The Labour Government

[metalblue]

what most people seem to be reacting to is the (Right Wing ) Press floating arguments to stay relevant. Things to remember are

1/ since July 5th most of the influential commentators have no "in" to the Govt. No Leaky Sue no Jnr Minister authorised to leak so all they can do is make shit up based upon own fears and the fact that they need to produce a Leader or an Op Ed to suit their paymasters as they have an expensive mortgage and school fees to pay.

2/ Parliament is in recess - No laws have been changed / passed

3/ Labour can float ideas in this time as govt's do - see what sticks - see what creates a reaction - would not be surprised by the time of the budget the fuel allowance is tapered and the fringes of wealth tax are explored

4/ Wait until Parliament comes back and the budget is announced ............ also when they come back the Tory leadership race heats up - the press will be focused on that as they won't have to make stuff up plus they will have the problem of persuading Sunak to turn up for PMQ's to be humiliated week in week out having had a summer in the sun where he wants to be. He will be pushing for a quick selection not a long drawn out process and as we have seen that usually means a piss poor candidate wins out

I think Sue Gray might find herself in a spot of bother before long if she doesn’t sort things out. The cronyism stories doing the rounds all seem to lead back to her.

Reeves giving Ian Corfield a job in the treasury - by passing normal process - is apparently down to Gray refusing him as an advisor to Reeves. He’s since stepped down from his paid role.

Waheed Alli having an all areas pass to number 10 is reportedly down to Gray whom he shares a close relationship. He also made a large donation to her son, Liam Conlon, the new Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge. Let’s hope that selection process was entirely above board.

Given the controversy surrounding her appointment I suppose no one should be entirely surprised. Still she’s giving Starmer a bit of a headache and he’s shown he can be ruthless.

 

[west didsblue]

Can you back that up?
I live in Wigan (a Labour stronghold), and that is most certainly not the case.

I think the qualifier missed by @Vic is that it is most pensioners that are not in receipt of additional benefits will be the ones that own their own homes. In Wigan I suspect that many of the pensioners you refer to are in receipt of additional benefits so hence would continue to receive the WFA.

 

[johnny crossan]

Moving the deckchairs on the Titanic. The tax system needs a fundamental rethink.

Property is theft?

 

[PPT]

I think Sue Gray might find herself in a spot of bother before long if she doesn’t sort things out. The cronyism stories doing the rounds all seem to lead back to her.

Reeves giving Ian Corfield a job in the treasury - by passing normal process - is apparently down to Gray refusing him as an advisor to Reeves. He’s since stepped down from his paid role.

Waheed Alli having an all areas pass to number 10 is reportedly down to Gray whom he shares a close relationship. He also made a large donation to her son, Liam Conlon, the new Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge. Let’s hope that selection process was entirely above board.

Given the controversy surrounding her appointment I suppose no one should be entirely surprised. Still she’s giving Starmer a bit of a headache and he’s shown he can be ruthless.

The cronyism is starting to become a regular thing now. Buts what’s new. It’s how politics work.

 

[mexico1970]

The cronyism is starting to become a regular thing now. Buts what’s new. It’s how politics work.

The red Tories are just doing what other politicians do really, and the red tory supporters will support them by making excuses for them.

 

[Vic]

Can you back that up?
I live in Wigan (a Labour stronghold), and that is most certainly not the case.

Scholes or Shevington?

 

[PPT]

Scholes or Shevington?

You can give us the numbers for both.

 

[Vic]

You can give us the numbers for both.

I guess it will be in the Super Output Area stats somewhere but you can see which pensioners claim council tax reduction at https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Council/Borough-Story/Age-Well/Fuel-Poverty.pdf

And twenty years ago 66% of Wigan Borough residents aged 60-74 owned their own homes, so now across the borough that's probably closer to the national average of 80%.

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Council/Strategies-Plans-and-Policies/Housing/OLDERPERSONSHOUSINGSTUDY.pdf

Like I said, deal with pensioner poverty but the context is that the winter fuel payment is about 1% of the average pensioner income. The state pension is low (compared to other countries) but the guilty people are those who've made it impossible for political parties to get elected unless they promise not to raise income tax.

 

[hampshireblue]

We got free prescriptions, free dental treatment, free university if you wanted it, housing might have been a struggle but most young people now would think the chance for a "struggle" would be nice. Most pensioners own their own homes with no mortgage or rent, and most of them have a decent occupational pension. Most are not choosing between "heat" and "eat".

I agree to a degree. Home ownership peaked at around 70% in the 1980s. It's fair to assume that lots of those people will now be approaching or indeed will already be pensioners. I include myself in that group (63). It was also the norm in that group to have some form of private pension. Some will be providing a good income, others not so. It is the latter that are the issues here. Indeed my own parents in law are in this group. Never well paid, but doing the right thing and contributing to a personal pension will mean they will lose the WFA for the sake of £50p/m private pension. It is this cliff edge that needs to be resolved. For them it won't be a case of heat or eat, but one of being extra careful around how they live their lives-batch cooking comes to mind as it's something that can make a surprising difference to how much energy is used in a household. I suspect a U turn is on its' way for this year as more thought needs to be applied as to how to de-universalise some benefits. I think Labour would have got away with it had there not been the 10% increase in prices announced last week.

But the whole way that the utility market is structured needs to change. It can not be right that the first £38 per month buys a household not a single kwh of gas or electricity but goes on the standing charge which in turn is being used to pay off those companies that were allowed to enter the market with little or no financial backing. I remember Kasi Kwarteng bragging about companies going bust and using that as an example of the market working correctly. Fine, until the rest of us pick up the tab for those failed companies.

 

[Kompany Car]

But the whole way that the utility market is structured needs to change.

Start by preventing the price being based on the marginal generator i.e not letting the most expensive plant required to meet demand set the market price. All it results in is increased profits for lower cost energy producers with none of the benefit being passed to domestic customers. If they did that the price of electricity would fall for everyone, more than the value of the winter fuel allowance.
Rather than more generation the UK needs more energy storage, be it in the form of battery for short medium term or green hydrogen for long term, we can then fuck off gas generation for all but last resort emergency needs.