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How are HMRC collecting this 'bedroom tax'?
Would Cameron and Osborne have been "Wets?" in Maggie's day?
What is certain is that they would have been sharing a dormitory with a number of other boys and not complaining about it nor demanding that the taxpayer provide them with a single bedroom.
The problem is when this theory hits reality. In reality you have families who think their house is "theirs" because they have lived there many years. They have never actually paid for it, they don't even pay the rent, but it is "theirs" and it is a part of their identity with the neighbours etc.
Secondly, more fundamentally, the theory imagines a perfect housing market, where appropriately sized accomodation is available. This may have some truth in major cities but will not in many areas.
Thirdly, it assumes that the smaller accomodation is cheaper. This is not actually essential because a key part of the policy is releasing these family homes from empty nesters to those who need them but it is certainly a part of the rationale. The evidence for this is somewhat mixed.
Fourthly, it is difficult not to conclude that it is an important part of the policy that many simply accept the deduction from benefit and therefore reduce the burden on the public purse. This is absolutely essential of course but this is quite a random and potentially unfair way of doing it. There must be better ways of cutting housing benefit than this.
Finally, and least significantly, such a random policy allows a constant parade of hard luck stories about those with incapacity, fostering, broken families where both parents have residence, etc. etc. Our media lives off such stories so the policy inevitably takes place against a background of hostile stories retoxifying the tory brand.
It would have been better to cut the proportion of rent paid for all housing benefit recipients than this. Simpler, cheaper, more easily justified. This is just too complicated for the gains. Poor politics I am afraid.
Global warming flat-lined in 1998.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulhudson/posts/Global-warming-The-missing-energy
Obviously most people don't know this because they haven't been told.
However the people making decisions in places like China and India know hence why they're carrying on buildings lots of coal power plants.
So not only is the climate change bill an economic suicide bill for this country the deliberate de-industrializing of Britain as a result and the offshoring of that industry to countries who don't believe in global warming will increase the amount of CO2 those industries produce.
The only way of actually reducing emissions would be to keep the industry here and fund research into improving the technology used.
So even from a Green point of view the climate change bill is nothing but self-harming behaviour to no purpose - which is what they want - a bit of self-punishment for those dark satanic mills.
Either way it's still good the global warmers are now saying this country will be becoming colder because of global warming. Perhaps energy policy will start to reflect that then?
"A rabbit named Ralph has reclaimed his crown as the world's fattest Easter bunny after munching his way to almost FOUR stone in weight.
Hungry Ralph, aged four, held the title in 2010 before being overtaken by fellow Continental Giant Darius, who ballooned to three-and-a-half stone.
Owner Pauline Grant says Ralph, who is over three-foot long and weighs more than an average three-year-old child, now tips the scales at 3-st 8lbs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2301884/Hopping-worlds-fattest-Easter-bunny-Hungry-rabbit-Ralph-weighs-3st-8lbs--thats-heavier-average-year-old-child.html#ixzz2PDo1shoO
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Poor politics I am afraid.
David, you are beginning to sound like one on the Blessed Margaret's wets.
The political principle upon which the removal of the spare room subsidy is built is intellectually solid, time honoured and of sound provenance. It is simply:
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
Ralph Miliband will be turning in his grave at the heresy of his second son.
1993
Unemployment: 10.2%
Unemployment benefit: £2.5bn
2012
Unemployment: 7.9%
Jobseeker's allowance: £5.3bn
2017 forecast
Unemployment: 6.9%
Jobseeker's allowance: £4.5bn
Evil Tories - everyone knows the early 1990s were some sort of Dickensian nightmare of workhouses and slums.
Well, no doubt due to the fabulous health service the good news it that there are far fewer people with disabilities than we thought so that reduces the problem somewhat. It is also complete nonsense that there is any automatic correlation between disability and a need for an extra bedroom.
But I think the gist of my earlier comments is that I for one am not convinced that this policy is going to work well in reality.
So far as pensioners are concerned I can only refer to anecdotes but in my family's experience those that lived in public housing were in much smaller accomodation by the time they were pensioners. Certainly in Dundee they were moved into multi stories and sheltered accomodation that was an appropriate size. No doubt there are exceptions and areas where smaller accomodation was not so readily available.
A global cut in the proportion of rent paid by HB would and should create a downward pressure on the level of rents people are willing to pay, reversing the disaster of the last government whose policies enriched a generation of buy to let landlords and impoverished the country.
