So it’s quite ok to pump raw sewage into UK waterways and the sea but it’s a case of ‘who do you think is going to pay for it’ despite £70 billion being paid out in dividends to shareholders. In other words, protect the investors at all costs and to hell with the environment.

https://twitter.com/an_it_guy_in_uk/status/1587349830157877248

It shouldn’t be forgotten either that almost all the UK water infrastructure was paid for by the taxpayer over many decades. And today, much of it is owned by foreign companies, so there are huge flows of dividends going offshore.

Few people seem to know this. In the 1970’s during a Tory government the UK faced another energy crises - the oil price shock. Then CoE Anthony Barber, in a not too dissimilar fashion to current Tory policy, decided the economy needed ‘liberalisation’ Banks we’re deregulated, credit flowed freely and pretty soon the UK inflation took hold, and then stagflation. That quickly led to industrial unrest as is the case today, 50 yrs later. In 1974, Lab came to power (the Cons won the popular vote that time).

Interestingly, every Lab government has left office with lower national debt than when it came to power.

The idea that Lab govts ‘tax and spend’ is another carefully crafted #ToryLie pushed out by the right wing client MSM.

The Tories are useless at economics.

https://twitter.com/thehuck_59/status/1582991847026089984

Before the US sub-prime triggered banking crises (yes, Tories tried to blame Lab for that as well), UK national debt was below £500 billion - so about 20% of what it is now. AFTER bailing the banks out it rose to £750 billion. All quite manageable and internationally

How about we start with this little gem from the Commons Library

https://twitter.com/paul14037537/status/1582630559431262211

Inflation. In 🇩🇪 and 🇮🇹 it’s at 10%, but in 🇫🇷 and 🇪🇸 it’s at c. 6.8% (and slowing) vs our 10.8%. So hardly a case of we have less inflation the Europeans. The outlook for GDP growth for the UK is worse than all the G7 countries except for Russia.

We’re borrowing huge amounts of money and paying over £100 billion a yr in interest because of austerity.

And it’s likely to get worse.

When Labour left power we had debt of £800 billion AFTER bailing the banks out. You Tories slashed spending and still ran up debt.

https://twitter.com/johnredwood/status/1582598843442479105

This outcome is exactly what Keynes predicted. The Tories are monetarists. They don’t believe a government must spend so thru do the exact opposite of what’s required and the result is a long term structural hole in national finances that will take DECADES to fix

We’re sick and tired of hearing from ‘small state’ dogmatists like Sinclair. The US government represents 46% of their economy and in the UK it’s 45%

Freeze state pensions and slash ‘non-frontline’ NHS and schools staff, said No 10’s economic adviser theguardian.com/politics/2022/… In France It’s 55%, while Japan is about 16 % and Australia is at c 11%, and Germany 43%. So, there is no link between the size of the state and the success of a country. Instead, there is a link between societies in which large parts of the populace are demonised

A chart is worth a thousand words. The UK bounced back in 2021 from the 2020 pandemic lockdown induced contraction which was the worst in the G7 and then settled at 3.7% in 2022 - part of that the ‘hangover’ boost from the 2021 bounce back. However, the UK’s average growth over the same period is the lowest in the G7 bar Russia (not shown) and the outlook is indeed dire. With inflation running at 10% (not the worst it should be added), the low growth only adds more misery to an already difficult situation.

For the Tory neolibs that look to America as a role model of small government, ‘government off the back of people’ and ‘individual freedom’ it’s interesting to note that that US govt share of GDP is 45.3% vs the UK’s 44.6%.

So, the US is more of a nanny state than the UK? Then think about the fact the US has a privately funded healthcare system which runs at 18% of GDP vs the UK’s 10% and it has worse clinical outcomes than the nationalised UK system. Further, inequality and mortality in the US are the worst in the developed economies

Suella Braverman: ‘Britain has a benefits culture problem’. Under the Tories, benefit costs have ballooned from £135 billion to £212 billion while poverty has soared. What’s going on?

Answer: Britain has an in-work poverty problem made worse by Tory policies and #Brexit. Period Braverman and her ERG colleagues believe in small government - so no social security, no publicly funded healthcare etc. Tories claim their economic management over the last 12 yrs has taken Britain to full employment - 96% of ppl are in employment.