Phil xxkr

20 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Sounds to me (without crunching the numbers) that they are just applying the triple lock. This rise based upon the element relating to the increase in wages which I believe would be about 4.5%.

This ain't a bonus chaps. Take 20% off in tax (for most and more 40% for a few) nets down at lower rate tax to £320. Take off about £180 in the rise of the energy cap and you are left with a massive(sic) £140 ! Be sure not to spend it all at once on a huge spending spree at the Oxfam shop.

I am sick and tired of having my intelligence insulted on this issue by politicians. Listen up, the Triple Lock is NOT a gift, it is NOT a favour!. It is what any reasonable person should expect from its Govt. The fact is when you retire you are in the main on a Fixed Income. The single biggest threat to that income and your quality of life is Inflation. The latter is most effected by the policies your Govt makes. If it borrows heavily and floods that into the marketplace by say handing out high increases in wages to the public sector then inflation will not be going down much if at all.

In conclusion, if you hear politicians banging on about the Triple Lock favour , or indeed any journo doing the same feel free to hand them a pointy hat and send them to the corner for naughty illiterate children

 

Hear Hear! An economically illiterate pillock on Talk radio said boomers take more out than they paid in. Well of course they did notwithstanding inflation the whole State Pension thing is an unfounded giant Ponzi scheme. When we worked we paid for the then pensioners and now it's the follow on generations to chip in and do their bit but clearly they don't wish to. If they only had an ounce of foresight they would see they are supporting the end of the SP as we know it. 

6 hours ago, fourbanks said:

Presumably, the elderly population will have to establish a political party akin to reform, which was necessary because the general public's opinions were disregarded.

It's possible for extremely skilled retirees to lead the pensioners party, but who knows how it would work out.

I have done volunteer work for the community for 45 years, both locally and virtually. Those who asked me to volunteer online claim that I am more effective to others because I have always performed volunteer work for free at great personal expense, which many would consider foolish. I would agree.

Why not just vote for Reform? They are more sympatico to the over 65's than any other party probably because they fully appreciate the countries history and who created it 😎

37 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

If I put my most cynical head on…

- Labour know that many pensioners don’t vote for them, and even those that do will be dead in the next 5-10 years;

- I’ve heard Ministers use the phrase ‘for the good of all’ a lot recently. The implication is that, rather than favouring the elderly, they’re on the side of ‘everybody’;

- By creating a phoney older vs younger people culture war, they’re hoping to be seen as;

     - on the side of the young, think planning and house building;

     - those young people they hope will vote Labour for many more years than the elderly will be able to do.

Also worth remembering that very few, if any, of the measures put in place by this Government will be reversed by a future Conservative Government. They’ll simply be able to blame their predecessors as Labour are currently doing…

Absolutely, 

55 minutes ago, Lmafudd said:

It was mentioned on GMB this morning before they interviewed the Minister for Defense, (Healey I think), plus 'others' they added!

Today in various News reports it states that the Labour Party intend to give Council's the power to ignore the compulsory 25% discount for single home occupancy that will affect mainly pensioners, the removal of Discounted Railcards for the elderly, service personnel and the disabled and a move to increase the pension age at a faster rate than already stated. All this must show that this government had decided that pensioners are a worthless drag on society and should be punished for leading the country to this point of supposed near bankruptcy (even though the Cabinet are the only group that actually think the UK economy is currently 'bad')!
 

If this shower stay in for 5 years then there is every chance that some of us on here may be in this group without having an actual Lexus to our name as they will soon be saying that Pensioners should not be allowed to drive or even be seen in public!

Remember my words - NI on pension payments is just around the corner, NI discount for those workers over pension age will be curtailed and ISA allowance will, at best, never be increased and at worst phased-out.
 

Means testing of the State Pension will be a far more egregious attack on pensions. But just let's temper our vitriol for a moment. Right now most of the speculation is about October that involves retired people. But what if the whole doom and gloom is being deliberately built up such that come October it turns out to be nowhere near? Cheers all round? 

Bear in mind that the total annual government spend is around 1189 Billion🤯. Before the pay awards the so called "black hole" would be around 13 billion ie not far off 1%. One percent!!! All this nonsense over one percent yet Lucy Powell claims the economy will crash if the WFA is not withdrawn. Why is there no legal process to challenge these miscreants and hold them accountable for their outrageous claims? In every other area of life if I make claims about service or product I can be pursued through the courts for falsehoods, what's different? 

6 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

On that basis the non voters are the heroes.

