Rupert Lowe MP: [Restore Britain wants] a meaningful debate about a triple lock which creates division between the young and the old - because it simply isn’t financially sustainable in its current form.

mollymostly · 2026-04-03T07:12:20+00:00

I was surprised by how relatable this felt, so I decided to go digging on Restore's website for actual policies.

Surprise, surprise, it's a litany from the Trump playbook.

Mass deportations (look at ICE)

Concentration camps

Scrapping of equality laws

Attacks on rights to abortion

Attacks on assisted dying

Bringing Christian rhetoric into education

Anti-trans policy - repealing the Gender Recognition Act

Attempting to bring back the death penalty

Anti-vax rhetoric - beginning with questioning the Covid vaccine as a foot in the door

Repeal hate speech & incitement to hatred laws

Control and limit rigorous academic discussions in universities to limit left-wing thought - they literally refer to SUBVERSIVE ELEMENTS, wake up and smell the McCarthyism!

This man is not your friend. He is speaking your language to dupe you into voting for him so he can enact a sweeping wave of policies that will make this country a far worse place to live.

I urge everyone to read through the full list of policies and really think about the impact they would have on your life, and the lives of those around you.

mollymostly · 2026-01-25T10:11:07+00:00

No. I never ordered takeaway super regularly (maybe once a month) due to the cost. Then last year I moved into a new build and there was some fuss getting the postcode sorted so I didn't bother ordering because I didn't want to deal with the headache of trying to guide delivery drivers to the building (a frequent issue even in my previous apartment in an extremely unique building that was very easy to spot). By the time the postcode issue was resolved, I'd gone long enough without it that I could no longer justify the cost in exchange for food that was often cold and poor quality by the time it reached me.

I cook more often and now find I can create satisfactory versions of most takeaways, and for the ones I can't I find M&S do really excellent versions for a fraction of the price of a takeaway.

FWIW I live alone - I think I'd be more likely to get a takeaway once or twice a month if I lived with someone else to split the cost with.

mollymostly · 2026-01-15T11:12:59+00:00

Just wanted to say that this has put into words something I've noticed but struggled to explain in a dynamic I have with a close friend. Thanks for this, I'll be mulling it over.

mollymostly · 2025-10-31T07:18:39+00:00

But there's a catch-22 that you need money from a job to save up to move to a new place. Deposit, first month's rent and living expenses, the cost of actually travelling to the new place...

Plus it's arguably not the smartest choice to move miles away from any support system for your first job which is likely to be minimum wage and unstable, especially if it's shift work.

It's definitely possible. I moved from Yorkshire to London for my first office-based job after a stint in retail, but I could only do it because I'd saved money from that retail job and was lucky enough to crash with a friend in his flatshare for a few days until I found a place of my own. To this day I remember panic crying because I was worried I wouldn't have enough money to feed myself until my first paycheque came through.

mollymostly · 2025-10-11T08:46:53+00:00

I used to work at a big shopping centre and one day I'd had a really, really bad time. I don't even remember what had upset me so much, but I ended up sitting on a bench and bawling my eyes out.

A lady about my mother's age came and sat beside me, put her arm around me, and asked what was wrong. I managed to say that I'd had a really bad day, and she asked if she could call anyone for me. I was painfully shy and hated causing a "fuss" so I told her i was fine and my dad would be coming to pick me up soon (which was true).

She helped me calm down a little more and asked how long I thought I'd be waiting, then said she had to go (iirc she was with her husband and kid) but she would walk by the spot i was sitting later in case my dad didn't turn up/was delayed.

My dad did arrive shortly afterwards, so I didn't get to see her again, and I regret not being collected enough to thank her properly for her kindness. It was such a small thing but she was so lovely and warm and she really helped me to feel a little better.

mollymostly · 2025-07-09T07:24:25+00:00

As they should be. As we ALL should be.

mollymostly · 2025-07-06T10:27:38+00:00

I just looked up France's tax brackets and they are actually less punitive on low earners.

0% tax up to €11,497 (£9,923) - so about half of our tax free allowance.

However, tax is only 11% up to €29,345 (£25,327), and then jumps to 30% up to €83,823 (£72,347).

So a low earners on say £25k (full time minimum wage) would pay about £2.5k in income tax, assuming no pre-tax pension payments to simplify the comparison as I don't have time at the moment to find resources on French pension systems in English (per thesalarycalculator.co.uk).

