[youtube]VYlQJbsVs48[/youtube]

wow 1p off a pint lol

So that means I would've been paying only £3.79 a pint in Solihull last weekend instead of £3.80, just missed out again.

Nice to see the government caring about the health of society yet again.



£21bn cost to healthcare out of an industry that is only worth £37bn of which the government only gets a percentage.

What Gideon didn't say.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/what-didnt-george-osborne-tell-5357788

You can waste a lot of time talking about what George Osborne said in his budget speech.

“Britain is paying its way in the world today.”

Why can I hear the Cheers theme tune?

“Choose the future.”

Who’d seriously choose something else?

“The jobless claimant count is the lowest since 1975.”

Because they’re all in work or because you’ve stopped them claiming in the first place?

As long as you talk about what he said, you won’t get anywhere. His logic is so circular that it’s like going down a rabbit hole, and you’ll never get out if you go in there without a torch.

It’s far better to steer clear of his logic altogether, and instead look at all the things he DIDN’T say.

And my, what a lot of stuff there was.

PAThe Budget 2015Hidden messages: FSF says this was a budget for the few
He talked about a “Northern powerhouse”, which’d be a great thing if he was serious enough about it that he’d started work on it in 2010.

Sadly he left it until six weeks before a general election , and threw in a promise of better rail links – all of which would come AFTER the monstrous HS2 rail link which is sucking £50bn out of the coffers already.

He talked about a lucky fall in the oil price, and then announced a 10% tax cut to North Sea oil producers. If you listened to him you’d think this was all marvellous, but the truth is the drop in oil price is devastating jobs in Scotland and the subsidy will cost us £1.3bn.

He said he was selling off £9bn of shares in Lloyds, getting back the taxpayers’ money which Labour had so recklessly bailed them out with.

Yet if the bailout hadn’t happened it’d be like Lord of the Flies out there, and those Lloyds shares had finally started paying dividends – we were making money out of the bailout, and now he’s stopped it.

It’ll be said he’s done something for first-time buyers by promising a new ISA that will add £50 to every £200 people save for a home.

Except giving people money to buy homes, without building new homes, just pushes up the price of the existing homes. Thus making the ISA redundant fairly quickly, and benefitting older home owners far more than first time buyers.

Housing crisis
23%
of working people claim housing benefit

34%
of private renters have moved in last year

652,000
people living in overcrowded accommodation

120,000
houses currently built a year

245,000
houses needed to supply demand

National Housing Federation
He announced all under-21s would be taken out of National Insurance – but most don’t qualify anyway, being either in education or not earning enough.

He said there were more jobs created in Yorkshire than all of France. But employment fell in France, so anywhere with one new job could say the same.

In short if you drill through all the slightly skewy things George said down to the rich seam of motivation running underneath it, he told 16m people to get stuffed.

That’s how many people could have voted in 2010 but didn’t , and doesn’t include the 7.5m who aren’t registered at all . After an hour on his feet George Osborne gave them no reason to do different in 2015.

Single parents, ethnic minorities, the disillusioned, the poorly paid, students, the disabled who in many cases don’t even get wheelchair access at polling stations – you can go hang.

The budget was for people who vote, and vote regularly.

It was for pensioners, and homeowners, and business people. It was for those who already have a mortgage, two cars and three children – not those who want them.

It was for those who want tax relief on their savings , not people who don’t have a hope of saving anything.

It was for those who’ll see “help to buy a house” and not do the simple maths that, actually, he’s made house prices rise.


VIEW GALLERY
It did nothing about the bedroom tax , tuition fees, people who rely on food banks, those on in-work benefits, the disabled who want to work and find themselves sanctioned for being too ill to go for a job that’s inappropriate anyway.

Budget 2015: What it means for you

Fundamentally, it was a budget for people who are comfortable enough they don’t need to bother with maths.

If you are one of those who counts every penny, and therefore know the price of a pint of milk, a cold that keeps you off work or a new tyre for the car, maths is important enough you can see his sums don’t add up.