Correct! How many times have you heard "don't blame me I didn't vote for them" 😕

29 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

It occurs to me that something like 40% of voters opt not to vote. Some might suggest they have no right to complain. I do not. To me looking at the numbers above I am surprised that as much as 60% of voters do still choose to vote given that most of them are still not going to have any voice in the elected govt. On that basis it is not really surprising so many choose not to bother after all nearly 80% of eligible voters do NOT have any representation in govt.

Yes, truly Democracy in action (sic). A system so broken millions choose to opt out.

If you have been voting for politicians who promise to give you goodies at someone else's expense, then you have no right to complain when they take your money and give it to someone else, including themselves.”

― Thomas Sowell

9 minutes ago, Kevin Williams said:

Hello Phil, its another missive about our current chancellor...!

What a great find! 

25 minutes ago, Kevin Williams said:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/473226882355942 

Thanks Kevin but I don't subscribe to the social media - what's the essence? 

19 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

This is 'difficult'. I have every and I do mean every sympathy with the thought process behind this. Unfortunately, the thinking does not meet my standard for good reasoning. I explain, If you have a job that requires a uniform then your employer might provide that for you and I don't think this idea is particularly contentious. Ergo if you are an MP and that job necessitates a second residence with it's attendant costs including fuel provision it fits the same logic. The whole argument of tying that provision to the isse of OAP's winter fuel allowance is to be frank nonsensical in rational terms. It is an emotional fed reasoning to people who are both angry and frustrated. The answer to the latter is not to compound one wrong with adding another wrong. The answer is to correct the original mistake. Change the logistical way in which the policy is applied, raise the means testing barrier. It's obvious, and it's right. The problem I suspect is that it is not as simple to execute as their current criteria and if you add in extra bureaucratic costs to the process the relatively small saving will evaporate completely. In summary, be the 'bigger man' , admit you got it wrong, apologise, cancel the policy and win a bit of public support back. Move on.

Nice idea but does anyone recall a single instance when this happened? It won't happen, it's in their DNA, historically Conservatives raise taxes when they have too, Labour when they can 😱

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Maybe she should have thought do the voters of this country want to see a "smoke free country"?. What the "govt" wants is irrelevant.

This of course will be lost upon them. They actually think voters want them to impose their views rather than consult with people as to their views. That's what happens when ideology has no control imposed on it.

Exactly so! Do you think smoke free will extend to wood burners and barbecues in the garden? 😱

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

Let’s just see what happens when the House Sits next week 

Labour Govt will forever be reminded of their scant regard  for the welfare of the nations OAPs ……. and ensuing premature deaths 

Enough deaths and DWP will have surplus in their pensions budget 

Theyre just total impossible awful people in Govt 

 

SHAME ON STARMER.   SHAME ON REEVES 

Malc 

And it doesn't end! 

Labour denied plans to restrict outdoor smoking are an attack on pubs after dire warnings struggling hospitality businesses will go to the wall.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell said the government wants to see a “smoke free country” as she dodged questions about the scale of the ban being planned.

23 minutes ago, HPS13 said:

Have you read the consumer rights act 2015? 

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying any product that proves to be faulty, including a new or used car. The law also provides protection for servicing and repair work that renders your car faulty.

Exactly, but Mike B needs to be equally sure of what is described as a fault? For example the paint mis-match is this a fault? Unless it was sold as original paint indicating no scrapes involved. And I would definitely pay for a car history check before I approach the dealer. 

I hate to post this Malc but here is the latest from Cabinet member Lucy Powell, 

"The UK could have faced a run on the pound and an economic crash if Rachel Reeves had not axed winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners to fill a black hole in the public finances, Commons Leader Lucy Powell said." 

Even the wisest from Aristotle to Roger Scruton could not have comprehended a system whereby people like this have an overiding executive authority over the electorate. To say I despair doesn't come even close to the sense of foreboding I can't shake off. 🙁🙁🙁

42 minutes ago, Mikey B said:

I'll try and keep the points vague to protect my position and the dealership concerned, but has anyone returned a car bought under the Lexus Select scheme?

