Things will only get better when taxes get higher

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Whichever public service you look at, its staff are overworked and underpaid

Whoever wins the election, it’s clear that taxes, including council tax, will have to increase hugely if we are to maintain the level of public services we need.

Over the decade, every last drop of blood has been wrung from them. Not only the NHS and social care but schools and police, prisons and probation. Necessary services like setting up a power of attorney and getting probate through take months.

Whichever public service you look at, its staff are overworked and underpaid. As for privatised water, power companies and transport businesses, they all seem to be run for large profits while not delivering much of a service.

The housing situation doesn’t bear thinking about.

It doesn’t have to be like this – we could accept a considerably higher basic rate of tax and get the public services we need. Then, politicians running for office now could stop trying to kid us that they can make things better without tax rises.

Ruth Harrison

Norfolk

When it comes to tax, the wealthy need to pay the price

I see that both major parties are insisting that they won’t raise taxes after the election – indeed, the Conservatives are claiming that they will reduce it further still! But I’d hazard a guess that that’s probably not the top priority of most people right now. Tax is the price you pay for living in a civilised society and I’m pretty sure the majority of the populace understands and accepts that.

Certainly, when I’m driving along pothole-ridden roads, past under-staffed hospitals, crumbling schools and closed fire stations, my main preoccupation isn’t speculating about when the next round of tax cuts might come.

I agree that the lowest paid amongst us shouldn’t be taxed any harder – indeed, in the ongoing cost of living crisis, the burden they are already shouldering needs to be urgently rebalanced. But there are an awful lot of wealthy people on these shores who could comfortably stand to contribute more to society – and our country would be all the better for it.

Apart from those areas already mentioned, the defence of our country and the policing of our streets have also suffered quite acutely from the Cameron-Osborne era of austerity and have never been given a chance to recover. What this country is crying out for is investment, in both our people and in our infrastructure.

The majority of us would be more than happy to invest in a better future for our children and the generations to come. Fourteen years of cuts have only left us bleeding.

Julian Self

Milton Keynes

We need to look beyond individual careers to fix the UK’s workforce

The recent rise in unemployment alongside a decline in job vacancies signals a critical juncture in the UK’s skills landscape. This disconnect highlights the urgent need to reskill and upskill our workforce to meet the demands of the evolving job market. Yes, technical skills are a given, but they’re no longer the sole differentiator. The future of work belongs to those who cannot only code, but who can also effectively communicate, collaborate, and solve problems creatively.

Soft skills are the essential human abilities that have always been and will continue to be, the foundation of a booming workforce. They are the adaptability engine that allows individuals to navigate change and build strong relationships. Unfortunately, in the constant noise surrounding AI and other technical progress, soft skills are often relegated to the back burner. This needs to change, particularly when addressing current unemployment rates.

This skills gap could jeopardise the very future of the UK’s economy. Our educational curriculums and businesses alike must prioritise these foundational skills. By equipping the next generation, and indeed the current workforce, with a well-rounded skillset that includes both technical and soft skills, we can build a future-proof workforce that drives long-term economic success. This isn’t just about individual careers, it’s about the future of the UK’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Mark Thompson

London

Dishy Rishi

So, our prime minister knows what it is like to go without things because he didn’t have “Sky TV when growing up”.

This must really resonate with people who are having to resort to food banks to feed themselves and their families or are only heating one room because they can’t afford to heat their entire home.

Rishi Sunak is either totally tone-deaf or such a poor politician that he couldn’t respond to the question by just saying that he was very lucky during his early life and that he honestly didn’t have to go without.

This unbelievable lack of empathy shows just how much he and his party are so unfit to solve the problems besetting the country and the wider population.

S Lawrence

Enfield

Following our neighbours’ example

Voters know there is too much to do in all areas of this country for any one party (even if Labour get into power with a huge majority as predicted) to change in one term. What is required is a complete reset, which will be phenomenally difficult to achieve. The main question is whether to follow Donald Trump’s America or look at our closest neighbours.

My feeling is that all the mistakes of recent Tory administrations have been from following Trump’s line, with our latest prime minister even adopting the campaign approach of “pick a lie with a number and repeat it ad infinitum”.

Yet several European countries I have visited over the past few years seem to have well-surfaced roads, clean water, buses and trains which are both cheap and reliable, health and education systems which work for the majority (rather than the privately resourced minority), childcare provision which is funded to support families, and policies to address the problems of an ageing population and the climate crisis.

As an Irish citizen, I have the option of moving to such a country. If any party would like to encourage me to stay, they would have to do the following.

Remove private schools. As Finland discovered, when all children are educated by the state, rich people will ensure it is to a high standard. Abolish the ridiculously complicated benefits system and provide universal basic income for everyone below a certain income level. Either fund the NHS properly to retain increased levels of staff, or institute health insurance to pay for it. Renationalise water, gas, electricity and public transport to ensure that everyone can afford these essentials.

Failing this, I am probably going to emigrate.

Katharine Powell

Address supplied

Do the numbers add up?

I am in total agreement with improving outcomes for all school children.

I was a teacher for a few years and an accountant by profession for 30 years. We scrimp and save to send our daughter to an independent school. We are not wealthy. We have a mortgage and lease our cars to save costs.

Bedford has six independent schools, and approximately 5,000 pupils. My two brothers and I attended Bedford Modern School on scholarships from the assisted places scheme, which was abolished in 1997. It provided us with a good education, free school meals, and school uniform assistance

Labour’s plan to hike the VAT tax on private schools could potentially raise £1.6bn each year, provided all private school children stay and all private schools pass on the VAT in fees.

Such a scheme would be fairer to phase in after September 2025, so new parents have a choice on whether to opt for a private education for their children with the new VAT levy or not.

However, this means the worst-case scenario is that thousands of new kids join state schools. For new schools to be built or brought, and for enough teachers to be trained or recruited to meet this demand, will the annual cost match that made on extra VAT?

There is work to do, but harming the education of so many children is not perhaps the route to improving social mobility.

We want a Labour government in six weeks but we are anxious, worried and stressed by potentially an extra £300-£400 on monthly school fees from September.

As a former Labour parliamentary candidate, I have never voted for any other party in my life.

Let’s improve education outcomes for the many and not just the few. And let’s not penalise those who work hard and save to put their children’s education first.

Change is needed, but let’s think if the numbers really make sense and don’t just grab headlines.

Saqib Ali

Bedford