They just go round, and round, and round – a never-ending equation of “if you vote, we’ll persuade you to vote again, and if you don’t we don’t care”.

And the net result, after inflation and in real terms, is that those who don’t or cannot vote get turned further away from doing so.

The narrower and shallower the electorate becomes, the more George Osborne’s logic is accepted and the more people disengage from politics. It’s Catch-22, because the only way to engage people is to make policies for them but they won’t make policies for anyone who’s not engaged.


It’s depressing, and disgusting, and that’s why the Budget today was nothing but a series of bad sums used as bribes to the few who are wealthy enough not to care.

But one thing he said was true – you can choose the future you live in.

You can choose Osborne’s rabbit hole, or you can choose to vote and show him you exist and that you matter.

The more of the millions he doesn’t care about who get up on their hind legs and walk or crawl to vote, the more he and future chancellors will have to notice you.

If you sit at home, they’ll only notice what you cost – and then they’ll cut it, without asking if you mind.

You can register to vote up until April 20. It doesn’t cost anything or incur a tax – if you’re studying, disabled, renting, or worried, sign up here and make your mark.

If you don’t, you’re telling George he can carry on ignoring you.

Don’t let him.

Since when, exactly, was Democracy meant to represent people who do NOT vote?

Oh wait, I think I know!! Could it possibly have been when Labour last failed to win a general election?

Are the left now seriously arguing that we are now supposed to count all the eligible people who DO NOT VOTE as Labour votes?

What arrant nonsense!!!

Since when was it wrong for any Government to do what their electorate gave them a mandate to do?

Bloody Hell Rude!! Where do i put a tick to have you elected? lol. That was a better assessment than most i have heard or read. I don't agree with all that you put especially regarding your spat about home owners etc but I understand your meaning.
Since when was it wrong for a Government to do what their electorate gave them a mandate to do? We live in a democracy and so I have no choice but to accept this present lot. I did not give them my permission to turn neighbour against neighbour and calling the unemployed ... or treat the disabled with distain and contempt. I did not ask them to take away students EMA or increase the cost of higher education. I did not ask them to make piecemeal cuts to the NHS to name but a few things. This government were not elected in the normal sense but rather by default. This government is also intending to double the amount of cuts already made in 2015/16 and 2017/18. There is much worse to come if re-elected.

Missed the point a touch CVCVCV. It is about encouraging non-voters to stand up and vote. I agree with you- don't vote, then don't whinge. P.S cool your jets!

You got it wrong G. That was the article written in the Daily Mirror, not one of Rude's.

Doh! Got it wrong again

I did not write it but it is pretty much how I view the the Budget....and the people who do not use their vote. £12 BILLION in cuts, I believe Geemeister!!! £12 BILLION!!! They won't have any 'group' left to demonise and attack....

See this thread which regards the non- voters and how they could help change the situation, for the better.

https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums...#GE15._Your_Vote_Matters.html#Post925495

I wish people would remember the efforts that our forebears had gone through so that we can now vote, it was not that long ago and also realise what life would be like if we didn't have the vote. It's a hard won right and people should use it even if its to choose the best of a bad lot, not matter which side your allegiance lies.

You can just see it can't you:

Cameron "But what about the plebs?"
Osbourne " We will knock a penny off their beer"
Cameron " A penny?"
Osbourne " Yeah, it's a lot of money to them"

I have recently re-connected with my Sociology and History teacher from Secondary School, I was fascinated as a youngster by the Suffragette Movement. Of course, I know now that at G.C.S.E Level we were taught a rather 'cleansed' version - I digress- but yes, I agree with you!!!

Even 'The Mill' watchers must have some awareness of recent struggles?? I suppose many just 'half-watched it' and not really understood....or cared.

Me? I noted and googled Historic Events mentioned, to learn more. Lol

Thats the working class vote sorted!!! 'Oh Gideon, they will be so grateful and vote for us in their droves'.

