goverment cuts

[junior02]

the goverment said today about the cuts they are making, winter fuel allowance etc, etc,seems ther making cuts every wer in this country, mainly to the less well off,, last week they gave 30million+ and more to follow, to pakistan, a lot of other countries like france have not given any, ther telling us its cut this cut that, and ther given away all the tax payers money left right and centre to other countries... that really dose make me rant...

[Dedworth]

France has the right idea don't give toilet states a bean - I wonder if Saudi and other rich muslim oil states have got their wads out yet ?

[joebloggs]

France has the right idea don't give toilet states a bean - I wonder if Saudi and other rich muslim oil states have got their wads out yet ?

well some people have £100m to spend on new city players

[walesrob]

the goverment said today about the cuts they are making, winter fuel allowance etc, etc,seems ther making cuts every wer in this country, mainly to the less well off,, last week they gave 30million+ and more to follow, to pakistan, a lot of other countries like france have not given any, ther telling us its cut this cut that, and ther given away all the tax payers money left right and centre to other countries... that really dose make me rant...

According to this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11017908

No final decisions have been made yet. And we won't take any advice from the Labour Party either.

[Pete/London]

In line with the general moan I have just been having a real laugh at grumpy old men on BBC2. What the has happened to this country

[triple5]

awww and things were supposed to be so much better under the tories

[Arthur Little]

Hmm ... well ... as a "Grumpy Old Man", I - like thousands of others of MY vintage - have good cause to gripe if the Government decides to do a 'U'-turn on its pre-Election pledge that Concessionary Travel and the Winter Fuel Allowances would remain unaffected for the over 60s. Last December, for example, my gas bills soared astronomically as, contrastingly, temperatures plummeted to their lowest levels for three decades.


It seems successive administrations continue to be quite blase' in maintaining the status quo that encourages the super-rich to prosper ... at the expense of the more vulnerable groups at diametrically opposite ends of the age spectrum.

[Pete/London]

Yes they keep chipping away bit by bit at our concessions we have contributed to over our working lives.I love my free travel in London, so much so that I never drive to Heathrow airport now, I am going by tube on Sat to pick up my wife returning from the PI. I was also glad for the winter fuel allowance last winter but it was a mere drop in the ocean, the worst gas bill came in at double what I was expecting, ridiculous, I warned all at home this year jumpers and blankets or go visit friends.

[johncar54]

I was just wondering whether I should I start moaning ?

I have paid all my dues over my working life (just like you in UK and maybe those who just live there now and have not paid but still qualify) and then I decided to escape to live in Spain,might have been RP etc.

As such I get my old age pension and that's it, no heating allowance, housing benefit, travel card, disability, age, home help, discounted community tax, etc. etc. Nothing.

I am feeling really sorry for all you guys who (have been in receipt for maybe years,but now might loose some benefits.

[Arthur Little]

I was just wondering whether I should I start moaning ?

... well, YOU'LL know best about THAT, John!

I have paid all my dues over my working life (just like you in UK)

... and ME TOO!!

and then I decided to escape to live in Spain

John ... I know you've mentioned your reasons for doing so before. But ... in the present context ... I wonder if you could refresh my memory as to what motivated you MOST to move abroad - and WHY you chose Spain in the end?

As such I get my old age pension and that's it, no heating allowance, housing benefit, travel card, disability, age, home help, discounted community tax, etc. etc. Nothing.

OK ... like ME - and every other British male over the age of 65 who has paid National Insurance contributions throughout his working life - YOU'RE entitled to receive the State Pension, . But residing in sunny *Spain all year round you're hardly going to NEED a heating allowance, ARE you? Besides, I imagine the cost of living *there is a damn sight cheaper than it is in the UK. And finally ... for those of us [in Scotland] who cannot afford the upkeep of running a car, the Bus Pass is a real BOON! I ought to add that I'm not sure HOW far the scope of Travel Cards extends South of the Border.

[KeithD]

Arthur just be glad you don't live in the Shetlands

[jimeve]

well some people have £100m to spend on new city players

and man u haven't spent a bean,

[johncar54]

John ... I know you've mentioned your reasons for doing so before. But ... in the present context ... I wonder if you could refresh my memory as to what motivated you MOST to move abroad - and WHY you chose Spain in the end?



OK ... like ME - and every other British male over the age of 65 who has paid National Insurance contributions throughout his working life - YOU'RE entitled to receive the State Pension, . But residing in sunny *Spain all year round you're hardly going to NEED a heating allowance, ARE you? Besides, I imagine the cost of living *there is a damn sight cheaper than it is in the UK. And finally ... for those of us [in Scotland] who cannot afford the upkeep of running a car, the Bus Pass is a real BOON! I ought to add that I'm not sure HOW far the scope of Travel Cards extends South of the Border.[/QUOTE]

I was not so much complaining as pointing out that we are not all treated equally. Thus if the pensioners living in UK are now to be treated more or less the same then why should they complain. Like in your post you clearly don't think those living abroad were/are discriminated against.

