I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
While I agree there never was a Golden Age, I think one line in your post bears repeating and remembering: "And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news."
Yes. Much more difficult to be a politician nowadays. The other aspect to this of course is that this is the first generation of politicians since social media started making people stupider. But that's a personal view.
A new coronavirus feared to be able to spread to humans has been discovered by a China-linked scientist.
Researchers from Brazil and colleagues affiliated with the University of Hong Kong detected the new strain after swabbing the mouths and rectums of bats.
The novel strain is closely related to MERS — a disease that kills about 35 percent of the people it infects.
The makeup of the virus' spike protein, which it uses to trigger an infection, means it can probably infect human cells, the researchers warned.
The virus is now being transported to China, along with six other viruses discovered during the expedition.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
Captain Mark Kelly @CaptMarkKelly I bought a Tesla because it was fast like a rocket ship. But now every time I drive it, I feel like a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people. So Tesla, you’re fired!
I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
The Six Nations will remain on free-to-air for the next four years after a landmark deal was struck that means the BBC will no longer show England games, Telegraph Sport understands.
ITV will show all of England’s games under the new deal, making Saturday’s match between Wales and England the last shown on BBC until at least 2030.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
Congratulations, you dont work but in two years you will get as little as someone working a forty hour week
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
The state pension is effectively an asset worth £250K or thereabouts.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
But you own your home? So you won't have to pay housing costs?
In a way it's a bit of a shame that Reform are doing so well in Runcorn polling, as if they walk it, Farage's fairly bad behaviour over Lowe will be rewarded.
That species of restless treachery is so inimical to Farage that you can't ascribe a moral cast to it like "bad behaviour".
It is as natural and necessary to him as breathing is to me or you.
That’s a terrific line and one Avon used to Servalan in an episode of,the seminal BBC sci,fi show Blakes 7.
It would be, except that 'inimical' is pretty well the opposite of 'intrinsic', which was probably meant.
As Spock often said, ‘fascinating’
Did Spock always really mean "What a load of horseshit..."
Pam Bondi: "If you're gonna touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out, because we're coming after you."
Arlington Cemetery website drops links for Black, Hispanic, and women veterans
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/arlington-cemetery-scrubs-website-dei/ ..in recent weeks, the cemetery’s public website has scrubbed dozens of pages on gravesites and educational materials that include histories of prominent Black, Hispanic and female service members buried in the cemetery, along with educational material on dozens of Medal of Honor recipients and maps of prominent gravesites of Marine Corps veterans and other services.
Cemetery officials confirmed to Task & Purpose that the pages were “unpublished” to meet recent orders by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth targeting race and gender-related language and policies in the military.
Gone from public view are links to lists of dozens of “Notable Graves” at Arlington of women and Black and Hispanic service members who are buried in the cemetery. About a dozen other “Notable Graves” lists remain highlighted on the website, including lists of politicians, athletes and even foreign nationals...
Burn pit fund for veterans on chopping block in GOP spending bill
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5194764-democrats-republicans-veterans-funding/ Democratic lawmakers and veterans’ groups are fuming over a provision in a stopgap federal spending bill passed by House Republicans this week that would cut a Department of Veteran Affairs fund meant to cover costs for illnesses linked to military burn pits and other chemical exposure. The six-month government spending package, which largely holds federal spending at fiscal year 2024 levels, would cut the Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) for the VA next year. The controversial fund was meant to allot $22.8 billion to cover expanded benefits for former service members sickened by military toxic exposures — including burn pit smoke and Agent Orange water contamination — starting October 1, 2025. But the continuing resolution (CR) drafted and passed by House Republicans zeros out funding that would have been used for the TEF in the fall. “It cuts more than $20 billion in funding needed to provide care for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances next year,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the Senate floor Thursday. “It cannot pass.”..
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
But you own your home? So you won't have to pay housing costs?
I pay poll tax and house insurance and utility bills and maintenance. Nobody gave me a house, payments over the years wasn't easy to manage.
For now, and armed with the loudest megaphone on the planet, the US president can keep reality at bay. But eventually, Americans will be able to see with their own eyes and in their own lives what Trump has done to the US and the wider world. Their daily experience will expose him for what he is: a confidence trickster who has made them poorer and less safe. The only question is when.
I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
I was about to post something similar, but I don’t even agree Reeves is the poorest chancellor of my lifetime.
Recent goings on in America have made me reassess where we are politically. It’s not that bad. Very online political people like us have a tendency to catastrophise. And there’s a sort of bias in all of us that assumes things aren’t as good as the old days. We remember the great statesmen and forget the shits.
What we have in current British politics is: a Labour governing party that is a bit uninspiring, with a seemingly mediocre chancellor but some decent cabinet ministers, at least some modicum of direction in policy making and a PM who is not an embarrassment on the world stage.
A main opposition party that has gone through a decade-long psychodrama and is struggling for a voice, but still by and large avoids out and out Trumpist mendacity and has a healthy internal debate without the cultishness of its American counterpart.
A liberal party that is, yes, often hypocritical when balancing national policy with local campaigning, but has a pretty decent set of 72 MPs and is criticised mainly for that local hypocrisy and lightweight stunts by its leader. None of which are particularly new complaints.
A green party that is no worse or more out of touch than its predecessors, and a populist right party that is, well, almost cuddly and centrist compared to its putinist or neonazi European brethren, or indeed the actual administration of the USA.
Nationalist and regionalist parties that rarely go beyond bog standard blaming of Westminster and are miles away from engineering a breakup of the Union.
We still have a parliament mainly filled with people who want to do what’s best for their communities and the country, and have plenty of competent, intelligent people amongst them.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
But you own your home? So you won't have to pay housing costs?
I pay poll tax and house insurance and utility bills and maintenance. Nobody gave me a house, payments over the years wasn't easy to manage.
No one gives me those either....fact is most of the public sector pensions aren't funded and even assuming I can ever afford to retire which I doubt despite you retiring early I will still be funding those pensions out of what little tax I pay
The forthcoming battle for the soul of the constitution of USA in a nutshell:
Acyn @Acyn · 2h When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
But you own your home? So you won't have to pay housing costs?
