The Labour Government

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I could not figure out why on earth Starmer and Reeves would have even considering removing WFA.

And then the penny dropped. They figured most pensioners don't vote Labour, so they could stiff them with minimal votes lost.
View attachment 131346
View attachment 131345

This is not a modern phenomenon. We once had a local councillor who said that only potholes in wards that returned a Labour councillor would be mended! It was never clear whether he was throwing that out for a reaction or whether he meant it.

 

[PPT]

We know you’re reasonably balanced and you think they need time to sort it out. That must be why they have taken this huge gamble but they won’t get time, tactical voting got them so many seats in parliament.
Those seats will change hands at the next local elections if Reeves doesn’t change her war on pensions. In the next budget we will see more of her unbalanced view on the over sixties
It won’t be forgotten.

It’s a very poor political strategy. It can’t and won’t be forgotten due to the fact every time a pensioner dies in the winter due to the cold weather, the press and the media will be all over it. It’s impossible to forget it. But that what happens when ideology gets in the way of rational thought. Privately I can imagine Labour are now wishing they never did it. For a government this new they should be enjoying a honeymoon period. It’s gone the other way, the discontent is growing. Couple this Starmer’s persistent negativity and threats about what might be coming in next months budget, you really do wonder who is advising them.

 

[PPT]

They came for your winter fuel allowance. Now they are coming for your free bus pass…

 

[hampshireblue]

I've been saying for years we should (and will have to) move to some kind of Universal Basic Income.

Also that the personal allowance should be at least £20k.

Well it didn't work when it was trialed in Finland. Out of interest how would you fund UBI? I do agree on the £20k allowance, but again somehow there need to be a re-balance of wealth to make it work. Where would you start?

 

[hampshireblue]

Really? My mate works as a guard for Northern Rail, he's an intelligent lad who joined them in 2007 on the premise he would be given an opportunity to be a Driver. I think he's had three interviews to become a trainee driver, each time he was told he'd not got the job.

Baffling really but he's 57 now so he's given up on that ambition, he'd previously been a Pension's Manager at CIS. If they're so desperate for Drivers you'd think they would promote from within the organisation.

As I said, I know nothing about the industry, only going off empirical evidence witnessed by others.

You said: " Train Drivers are not that skilled, £45k would be fair, my mates SIL was on £65k before the pay rise, it's not a difficult job and the training was 6 months, absolute fucking joke." You then admit you know little about the job itself.

I challenged you to tell us what your job is, just so those of us that know nothing about it can decide if you're overpaid or not. What's good for the goose......

 

[mexico1970]

They came for your winter fuel allowance. Now they are coming for your free bus pass…View attachment 131362

It's like the **** has got a hard on for pensioners.

 

[BlueHammer85]

It's like the **** has got a hard on for pensioners.

lapping up the headline are you.

Reeves: "We've committed to those bus passes, to free TV licenses for those entitled, and free prescriptions.

"But we've also committed to the triple lock, not just for one year, but for the duration of this Parliament.

"That means that pensions will continue to rise by whichever is higher, two and a half per cent inflation or average earnings. That means that pensioners have £900 more this winter, and likely another £460 from next April."

 

[inbetween]

It's pretty much the same thing mate, dressing it up as "It's a bit different" doesn't make a jot of difference. The Germans are getting desperate to quell this flow of asylum going as far as firming up its borders, they are no longer welcoming every person with open arms.

Catch them deport them then process them offshore that's the German plan and the EU are also considering it, we can't even put them on a barge without causing a fuss in the aisles.

That's probably because to be fair Germany has taken millions of them in. How many have we taken in the last 5 years, is it even 100,000?

1.2m people entered the UK last year, 30,000 of them in small boats, it gets a lot of press but it represents an almost irrelevant 2.5% of total immigration.

I wouldn't bother to do anything about it because if people want to make that journey then they will. My main problem with it is the simple fact that it costs us billions. The Rwanda scheme would of cost billions and all of that to deter 30,000 people a year or less? We could fit more people into Maine Road.

 

[mexico1970]

lapping up the headline are you.

Reeves: "We've committed to those bus passes, to free TV licenses for those entitled, and free prescriptions.

"But we've also committed to the triple lock, not just for one year, but for the duration of this Parliament.

"That means that pensions will continue to rise by whichever is higher, two and a half per cent inflation or average earnings. That means that pensioners have £900 more this winter, and likely another £460 from next April."

They are committed to free prescriptions and free TV licenses? So just keeping what the Tories already had in place and acting like they are the big I am by not changing it.

A couple of days ago they were contemplating making a move to steal the bus passes, outside pressure made them cave in.

Labour refuses to rule out scrapping bus passes for some pensioners

Minister says he can’t offer a ‘concrete commitment for all time’ on the free travel benefit because of the state of the public finances

www.telegraph.co.uk

Tories demand answers over Labour's rumoured plot to scrap free bus passes

The Shadow Transport Secretary warned two Labour ministers on Tuesday refused to confirm older people would continue to receive a free bus pass.

www.express.co.uk

As I said, cunts.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Well it didn't work when it was trialed in Finland. Out of interest how would you fund UBI? I do agree on the £20k allowance, but again somehow there need to be a re-balance of wealth to make it work. Where would you start?

Re personal allowance hike, I'd adjust the rates. So maybe move to a 25% basic rate, for example. I haven't worked out the sums but that would be the principle.

I don't think anyone on less than about £20k per year should be paying tax at all. We can debate whether it's £18 or £21k or £17k or whatever, but it's not reasonable IMO to expect people to live on £12,500 per year or less, so taking tax off such people seems daft to me.

Re UBI that would have to be a long term aspiration. BTW, I am certain UBI is inevitable. It will happen as AI takes away everyone's jobs and concentrates wealth more and more in an ever smaller group. That is unsustainable. Sooner or later people are going to have to paid enough to be happily unemployed. The problem is the UK cannot do this in isolation or our entire country would go bust. It needs global alignment, which will take decades.