this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2024
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UK Politics

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36
Winter fuel payments scrapped for those not on benefits, says Rachel Reeves [live] (www.bbc.co.uk)
submitted 3 months ago by Mex to c/uk_politics
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[โ€“] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 24 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt says Reeves is "shameless" in paving the way for tax rises - and October's Budget will be a "biggest betrayal in history by a new chancellor"

What an absolute clown. Spent his entire time cutting taxes for the rich, and pissing on everyone else.

How much did you personally profit from being chancellor, Jeremy? The country sees through your bullshit

edit

He claims Labour has announced spending commitments worth ยฃ24bn since taking power on things like energy, its National Wealth Fund and on public sector pay. "She's leaving tax payers to pick up the tab," he says.

No shit ๐Ÿคก๐Ÿคก๐Ÿคก

[โ€“] echodot 10 points 3 months ago

It just shows the different mindset between Labour and the Conservatives. Labour sees taxes as a necessary thing in order to fund necessary public works. Meanwhile the Conservatives see taxes as a method to remove money from the most deserving in society (them) and spending it on the most undeserving (everyone else).

[โ€“] inspectorst 15 points 3 months ago

Good. It's bonkers we were handing out non-means-tested fuel benefits to pensioners living in million pound homes, while young people and families in genuine need were struggling.

Pure Tory pork-barrel politics to bribe the one generation that most reliably voted for them. Now let's get rid of the pension triple lock next please.

[โ€“] tankplanker@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Long overdue, now do the triple lock and switch that to pension credit only

[โ€“] Mrkawfee 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Agreed. The triple lock needs to be ditched or at least means tested.

48% of our ENTIRE welfare budget goes on pensions, that is ยฃ138 billion per annum, and the lions share is the state pension. It is a larger proportion of spending than Universal Credit, child benefit and disability benefit combined!

Pensions have become ever more costly because of the triple lock. It needs to be reformed. A new government with a massive majority is the right time to do it.

Source: https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/welfare-spending-pensioner-benefits/

[โ€“] tankplanker@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

I am all for using the metric to improve the Pension Credit as that is rigorously means tested and is there to help the poorest pensioners. I would like the thresholds increased slightly to cover those right at the bottom who do not currently qualify, but who do live in poverty. Completely agree that now is the time to do it, ideally scrap it entirely for pensioners who are in the 40% bracket (about three quarters of a million pensioners), and let it rise at the same percentage as minimum wage for those outside of pension credit.

[โ€“] gedhrel@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

What are rhe numbers here? I thought the winter fuel allowance, like nost of these things, was not worth means-testing because the administration cost more than the saving. Is it really that far off?

[โ€“] Mex 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

They are using an existing measure to means test it off so I doubt there is much additional cost

[โ€“] HumanPenguin 4 points 3 months ago

Yep.

But worth remembering their are several reasons this has been rejected in the past.

1st those on the border of entitlement to benifits are still in difficulties.

2nd this is an age group where a high % refuse or do not have the ability to claim. Refuse os basically pride. As there has been a long history of judging people claiming benifits.

Unable is often due to mental and physical disability that hits with age. And in increased over the last 14 years ร s many of the people who helped prevent this nonlonger exist.

[โ€“] gedhrel@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

"Not much additional cost" has to be really low in aggregate. The allowance is 200 quid a year per household. If someone phones twice to check on it that's pretty much blown the saving.

It's obviously mostly about perception, and the principle behind the message they want to send is reasonable, but targeting pensioners at the borderline of the cutoff is hardly effective redistributive justice.

[โ€“] HorseRabbit@lemmy.sdf.org -1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Pensioners have it too good? Is that the line here?

[โ€“] Sadbutdru@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Not that they have it too good, but statistically everyone else has it worse, financially. Makes sense, they are the group most likely to vote, and to vote conservative, and the conservatives have been in power for well over a decade.

[โ€“] HorseRabbit@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 3 months ago

So from this graph we can say that with all the government help they receive pensioners are about as poor as working people without kids. And that's bad. Pensioners should be poorer than working people