Well, I don’t think anyone saw the result of the 8th June General Election coming! Least of all Theresa May! A hung parliament? I guess that most of the Conservative MPs who lost their seats will have ideas about who they would like to see hung!
But, joking apart, what might this outcome from the General Election mean for us boomers? This column does not get into the dangerous world of party politics, but it is possible to make some observations on what the current situation might mean for us. I throw three thoughts out there and welcome your comments and observations!
Energising of the Young: Of course, all votes are anonymous and therefore we cannot be certain about the characteristics of those who actually voted. But with the turnout up to around 69% many more people got out there and placed their “X” against a candidate. All the signs are that a lot more younger people voted in this election, where in the past they have been seen as quite apathetic towards politics. Jeremy Corbyn talked about getting rid of tuition fees for university students – surely the prospect of avoiding something like £50,000 of debt couldn’t have influenced them? But those of us boomers who were lucky enough to go to university for free, back in the day, cannot begrudge them if they did? They are our children and our grandchildren and if they are saddled with debt from the outset then what does this mean for them later in life?
Dementia Tax: A lot was made of the Conservatives’ proposal to set a ceiling on what (primarily elderly) people should be able to retain after paying for their social care needs. They said that they would up this from the current figure of around £23,000 to £100,000, and that people would not have to sell their houses in their lifetime. This was immediately dubbed the “Dementia Tax” by the politicians of other parties and the media alike; and they all shouted “U-Turn! U-Turn!” at Mrs May when she reacted by making some changes. Yet – notwithstanding any debate about what level any such figure should be set at – the proposal would represent an improvement on the current situation: people who have assets such as a house are already having to pay for their social care so they are already paying a “Dementia Tax”, or whatever you want to call it! Anyone listening to the political arguments might have thought that the Conservatives were introducing a new tax that didn’t currently exist! Also, none of the commentators (as far as I could see) asked the simple question about what would happen to a person’s house when they had gone into care? Yes, it wouldn’t have to be sold to pay for that person’s social care while that person was alive; so does that mean that the house would be left empty for however many years the person was in a residential or nursing home? (Elderly people who go into care homes probably spend around two years on average in the care home before they die). Who would take responsibility for maintaining the property so that it didn’t deteriorate, or find squatters occupying it? Whatever Government is formed, who pays for social care is a question that requires serious debate.
Uncertainty: We are always told that the financial markets don’t like uncertainty. Who does? Clearly the markets reacted negatively to the result; their having expected a comfortable Conservative victory. The pound dropped against other currencies, so this could impact on the cost of what you buy in the supermarket and the money that you spend abroad. Commentators are already asking about the impact on Brexit! There can be a danger that we all get paranoid about this. So my suggestion is that you accept that maybe finances might be squeezed a little, and that the pound might go up and down like a yoyo. We live in “interesting times”, so you should try and concentrate on the things that matter most in your life: your family; your friends; and your health.
Have a good day, and enjoy the fireworks display that will be Westminster over the coming weeks and months!
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