Rachel Reeves Funding Review

She's just announced you need pension credit to be able to get the winter fuel payment. I didn't expect her to go after our elderly. Ouch.

 

You mean she's removed it from those who don't really need it?

 

Yeah but pensioners are usually well protected regardless, so it was still a shock.

 

Tbh. The winter fuel payment is not summat I expected at retirement age. (Thought it came later but logically not. It's the same with free tv licence when that crops up) If it helps others in society via other methods. I'm more than happy to forego mine. And the mrs hers.

 

To be fair, there would be a melt down happening on the BBS if it was the Tories implementing the same policy.

 

I've always struggled to understand why this was paid to people who just don't need it.

 

By that sentence, would you agree that every single state benefit should be means tested?

 

Or other means tested benefits. Plenty will still qualify - but plenty won’t.

It clearly hasn’t been done with any wish or desire to do so - or single out pensioners for anything. More out of necessity given what she has inherited, which includes the previous government spending three times the surplus budget in the first quarter alone. Actions it took knowing it wouldn’t have to plug the gap as they knew bloody well they wouldn’t be in government by the end of the second quarter.

It’s a very contentious decision though, it has to be said. Brave? Ballsy? Foolish?

We will see. I think pensioners do get a lot of protection generally and I think the blanket £300 to everyone was a bit much, but I do worry it will put some pensioners back into fuel poverty and choosing heating or eating again. Hopefully it will just be those that don’t need it that don’t get it.

 

I don’t think there would. Surprise maybe, but not castigation.

Though the point is moot on a few grounds, the main one being that it isn’t the Tories - but the other obvious one being that the Tories wouldn’t have done it in a million years as the core Tory vote is markedly older and generally not on means tested benefits.

 

If assessment were done cost effectively and swiftly, I'm not sure anyone would agree with winter payments going to those who don't need it.

 

What really knarks me, is the claims emerging that the new government didn't know the public purse was extremely stretched, taking into consideration our funding for Ukraine and paying for the the Covid pandemic and support. Hardly rocket science to think the public purse would be under real pressure.

Measures like this should have been in their manifesto. I'm guessing that it may well have cost them quite a few votes and possibly seats at the GE should they have announced this as policy beforehand.

So we are seeing the Tory style deception tactics and lies laid bare with the new Labour government already.

Not a good start in terms of building back trust.

It is impossible and a blatant lie if Reeves and Starmer claim they were not aware of this deficit. The Office for Budget Responsibility reported around 5 months ago of these facts and so did the IFS, who also pointed at Labours manifesto promises being somewhat a work of fantasy by ignoring this deficit. Even Jeremy Hunt in his last funding statement highlighted bigs cuts in public spending. Get ready for more tax hikes and this lie of not being aware of the deficit.

 

Yes, but the question is why should all benefits not be means tested? Or should pensioners be the only ones means tested?

 

This lot are worse than the tories.
Punishing pensioners. Hoping we freeze to death to help the country’s finances.
I’ll need to look out a couple of big coats to wear to bed during the winter.

 

Im not convinced, surely pensioners receiving an annual pension over £60k, and I use that figure as an example, should not receive the full winter fuel allowance? However, I do agree that all benefits should be means tested

 

What a sad defence of the Tory party that is. Did you raid think they were honest with the whole country over how much money they had fed to their friends, or spaffed up against the wall???
You really are a fool if you believe what you have written. One of the reasons Sunak called the election early was he realised that the money had run out.
It’s going to be a very long haul righting the wings of the last 14 years of the greedy party being in charge…

no doubt you’ll be sticking up for farrage soon.

 

The OBR have confirmed via letter that they were only made aware of the £21.9bn over-commitment on spending by the previous government during a Treasury meeting last week, so the 'black hole' that's being reported on has some independent corroboration.

 

Cue the Tories finding a way to make this a Tax hike and part of the 2k per person tax increase they ran their campaign on..

 

If you don't need it, you shouldn't have it. That goes for anything funded by the public purse, surely?

 

I actually don’t think there would. They’d never do it however protecting there vote.

 

the majority are surely?