So obviously any issue relating to the housing shortage will be seen in that light.
If the political class weren't so completely insulated from the consequences of their actions they'd know this.
The Labour candidate was Frank Ward, who subsequently became Daputy Leader of Hertsmere Council from 1995-99. He resigned from Labour in 2006, and made a point of running as an independent in a number of wards in order to split the Labour vote. He did the party some damage in Borehamwood.
His daughter, Claire Ward, was MP for Watford from 1997-2010.
With respect to Vanilla - if I'm taking a screen shot - I'm not going to upload it to another site so I can then copy the URL so I can paste it here.
Well in fairness I was an active member of the SDP in the 1983 election we are watching and even held my nose really tight and voted for a Liberal (shudder). So that sounds reasonable enough.
As I said in my original post the principle and logic are sound but the practical realities are extremely problematic. I am a great believer in the Lawson approach to political policy. Keep it as simple as possible. This simply isn't.
This idea that withdrawing benefits is equivalent to a tax is bananas. Taxes are paid on earned income, what do people on benefits do to earn the money handed out to them?
Also, Labour introduced similar rules for private sector accommodation already and this is just an extension of that same principal to housing associations.
The current reforms are merely about getting the benefits bill part of the way back to previous, sensible levels.
[Abrupt Climate Change. A report by the US Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Reston, VA: US Geological Survey.]Potential impacts associated with MOC changes include reduced warming or (in the case of abrupt change) absolute cooling of northern high-latitude areas near Greenland and north-western Europe
[Schneider et al, "Chapter 19: Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change", Sec. 19.3.5.3 Possible changes in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), in IPCC AR4 WG2 2007.]Seeing as the UK is never really going to be able to effect the atmosphere ceteris paribus as much as the BRIC countries and the USA and thus generally has to react to any climate effects, I'd have thought it would be prudent if one were to follow the science to invest in plenty of Nuclear power plants in particular as these have very little CO2 emmission and could help us for the increased energy usage that we will need due to lower temperatures.
As it is the energy policies of the last Labour Gov't and the coalition have been to say LA LA LALALALALAALALAALA CLIMATE CHANGE WIND FARMS LALALALALAALALA and bury their head in the sand as to the real needs of the country.
The purpose of the Climate Change Act is to enable our politicians to go poncing round the globe feeling smug and doing their holier-than-thou act. That the Chinese, Indians et al are pissing themselves laughing behind their hands at this act of supreme stupidity and economic suicide is not important, neither is the fact that it will do nothing to reduce those nasty emissions.
The supreme stupidity, no downright insanity, of the Act and associated measures, is demonstrated by the conversion of the coal burning power stations to imported wood chips from the USA. The policy damages employment, balance of payments, government finances (wood chip = biomass = subsidy), energy security and does feck all to reduce carbon emissions (all that energy to produce the wood chips and move them thousands of miles).
I did the circus in Croydon in 1987 and the Alliance/SDP garden signers were the most dreadfully rude and strident of any of those I door-knocked on. Labourites were almost always polite if nonplussed and Tories worried about having posters in their cars or windows in case they got vandalised.
They remind me very much of the Kippers today - a missionary zeal that condemns all others as sell-outs/part of The System and stupid.
It's remarkable how the wheel turns.
and
RT @harryph: The Labour Party share of the vote in 1983 was only 28%. In 2010 it zoomed up to 29%. #election83
So the number of claimants is going to have to go down. It is going to be nasty in political terms but raising substantially and quickly the pension age is the only way that sufficient effect will be produced.
There was a laughable suggestion from tim yesterday that benefits should stay stable as a share of GDP. That means as we get wealthier, we need to give out more money to lift people out of poverty. It's the opposite of logic.
1) Global warming flat-lined in 1998 - so the whole debate is nonsense.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulhudson/posts/Global-warming-The-missing-energy
however as most people don't know that then
2) Yes, now the warmers are saying this country is going to get colder because of global warming it probably makes sense to encourage and cheerlead this process so
this global warming making the country colder tsk tsk very bad, we need to build more nuclear power stations quick before we all freeze to death.
Clearly, you're a thicko as well as a bigot.
" “He [Cameron] was concentrating on getting this sheep out. He was covered in mud. I was glad he was there doing it, not me. It was very wet weather and getting dark.”
