Oh, so its pensioners now, that have got to pay for the banksters, their crisis and their bonuses

It is crazy the way we treat pensioners as a "special case", when many of them are far better off than the majority. The ex company director and his wife living next door to us get the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes and all the rest, yet by any normal standards, they are very wealthy.

What I am arguing for is a scrapping of nonsense universal benefits based on age, such as the WFA, with help being targetted to where it is needed - those genuinely in fuel poverty for instance.

But no Government will touch pensioners, since they are such an important voting demographic.

It is not being "nasty", it is being realistic, but realism is in very short supply in this country these days!

Its alright Maunder...we know who the tories regard as special cases

Their ('super') rich mates and paymasters in the city

But do keep up your deluded support for the plutocrats..I'm sure they appreciate it

 

Oh, so its pensioners now, that have got to pay for the banksters, their crisis and their bonuses

It is crazy the way we treat pensioners as a "special case", when many of them are far better off than the majority. The ex company director and his wife living next door to us get the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes and all the rest, yet by any normal standards, they are very wealthy.

What I am arguing for is a scrapping of nonsense universal benefits based on age, such as the WFA, with help being targetted to where it is needed - those genuinely in fuel poverty for instance.

But no Government will touch pensioners, since they are such an important voting demographic.

It is not being "nasty", it is being realistic, but realism is in very short supply in this country these days!

There are plenty of people at or getting towards, pensionable age that don't benefit from accumulated wealth stuck in pension funds......I imagine a lot of those have made a fair contribution to the state over the years unlike some of our newer influx of citizens who know more about state benefits than I have, or will ever know   

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who know more about state benefits than I have, or will ever know   

There but for the grace of someone's imaginary friend, and all that.

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Picking the bones out of this...it looks like the great British public may have bought Osborne's fabrication that he's given them some tax cuts

Your job is a lot easier when you have the slavish support of the countries most popular newspapers. Cameron's gun-ho stance on Libya is popular with white van man as well. Lets see how long he holds onto that support once the patriotic fervour dies down a bit

 

 

 

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YouGov/Sunday Times

Con 38% (+1) Lab 41% (n/c) Lib-Dem 11% (n/c) Lab Lead 3%

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Any bounce the government recieved  for the budget seems to have quickly ended;

YouGov/News International

Con 35% Lab 45% Lib-Dem 9% Lab Lead 10%

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Any bounce the government recieved  for the budget seems to have quickly ended;

YouGov/News International

Con 35% Lab 45% Lib-Dem 9% Lab Lead 10%

Maybe the message got across?

An interesting finding from YouGov about the protest and Ed Milliband. I've lifted this directly from Mike Smithsons PoliticalBetting site;

When asked: “…do you think he should do more to support the protests, distance himself more from the protests, or does he get the balance about right?” response was 13% “do more to support”; 42% ” distance himself more”, with 23% saying he gets the ballot right.

Another set of findings that might cause concern was when the sample was asked “From what you have seen of Ed Miliband so far, do you believe he is or is not up to the job of Labour leader?” This produced 27% saying he was “up to the job” with 47% saying he wasn’t. Interestingly 22% of Labour voters were in the latter category.

 

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I wonder if the Libya fiasco is playing into that poll. Even the most gun-ho patriot is starting to see Cameron's naive folly for what it is

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I wonder if the Libya fiasco is playing into that poll. Even the most gun-ho patriot is starting to see Cameron's naive folly for what it is

All partys support the action in Libya, so I doubt it'd make much differance either way.

The polls essentially are back to a pre Budget position. No more, no less.

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I wonder if the Libya fiasco is playing into that poll. Even the most gun-ho patriot is starting to see Cameron's naive folly for what it is

Doubtful - foreign affairs rarely intrude on the public consciousness when it comes to voting intentions, unless there is a genuinely patriotic war (the Falklands for instance) or a complete disaster (Suez for instance - but even after that fiasco, the Tories got back in - admittedly with a different leader).

Besides, Libya is not a "fiasco" yet - imagine the furore if Gaddafi had actually taken Benghazi and slaughtered thousands in revenge - the real western culprit over Libya has been Obama who has been resolutely irresolute on the topic.

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

Sigh! Tax avoidance is not a "crime" at all, but sensible management of one's affairs - nobody is obliged to maximise the amount of tax they pay. Tax evasion and expenses fiddling are criminal offences and when discovered, are prosecuted as such. For our legislators (of any party) to be involved in criminal behaviour is of course worthy of comment.

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

I still want to see McKay and his wife go to court, just because they gave the money back, it doesn't lessen what they did.

Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

I still want to see McKay and his wife go to court, just because they gave the money back, it doesn't lessen what they did.

I am not sure that what they were doing was actually an indictable offence, however immoral and repugnant it may have been. The clever troughers stayed on the right side of the law and the law was very lax indeed when it came to MPs' expenses.

P.S. Jim Devine was a former Chairman of the Scottish Labour Party - in a fair political world, that would hit Labour hard in the forthcoming Scottish Assembly elections, but in our Alice Through the Looking Glass politics where the left are forgiven anything, Labour will no doubt romp home as the largest single party.

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

Sigh! Tax avoidance is not a "crime" at all, but sensible management of one's affairs - nobody is obliged to maximise the amount of tax they pay. Tax evasion and expenses fiddling are criminal offences and when discovered, are prosecuted as such. For our legislators (of any party) to be involved in criminal behaviour is of course worthy of comment.

Sigh! Try reading my post, MM. I said as much as you have just said, but was making the point that the legal position was one thing, questions of right and wrong morally are another.

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

I'm sure it isn't the case Nick, but every time I read one of your little attacks it seems more and more that it is laced with bitterness and envy.

Are you trying to suggest that those angelic high flying Labour supporters pay those high flying accountants so much to find cunning ways of overpaying their tax bill?

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

I view the tax evasion avoidance undertaken by high flying mainly Tory supporters (and financial contributors) to be far more heinous a crime than this, regardless of which of the two types of activity is subject to legal trial.

I'm sure it isn't the case Nick, but every time I read one of your little attacks it seems more and more that it is laced with bitterness and envy.

Are you trying to suggest that those angelic high flying Labour supporters pay those high flying accountants so much to find cunning ways of overpaying their tax bill?

I have no idea how you read bitterness and envy into that. Anger, yes. But I'm perfectly happy with my life and don't envy them what they have, thank you. That said, in the phrase "one of your little attacks" I read definite condescension and belittlement, though I'm sure that isn't the case.

I wasn't suggesting there aren't some Labourites amongst them, but the people we're talking about here tend to be Tories, as I'm sure you'll recognise, with the upper echelons of business and finance not generally known for being hotbeds of socialism. Still, if you want to split hairs and draw attention to the minority who are Labour voters, then that's fine.

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Another Labour MP goes to jail:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/labour-mps-expenses/8418066/Jim-Devine-jailed-for-16-months-over-expenses-fraud.html

Imagine the self righteous hysteria in the Guardian and on the BBC if it were Conservative MPs being incarcerated!

Indeed.

It seems ok for Labour and quite acceptable but not for the Tories it would seem.

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