Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Good suggestion. This channel is a bit of a niche interest of mine. Estate agent who covers Jaywick and the wider area. Unlike the poverty porn you usually get with Jaywick, they're trying to show it at its best, hard though it is with some of the jerry built properties they're selling. You can only admire the people who've been living in them who've made them homely. Look out for anywhere in Jaywick Sands with an upstairs. Ten to one, the stairs will look completely wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/@sheensestateagentsessex

There are a fair few people I've seen hoping that Reeves got pushed as a new chancellor would come in, and they'd start with a clean slate and we could all the nice things that they want.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 9:56 pm Good suggestion. This channel is a bit of a niche interest of mine. Estate agent who covers Jaywick and the wider area. Unlike the poverty porn you usually get with Jaywick, they're trying to show it at its best, hard though it is with some of the jerry built properties they're selling. You can only admire the people who've been living in them who've made them homely. Look out for anywhere in Jaywick Sands with an upstairs. Ten to one, the stairs will look completely wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/@sheensestateagentsessex

Its more welcoming than Clacton. Jaywick has a beach that juts out so you can see sunrises and sunsets. In the near future the sea front will be prime real estate. Have a feeling many of the locals like it the way it is, its certainly quirky.

I saw on the Guardian Live Blog that the Reeves will stop short of abolishing the two child cap in full.

In a way it makes sense to means test it. However...

This isn't the regular child benefit thing- that still exists for all children. It's the tax credit element of universal credit.

Ian Dunt has thoughts.

https://iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world- ... tarmer-2fd

This failure extends to the things which the government has done well. On Monday, the Renters Rights Act became law. This is a genuinely good bit of legislation, which protects people from no-fault evictions. No-one knows it exists. On Tuesday, the government went into a stand-off with the Lords to defend the employment rights bill, which provides protection on zero-hours contracts and unfair dismissal. It’s a good bit of law. No-one knows it exists. On Wednesday, climate change secretary Ed Miliband announced that the government was going “all in” on clean energy and unveiled an impressive new climate action plan. No-one knows it exists. In fact, whenever No.10 ‘sources’ comment on Miliband, by far the government’s most effective minister, it is to disparage him because trying to save the earth is apparently some kind of pinko shit.

It’s a communications shitshow. An abysmal failure. And it’s no use saying the press are hostile - of course they are. You’re a Labour government. Governing as Labour is playing on hard mode. A successful Labour communication strategy is defined by the fact that it overcomes these challenges.

Again, this is Starmer’s fault. He decided on the operation and who is involved in it. But it is not his direct culpability. It can be fixed without changing him

Perhaps the “government sources” who have records worse than Gary Glitter would be less listened to.

Evidently none of them speak for the government judging by how many times Miliband and Phillipson have been sacked.

mattomac wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 1:38 am Perhaps the “government sources” who have records worse than Gary Glitter would be less listened to.

Evidently none of them speak for the government judging by how many times Miliband and Phillipson have been sacked.

They're taken very seriously on Bluesky.

Miliband seems pretty prominent to me. Perhaps Starmer could be out there with him more often.

Yeah, it is a good idea. They're redistributing away from London to what might be called Kipperville, and this is a way of increasing the overall budgets available for councils. It'll help fill the gap in London. A hotel tax might bump up London revenue too.

The Government have had some criticism for not allowing a hotel tax as some regional leaders have requested. It's possible the Government is going to do a national hotel tax, but a devolved one would be better.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sun Nov 02, 2025 8:24 pm Yeah, it is a good idea. They're redistributing away from London to what might be called Kipperville, and this is a way of increasing the overall budgets available for councils. It'll help fill the gap in London. A hotel tax might bump up London revenue too.

The Government have had some criticism for not allowing a hotel tax as some regional leaders have requested. It's possible the Government is going to do a national hotel tax, but a devolved one would be better.

Yes, I saw a lot of people on Bluesky complaining about that. There's also talk of an Exit Tax, although Dan Niedle thinks it's been hinted at too early.

What are people's thoughts on this?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... xperts-say

Proposals being considered by Rachel Reeves to cut tax on electricity bills will backfire, experts have warned, resulting in a giveaway to richer homeowners and undermining the UK’s climate commitments.

The chancellor is understood to be looking at plans to eliminate the 5% VAT charge on electricity bills as a fast and simple way to reduce bills for consumers and ease the cost of living pressures that have aided the rise of Reform UK.

However, a host of experts have said such a move would disproportionately benefit better-off people with larger homes, would almost certainly result in higher carbon emissions and could end up being underappreciated by cash-strapped voters.

Tim Leunig, a former government adviser and visiting professor at the London School of Economics, said: “This is a terrible idea. Most of the benefit would go to people in larger houses with larger than average electricity bills.”

I would need to know who the 'experts' are, and see their actual statements.
This is classically vague tendentious reporting. It's value would depend on the reliability and value of the expert statements, which seems to be being concealed.

Such are the systems of the energy suppliers that VAT could be differently and easily applied to the first however many kilowatt-hours usage in a smaller or more frugal home. Setting that threshold would need some quick Excel sorcery, but I would imagine that it would kick in at around 3000 kWh p/a.

There are no down-sides to compelling the suppliers to educate their customers

That said, this is probably a potential tax change which won't have any significant impact upon the overall maths.

The sort of thing 'smart' meters should be able to handle.

However... wouldn't it potentially penalise those who own EVs and charge them at home?

Can DVLA talk to HMRC? If you have a leccy car, you bag some extra grace.

Be good if they could. When I next replace a car it's most likely going to be a PHEV - but you never know. What annoys me is that I'm perfectly capable of installing a 7kW domestic charge point myself, but rules is rules.

Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Mon Nov 03, 2025 8:55 pm I would need to know who the 'experts' are, and see their actual statements.
This is classically vague tendentious reporting. It's value would depend on the reliability and value of the expert statements, which seems to be being concealed.

On this occasion, the expert view is probably the one quoted. It’s a giveaway to bigger houses. Increase the winter fuel payments to help the poor.