For example the fuel allowance. It is not a mean tested allowance thus why shouldn't every pensioner be treated the same. There are people living in Spain (And elsewhere, even RP I would believe) who continue to receive the allowance because they were getting it before they left UK, whilst most do not. No apparent logic there. And the idea that UK pensioners living in other parts of the world are nor subjected to far more extreme weather than those in UK should not be over looked. For example: In Madrid it is far hotter in Summer than the 'dangerously high heat wave' in UK a few weeks ago, thus air con is a must and in winter central heating is a must; the cost of electric is higher in Spain than UK.

As for cheaper here. I am not so sure that on balance, particularly with the ups and downs of the exchange rate, that is so. There are many Brits who can no longer afford to live here, who are flooding back to UK were they will be able to claim allowances. I did make a point a while ago that the UK Gov would be advised to subsidise ex-pats so that they would remain abroad rather than 'encouraging' them to return to Blighty, as the cost to the State in such a case could be a lot higher than a hand out to discourage them.

Why did I choose to live here 22 years ago? Basically the weather. One knows when it is summer and can plan days, weeks ahead to say have a BBQ or go to the beach. With the weather comes other things. People live more outdoors thus we know our neighbours. We can chat with total strangers without appearing odd, thus the social life can be a lot better. Although it was not a factor 22 years ago but the very low level of crime and practically nil level of violent crime is a bonus. No 90 year olds being killed for a few quid and a bus pass pass. No teenager being murdered almost every week. And of course 22 years ago, it was much cheaper to live here than in UK, but as I say that is not so now. If I was living on just my OAP then I would now be back in UK and my wife would be working to keep me. Thankfully I have an addition occupational pension too.

[Pete/London]

Well said Johncar54, I agree with all you have said, these governments have taken our taxes while we worked, been reckless with them and now come after us again to pay the price for the mess they put us in.
They make promises before asking you to vote for them, and do an about turn once elected, shameful.

[Dedworth]

Although it was not a factor 22 years ago but the very low level of crime and practically nil level of violent crime is a bonus. No 90 year olds being killed for a few quid and a bus pass pass. No teenager being murdered almost every week..[/FONT][/COLOR]

John - drawing on your experience of years in law enforcement would you like to comment on why there is this huge disparity between Spain and the UK ?

Has there been no decline in moral standards in Spain ? Is there less of a drug problem throughout society ? Are the would be criminals more fearful of the police and the likely punishment they would receive if caught ? How about the jails - are LCD TV's, Playstations and Legal Aid for inmates the norm ?

There are some apologists on this forum who would have us believe that crime and disorder in the UK is no worse than it was 40 years ago but the only thing that has changed is that it is widely reported todays multimedia society.

Maybe the situation is that Spain has become a dungheap and crime is rife but it just doesn't get the news coverage so therefore you don't know about it.

[johncar54]

John - drawing on your experience of years in law enforcement would you like to comment on why there is this huge disparity between Spain and the UK ?

Has there been no decline in moral standards in Spain ? Is there less of a drug problem throughout society ? Are the would be criminals more fearful of the police and the likely punishment they would receive if caught ? How about the jails - are LCD TV's, Playstations and Legal Aid for inmates the norm ?

There are some apologists on this forum who would have us believe that crime and disorder in the UK is no worse than it was 40 years ago but the only thing that has changed is that it is widely reported todays multimedia society.

Maybe the situation is that Spain has become a dungheap and crime is rife but it just doesn't get the news coverage so therefore you don't know about it.

Some good questions there.

I don't really know why there is such a difference between Spain and UK.

It may be that there is still 'respect' for people in Spain. Children, until now anyway, have traditionally been brought up in family environments. There is no government subsidy to encourage young women to get pregnant (unlike UK where a single woman's baby is the key to an alibaba's cave of hand outs, accommodation, etc). If an unmarried woman get pregnant the family are the only source of support.

As far as I know the prisons are not more sever that UK and certainly there does not seem to be a greater likelihood that an offender will be imprisoned.

As for crime levels in UK, in my wildest dreams I cannot image that it is not many times worse than it was when I retired from the police in 1988, let alone 40 years ago. But 'statistic' are a wonderful thing which can be woven to prove just about anything, especially if those on the receiving end are sufficiently gullible.

Quote: Maybe the situation is that Spain has become a dung heap and crime is rife but it just doesn't get the news coverage so therefore you don't know about it


In the 22 years I have lived here I have one wing mirror stolen from my motorcycle. That is the only time )so far) I have been a victim of crime. My wife had a purse stolen from her backpack (I had told her not to put it there). She often is out and about alone, shopping, markets etc., and in the winter walks around after dark. The loss of the purse is her only loss in over 4 years here. For 15 years, I have been a voluntary translator with the police here and thus have probably a better perspective on crime levels than most. It is really very low compared with UK