The dealer didn't put right a few issues before collection which they had agreed to do, but most importantly, I've realised the car has had a fair bit of repaired accident damage.  I'm colour blind so can't really differentiate between different shades but have now had it pointed out that front and back are different shades (sonic titanium) - now its been pointed out I can see it

It also has a lot of interior rattles for a Lexus and is much worse that my old IS despite having only done 25% of the mileage and being 4 years newer - I'm thinking that this car has had a hard life or possibly a dubious past

Does anyone actually know what the criteria is for a car to be sold under the select scheme?  I was a bit naive and assumed accident damage / previous repairs would have excluded it from being "approved"

How did you pay for it? If you don't hold your nerve and return now for full restitution of monies paid you will forever be unhappy with the car until the day you get rid6🙁

3 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

I’m of the opinion that the only real difference between the parties is scrutiny. Outside of Government, there is little except for the most outrageous scandals. Once in Government things change. So, for all of those people who believed Labour would ‘clean up’ Government and restore it to ‘public service’ I’m afraid I have some bad news…there really isn’t much difference. There will inevitably be ‘bad apples’ in all walks of life, albeit within the Palace of Westminster the proportion seems to be rather high…

https://news.sky.com/story/labour-mp-defends-himself-as-renters-champion-after-poor-conditions-found-in-his-properties-13206274

It will be interesting to see what Starmer decides to do about MPs such as this example. Very little would be my guess. Vive la difference?

Back to Winter Fuel payments and the article in Spectator magazine, I do feel that if Jeremy Hunt had implemented this policy there would have been protest marches organised by SWP across the country with wall to wall media coverage of pensioners in hovels wrapped in blankets. Other than the Newsnight interview and the online petition, to quote Bjork, “…it’s oh so quiet…shhh!”

Unfortunately national elections in the UK, USA, France, Greece, Germany etc. are increasingly a choice through gritted teeth of the ‘least worst option.’

Meanwhile, the US election choice and mood is summed up pretty well here.

https://news.sky.com/story/forgotten-rust-belt-town-embraces-donald-trump-despite-his-broken-promises-13206487

This is from the same Mark Stone a few days ago - 

There was an electric atmosphere inside the Chicago convention centre for Obama. Not Barack, but Michelle. She was the warm-up for her husband but as she proved at the 2016 Democratic Convention with her famous "when they go low, we go high" speech, she is the real orator, not him. The crowd of 20,000 hung on every one of word of her words. It was a speech of hope, of what could be under a president Kamala Harris. Not the darkness, the "smallness" as she sees it of Donald Trump.

So I guess we know where he stands then👍

26 minutes ago, LenT said:

Nevertheless Stephen,  a choice is what they are going to have to make.  At least they’ve had some experience of a Trump administration where as - on the back of the second lowest recorded level of support - the UK has acquired a new Government which appears to have elevated ways to rapidly alienate voters to a record level!

The UK made its choice because those who voted thought it couldn’t get worse with a change of personnel in Government.  Well, apparently it can! 

What really astonishes me is that after months of preparation and laying out their stall, the first actions of the new Government is to take actions for which they would have lambasted the previous lot!

Starmer et al are discovering that it is always far easier to oppose the Government than to actually be it!

 

Bravo Len 😎

1 hour ago, Brian R said:

The woman is an absolute nightmare and god help USA if by some quirk, think Starmer, she gets voted in. A babbling incoherent idiot would best describe her!

At last a sane owners club member 🥳. I read that Two Tier Starmer has had removed Mrs T's picture from Downing Street. This has echoes of that other Marxist miscreant Barry Obama who removed Churchills bust from the Oval office! Which DJT promptly put back. 🥳🥳🥳

2 hours ago, fourbanks said:

She covers all the basics and more with a true belief. This is the type of mp we so desperately need in the UK to be able to go forward 

For the avoidance of doubt ;

Harris, a radical from California, has a history of far-left policies:

Endorsed “some form of reparation

”Cosponsored legislation to protect illegal immigrants from deportation

Backed Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All legislation

Backed banning private health insurance

Supported giving taxpayer-funded coverage to illegal immigrants

Supported banning fracking

Backed defunding the police

Compared ICE to the KKK

Wanted to ban plastic straws

Defended banning offshore drilling

Wanted to “undo” the Trump administration’s border security, taking 94 executive actions in the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration to rescind nealy every Trump-era measure

Supported decriminalizing illegal border crossings

Said she wouldn’t “treat” illegal aliens as “criminals”

Called for “starting [ICE] from scratch”

Argued that temporarily closing the border violated federal law

Raised money for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a far-left organization that pays to bail out of jail violent criminals, including accused murderers and rapists

Supported Los Angeles’s cuts to their police department

Called efforts to add more police to the streets “wrongheaded thinking”

Championed the administration’s so-called “Bidenomics” as costs dramatically soared for American families

Bragged about being a “leader” in the push to “get rid of the cash bail system in America.”

