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@godgivemestrength The left wing vote will be split between the Green Party, Your Party, LibDems (rebranding themselves the party that cares) and in Wales Plaid Cymru and in Scotland the SNP. Either due to the politics of the left being fractured by nature or due to that being desired by the powers that be to negate the risk of a left win in our first past the post system. They will also lack media coverage, and what media coverage they get will treat them as a joke or a threat to society, and smear them.

The right wing vote will be less split as Reform soar over the Conservatives in the polls. And come election time there will probably be mass desertions to Reform or a merging of the parties. Unless Bandenock or her successor somehow manages to revive the Conservatives fortunes both in the polls and with donors. They will get never ending wall to wall media coverage, and be portrayed as reflecting public opinion, speaking the truth, holding the government to account.

Labour will hope to get in by pretending to be the centre party. While seeking to pander to corporations and wealthy donors. And to the media and pubic with anti immigrant and anti welfare rhetoric and policies and come election time offering tax cuts and freebies paid for by cutting welfare. And probably by then a new leader, a fresh face to the right wing of the Labour party, same backers, same policies, new smile. They will also rely on playing on fears about the right and fears about the left, to get voters to vote Labour to stop Reform or stop the Greens/Your party if they are doing well in the polls.

Despite Reform doing incredibly well in the polls at the moment. I suspect we will end up getting a Labour minority government or a Labour LibDem coalition or even a Labour Conservative coalition. At least if the economy starts to do better. Which seems to be reliant on global events bringing down energy and food prices, and increasing global trade. 

@godgivemestrength Exactly. So confusing

@Depressing When they’ve stopped fighting amongst themselves, and instead started to explain and detail what they are all about, we might start seeing if they have any credibility to carry on our fight for fairness and justice.

@Depressing Precisely and mine too

@pollenpath If you get housing costs and your rent goes up, the increase will be taken from your TP so you'll be worse off cash in pocket as it were.

@pollenpath UC will go up, transitional protection will go down by the same amount. So we wont see an overall rise until all the transitional protection is eroded. Similarly, if the rent goes up, so will the housing element, and the transitional protection will reduce correspondingly. It's because UC has no disability premiums and those with esa disability premiums were given transitional protection to compensate temporarily.

@Alikris When you say ours will be reduced, do you mean it just won't go up, or do they literally take that amount off what we get at the moment?! 

@GLB  The change next year according to the Universal Credit Act 2025.

Claims that predate 6th April 2026
Support Group/LCWRA premium remains at its current level £432.27 a month and the total amount of UC including personal allowance is uprated each year by inflation. This might mean the UC personal allowance is uprated by more than inflation and the Support Group/LCWRA premium is uprated by less than inflation but the combined total has been uprated by inflation. So they are no worse off in cash or in real inflation adjusted terms.

New claims that commence their assessment phase on or after 6th April 2026
Support Group/LCWRA Severe Disability Criteria get the same as legacy Support Group/LCWRA awards above.
Support Group/LCWRA not in the Severe Disability Criteria get reduced premium of £217.26 a month and this premium is frozen, not uprated by inflation.   

@GLB  standard  UC  allowance   is  increasing   the  Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity amount (Pre-2026 claimant, severe conditions criteria claimant or claimant who is terminally ill)  Is  not clear, it  reads as it may  increase  for those  who  are  pre 2026 claimants,  as  well as  those with severe  conditions  to  me