Words you would not hear from Cameron, Osbourne or any of their ilk

Very true. I've always believed if you are big enough to voice an opinion then you should be big enough to admit mistakes and be prepared to have you mind changed with the right argument.

I always find it amusing when people moan that 1p off is meaningless.

But stick a penny on and there's OUTRAGE!!!!!eleven!!

and £10 for a cab to find a pub that's still open

Why the moan about pensioners? Everyone is going to be one some day, well those that make it anyway. Personally my tax allowance has gone down so to me that's proof that it's not all one way. Give with one hand and take away with the other, nothing changes.

Because people should have a works pension, if they choose not to invest in their own future that is their choice and they can expect to live on the poverty line when they retire. However with the numerous increases the pensioners consistently get has put the state pension way above the poverty line and is costing far more than their effective nett national insurance contributions.

This discourages people from having a work pension, then the pension guarantee can also effectively penalise people with lower works pensions which also discourages them.

The words "poor pensioners" keep cropping up when there are many people living on half of what pensioners get and yet they are called scroungers.

In the past not everyone had the option to invest in a works pension. In an ideal world people will have a living wage and be able to afford such pensions making your point possibly valid. This government states that people in employment has increased, they fail to state the increase in low hour contracts, for example the likes of Argos are only offering 12 hour weeks so how on earth can you expect those on poor wages to contribute to a private pension? Yes, some pensioners are comfortable but there are a heck of a lot who are not and contributed for decades.

Pensioners contributed over forty years (now 30} into this compulsory government pension scheme. People who begrudge them the poor return received on this investment need to bone up on the reality of the payback.I have a works pension which entitles me to a £70 a week COD (contracted out deduction) from my state pension. It is all smoke and mirrors and more fool you for falling for it (DD).
"Another scapegoat created" does no harm to spread it around and take the pressure off the others who have SFA.
I Never been out of work from age fifteen.

Bloody hell Dusty, you're rolling in it !

And to think, I had to pay £30 to have a pair of curtains cleaned last week. That should have been for food ! Once we retire, strangely enough our utility bills also go up. Yes, abolish the 'winter payment scheme', We spend more hours trying to keep warm and less time being able to eat out. I only pay £160 a month on gas and electricity from my £500 .
The tiny private pension I have is less than my council tax, but I have to pay full council tax because my income takes me over the threshold of any benefits by minimal amount.
So I've already spent over £260 in a month, out of the £500.Doesn't leave much left for water, insurance, brown bins x 2, bt landline rental, tv license, or any other thing to be honest.

Hi Granny, £160 for gas and electric per month sounds a lot, we pay £109 for both. Have you done a comparison recently. I do every year just to be sure.Mind you, you have 2 brown bins which suggests a big property.

A jolly cold property. Too old for cavity wall insulation, not the right way for solar panels, tiled kitchen floor. All goes towards freezing and wind and rain that blasts the full side of the house. It's actually warmer outside on some days. That's being serious.

Sounds like some of the properties i know of in Neston. They look lovely and were built with great aspects but were also built in a time when fossil fuels were relatively cheap. If I were the owner of one I would be too torn to move.

Sorry, I should have qualified that, by works pension I meant donate to a pension scheme while working.



Likewise dm, my pension was always contracted out which means I am still entitled to the full basic state pension (subject to number of years) but I am not entitled to the full additional state pensions. You had reduced National Insurance contributions, if you don't pay in the full amount, you don't get the additional out.

The new scheme, invests the reduced NI payment into the works pension and so the work pension was increased as an alternative to the additional state pensions.



Granny, "only £160"!!! you seriously need to reduce that either by energy saving measures or better contracts, my gas and electric are less than £40 a month.

DD, a lot of your assumptions relating to paying for your pension assume that you are able to pay for your entire working age life, hopefully you will be.
A woman giving her life to her family may not have paid sufficient contributions to get a full state pension and those hardworking single parents in low paid employment stand absolutely no chance of being able to afford a private pension.
That is just two examples out of the countless variables of those unable to contribute. There are not enough full time living wage jobs to go around.