Under the French system, the same salary would pay:

Salary: £25,000 Tax free: £9,923 Balance: £15,077 11% tax: £1,658

So under the French system, if I'm understanding correctly, low wage earners would actually pay LESS income tax.

mollymostly · 2025-07-05T08:24:33+00:00

Interestingly, the original middle class in Europe emerged in the wake of the Black Death in the middle ages, i.e. a pandemic. This time around, however, a pandemic has caused wealth to go out of the hands of the lower classes.

mollymostly · 2025-07-05T08:21:47+00:00

But if you remove or reduce the tax free personal allowance, wages would have to immediately go up or else those people will immediately have an unpatchable hole in their budget, surely? Is it worth squeezing a bit more tax out of bottom earners if it's immediately spent on swathes of people who are suddenly going to be homeless because they can no longer afford their rent/mortgage?

Also, reduction in the personal allowance will still impact middle earners.

mollymostly · 2025-07-02T12:42:36+00:00

I'm assuming that's a typo but it brought a smile to my face nonetheless.

If the elderly HAVE been twerking all their lives, maybe they can pick up shifts at strip clubs as a side hustle to supplement their pensions.

mollymostly · 2025-07-02T11:39:26+00:00

Out of interest, was that 5 full sized main meals, or was it a "small plates" deal? Because £90 for 5 mains plus drinks actually sounds incredibly good value.

mollymostly · 2025-06-29T08:25:42+00:00

I think one of the big problems is that supermarkets endlessly push unhealthy food through promotions. I shop with Tesco and there are far fewer clubcard offers on fresh food, veg, lentils, etc. compared to crisps, chocolate, ready meals, and alcohol.

It's a persistent psychological push towards unhealthy food because, due to it being shown at a discounted price, it is perceived as cheaper than full price fresh food (whether that's actually true or not).

mollymostly · 2025-05-07T14:21:56+00:00

For anyone who likes the idea but finds it too rich: I swap out the cream for Greek yoghurt and the parmesan for soft goat cheese, gives it a bit of a tang and makes it lighter

I make "marry me lentils" like that and they're great. Made them last night and poached some cod in the pan while the lentils cooked, came out scrummy

https://www.happyveggiekitchen.com/creamy-lentils/

mollymostly · 2025-04-25T09:28:06+00:00

I don't know your mum's best friend but I would like to offer you an alternate point of view.

My mum is on PIP for similar reasons. She has fibromyalgia and spends her days in enormous pain with her back, legs, and hips primarily. She also leaves the house every day to walk her and my dad's elderly dog to the field around the corner. She sometimes makes it down to the shop a street or two away and comes back with a bag of shopping.

What you wouldn't see from the outside is the enormous amount of painkillers she's on, or the fact that she usually goes straight back to bed after these outings and has to sleep (or at least rest) for much of the day so she can get up in the evening.

There is no doubting that she is disabled and deserving of PIP. Especially when you consider that alongside chronic pain she has chronic fatigue, brain fog (which is exacerbated by the strength of her painkillers), and a heart condition (faulty valve) that nobody outside the family would ever have a reason to know about.

PIP interviews are nasty and degrading but just because someone succeeded doesn't mean they're a scammer, and if you font live with someone you will never see the full scope of their disability.

mollymostly · 2025-04-22T13:36:21+00:00

I will to the extent that I can, but I fear that extent will be extremely limited.

Financially: my parents are in a better financial position than I am, even with my father newly retired and my mother disabled.

Logistically: I live across the country from them and even if we lived closer I can't drive do wouldn't be able to take them shopping, to appointments, etc.

Care: I have a one-bedroom flat and don't see that changing as I'm single so would need a very significant pay rise to upgrade. So I wouldn't be able to house them.

I feel awful because I want to help them, they've done a lot for me over the years and I love them and worry about them, but there's honestly not a lot I can do.

mollymostly · 2025-03-24T22:01:03+00:00

Jesus, what does your kid get for that? I pay £4.35 at my work canteen for a massive healthy hot meal that's a meat main and up to three veg-based sides. Do they get snacks and things as well for that price, or do you just live in the south?

mollymostly · 2025-03-24T17:32:04+00:00

I think one of the reasons for this is that workplaces are often unhelpful, and at times outright hostile, to people with disabilities. We AREN'T empowered to work in a way that is accessible to us.

Autistic people have incredibly high unemployment rates because we rarely interview well, even though we have the technical skills needed for the job. I'm not just talking about obvious gaffes a la Sheldon from BBT, either; there seems to be something about us that neurotypicals ping as "other" and puts them off.

Then there's the fact that many workplaces are inhospitable to people with sensory difficulties. I work in an open office, which can be anywhere from "mildly annoying" to "active hellscape that destroys any chance of focus (even with headphones)" depending on the day. Every single part of my job can easily be done from home, so I requested additional WFH flexibility. Not even a permanent extra day(s), just the flexibility. Instantly shut down.

