic will prevail and most posters on here will be proven correct. I also noticed a few days ago the sheer volume of property programmes in the UK now( 7 in one day), full of dead beat, boring, greedy, empty, soulless, zeros, bleeting on saying 'I want this, I want that'. Believe me none of these programmes existed when I left a couple of years ago. These programmes will not exist in 5 years. That is a guarantee.

Anyways, get out of the UK for a bit, believe me it is better on the other side of the fence for a while( less frustating for sure) and I have utter empathy for the posters on here who cant vtake a vacation from it all. I remember the same anxiety during the dot-com boom. Patience the day will come!!

[PeteHK]

To echo the above posters' comments, I would also suggest that you consider emigration seriously. With teaching/professional qualifications, both Hong Kong and Singapore are very attractive options.

I left the UK and moved to Hong Kong in 1997, and haven't looked back. I own my own property outright (as I was able to save a significant proprtion of my earnings over the past 8 years) and am able to spend/save/invest as much of my income (less just 15% tax) on whatever I want. Hong Kong may not be perfect for everyone, but it beats the UK on the most important perameters for me.

[Gwailo]

It seems there are quite a few of us 'refugees' from the UK living & working in Hong Kong!

Hong Kong isn't perfect - as already mentoned, but financially it makes a lot of sense.

Other locations worth considering are (in no particular order): Singapore, Malaysia, China & Taiwan - particular if you are a professional teacher.

UK - na.......I'll leave it alone and keep all those happy memories of the late 1980s.

It is truely a sad state of affairs though when the only way to get ahead in the UK is to emmigrate.

Cheers.

[Golden Shower]

If only the young would go out and vote, eh?

Having said that, I think the best option for the young person with a decent trade/profession is to leave the UK. Can't imagine the mess my (future) kids will have to cope with.

Edited June 21, 2006 by Golden Shower

[Bingley Bloke]

Aged 24, £32k a year and £45k banked, partner on £20k ( newly qualified teacher) and still cannot afford to move out?!?!

Try being 31 on £17K with partner on £8K and getting screwed by the taxman so couples on twice as much can have handouts 'cause they've got kids and then see how angry you feel. I should just go and deal with Brown myself. It'd kill two birds with one stone – I'd eraddicate the problem and I'd have a roof over my head for the rest of my life, albeit at Her Majesty's pleasure

[The Undertaker]

Why should I leave my country because of a bunch of pricks?

[Bubble Pop Electric]

i was concerned by one thing a conservative mp said on question time - i was quite with him on what he was saying until he said that the conservatives didn't want house prices to go down. There are no political parties who think that we are in a bubble. The conservatives, and labour both think the only answer to this is to build affordable housing. It's a joke. On housing, both parties are pathetic, and unwilling to acknowledge that there could ever be a drop. Cons also complain about levels of debt, but apparently access to any mortgage young people want is a good thing.

These people are all dangerous, they have nothing better to say. Even the bnp were trying to take credit for house price rises where they had won seats. GB is not a person i would ever like to meet, but on the housing issue alone - there are no differences to the solution - they're both singing from the same song sheet. Now - i'm off to pack my suitcase!

p.s. the only difference is cameron says he wants to build beautiful homes!!

[nodumsunreader]

I've never really been a one for politics but I must admit that Gordon Brown has really made himself a hated man by the future generation and myself.

The future genertation finds themselves priced out of owning a home, thier pensions robbed whilst paying increased taxes for the "boom" generation or as I like to call it the " I want everything for nothing generation"

A person in my position should have no worries if it were any other era other than Browns scandalous period in office.

Aged 24, £32k a year and £45k banked, partner on £20k ( newly qualified teacher) and still cannot afford to move out?!?!

What is this country coming too?

Unfortunatly myself and others of my age group see the only solution as to vote conservative in the next election and rid the country of that evil man Brown.

I for one plan to rent for a while after moving out of home, see how the market goes and save as much as possible because eventually the disgusting era of the baby boomer will be gone, the population will drop and the affordability of housing will reduce to sustainable levels for all.

Favre.

Your first sentence sums your position up nicely. Perhaps if you and others like you wern't 'never really one for politics' then you could stop blaming those who were interested in politics at your age for your situation and do something to change it instead (and that doesn't mean voting for the Tories who started the consumerist something for nothing brainwashing that the Thatcher generation and it's offspring suffer from in increasing numbers).

Edited June 21, 2006 by nodumsunreader

[OnlyMe]

Another vote for emmigrating.

Productive things I'd like to do are now a non-starter due to costs in this country, I hope to do them elsewhere. I intend to offshore my assets first.

[Realistbear]

Its not really a generational issue but 9 years of fiscal irresponsibility. Brown blindly followed Al Greenspan down the reflation path through accomodative IR with the result that a massive housing bubble has been created in both countries. It is, of course, mostly debt as something does not become "worth" 120-200% more simply on the basis of an opinion as Mervyn King has pointed out.

However, Mr. Brown's crime is doing nothing about the problme when he saw it was devastating the economy and ruining lives. What could he have done?