I pay poll tax and house insurance and utility bills and maintenance. Nobody gave me a house, payments over the years wasn't easy to manage.
Well no. But rather eaiser than for subsequent generations. You have no rent or mortgage to pay and you have sufficient means that you don't have to work despite being below pensionable age. You may not feel rich, but you are better off than 90% of people in the country.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
But you own your home? So you won't have to pay housing costs?
I pay poll tax and house insurance and utility bills and maintenance. Nobody gave me a house, payments over the years wasn't easy to manage.
Well no. But rather eaiser than for subsequent generations. You have no rent or mortgage to pay and you have sufficient means that you don't have to work despite being below pensionable age. You may not feel rich, but you are better off than 90% of people in the country.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
yes but now you own your house being paid 12.5k state pension and owning a house leaves you 12.5k. And when you say "A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension." Do you mean double my pension total or double my public sector pension which as I recall you are a public sector worker. If you have a pension of 11k for example to add to your state pension and mortgage free thats a lot different
In 2 years my income will be equivalent to minimum wage.
But you own your home? So you won't have to pay housing costs?
I pay poll tax and house insurance and utility bills and maintenance. Nobody gave me a house, payments over the years wasn't easy to manage.
Well no. But rather eaiser than for subsequent generations. You have no rent or mortgage to pay and you have sufficient means that you don't have to work despite being below pensionable age. You may not feel rich, but you are better off than 90% of people in the country.
Indeed most private sector people are not getting those pensions, my currently offer at 67 is about 7k not index linked to add to my state pension and I have putting in contributions since 87
The forthcoming battle for the soul of the constitution of USA in a nutshell:
Acyn @Acyn · 2h When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
These people want to live in a monarchy. The very thing the American Revolution was about.
The irony being if they were an actual constitutional monarchy there would be a far more powerful check on political power, because Trump could never say « l’état c’est moi »
Remember how lying to the queen was the most powerful criticism of Boris.
In a way it's a bit of a shame that Reform are doing so well in Runcorn polling, as if they walk it, Farage's fairly bad behaviour over Lowe will be rewarded.
That species of restless treachery is so inimical to Farage that you can't ascribe a moral cast to it like "bad behaviour".
It is as natural and necessary to him as breathing is to me or you.
That’s a terrific line and one Avon used to Servalan in an episode of,the seminal BBC sci,fi show Blakes 7.
It would be, except that 'inimical' is pretty well the opposite of 'intrinsic', which was probably meant.
As Spock often said, ‘fascinating’
Did Spock always really mean "What a load of horseshit..."
"I wasn't trying to evaluate its moral implications, Doctor. As a matter of cosmic history, it has always been easier to destroy than to create."
I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
Being a good backbencher and a good Minister require largely different characteristics. I converted a Tory lead of over 16% in 1992 to a lead of 0.7% in 2010 when they finally recovered the seat with broadly similar national polling. But I was never a Minister and quite possibly wouldn't have been good at it - what I was good at was relentlessly following up the problems of individuals, to the point that many natural Conservatives voted for me. I was quite good at understanding the problems of people from quite different backgrounds and swiftly solving their problems. But my influence on Government policy was frankly very limited.
Does that mean that Ministers should be appointed from outside Parliament, as in the US, Canada and many other countries? I'd argue not, because it must make the division between policymaking and representation even wider. But being a good backbencher AND a good Minister must take remarkable ability to compress the work into 16 hours a day.
The forthcoming battle for the soul of the constitution of USA in a nutshell:
Acyn @Acyn · 2h When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
Conservative donor Mohammed Amersi on LBC going full HYUFD. He was talking with Farage at Trump's inauguration and he maintained that Nigel has plans to merge the Tory party with Reform to defeat Starmer. Amersi says Kemi is struggling and Cleverly's political future lies as Mayor of London. So Nige to run the nation as Tory PM, anyone?
Has anyone seen HYUFD and Mohammed Amersi in the same room?
Not happening as it would lose both parties votes, some Tories would go LD over Reform and some Reform voters would go to Tommy Robinson backed UKIP over a Reform merged with the Tories party.
So the Tories and Reform would probably win more seats combined than as one party
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
The state pension is effectively an asset worth £250K or thereabouts.
The forthcoming battle for the soul of the constitution of USA in a nutshell:
Acyn @Acyn · 2h When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
The forthcoming battle for the soul of the constitution of USA in a nutshell:
Acyn @Acyn · 2h When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
These people want to live in a monarchy. The very thing the American Revolution was about.
The irony being if they were an actual constitutional monarchy there would be a far more powerful check on political power, because Trump could never say « l’état c’est moi »
Remember how lying to the queen was the most powerful criticism of Boris.
I didn't mean a constitutional monarchy. I meant a tyrant monarchy. Maybe Czar is better word? He wants to be Putin but with the added dynastic handover to one of his family. I don't think Putin has ever shown much interest in that?
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
The state pension is effectively an asset worth £250K or thereabouts.
That’s a good point.
An asset which everyone receives if they have put in 35 years of NI credits.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
The state pension is effectively an asset worth £250K or thereabouts.
That’s a good point.
An asset which everyone receives if they have put in 35 years of NI credits.
Unless the computer says no According to them I have only paid 20 years
As I pick up the pieces after another Cheltenham Festival and rejoice in the fact it's only three months or so until Royal Ascot and proper racing....
I'm roughly @DavidL's age and I understand his cri de coeur but I'm nowhere as pessimistic. In truth, many countries in the West are struggling - I spent nearly three months in New Zealand and can assure you their attempts at "austerity" are proving as useless as ours.
The fundamental is or are the demographics. Having 20% of the population over 65 unbalances or rebalances the economy. The growing demographic imbalance was known but Governments either wouldn't or couldn't confront it. Had retirement ages been raised earlier and further it might be better now.
You also have 20% of the workforce (pushing three million) who are economically inactive due to long term sickness. A declining workforce (numerically) and a growing number of economically active don't work well together if you are looking for economic growth.
