"the government is unlikely to move on the welfare measures, deeming it vital to make the system sustainable and to encourage people back into work." https://www.theguardian.com/society...uel-payment-cut-amid-unpopularity-with-voters
Yes - as I said: There did appear to be less outright opposition to looking at the threshold level for WFA payments.
Which is fine. If you want to go to uni for a few years of fun and enjoyment and not to get a job in the field you're learning about then crack on and have that fun time but why should I pay for it? I don't pay for people's holidays to magaluf to get shagged so why should I fund their 3 years of shagging in Bristol uni?
Utter nonsense. Any strong economy is built on a good education system. The number of university attendees in the UK is shocking and it is a huge barrier to class mobility and economic development. Irish and English people aren't so different yet 76% of irish school leavers go on to uni, that figure is 36% in England. That means that 40% of people in England who want to go to uni don't, either because of affordability, fear of dept, lack of options, or receiving a comparatively poorer first and second level education. The results are obvious, the Irish economy is leaving the UK for dead, with the average wage soaring past what's on offer in England despite the huge masses of old money and established businesses in the latter. Employers want an educated workforce and Ireland now has an economy operating at a surplus. Even if you don't learn a single thing in uni it gets you out of your small **** town, broadens your horizons, allows you to meet people from different backgrounds and gives you a great start to adult life. Imagine if 76% of people in Barnsley had a degree, businesses would flock there, there would be huge societal benefits. Of my generation in Ireland all our parents were farmers, none went to uni. From my class in school we have an author, a forecaster for one of europe's biggest banks, an IT chief at EY, a banker, an accountant, two high-flyers in the luxury travel world, a carpenter, a chef, a farmer and a county council employee. None of us would have gone to uni if it wasn't free, only two didn't given the option.
I'm not sure the Irish economy will be the model in the future though, it's overwhelmingly based on a relative few US multinationals taking advantage of ultra low tax initiatives, both the US and the EU are wanting a share, the future may not be as rosy, and there are concerns that without the Multinationals the economy is at risk. https://www.charteredaccountants.ie.../Latest-News/ireland-and-the-mnc-golden-goose
I'm not saying the economic model is perfect. But you have to remember that there was nothing in Ireland until very, very recently. No wealth, no companies, no industry to speak of, no exports. So we've had to ship in the companies whilst our indigenous sector grows. The longterm strategy is of course to have more Irish owned business as we see with our Scandi counterparts.
Studied at Barnsley college for my degree ( Sheff Uny)Never left Barnsley, You Don’t necessarily have to leave a place to ‘broaden your Horizons’ Also met people from all over Britain and Ireland who moved to Barnsley to study. My degree had nothing to do with my jobs since I graduated, but it gave me the confidence, the drive etc, to apply for positions.
I was very lucky and went to Newcastle Poly in 1974, since my dad worked down the pit, I got full grant and left in 1978 with a degree in Chemistry. My life would have been so different otherwise. A university education is a wonderful experience which enhances life chances and broadens the mind. Sadly students today are faced with massive debts when they finish which can be a burden for many years.
Announces at PMQs that now the economy is stabilising and growing, they will revisit WFA payments and include more pensioners within it. Question - Will the media and country at large praise him for looking to restore payments to those who may need it now it is affordable, or will he be even further vilified for ‘backtracking’ (despite the circumstances being different this year to last). I suspect I know the answer.
He's having a week. Are the shackles off or something? Monday, undoes the worst of Brexit. Tuesday slams Israel. Wednesday sorts WFA. Looking forward to tomorrow
https://x.com/MartinSLewis/status/1919670176875753724 Finally changing his mind and backing down on the wfa he set.
Aah Martin Lewis. A bastion of fairness and financial hero to the country. Who definitely hasn’t trousered millions using his profile to promote second and third party lending and insurance solutions… That wouldn’t be very moral… I don’t agree the WFA removal was done correctly and I’m glad it is being looked at again. It shouldn’t return to what it was. I’m strongly against a universal benefit that many don’t need. But moving the line in the sand to a more appropriate place is the right thing. But it’ll be a cold day in hell before I take much heed of Martin bloody Lewis, the condescending hypocrite that he is.
In the Independent today, was a piece stating that 1 million pensioners are higher rate tax payers. To achieve that, their annual income must be above £50,271 making them earn more than 80% of the working population. Why should those 1 million pensioners (while still working) receive the WFA when nobody else in that bracket does? And, if those pensioners shouldn't receive WFA, at what level should they start to receive WFA? - Nobody rational is arguing that somebody only receiving a state pension shouldn't get it - but many of the media. commentators and opposition politicians *are* arguing that all pensioners should get it.
it’s bonkers this… the right wing are absolute on the side of giving their hard earned away in free money to millionaires… I feel like I’ve swapped sides!