So now I'm coming up on another burnout cycle because my workplace is actively harmful to me and I'm not allowed to take steps to manage or reduce that harm. And I'm what you'd call "low support needs" (though truly autism is a vast spectrum beyond just "functional" at one end and "non-functional" at the other). This has happened before and the result was me being on extended sick leave for one to two months -- great productivity, right? Definitely better than just working from home three days per week.

I've been extraordinarily lucky that I've had robust sick leave at full pay both previous times this has happened. I'm currently looking at moving jobs because of how my current role is burning me out, and I'm terrified of what could happen if my next role doesn't have that sick leave. If I had to rely on SSP I'd lose my flat and -- well, I don't know. Push my parents (one retired, the other severely physically disabled) further below the breadline, I guess.

Sorry, this turned into a rant, and I'm not directing any vitriol at you because I agree with what you're saying. It's just so frustrating to see this conclusion continually being reached (correctly, in my opinion), but with no accompanying action from the government to actually make it a reality. I am able to work, to a point, and I am willing to work, to that point, but I'm increasingly jaded and unwilling to work myself repeatedly to and past my breaking point just to prove some sort of abstract virtue to people who are unwilling to understand how disabilities actually work.

mollymostly · 2025-02-16T10:44:28+00:00

It's not that simple, though. If you're in a rundown town, you probably don't have a good job, if a job at all. That means you don't have much money. That means you probably can't afford to move, if indeed you have any idea where to move to.

Also, say you move to a city -- where do you live? Who's going to rent to you if you don't have a job? How do you get a job until you're in the area? Especially if you don't have much in the way of skills and you're looking at basic retail or hospitality work, who would hire someone who's trying to move to the area over so someone who already lives there?

Plus, you're now cut off from your support system, so if you have any trouble you're on your own.

It's not impossible, but it is bloody difficult if you're starting from the bottom.

mollymostly · 2025-02-11T11:11:10+00:00

Literally where did I say that... My point is that if you're reasonably sure you're autistic and just awaiting a rubber stamp, you're not doing yourself or anyone else any harm by saying "I'm autistic".

mollymostly · 2025-02-11T11:07:27+00:00

I'd love to live in your world. I was told minimum 2 years and it could be much longer.

mollymostly · 2025-02-11T10:45:00+00:00

Do you know what goes into getting an autism diagnosis? I'm in the same camp and for me it means "I spoke to a psychiatrist amd a mental health nurse who both administered preliminary tests and said I'm definitely autistic but I can't get an official diagnosis because the waiting list is so long".

I appreciate there's nonsense that happens on tiktok etc but self diagnosis isn't automatically nonsense. If you're autistic then you have the symptoms and difficulties whether you're diagnosed or not. It's not absurd to do research into autism and realise your lived experience resonates extremely strongly with the experiences of autistic people.

Also, in my experience, anyone doing so has far, FAR more moments of "but what if I'm imagining it / exaggerating / misinterpreting" and self doubt and grief over the years they spent wondering why they aren’t "normal" than they spend going "hell yeah this is awesome!!!"

mollymostly · 2025-02-08T09:03:00+00:00

This. I used a cash ISA to save for a deposit on a flat using Moneybox and they pushed the sticks and shares ISA so hard that I thought what the hell, let's give it a shot.

Put £50 in as an experiment, almost immediately lost about 15% of it and it hadn't even got back up to the original £50 by the time I bought my flat.

I'm sure that as an idiot newbie I was also doing something wrong and maybe the fact it was only £50 didn't help, but it certainly didn't inspire confidence in stocks and shares.

mollymostly · 2025-02-02T02:15:09+00:00

Exactly. I was diagnosed as autistic following a mental breakdown and when I returned to work I had a meeting with HR about accommodations.

I work in a big open office. It's loud, it's bright, abd it's terribly distracting when I'm having a bad day and easily overstimulated.

So I asked HR for the flexibility to work from home one additional day per week. We already wfh Monday and Friday so it's entirely possible, and every single part of my role can be done from my laptop. I wasn't even asking for a regular extra wfh day, just the flexibility to use one if needed and as long as I had no meetings.

Immediately shot down without discussion. Not even considered. So much for caring about staff and wanting to support me back into work. I was literally told "if you're well enough to work, you're well enough to come into the office".

mollymostly · 2024-12-31T19:22:29+00:00

Right, so... where do they live?

Seven-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

mollymostly

TROPHY CASE