It's reasonable to suppose technology will in time power a new phase of growth as it has so often before but when and how I've no clue.
The other change is the old notions of "left" and "right" no longer apply apart from as perjoratives. The relationship between State and citizen has changed out of all recognition in the past 30-40 years.
The politics of this is all parties have currently reached an ideological dead end - conservatism, socialism, social democracy, liberalism and authoritarian populism have all failed in one way or another yet new thinking will inevitably create either new ideologies or reboots of existing ideologies so politics will go on. One possible division could be over sustainability - "Green" politics (whatever that means) will be subsumed into existing ideologies, I suspect.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Sounds difficult, I remember being in a similar situation when I was still teaching. Massive mortgage, all the usual bills. I wasn't in the 40% zone though. My wife who is older than me had a pension which helped with food bills.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
As I pick up the pieces after another Cheltenham Festival and rejoice in the fact it's only three months or so until Royal Ascot and proper racing....
I'm roughly @DavidL's age and I understand his cri de coeur but I'm nowhere as pessimistic. In truth, many countries in the West are struggling - I spent nearly three months in New Zealand and can assure you their attempts at "austerity" are proving as useless as ours.
The fundamental is or are the demographics. Having 20% of the population over 65 unbalances or rebalances the economy. The growing demographic imbalance was known but Governments either wouldn't or couldn't confront it. Had retirement ages been raised earlier and further it might be better now.
You also have 20% of the workforce (pushing three million) who are economically inactive due to long term sickness. A declining workforce (numerically) and a growing number of economically active don't work well together if you are looking for economic growth.
It's reasonable to suppose technology will in time power a new phase of growth as it has so often before but when and how I've no clue.
The other change is the old notions of "left" and "right" no longer apply apart from as perjoratives. The relationship between State and citizen has changed out of all recognition in the past 30-40 years.
The politics of this is all parties have currently reached an ideological dead end - conservatism, socialism, social democracy, liberalism and authoritarian populism have all failed in one way or another yet new thinking will inevitably create either new ideologies or reboots of existing ideologies so politics will go on. One possible division could be over sustainability - "Green" politics (whatever that means) will be subsumed into existing ideologies, I suspect.
Yes: but here's the thing.
If you discuss these challenges, and the necessity of raising the retirement age, and of finding ways of paying for social care, etc., then you don't get elected.
On the other hand, if you ignore these challenges and allow the imbalance between the number of workers and retirees to grow (aka Japan), then you get no economic growth, and you end up with retirees having all the political power, and therefore you make reform impossible.
So, governments (in the UK and Germany, and to a lesser extent elsewhere) have gone for the importing people to keep the population pyramid from getting too inverted, but lying about it so as to make sure they still get elected. Which negatively impacts housing availability, and massively reduces trust in politicians.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
So idiot software engineer probably fucked up the calculations.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Sounds difficult, I remember being in a similar situation when I was still teaching. Massive mortgage, all the usual bills. I wasn't in the 40% zone though. My wife who is older than me had a pension which helped with food bills.
Then maybe just think about your current situation before complaining many people are worse off and mostly its not people who post here....I hit 67 if I can afford to retire/gets forced out the latter more likely I will still be paying all the rent and bills on about 3/4 of minimum wage total even including state pension....my father will have probably passed to save me that outlay at least but no idea how will cover the extra....frankly my pension and state pension will barely cover rent and council tax
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 1m ‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
He was joking, but many might see it.
I expect to if they let me as I cant see a way to afford retiring
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
He was joking, but many might see it.
I expect to if they let me as I cant see a way to afford retiring
I think in future the only retirees will be defined benefit pensioners and they haven't thought out how that will go down with the general public who will largely be paying for those
The forthcoming battle for the soul of the constitution of USA in a nutshell:
Acyn @Acyn · 2h When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
So idiot software engineer probably fucked up the calculations.
Could well be....worry is computer says x so its correct mentality
As I pick up the pieces after another Cheltenham Festival and rejoice in the fact it's only three months or so until Royal Ascot and proper racing....
I'm roughly @DavidL's age and I understand his cri de coeur but I'm nowhere as pessimistic. In truth, many countries in the West are struggling - I spent nearly three months in New Zealand and can assure you their attempts at "austerity" are proving as useless as ours.
The fundamental is or are the demographics. Having 20% of the population over 65 unbalances or rebalances the economy. The growing demographic imbalance was known but Governments either wouldn't or couldn't confront it. Had retirement ages been raised earlier and further it might be better now.
You also have 20% of the workforce (pushing three million) who are economically inactive due to long term sickness. A declining workforce (numerically) and a growing number of economically active don't work well together if you are looking for economic growth.
It's reasonable to suppose technology will in time power a new phase of growth as it has so often before but when and how I've no clue.
The other change is the old notions of "left" and "right" no longer apply apart from as perjoratives. The relationship between State and citizen has changed out of all recognition in the past 30-40 years.
The politics of this is all parties have currently reached an ideological dead end - conservatism, socialism, social democracy, liberalism and authoritarian populism have all failed in one way or another yet new thinking will inevitably create either new ideologies or reboots of existing ideologies so politics will go on. One possible division could be over sustainability - "Green" politics (whatever that means) will be subsumed into existing ideologies, I suspect.
Yes: but here's the thing.
If you discuss these challenges, and the necessity of raising the retirement age, and of finding ways of paying for social care, etc., then you don't get elected.
On the other hand, if you ignore these challenges and allow the imbalance between the number of workers and retirees to grow (aka Japan), then you get no economic growth, and you end up with retirees having all the political power, and therefore you make reform impossible.
So, governments (in the UK and Germany, and to a lesser extent elsewhere) have gone for the importing people to keep the population pyramid from getting too inverted, but lying about it so as to make sure they still get elected. Which negatively impacts housing availability, and massively reduces trust in politicians.
You're not wrong and of course there's no point being in politics if you don't get the opportunity (via winning elections) to enact the policies in which you believe and which you believe would be the best for the country.
One might argue the problem since the defenestration of the Blessed Margaret all those years ago is instead of politicians trying to bring the electorate to them, they have gone running to where they think the electorate is.