1. Restricted multiple home purchases through taxation and planning consents where housing shortages existed.

2. Instructing the FSA to monitor cowboy lenders and restricting irresponsible loans, prosecuting those who make false statements to obtain a loan together with those who knowingly defraud a mortgage company.

3. Applying advertising standards to VIs who have spun statistics that are meaningless such as "asking prices" and grossly inflated listings such as are found on Rightmove.

4. Curbing the government propaganda so that the BBC reports on the damage caused by HPI as well as the effects of notional wealth.

5. Beefing up the bankruptcy laws to make deliberate evasion of debt a far more serious act.

6. Apologised for attempting to exacerbate the housing shortgae through the aborted SIPPS disaster.

7. Taken a common sense view on immigration. If a housing shortage exists why make it worse?

8. Resigned in disgrace.

And this man wants to be PM?

Edited June 21, 2006 by Realistbear

[nodumsunreader]

Its not really a generational issue but 9 years of fiscal irresponsibility. Brown blindly followed Al Greenspan down the reflation path through accomodative IR with the result that a massive housing bubble has been created in both countries. It is, of course, mostly debt as something does not become "worth" 120-200% more simply on the basis of an opinion as Mervyn King has pointed out.

However, Mr. Brown's crime is doing nothing about the problme when he saw it was devastating the economy and ruining lives. What could he have done?

1. Restricted multiple home purchases through taxation and planning consents where housing shortages existed.

2. Instructing the FSA to monitor cowboy lenders and restricting irresponsible loans, prosecuting those who make false statements to obtain a loan together with those who knowingly defraud a mortgage company.

3. Applying advertising standards to VIs who have spun statistics that are meaningless such as "asking prices" and grossly inflated listings such as are found on Rightmove.

4. Curbing the government propaganda so that the BBC reports on the damage caused by HPI as well as the effects of notional wealth.

5. Beefing up the bankruptcy laws to make deliberate evasion of debt a far more serious act.

6. Apologised for attempting to exacerbate the housing shortgae through the aborted SIPPS disaster.

7. Taken a common sense view on immigration. If a housing shortage exists why make it worse?

8. Resigned in disgrace.

And this man wants to be PM?

So basically, Browns 'crime' is that he and the Labour government have behaved like Tories and failed to reform the deregulated and irresponsible approach to personal finance imposed upon the country in the 1980's and 1990's.

[JJJ]

Cease complaining, mummy's boy. Once you've moved out and are paying rent you may begin whinging.

[sikejsudjek]

I'm afraid the real reason politicians don't care is because they don't see votes in it. Too many 'young' voters are so turned off by politics that many don't vote. The belief that 'politics doesn't effect me so why bother voting' is why politicians don't bother taking any notice. Until that's changed nothing else will.

[dessie123]

Why should I leave my country because of a bunch of pricks?

Because it removes the bitterness and anger that Brown and his cronies create amongst people like us on this forum! The UK provides no prospects for self improvement and wealth is ultimately tied up with a few. Every twist and turn by the governement is a cynical manipulation of the 'perception' of prosperity' which prevails across the UK (assisted by the media)!! Those that realise the reality find that this eats into your motivation over time! I read these threads because I am fully behind the mindset which prevails! I have traded in paying high rent to an arrogant asian with 5 houses worth 300k each for the decent lifestyle of the 'expat population' in HK. This story is mirrored across almost any asian city/country. It does wonders for your mental health although I am a touch regretful of what the UK could of been like!!

[munimula]

Unfortunatly myself and others of my age group see the only solution as to vote conservative in the next election and rid the country of that evil man Brown.

I for one plan to rent for a while after moving out of home, see how the market goes and save as much as possible because eventually the disgusting era of the baby boomer will be gone, the population will drop and the affordability of housing will reduce to sustainable levels for all.

Hear! Hear!

One thing that you can be absolutely sure of is that the birth rate in this country is crashing and at the same time the number of over 65's is rocketing.

Who is going to pick up the large family houses priced at £1Trillion pounds so that the boomers can downsize for their retirement?

Not sure about conservatives though - what decent policy have they come up with to address the problems? They are even starting to cosy upto the public sector workers. Cameron is a PR man, he is the Tony Blair of the Conservative party. Politics in this country is 99% PR now.

I don't see how voting Conservative is going to help you, now that Cameron has started the 'race to the middle'. Still, I used to vote Lib Dem, and I can't see how they are helping me either.

At least the Lib Dems have vowed to cut income tax by 2p. That's a decent start in my book.

[E Powell]

However take a look how new labour are able to buy votes at the expense of the

real earners of the UK.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=205931

think about this low paid families with incomes of 25k or less are using tax credits to pay their credit card / mortgage debts which is why they cant afford to pay back overpaid tax credits.this is how they are getting overpaid credits - they declare their annual income based on their BASIC salary, then recieve credits accordingly to that amount - but then they work shed loads of overtime who pays the tax credits they receive - answer = me and other middle earner groups who do not qualify that is why families can have mortgages 10 X salary - they are getting more from tax credits to fund big mortgages and a debt lifestyle.

