Winter Fuel Vote

Luckily i can afford to lose it(not rich) but worked hard enough fir a decent pension,but there's loads who miss out by mere pounds and it stinks. I've also read where pensioners living ABROAD won't lose it. How can that be right?

 

The school issue is doomed to fail. SEN provision is available on the state, there are no human rights breaches here as far as I can see

 

I have been retired quite a few years and have a decent pension so, as others, I do not feel let down to "lose" Winter Fuel Allowance. As well as living in Wetherby I am fortunate enough to have a house in Spain which has solar panels and is not on any mains services. For "heavy lifting" power i.e. cooking, hot water, heating I use butane gas bottles: what I believe many people in the U.K. don't realise is how much they are fleeced by the U.K. government and energy companies. My evidence is that I recently bought a replacement 13kg net propane gas bottle for my BBQ in Wetherby. It cost £52.50. There is a difference between propane and butane (e.g. for high temperature welding) but for everyday domestic usage there is no practical difference in energy output. I have 10 butane 13kg bottles at my house in Spain and to replace one of these costs me c.€21, at current exchange that is about £17.80. So, in Spain, which has no natural gas at all (although it is a big importer of LPG) the energy companies and the Government (through taxation) can supply the same energy for one-third of what the U.K. energy companies and Government do, despite the U.K. having had North Sea gas for 40+ years. It's beyond a disgrace.

 

The man’s an absolute scumbag, and he’s losing the people quicker than I ever thought possible. He’s now got a lower approval rate than Liz Truss.

 

Its how this policy LOOKS to a lot of people. It LOOKS like a progressive party is going for some of the most vulnerable people in society. The fact that some richer pensioners will have it taken off them is not relevant here even though it may be logical to do that. Some pensioners will definitely struggle because of this and that's the point. Its basically been badly thought out and to take back 1.5bn or so to help with a publicised 22bn black hole seems like penny pinching. Its a bad look as I say and Starmer and Reeves have created their own problem here. They're upsetting voters down the line and causing divisions in the PLP when they didn't need to. With a bit of creativity Im sure they could have found the money elsewhere or even just said to ALL pensioners if you want a winter allowance in future you have to claim. Bad decision by Labour

 

Yep agreed.

 

https://x.com/dapperlaughs/status/1831679311754997963

Thoughts?

 

Can’t stand the blokes accent. Sounds like a right cockney wide boy barrel of monkeys.

Had to turn it off.

 

I know there are many labour voters in barnsley but to me when a person is voted in as mp for their town or constituency it is up to that mp to do what the people who voted them in want, to the best of their ability, well i do not know anyone in my constituency that wants the winter fuel payments stopped or pensioners having to pay tax or national insurance, . If they don't vote in the way the people want , then their days as an mp are numbered anyway

 

Totally agree that it needs looking at, but the way they are going about it is just wrong, I know there has to be a cut off somewhere but this isn't it, for me they could have subsidised it by looking into reducing or cutting the OAP totally for those in the income brackets who just don't need it and would treat something like the fuel allowance as a cheap meal out.

 

Be an interesting one, the woman spearheading it moved to private education because she couldn't get the required provision at a state school. So I guess it may go down to whether that provision can be provided in state. It's probably with cuts to services that parts of the care are deemed too expensive.

 

It was reported the other day by financial advisors on the news.
How I see it.
Apparantly 880,000 pensioners dont claim benefits they are due to. I assume a £2billion shortfall. Divided by 880,000 means an average of £2,500 per pensioner not claimed. But dont forget over a term of parliament you are dividing that over 5 yrs.
So possibly around £500 per pensioner (on average) . Per year. Not being claimed. Over the term
If they (the government) then still pay £250 pa to those who don't need it, say 1million
That's another £2 billion to find over the next 5 yes. Makes sense to me. Lol.
Someone else might be able to do a better job.
This is why I think the inland revenue has been mentioned as they can see what peoples personal pension incomes are and maybe those that should be claiming are easily identified based on their figures.
Those entitled to benefits need/should apply. If not sure. get onto help the aged or citizens advice.
As I say its crackers. Heating allowance goes to individuals not Households. We get 2 payments. 1 house.
Daughter in laws mam 1 payment 1 house.

 

If those who haven't applied for pension credit do so off the back of this decision, I see that as a good thing. I don't want them worrying about heating their homes

 

An MP will help with constituency matters where they can, will voice their views to the party, but when it comes to a whipped vote, they have to vote with the party. If they want to vote against their party, then they will quickly be an independent mp and have no say at all.

I know what you're saying but it doesn't work like that. If free votes repeatedly deliver defeats to the govt of the day, they have no confidence to form a government and you're back to general elections every so often and coalitions which the public don't tend to approve of.

And I didn't vote Labour at the election.

 

I broadly agree with policy in that loads of pensioners do not need it. But how’s it’s been means tested needs looking at.

My nanan has more money than she can shake a stick at. I’m not sure of the ins and outs of how she gets pension credit but she does, she therefore still gets the winter fuel allowance. Not complaining, she actually draws it out when she gets it and splits it between me and mum! It’s peanuts to her.

My mum on the other hand has recently retired but her tiny pension combined with the reduced state pension she gets takes her just above the threshold so she doesn’t get any allowance at all. Don’t get me wrong her house is paid for and she’s hardly destitute. She has one or two holidays a year etc. But a bit of help would make a difference to her.

As other have mentioned surely there should be a sliding scale so my Nan doesn’t get something she doesn’t need, my mum gets a bit of help, and people who are struggling get the full payment?

A decent policy that’s being badly executed.

 

An MP's primary duty is to do what he or she thinks is in the best interests of the country, not his/her constituents.

 

The simple approach would have been to claw it back on the tax return as anyone earning enough to be in the high rate income tax band needs to do one, and that would have been seen as a much fairer cut off threshold.

But they painted themselves into a corner in the first place by saying pre election that they would not touch income tax or NI. The last government played political by reducing NI in April. All Labour had to do was reverse that cut and no-one would have batted an eyelid and it would have sourced all the money they need. It wouldn't be an NI raise as such, just cancelling a very recently applied cut.

But now they are having to raid every biscuit tin to raise a few shekels here and a few there because they ruled that one out, and are making unnecessary enemies in the process. They have not been very clever on this one at all.

 

So your mum doesn't need any help paying for fuel but should get a fuel allowance?

 

This is the problem mate' in principle its a good idea but its not black and white there is a grey area where your parents and thousands more are situated..