Whether you call it populism or conviction isn't the point but the point is the terms of the public debate have to be set by the politicians not by the media or influencers or billionaires but that's what has happened.
There's an economic argument for large scale immigration and a stronger economic argument for managed immigration in key areas but at a time of economic stagnation those arguments seem to hold little water for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
Conservative donor Mohammed Amersi on LBC going full HYUFD. He was talking with Farage at Trump's inauguration and he maintained that Nigel has plans to merge the Tory party with Reform to defeat Starmer. Amersi says Kemi is struggling and Cleverly's political future lies as Mayor of London. So Nige to run the nation as Tory PM, anyone?
Has anyone seen HYUFD and Mohammed Amersi in the same room?
Not happening as it would lose both parties votes, some Tories would go LD over Reform and some Reform voters would go to Tommy Robinson backed UKIP over a Reform merged with the Tories party.
So the Tories and Reform would probably win more seats combined than as one party
Amersi seemed very confident and he'd certainly drunk the Farage Koolade.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Sounds difficult, I remember being in a similar situation when I was still teaching. Massive mortgage, all the usual bills. I wasn't in the 40% zone though. My wife who is older than me had a pension which helped with food bills.
Then maybe just think about your current situation before complaining many people are worse off and mostly its not people who post here....I hit 67 if I can afford to retire/gets forced out the latter more likely I will still be paying all the rent and bills on about 3/4 of minimum wage total even including state pension....my father will have probably passed to save me that outlay at least but no idea how will cover the extra....frankly my pension and state pension will barely cover rent and council tax
You have my sympathies, but I don't remember complaining about my lot. We all make what we can out of things. Some people end up easier than others. My brothers and sisters show a whole range, as do my nephews and nieces. All I am saying is I think it's a lot more varied than you may think.
As I pick up the pieces after another Cheltenham Festival and rejoice in the fact it's only three months or so until Royal Ascot and proper racing....
I'm roughly @DavidL's age and I understand his cri de coeur but I'm nowhere as pessimistic. In truth, many countries in the West are struggling - I spent nearly three months in New Zealand and can assure you their attempts at "austerity" are proving as useless as ours.
The fundamental is or are the demographics. Having 20% of the population over 65 unbalances or rebalances the economy. The growing demographic imbalance was known but Governments either wouldn't or couldn't confront it. Had retirement ages been raised earlier and further it might be better now.
You also have 20% of the workforce (pushing three million) who are economically inactive due to long term sickness. A declining workforce (numerically) and a growing number of economically active don't work well together if you are looking for economic growth.
It's reasonable to suppose technology will in time power a new phase of growth as it has so often before but when and how I've no clue.
The other change is the old notions of "left" and "right" no longer apply apart from as perjoratives. The relationship between State and citizen has changed out of all recognition in the past 30-40 years.
The politics of this is all parties have currently reached an ideological dead end - conservatism, socialism, social democracy, liberalism and authoritarian populism have all failed in one way or another yet new thinking will inevitably create either new ideologies or reboots of existing ideologies so politics will go on. One possible division could be over sustainability - "Green" politics (whatever that means) will be subsumed into existing ideologies, I suspect.
Yes: but here's the thing.
If you discuss these challenges, and the necessity of raising the retirement age, and of finding ways of paying for social care, etc., then you don't get elected.
On the other hand, if you ignore these challenges and allow the imbalance between the number of workers and retirees to grow (aka Japan), then you get no economic growth, and you end up with retirees having all the political power, and therefore you make reform impossible.
So, governments (in the UK and Germany, and to a lesser extent elsewhere) have gone for the importing people to keep the population pyramid from getting too inverted, but lying about it so as to make sure they still get elected. Which negatively impacts housing availability, and massively reduces trust in politicians.
You're not wrong and of course there's no point being in politics if you don't get the opportunity (via winning elections) to enact the policies in which you believe and which you believe would be the best for the country.
One might argue the problem since the defenestration of the Blessed Margaret all those years ago is instead of politicians trying to bring the electorate to them, they have gone running to where they think the electorate is.
Whether you call it populism or conviction isn't the point but the point is the terms of the public debate have to be set by the politicians not by the media or influencers or billionaires but that's what has happened.
There's an economic argument for large scale immigration and a stronger economic argument for managed immigration in key areas but at a time of economic stagnation those arguments seem to hold little water for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
A) no one has ever made those arguments instead we have had those proclaiming all immigration is good, or all immigration is bad. The truth is instead some immigrants add to the community some dont. One of the reasons I believed in brexit and voted for it in fact....not to keep immigrants out but so we could choose the immigrants we got....would rather have a doctor from pakistan than a barista from romania for example....the first a net benefit.....the latter not so much
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
He was joking, but many might see it.
I expect to if they let me as I cant see a way to afford retiring
I think in future the only retirees will be defined benefit pensioners and they haven't thought out how that will go down with the general public who will largely be paying for those
There aren't many defined benefit pension schemes outside the public sector. Defined contribution schemes are now the norm to top up the state pension. It isn't really possible for those doing physical labour to work much beyond 65 to 70
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 1m ‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
I was about to post something similar, but I don’t even agree Reeves is the poorest chancellor of my lifetime.
Recent goings on in America have made me reassess where we are politically. It’s not that bad. Very online political people like us have a tendency to catastrophise. And there’s a sort of bias in all of us that assumes things aren’t as good as the old days. We remember the great statesmen and forget the shits.
What we have in current British politics is: a Labour governing party that is a bit uninspiring, with a seemingly mediocre chancellor but some decent cabinet ministers, at least some modicum of direction in policy making and a PM who is not an embarrassment on the world stage.
A main opposition party that has gone through a decade-long psychodrama and is struggling for a voice, but still by and large avoids out and out Trumpist mendacity and has a healthy internal debate without the cultishness of its American counterpart.
A liberal party that is, yes, often hypocritical when balancing national policy with local campaigning, but has a pretty decent set of 72 MPs and is criticised mainly for that local hypocrisy and lightweight stunts by its leader. None of which are particularly new complaints.