They are receiving a subsidy which most hard working folk are paying for so they can splash out on mortgages and debts. Now these folks are squeeling they cant pay the overpaid credits back and blaming the government !!!!

So I sent this link to a leading broadsheet journalist - reply below

New Labour's swindle of the middle class

What you have described is the result of a collision of several New Labour policies with its serial incompetence.

1. It is the policy of New Labour to create a vast numbers of people who are dependent on hand-outs from the state,

and who are intended to think that they have to keep on voting Labour to keep the money flowing to them.

2. Gordon Brown has a policy of redistributing money from the middle classes to New Labour's core voters to keep

himself in a job.

3. Brown is such a grasping meddler that he is compelled to make claim forms for benefits (and their administration)

excessively complicated to put people off making a claim.

4. New Labour's policy of politicizing the civil service and putting its party members in charge of civil servants has resulted in a sharp reduction in the efficiency of government department and a huge increase in the number of blunders made as no one is accountable and no one ever gets the sack. As a result, New Labour's 'clients' acquire unreasonable expectations of what they can have, especially when bungling civil servants give them too much of YOUR money and New Labour is reluctant to do anything to

clean up the mess. Why? Because if they did, people would start assigning blame and if, as at present, no one is to blame, it's nobody's fault and government ministers can keep drawing their over-inflated salaries. The only way to change things is to get rid of this government and hope the Tories can do better. But this is always made more difficult than it needs to be by the institutionally corrupt Boundaries Commission, which consistently draws constitutency boundaries to favour the Labour Party, giving them many more seats than they should have and ensuring that it takes many more votes to elect a Conservative MP than a Labour MP. So, Mr. Powell, the situation at the moment is that we're screwed and the only thing we can do about it is scream and shout and tell other people what a lousy job this useless government is doing.

NEW LABOUR IS DEFINATELY NOT WORKING FOR THE FOLKS OF THE UK.

NEW LABOUR THE PARTY OF THE CHAVS, UNEDUCATED DEBT RIDDEN BRITISH PUBLIC,

TERRORISTS, FOREIGN CRIMINALS, SEX OFFENDERS & READERS OF THE SCUM/NEWS OF

THE WORLD.

[teddyboy]

Why should I leave my country because of a bunch of pricks?

because my friend.. those pricks are phucking you over!

This government is the WORST from an economical point of view. Other governments didnt help the health service becuase they did not have the funds to do it. Gordon Brown has had the funds AND MORE and they are 600million in debt!!!! They wasted millions on the millenium dome and spent millions on an un-justified war. They are a FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE.

If companies could just keep borrowing and stealing money the way GB has done for 9 years then there would not be any closures. Its a FALSE ECONOMY!

OP... I agree the guy is a complete cockhead!!!!

TB

[Jimmy James]

Lib Dems are now proposing a tax on second homes - which is worth making a noise about.

Even if the lib dems don't stand much chance of getting in you will be able to use it to draw attention to the deficiences of the other two parties. Write to your Tory or Labour MP asking why they aren't supporting taxing second homes.

[Gravity's Rainbow]

I vote Lib Dem with some reluctance (mainly because I am in favour of proportional representation).

One of their policies that is very poorly thought out is the local income tax. With this in place you can look forward to asset rich retired home owners being subsidised by young working people who rent their homes. Many landlords would end up paying less council tax than their tenants do, since they can divert their rental income to make their taxable personal income look low.

It's a crap policy designed to appeal to the votes of the elderly.

As for the OP, focusing your anger on Gordon is well and good, but remember that it is easy to overstate his importance in the day-to-day functioning of the economy. We live in an age of consenus politics where all the main parties subscribe to the same fundamental economic programme. And apart from politicians there are plenty of other vested interests out there looking to screw you over.

[rogerthelodger]

I've never really been a one for politics but I must admit that Gordon Brown has really made himself a hated man by the future generation and myself.

A person in my position should have no worries if it were any other era other than Browns scandalous period in office.

Aged 24, £32k a year and £45k banked, partner on £20k ( newly qualified teacher) and still cannot afford to move out?!?!

£20k as a newly qualified teacher! under the tories that would have been about £12k

[lulu]

because my friend.. those pricks are phucking you over!

This government is the WORST from an economical point of view. Other governments didnt help the health service becuase they did not have the funds to do it. Gordon Brown has had the funds AND MORE and they are 600million in debt!!!! They wasted millions on the millenium dome and spent millions on an un-justified war. They are a FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE.

If companies could just keep borrowing and stealing money the way GB has done for 9 years then there would not be any closures. Its a FALSE ECONOMY!

OP... I agree the guy is a complete cockhead!!!!

TB

Dont forget the £400 million + wasted on the eyesore that is the Scottish Parliament building (which some Scottish friends of mine take much pleasure in thinking that it was funded mostly from England) it is already reported to be falling down (the money wasted on 90% of the useless cretins that inhabit it just does not bear thinking about)