There is so much speculation about the budget next week, but one thing is for certain some of our taxes are going to have to go up. Isn’t there an old saying there are only two certainties in life - death and taxes?

None of us wants to pay any more tax than we need to but if we want things to work then we’re going to have to.

I get that it's really tough for lots of people, with many living week to week but those with the broadest shoulders are going to have to pay more to fix things.

The list of stuff that needs fixing is horrendously long.

I love the NHS and I have to say when I’ve needed them or my family have needed them, they’ve been there for us. However, it’s far from perfect.

Waiting times at accident and emergency are far too long. The waiting list for operations is also far too long and cancer outcomes are not as good as some other countries. Investment is needed. People are dying because we don’t have enough ambulances and crews. If we want a world class NHS, we are going to have to pay for it.

Alongside that sits social care which needs radically looking at as it’s a complete shambles. If we want great care for ourselves or family members, we’re going to have to pay for it in some way or another. As a population we’re all living longer and the situation is only going to get worse unless we invest.

The amount of people I hear moaning about the state of our roads is colossal. On nearly every local Facebook page is someone is airing moans and groans about potholes and roads which need resurfacing. They are in an horrendous state with cars being damaged every day and I’m convinced that accidents are happening because of the poor maintenance being done. In fact, the roads are so bad it’s going to take billions of pounds to sort them out.

We know here in Suffolk flooding is a major issue and it is only going to get worse with climate change. Before climate deniers get started, it is happening around the globe right now!

What have our water companies and local authorities been doing been over the last few decades to improve the drainage systems? Precious little. The water companies have looked after their shareholders better than their customers. Then we have the disgraceful situation of raw sewage being pumped into our rivers and seas. Again it’s going to cost billions to put right.

Our schools are crumbling and our teachers quitting in their droves. If we want great education for our children and grandchildren, we’re going to have to pay for it.

We have too many people breaking the law and not enough police or capacity in our prisons. There are huge backlogs in the legal system, a lot of it down to  shutting down too many courthouses. Access to legal aid is also an issue and I don’t want to see any more prisoners released early because we're short of prison places. To fix this is again going to cost a lot of money.

I could go on. So much in this country is broken and to fix it we need to raise revenue. These things if we want them fixed can’t be fixed overnight. It’s going to take years to sort out. We can’t keep complaining about things not working properly while at the same time moaning about paying higher taxes to fix them.

A close relative of mine lives in Norway where they have no potholes, they have a great health service and a wonderful social care system. The reason they do is they pay more tax. We need to decide as a country what we want.

Do we want low taxes and to live in what some people refer to as broken Britain, or do we want a society where things work, we look after each other and work together through higher taxation to make it better?

Finally, a message to my media colleagues. Please stop asking when Labour is going to fix things. You can’t turn a nation around over night or even in one term of Parliament. It’s a massive job. Let’s stop all the endless speculation and just wait and see what Chancellor Rachel Reeves says next week.