A green party that is no worse or more out of touch than its predecessors, and a populist right party that is, well, almost cuddly and centrist compared to its putinist or neonazi European brethren, or indeed the actual administration of the USA.
Nationalist and regionalist parties that rarely go beyond bog standard blaming of Westminster and are miles away from engineering a breakup of the Union.
We still have a parliament mainly filled with people who want to do what’s best for their communities and the country, and have plenty of competent, intelligent people amongst them.
I hope, for my grandchildren’s sake, that you’re right. And TBH, I think you might be. In spite, perhaps, of my previous post, I remain optimistic.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
He was joking, but many might see it.
I expect to if they let me as I cant see a way to afford retiring
I think in future the only retirees will be defined benefit pensioners and they haven't thought out how that will go down with the general public who will largely be paying for those
There aren't many defined benefit pension schemes outside the public sector. Defined contribution schemes are now the norm to top up the state pension. It isn't really possible for those doing physical labour to work much beyond 65 to 70
I didnt claim there many defined benefit schemes outside the public sector
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 1m ‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
Conservative donor Mohammed Amersi on LBC going full HYUFD. He was talking with Farage at Trump's inauguration and he maintained that Nigel has plans to merge the Tory party with Reform to defeat Starmer. Amersi says Kemi is struggling and Cleverly's political future lies as Mayor of London. So Nige to run the nation as Tory PM, anyone?
Has anyone seen HYUFD and Mohammed Amersi in the same room?
Not happening as it would lose both parties votes, some Tories would go LD over Reform and some Reform voters would go to Tommy Robinson backed UKIP over a Reform merged with the Tories party.
So the Tories and Reform would probably win more seats combined than as one party
Amersi seemed very confident and he'd certainly drunk the Farage Koolade.
If Jenrick or Rees Mogg became Tory leader it might be foreseeable under FPTP the Tories merged with Reform as policy wise they would be near identical just Reform more Nimby.
It certainly won't happen while Badenoch and Stride form the Tory leadership and if we ever got PR the parties would remain separate indefinitely only coming together post election to form a government potentially
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 1m ‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Nope he merely asked for executions to stop not castrations which have been well documented
Besides if you ever wanted to make the nobel peace price something people poked fun at I can't think of anything worse than awarding it to the trump/putin combo....giving it to obama was more than enough denigration of it
Conservative donor Mohammed Amersi on LBC going full HYUFD. He was talking with Farage at Trump's inauguration and he maintained that Nigel has plans to merge the Tory party with Reform to defeat Starmer. Amersi says Kemi is struggling and Cleverly's political future lies as Mayor of London. So Nige to run the nation as Tory PM, anyone?
Has anyone seen HYUFD and Mohammed Amersi in the same room?
Not happening as it would lose both parties votes, some Tories would go LD over Reform and some Reform voters would go to Tommy Robinson backed UKIP over a Reform merged with the Tories party.
So the Tories and Reform would probably win more seats combined than as one party
Amersi seemed very confident and he'd certainly drunk the Farage Koolade.
If Jenrick or Rees Mogg became Tory leader it might be foreseeable under FPTP the Tories merged with Reform as policy wise they would be near identical just Reform more Nimby.
It certainly won't happen while Badenoch and Stride form the Tory leadership and if we ever got PR the parties would remain separate indefinitely only coming together post election to form a government potentially
Rees Mogg is out of Parliament, thankfully. How do you expect him to get back?
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 1m ‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
Don't have time sadly or energy too busy trying to sort out my fathers affairs
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Joe Biden?
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Joe Biden?
I would love to think you are joking here but sadly dont think you are
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
Don't have time sadly or energy too busy trying to sort out my fathers affairs
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Vladimir Putin?
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 1m ‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Joe Biden?
I would love to think you are joking here but sadly dont think you are
Not enough nudges and winks to be ironic after all that went before.
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Joe Biden?
You deserve to be awarded a gratis Cybertruck for that kind of loyalty.
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Joe Biden?
I would love to think you are joking here but sadly dont think you are
Not enough nudges and winks to be ironic after all that went before.
If they want to be political...give it to musk and watch the fallout
I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
Being a good backbencher and a good Minister require largely different characteristics. I converted a Tory lead of over 16% in 1992 to a lead of 0.7% in 2010 when they finally recovered the seat with broadly similar national polling. But I was never a Minister and quite possibly wouldn't have been good at it - what I was good at was relentlessly following up the problems of individuals, to the point that many natural Conservatives voted for me. I was quite good at understanding the problems of people from quite different backgrounds and swiftly solving their problems. But my influence on Government policy was frankly very limited.
Does that mean that Ministers should be appointed from outside Parliament, as in the US, Canada and many other countries? I'd argue not, because it must make the division between policymaking and representation even wider. But being a good backbencher AND a good Minister must take remarkable ability to compress the work into 16 hours a day.
MP's as social workers?
There is a lot to be said about this approach - working at the coal face to see how legislation is a) implemented or not and b) the cracks in the system that poorly drafted legislation creates. If only it were compulsory.
Have to say my new (Tory) MP has this approach. Only problem is he espouses ideas he doesn't really believe in as he is more of a red Tory. And they don't survive with Reform about.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
The website does list the years in detail that are fully paid, or not, so Pagan could use that data to locate the companies he was looking for at the time. Maybe they didn't send off the NI money or had got his NI number wrong?
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
The state pension is effectively an asset worth £250K or thereabouts.
It's not an asset if it dies with you. More of a state liability which lessens if they don't provide the means to keep you healthy.
Great incentive to keep fit just to show the bas**rds.
Donald Trump has intervened to ask that Ukrainian soldiers not be killed if they surrender. And Vladimir Putin has agreed to this.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
Jointly bringing to an end the terrible war started by Joe Biden?
You deserve to be awarded a gratis Cybertruck for that kind of loyalty.
I must confess that I am finding our politics so deeply depressing at the moment that I am finding it harder to even comment on it.