Attributed to Wendell Husebo who is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. 

Sure sounds like the person we need - Oh wait maybe we now have 😭

2 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Hahaha ……..  she’s going to be the Lead Contender in the Abbott Corbyn  Ashworth  et al March of the Left Left Left footed brigade …….. let’s pray they do manage to actually think more of the OAPs not being able to afford any sort of rave-up holidaying mullarkey, not being on £91,346 pa salary PLUS expenses ……. and this with many 000’s of OAPs this winter shivering in their coats and boots warming themselves with a hot cuppa tea ……. maybe at the local Drop-In Centre 

You must note she’s “ drop dead gorgeous “  ( if only ) 

Whatever 

 

AGE. UK.  Petition 

458,275.  Signatures just now. 👍

 

Malc 

More like drop the dead donkey 😂

50 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

She does have a life outside of politics that she is entitled to. However, an astute politician would not be so oblivious to how this plays out for the voting electorate. If I were a betting man my money would be on this loose cannon not still being in cabinet by the time of the next election. Gosh, she might have a new career cutting and supplying timber for OAP's woodburners ! All the 'rave' she will ever need.

Wood burners and multi-story cladding is an unfortunate association Steve 😅. I understand what you say about work/life balance but surely only in settled circumstances? Having been told incessantly that the countries up to its arse (rear end) in alligators why do you want to be seen as part of the swamp? Shouldn't the optics be to be seen as instrumental in draining it? And was permission sought from Milliband before using a jet just to go jigging about? This really is a two-tier government 😱

4 hours ago, dutchie01 said:

Political correctness is the cause this will not be on the agenda. Any politician trying to adress this and name the facts as they are will be canceled, called racist, fascist,nazi, right wing etc etc. End of career. Best to keep it silent so it does not exist? Seems the Scandinavians have finally got it with the welfare state under threath resulting in new policies.

Never mind if you're the deputy PM just go to Ibiza. As in todays Mail

"One moment you're in Dagenham discussing cladding... the next you're raving inside a DJ booth at a packed-out Ibiza club night".

Is that raving mad you think? 

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

such is a limp leafy salad ................   don't mean it really  ................. 😇

Nope. I understand quite simply, coz I am simple too, that the Queen of Thieves and Sir Keir Harmer simply chose the OAPs to mess with coz they thought .......  Wot an Easy Target ............  No representation and Zero ability to Question it to any effect and anyway, wot the F..k could they ever do about it now !  Stupid OAPs eh !

 

That's my take on it, simplicity itself .....  from this simpleton writing this today ....  anyway, the latest

 

AGE  UK  Petition figure is 

456,874    signatories to this Petition 

 

Malc

At the risk of repetition - "intergenerational fairness" 

8 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Hey, I have worn shorts through winter virtually all of my life and look at ME ! Oops.

That's why you wear shorts, you are saying, "hey world look at me" 😅😅😅

8 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

That's quite good especially in the way the talking head keeps coming back to his script line. What sort of irritates me about all of this as the information flows is just too typical of govt. Lack of due diligence, flaw in policy clear, no recognition that they got the policy operationally wrong, and finally no way back that now does not leave them looking foolish. Let's write it in big letters for them.......CLIFF EDGE POLICIES ARE OFT IMPLICITLY OWNGOALS. That is , in this case they set the testing bar too low and because it isn't an incremental approach it's catching a lot of people on the wrong side of that bar. Answer ,shift the means test bar higher. You will save less money, but most people will at least understand you are not taking money away from people who can afford to see it go. Hardly rocket science is it?

The other notable example of this issue was the WASPI issue. How can you lose 6 years of state pension simply because you were a day younger? How stupid can you get designing such a policy.

And one wonders why people have no faith in politicians. Or this type of interview which serves no purpose other than to underline the former. Oh how we miss the likes of Robin Day and Brian Redhead! David Frost wasn't too bad in his day also 👍

45 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Could be tough love gone fiscally wrong. Given, longevity + equals Healthcare costs +. Based upon;

"Cold activates a cellular cleansing mechanism that breaks down harmful protein aggregations responsible for various diseases associated with aging. In recent years, studies on different model organisms have already shown that life expectancy increases significantly when body temperature is lowered."

Rachie cares, Who'd thunk it.

Fascinating quote from yet another" expert" no doubt! Perhaps they can also explain why there are no blue zones in the Arctic? 🤣