Climate change means milder winters. The trend is already there for all to see. While some people will still experience cold spells, heating will not be as essential as it was before, especially as more buildings are brought up to modern insulation standards.
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I wonder what the plans on insulation are? That was one area that the Tories really buggered up early on. It also has one of the best paybacks of all government interventions.
My bet would be the tories are likely the ones scamming the payments, so she is cutting off their source of dodgy money
Perhaps it was a measure ready to go as it seems to get suggested around each budget?
It wont affect all pensioners as the poorest with entiltlement to other benefits will retain it and a lot currently recieving it probably donât need it. I havent a clue though as to the proportion of pensioners who do need it (iâve seen one figure online say 80% dont but have no idea as to accuracy or reliability of that figure) and as @RedWhippet says there is a potential risk that those just above the pension credit threshold miss out and suffer from the change, so it will be interesting if we see further changes to that threshold at the budget.
I dont know if @RedWhippet s suggested solution is easy to implement or whether Martin Lewisâs is fairer than that put forward by the chancellor.
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Generally speaking, means testing is expensive to administer and risks excluding vulnerable individuals who are either not aware that they qualify or are put off by the process.
At least with this, they are piggybacking on an existing means tested benefit, so there isnât any additional cost.
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Itâs all tinkering whoever it is. We live beyond our means - NHS unsustainable in its current form, benefits bill too high, aging population meaning pension liability is huge.
It needs some fundamental changes to funding and how it all works or taxes will just keep going up. The tax system is too complex.
And do not get me started on our democracy. Politics is broken. Itâs tribal and about winning power - not changing the country for better.
Simple solution: universal basic income.
Cuts on admin costs, renders the myriad benefits obsolete and the government knows what the cost will be.
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Or flat tax?
It depends on what you mean by a flat tax. There are multiple definitions.
I think the downside of them is that it makes it more difficult to use as an economic lever.
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True it would. Would a universal wage improve or make worse our productivity issue? Not sure.
Well I suppose that is a case of whether people are more productive if they want to work rather than having to work.
Iâd suggest that one of the things that would improve it is limiting the amount of hours that people can work. There is a culture of unpaid overtime in the UK that just builds inefficiency into the system.
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Very true. The 4 day working week trials seem to show there is a real productivity - and health - benefit.
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It was the devil to the Conservatives however. I would have thought that productivity and health improvements were conservative values.
They were at one time, although you would have to go back to Disraeli for that.
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Whether that happens will be up to Labour. I donât agree with playing politics but they need the Tory mess to stick to the Tories and absolutely hammer it home over the next 4 years. Else the Tories will lay it at Labourâs door.
Their mess can be easily forgotten 4 years after the fact.
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Excellent article by Prof Jonathan Portes.
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I am no fan of Reform. Clearly their list of things they wanted to do was not something they would ever have to but⌠when I read it I agreed with a lot of it. At least they called out NHS funding etc. Tories should pick up on much of it without the racism and misogyny.
Their economic programme was Truss on steroids. Just their election would send interest rates spiralling, crash the UKs credit rating and plunge the country into the dark ages.
As always with bastards like this, the populist racism is a front for the kind of hyper deregulated capitalism that would destroy us.
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Wouldnât be surprised if this winter fuel payments revelation is compounded down the line by state pensions being taxed.
Snidey cunts will probably be hoping 5 years from now that the boomers affected will either be dead or dementia sufferers.
https://twitter.com/SaulStaniforth/status/1818161014799520155/video/1