But we are not talking about the last few years, you gain your pensions over your working lifetime of 40+ years, if you choose a lifestyle that doesn't contribute much to pensions, you can expect less affluent pensions. We have a welfare catch system to ensure nobody gets nothing also no pensioner is entitled to less than an unemployed person gets and they have additional benefits over them.

Kids only need looking after for 16 years not your whole working life.

If you don't know all the ins and outs relating to your particular circumstance, it is best to talk with citizens advice.

A short-sighted response, what about parents aka 'carers' of disabled young people?

DD, i wish i lived in your utopian world. I am well aware of how pensions contributions work. Some lifestyles are not chosen, they can be an unfortunate sequence of events.
A healthy child may only need looking after for 16 years or so but those born with life changing ailments can mean a lifetime of care with very little assistance from the state. Sometimes no help at all. I hope you don't ever find yourself in a position through no fault of your own where you are unable to work and thus contribute to your personal pension, your eyes would be opened. Like i said, there are many reasons why you may not be able to get or afford a personal pension. You do a disservice to a lot of people with your sweeping comments.

Nothing utopian at all, I have been unable to contribute to a pension for years on end. I am currently living on less than an adult on JSA and not claiming any benefits or credits, I have chosen this lifestyle and consider myself comfortable.

Current effective minimum income for a pensioner is £148 a week, currently JSA is a minimum of £57.35 a week (£72.40 after age 25).

Before I get jumped on, although off-topic, I acknowledge from experience that unemployment is very much harder than what I am doing even though they have more effective income - that is why I have chosen to do as I do.

Once again, sweeping statements and assumptions. I am glad that you have made a life-style choice and are happy with it. Though I am confused as how being unemployed is harder than what you are doing and still have more effective income? There is more to it than published income levels, each individual has their own outgoings and some will have money at the end of the month while others will have month at the end of their money.
Don't believe everything that you read or see on Benefits Street. There are decent people out there who will never be out of diare straights because of personal circumstances. You are clearly fixed on your opinion, and I respect that, so I won't continue this with you DD. Maybe look for an alternative avenue to gripe about money going to undeserving such as why prisoners have such a comfy lifestyle with three meals a day, tv, heating a free healthcare. Respect.

Just as a matter of interest. Have a look at this to see cost of energy prices going back to 2013. Maybe mine doesn't seem so bad, considering I have grandchildren to stay or visit most weekends.
Don't get me wrong, I think the overall cost of energy is disgraceful, just hope Milliband keeps is promise should he get in, but I somehow think that may have been swept under the carpet now..


http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/...ld-14/954493-gas-electric-bills-all.html

I don't have television, I don't really know what Benefit Streets stated other than glancing past headline articles that have appeared.

I have not griped about money going to the undeserving.

I have not expressed my stance on pensions. I pointed out that enhanced pensions are generally contributory and that pensioners get more than the unemployed, they are simple facts and not my opinion.

Interestingly, while opposing my non-expressed "opinion", nobody has asked or knows my opinion - don't let facts get in the way of a good story eh?

As I seem to be the messenger getting shot for stating how things are, I will now leave the subject of pensions on this thread.

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/cold_homes_7/?bUZkFdb&v=55679

I think British Gas are playing jiggery pokery too.

About 6 months ago, running up to winter, I was told I had to pay £168 per month for gas (only gas). Basically I told them I couldn't and wouldn't. So continued to pay the same as I had. The next bill came in and I owed them nothing...yes nothing on the bill. I did contact them and they said they would reduce payments by £5 per month. Now I have had a metre reading and they have sent a summary for the next 12 months, which brings the price down by a further £30 per month.
What is going on ?? Fiddling would be a good word to use, but trying to figure out how it's being achieved.

Although the article linked to is a year out of date there has been no change in real terms that aids either pensioners or low income families.
There are currently 2.39 million households facing fuel poverty, where 10 per cent or more of their spending goes on energy bills

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...ving-energy-discounts.html#ixzz3V9joAh5S
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Energy giants are meant to give discounts to all poor pensioners. So why are so many telling us they've been turned away?


Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...ving-energy-discounts.html#ixzz3V9iwI8RF

The more i learn about life,the more i realise any pension is a fund of money that can be legally robbed off you by each gov' that gets in.
Lets look at a great pension...firefighters (not private like blair brown robbed in the 90s)
So you pay 90 to 100 k in over 25/30 years so u can retire before you get sacked through being too old or unfit...
Labour make u sign to seal the deal in 2007,all sorted...then hey presto cameron changes policy to fit that theft.
Why bother to have one?? Its legal aswell its "legal policy change across the board" not advice from an fsa accountant that can be sued.
So my mates are trying to sue the gov for miss selling their own pension!!!
heres another angle ....u get paid off,you spend alot (your choice) then taxman rings u....come in and see us sir!!....
"Are u trying to make yourself will fully destitute sir?"
we might have to pay for your care!! (True story)
no im spending my hard earned retirement money!!
So you cant win.
we dont live in a democracy, its BS
The systems bent as a £3 note.
the tv showed just last night how money buys influence via mps ALL parties are funded by the city.
Thats the real power...

This government is also creating a problem that they will not address when questioned. They are making it so you can take some of your pension in a lump sum -:sounds great if you need the money now. What happens if the money gets squandered. Osborne states that that is being patronising but won't give an answer. The money could well be invested but even investments go wrong. I'm not saying that some people won't make a good job of looking after their own money. I would like to know what will happen to those who will not have money to live on simply because they either spend it or lose it. Will we have silver pavement surfers living in box city.

Anything this or any gov advises ,do the exact opposite!!
"Advisors" dont have a stake in your life or future .it goes pear shaped...theyre off with their fee.

[youtube]7zsi-g4JpvY[/youtube]

My beliefs are that the intention behind the idea is to enable parents or grandparents to get their children or grandchildren onto the housing ladder, to keep the housing market booming. That in itself will keep the financial institutions turning over, which is one of the things this country relies upon most of all.
Take now suffer later. The only drawback on that is, we could all end up having to live with our children or grandchildren, as they do in many countries in the European union now. All in it together....?

You have been able to take up to 25% of your pension as a lump sum tax-free for a long time.

If you take more than 25% as a lump sum and its not re-invested in another recognised pension scheme you get taxed on the lump sum.

It is absolute madness because there are going to be quite a few people who will snatch their whole pension and blow it, then they will be supported by the state benefits/credits systems - I can only assume the government intends to catch these people under the "intentionally making yourself poor" rules, but I didn't think they applied to credits (eg Pension Credit), I could be wrong.

I've been watching this unfold and the amount of misleading information being publicised by the government and financial institutions is astounding - get ready for the miss-selling cases appearing in the next few years.

I personally think it was introduced by the tories when they didn't think they were going to elected into government again and it was going to be a back-slap to the next government.

granny you a star most of what you say is 95% true.love to meet you and discuss the other 5%.Are you up to go the corner on a wiki night out?

diggingdeeper.who do you think is going to get richer from this new rule

I believe the intention was to garner the pensioner vote but I don't think they took into account that senility is not a compulsary factor of aging. The reception the PM received today would have been a bit of an eye opener.

Could be. At the moment I'm stuck in a wet suit off the coast of somewhere with a bunch of bananas. If I'm back in time, I'll let you know. By the way, 95% is not quite good enough.


In addition:
An overhaul of the state pension system will see a single-tier pension - of £144 a week at today's prices - being paid to every qualifying new pensioner from April 2017 at the earliest.

Suspecting that will then mean no further pension credits issued for those qualifying.
We have to be ten steps ahead and if that has been passed, it must have been voted for by all parties.
Don't cash your pensions in.

Pension advisers, banks and other financial institutions and their share holders.

Perhaps you should have asked who is going to get poorer, the answer to that is a lot of people who have been misled or ill-advised.