The leadership of the main parties is utterly uninspired and seems to have no idea what they want (other than to be in power). Reeves is a shockingly poor Chancellor whose initial budget has killed off growth in the UK, growth that is essential to make her numbers work. They Tories failed to address the real and substantial problems that we have in investment, excess consumption, balance of payments, debt and skills. Modest efforts such as Hunt's policy of allowing 100% write offs for investment were welcome but not even close to sufficient.
I personally find Reform repugnant. There is a deep underlying strand of racism, a determination to live on "alternative facts" and a reluctance to engage with real world problems. I will never vote for them.
The Lib Dems are teetering on the verge of total irrelevance and show no signs of any kind of breakthrough. The Greens are even worse. As for the SNP up here, words simply fail me.
I am now 63. I just missed voting in 1979. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where we had such a range of problems and no real hints of any solutions from anyone. We are not attracting people of the requisite talent into politics. Reform thrive on the None of the Above ticket. I personally put them at the top of the list for None of the Above but you can begin to understand peoples' frustration and irritation with what they are being offered. I am struggling to see how we fix this.
You are, David (if may call you that) jut a year or so older than my elder son and I have to say that agree with you about our politicians, although I'm very aware of the need NOT to look back to some long-ago Golden Age. I would not put many of Labour's current leaders in the same ability bracket as, say Robin Cook or Gordon Brown let alone Michael Foot, Denis Healey, or, going further back Harold Wilson or Aneurin Bevan. Yes they had their faults but they also had beliefs. I wasn't a Thatcher fan, but she had a vision, mistaken though I thought it to be. And she was wise enough to have a 'critical friend' close to her. As well as able lieutenants. As far as the LibDems are concerned, one cannot, absolutely cannot, realistically equate Ed Davey with Jo Gromond, David Steel or Paddy Ashdown. Jeremy Thorpe had massive clay feet but he was an inspirational speaker. Reform scares me, to be honest.
I'm only 49, but I'm sceptical there was ever a golden period of competent politicians. Politics is incredibly difficult and required mastery of impossible swathes of detail. We award yesterday's politicians a gravitas they have now through experience but didn't have at the time. And previous generations didn't have to contend with social media or 24hr news. Rachel Reeves is still the weakest chancellor of my lifetime by a country mile, mind you.
Being a good backbencher and a good Minister require largely different characteristics. I converted a Tory lead of over 16% in 1992 to a lead of 0.7% in 2010 when they finally recovered the seat with broadly similar national polling. But I was never a Minister and quite possibly wouldn't have been good at it - what I was good at was relentlessly following up the problems of individuals, to the point that many natural Conservatives voted for me. I was quite good at understanding the problems of people from quite different backgrounds and swiftly solving their problems. But my influence on Government policy was frankly very limited.
Does that mean that Ministers should be appointed from outside Parliament, as in the US, Canada and many other countries? I'd argue not, because it must make the division between policymaking and representation even wider. But being a good backbencher AND a good Minister must take remarkable ability to compress the work into 16 hours a day.
MP's as social workers?
There is a lot to be said about this approach - working at the coal face to see how legislation is a) implemented or not and b) the cracks in the system that poorly drafted legislation creates. If only it were compulsory.
Have to say my new (Tory) MP has this approach. Only problem is he espouses ideas he doesn't really believe in as he is more of a red Tory. And they don't survive with Reform about.
Personally I think the fact you feel the need for mp's to follow up individual problems shows there is a glaring weakness because frankly an individual should have better recourses than speaking to an mp that may or may not listen to them, apparently many dont such as if you are a clacton constituent. I am sure however he is not the only one and most parties have many of that ilk
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
The website does list the years in detail that are fully paid, or not, so Pagan could use that data to locate the companies he was looking for at the time. Maybe they didn't send off the NI money or had got his NI number wrong?
Only worth my time if I expect to be a pensioner which I dont
Off topic. We binge-watched the 4 episodes of Adolescence last night on Netflix. It's an absolutely brilliant Stephen Graham thing which provides much food for thought, so I'm merely recommending it. I haven't seen anything better for years.
@Northern_Al Based on your recommendation, this afternoon I've binge watched all 4 episodes of Adolescence. Wow. Incredible. Thanks
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
The website does list the years in detail that are fully paid, or not, so Pagan could use that data to locate the companies he was looking for at the time. Maybe they didn't send off the NI money or had got his NI number wrong?
Only worth my time if I expect to be a pensioner which I dont
You can still work and collect your pension you know. It may help.
A senior civil servant tricked the Government into paying him for three full-time jobs as he used working from home to help him to go undetected for at least two years.
Cabinet Office documents reveal the man worked for both the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) between 2022 and 2024.
It added that the official held three jobs at the same time on two separate occasions and was only identified when a government fraud squad stepped in.
The case, first reported by the i newspaper, showed the senior civil servant, who held higher security clearances in two government departments, was able to avoid initial detection by lying about his employment history.
Mindboggling.
It is indeed. Obvious consequences include:
The sacking of his line managers in all 3 departments for utter incompetence. The redundancy of 2/3 of the employees in his department if he was able to complete all 3 jobs. A truly enormous tax bill for the higher rate taxes he should have been paying on second and third incomes. Prosecution for fraud.
Conservative donor Mohammed Amersi on LBC going full HYUFD. He was talking with Farage at Trump's inauguration and he maintained that Nigel has plans to merge the Tory party with Reform to defeat Starmer. Amersi says Kemi is struggling and Cleverly's political future lies as Mayor of London. So Nige to run the nation as Tory PM, anyone?
Has anyone seen HYUFD and Mohammed Amersi in the same room?
Not happening as it would lose both parties votes, some Tories would go LD over Reform and some Reform voters would go to Tommy Robinson backed UKIP over a Reform merged with the Tories party.
So the Tories and Reform would probably win more seats combined than as one party
Amersi seemed very confident and he'd certainly drunk the Farage Koolade.
If Jenrick or Rees Mogg became Tory leader it might be foreseeable under FPTP the Tories merged with Reform as policy wise they would be near identical just Reform more Nimby.
It certainly won't happen while Badenoch and Stride form the Tory leadership and if we ever got PR the parties would remain separate indefinitely only coming together post election to form a government potentially
Rees Mogg is out of Parliament, thankfully. How do you expect him to get back?
Win his seat back or the neighbouring North Somerset seat Liam Fox has vacated at the next general election, on some polls he would win either on every poll he would win the latter
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
He was joking, but many might see it.
Yes, I'll be pleasantly surprised if I retire before I die.
People on this board I think do fairly nicely from the lib/lab/con nothing changes position they might get a little less well off but not by much.....Thats a privliged postion not held by about 70% of people where a lot of the centrist policies of either of the three parties actually makes them worse off than they were before....don't think many here live in the world inhabited by most of the country
It's a view I suppose...
Suggest a reason to doubt what I said then, most pensioners here are on defined benefit pensions giving them a total income well above min wage...name one thats not....of those still working we have people like rochdale, richard tyndall, casino royale all have hinted at salaries 6 figures or more....even chb has said he is living in a parental house so not having to pay rent as I remember
Name one person other than me that is not working for a company and paying rent? Morris dancer maybe
A 40 hr week at minimum wage is almost double my pension. Don't fall for the media propaganda of rich pensioners please. What savings I have pushes me into tax due to the interest payments, just. I would have dreamed of a six figure salary. Mine is only 6 figures if you include the pence.
I paid rent/ a mortgage for 45 years before I retired.
Do you have private provision too ?
The quarter of a pensioners are millionaires line is based on their assets, so House and pension pot. It fails to take into account that pension pot has to pay their wages for the rest of their lives.
I am living on my private pension. I have 2 more years before the state pension kicks in.
So you've retired early? That doesn't sound like poverty either. And not a luxury the generation who come next are going to have.
I was told by a financial adviser we could both expect to die at our desks.
He was joking, but many might see it.
Yes, I'll be pleasantly surprised if I retire before I die.
You don't have to stop working if you claim your pension you know.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
The website does list the years in detail that are fully paid, or not, so Pagan could use that data to locate the companies he was looking for at the time. Maybe they didn't send off the NI money or had got his NI number wrong?
Only worth my time if I expect to be a pensioner which I dont
You can still work and collect your pension you know. It may help.
I'm not having a pop at you by the way Daveyboy. I'm pleased for you that you've got yourself into this position.
I don't take it personally, but we do live frugally.
I live frugally too doesnt help....I have in my house a computer desk and computer as I work from home, a dining table and a double bed....notice I didnt mention a tv, a stereo, a sofa there. I havent owned a car for 15 years though I have a licence...only time I go out is when I take my father out the home once a week and buy him a pint....how much more frugal should I get?
Wow, I am getting to realize how difficult you find managing. What do you do if you don't mind me asking?
I am a software engineer. High enough paid to pay 40% tax even....by the time I pay rent, council tax, mobile, internet, gas, electric however thats pretty much 70% gone and no I have a monthly giff gaff contract for 20£ so not spending on toys, I do spend money on taking my father out for a day from the home and that costs me about 400£ a month is my only extravagance
Just calcualated since 87 been in paye jobs apart from four years.....on my calculation 2025 - 1987 = 38 years - 4 for the years not been paye well 34 minimum.....why do they say 20 years
Phone them. Both DWP and HMRC. The websites have been unreliable in my experience, still more so the advice on how best to fill gaps without overpaying.
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
The website does list the years in detail that are fully paid, or not, so Pagan could use that data to locate the companies he was looking for at the time. Maybe they didn't send off the NI money or had got his NI number wrong?
Only worth my time if I expect to be a pensioner which I dont
You can still work and collect your pension you know. It may help.
Comments
The other aspect to this of course is that this is the first generation of politicians since social media started making people stupider. But that's a personal view.
Captain Mark Kelly
@CaptMarkKelly
I bought a Tesla because it was fast like a rocket ship. But now every time I drive it, I feel like a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people. So Tesla, you’re fired!
New ride coming soon.
https://x.com/CaptMarkKelly/status/1900574148906086817
POTUS at 70/1
However if Labour squeeze the LD and Green voters they would overtake Reform. Albeit if Reform squeeze the Tories they could get over 50% of the vote
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/arlington-cemetery-scrubs-website-dei/
..in recent weeks, the cemetery’s public website has scrubbed dozens of pages on gravesites and educational materials that include histories of prominent Black, Hispanic and female service members buried in the cemetery, along with educational material on dozens of Medal of Honor recipients and maps of prominent gravesites of Marine Corps veterans and other services.
Cemetery officials confirmed to Task & Purpose that the pages were “unpublished” to meet recent orders by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth targeting race and gender-related language and policies in the military.
Gone from public view are links to lists of dozens of “Notable Graves” at Arlington of women and Black and Hispanic service members who are buried in the cemetery. About a dozen other “Notable Graves” lists remain highlighted on the website, including lists of politicians, athletes and even foreign nationals...
Burn pit fund for veterans on chopping block in GOP spending bill
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5194764-democrats-republicans-veterans-funding/
Democratic lawmakers and veterans’ groups are fuming over a provision in a stopgap federal spending bill passed by House Republicans this week that would cut a Department of Veteran Affairs fund meant to cover costs for illnesses linked to military burn pits and other chemical exposure.
The six-month government spending package, which largely holds federal spending at fiscal year 2024 levels, would cut the Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) for the VA next year.
The controversial fund was meant to allot $22.8 billion to cover expanded benefits for former service members sickened by military toxic exposures — including burn pit smoke and Agent Orange water contamination — starting October 1, 2025.
But the continuing resolution (CR) drafted and passed by House Republicans zeros out funding that would have been used for the TEF in the fall.
“It cuts more than $20 billion in funding needed to provide care for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances next year,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the Senate floor Thursday. “It cannot pass.”..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/14/donald-trump-crashing-us-economy-fake-news
Recent goings on in America have made me reassess where we are politically. It’s not that bad. Very online political people like us have a tendency to catastrophise. And there’s a sort of bias in all of us that assumes things aren’t as good as the old days. We remember the great statesmen and forget the shits.
What we have in current British politics is: a Labour governing party that is a bit uninspiring, with a seemingly mediocre chancellor but some decent cabinet ministers, at least some modicum of direction in policy making and a PM who is not an embarrassment on the world stage.
A main opposition party that has gone through a decade-long psychodrama and is struggling for a voice, but still by and large avoids out and out Trumpist mendacity and has a healthy internal debate without the cultishness of its American counterpart.
A liberal party that is, yes, often hypocritical when balancing national policy with local campaigning, but has a pretty decent set of 72 MPs and is criticised mainly for that local hypocrisy and lightweight stunts by its leader. None of which are particularly new complaints.
A green party that is no worse or more out of touch than its predecessors, and a populist right party that is, well, almost cuddly and centrist compared to its putinist or neonazi European brethren, or indeed the actual administration of the USA.
Nationalist and regionalist parties that rarely go beyond bog standard blaming of Westminster and are miles away from engineering a breakup of the Union.
We still have a parliament mainly filled with people who want to do what’s best for their communities and the country, and have plenty of competent, intelligent people amongst them.
Acyn
@Acyn
·
2h
When asked if the Administration will comply with court orders on fired federal workers, WH Press Secretary Leavitt says the orders are unconstitutional: You cannot have a low level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President…
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1900566376793718989
These people want to live in a monarchy. The very thing the American Revolution was about.
You have no rent or mortgage to pay and you have sufficient means that you don't have to work despite being below pensionable age. You may not feel rich, but you are better off than 90% of people in the country.
Remember how lying to the queen was the most powerful criticism of Boris.
Does that mean that Ministers should be appointed from outside Parliament, as in the US, Canada and many other countries? I'd argue not, because it must make the division between policymaking and representation even wider. But being a good backbencher AND a good Minister must take remarkable ability to compress the work into 16 hours a day.
So the Tories and Reform would probably win more seats combined than as one party
According to them I have only paid 20 years
As I pick up the pieces after another Cheltenham Festival and rejoice in the fact it's only three months or so until Royal Ascot and proper racing....
I'm roughly @DavidL's age and I understand his cri de coeur but I'm nowhere as pessimistic. In truth, many countries in the West are struggling - I spent nearly three months in New Zealand and can assure you their attempts at "austerity" are proving as useless as ours.
The fundamental is or are the demographics. Having 20% of the population over 65 unbalances or rebalances the economy. The growing demographic imbalance was known but Governments either wouldn't or couldn't confront it. Had retirement ages been raised earlier and further it might be better now.
You also have 20% of the workforce (pushing three million) who are economically inactive due to long term sickness. A declining workforce (numerically) and a growing number of economically active don't work well together if you are looking for economic growth.
It's reasonable to suppose technology will in time power a new phase of growth as it has so often before but when and how I've no clue.
The other change is the old notions of "left" and "right" no longer apply apart from as perjoratives. The relationship between State and citizen has changed out of all recognition in the past 30-40 years.
The politics of this is all parties have currently reached an ideological dead end - conservatism, socialism, social democracy, liberalism and authoritarian populism have all failed in one way or another yet new thinking will inevitably create either new ideologies or reboots of existing ideologies so politics will go on. One possible division could be over sustainability - "Green" politics (whatever that means) will be subsumed into existing ideologies, I suspect.
If you discuss these challenges, and the necessity of raising the retirement age, and of finding ways of paying for social care, etc., then you don't get elected.
On the other hand, if you ignore these challenges and allow the imbalance between the number of workers and retirees to grow (aka Japan), then you get no economic growth, and you end up with retirees having all the political power, and therefore you make reform impossible.
So, governments (in the UK and Germany, and to a lesser extent elsewhere) have gone for the importing people to keep the population pyramid from getting too inverted, but lying about it so as to make sure they still get elected. Which negatively impacts housing availability, and massively reduces trust in politicians.
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social
·
1m
‘Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described the claims of a mass encirclement as “fiction”.’
https://bsky.app/profile/shashj.bsky.social/post/3lkeasvjzzk2i
He was joking, but many might see it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sfEwg-AT08
It's very worrying.
One might argue the problem since the defenestration of the Blessed Margaret all those years ago is instead of politicians trying to bring the electorate to them, they have gone running to where they think the electorate is.
Whether you call it populism or conviction isn't the point but the point is the terms of the public debate have to be set by the politicians not by the media or influencers or billionaires but that's what has happened.
There's an economic argument for large scale immigration and a stronger economic argument for managed immigration in key areas but at a time of economic stagnation those arguments seem to hold little water for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
And these people run the USA
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
In spite, perhaps, of my previous post, I remain optimistic.
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Nope he merely asked for executions to stop not castrations which have been well documented
It certainly won't happen while Badenoch and Stride form the Tory leadership and if we ever got PR the parties would remain separate indefinitely only coming together post election to form a government potentially
And look at Which and Martin Lewis websites to see what they say, if you haven't..
Besides if you ever wanted to make the nobel peace price something people poked fun at I can't think of anything worse than awarding it to the trump/putin combo....giving it to obama was more than enough denigration of it
There's a precedent for the Nobel Peace Prize to be shared, I think?
Joint award to Trump and Putin? The Reagan and Gorbachev of the age. I believe we also need to chip off Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore and cement in an image of Donald by Trump.
The power of irony...
There is a lot to be said about this approach - working at the coal face to see how legislation is a) implemented or not and b) the cracks in the system that poorly drafted legislation creates. If only it were compulsory.
Have to say my new (Tory) MP has this approach. Only problem is he espouses ideas he doesn't really believe in as he is more of a red Tory. And they don't survive with Reform about.
Great incentive to keep fit just to show the bas**rds.
The sacking of his line managers in all 3 departments for utter incompetence.
The redundancy of 2/3 of the employees in his department if he was able to complete all 3 jobs.
A truly enormous tax bill for the higher rate taxes he should have been paying on second and third incomes.
Prosecution for fraud.
If we get 1/4 of these I will be gobsmacked.
To paraphrase a one hit wonder pub rock band: "How long ... can this thing possibly go on?"