Mr Tustian said the death of the two lambs had been “the start of a bad year, with the snow. It was a bad time. We have had a bad time this winter with the snow and lost quite a few lambs.”
This isn’t the first time Cameron has given a sheep a helping hand, after he was drafted in by Mr Tustian to aid a ewe struggling to give birth to two lambs a few years ago.
Mr Cameron acted as the farmer’s assistant for 15 minutes until the lambs were born, even volunteering for the task of pulling out the lambs himself as he had smaller hands than the farmer... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9964348/David-Cameron-wades-into-swamp-to-rescue-sheep.html
April Fools' Day is a trial for readers of newspapers and other media as they attempt to spot the anagrams and other clues that tip the wink that a particular story is a work of fiction.
But here is a round-up of some of this year's bizarre stories that are true, or seriously intended at least.
1. Universities are offering courses in Harry Potter and "ethical hacking". Durham University's education department offers a module entitled Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion which includes a section "Welcome to Hogwarts: the commodification of education". Abertay Dundee offered a course on ethical hacking, consumer website Which? noted.
More details (Daily Telegraph) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21993582
Now quiet, thicko. Why don't you go and find some retired people claiming JSA?
I was assuming that article was a UKIPGraph April Fool's joke.
Ditto JohnLoony joining the Blue Lovelies, but he's persisted with that one after the midday deadline.
The policy has the makings of a PR blunder and I think she rather lightly indicates why. The fact that Max felt the need to leap to the Government's defence rather suggests she has a point!
Good one. Very good one. LoL. Oh dear.
I am all in favour of workfare and am quite sure that its introduction would reduce the number of claimants substantially. However, the biggest chunk of welfare spending goes on pensioners and unless that is tackled the welfare bill will continue to climb evermore because people are living longer. There are measures in place to gently nudge up the retirement age, however I think we might well run out of credit (we have already run out of money) before they kick in.
@JohnO
"How so? The policy is popular according to all the polls, isn't it?"
I don't know, John. If you say so, I am sure that is right.
I was just thinking that it didn't sit too comfortably alongside the reduction in the higher rate of tax.
I've been dismissing the gulf stream thing as just them looking for a fallback position from the previous "no snow no more" line so i hadn't swotted up on it but although global warming flat-lined in 1998 it flat-lined at an elevated level so logically at least there could be something to the idea i.e. the warming that took place up till 1998 being enough to tip the gulf stream a bit leading to Britain getting colder?
Will have to swot some more on that.
Two little boys had two little toys
Each had a wooden horse
Gaily they played each summer's day
Warriors both of course
One little chap then had a mishap
Broke off his horse's head
Wept for his toy then cried with joy
As his young playmate said
Did you think I would leave you crying
When there's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Jack and don't be crying
I can go just as fast with two
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers
And our horses will not be toys
And I wonder if we'll remember
When we were two little boys
ROFL (sic)
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000156153/article/lawrence-okoyes-nfl-dream-faces-long-odds
Bring back Disqus, I say. What sort of system allows videos but denies us pictures of cats, trains and giant Easter Bunnies (not to mention a reliable widget)? And to think that Mr. Smithson pays for this as well.
Belike.
@Socrates
@tim
Re 'Climate Change (aka 'Global Warming')[sic]
Look up Maunder Minimum and Dalton Minimum and then look at current Sunspot activity.
It's about to get colder, and stay colder, for some decades to come.
Probably.
Edit: And if you have the time, look at atmospheric CO2 levels over geological time and relate that to the total amount of life on Earth over those times.
High CO2 (up to 400x that of today) as existed pre-Carboniferous would suggest global temperatures near that of Venus if the 'Warmists' were correct: in fact, life flourished in what is generally thought to have been a warm, wet global climate for much of time.
The reality is that global CO2 levels since the last Ice Age have been historically exceptionally low, and it's into that context that the current small rise (and projected rises) in atmospheric CO2 should be set.
Mediaeval 250 ppm
Today 280-300 ppm
Max predicted 450-500 ppm
Pre-Carboniferous - 100,000 to as high as 220,000ppm (pre photosynthesis, so not relevant here)
Put simply, there are ~200,000ppm of O2 and CO2 in the atmosphere, and the relative proportions of the two has tended towards more O2 and less CO2 over time, with wide fluctuations during various periods in Earth's history.
Anything over 50,000 ppm CO2 would make breathing very, very difficult, and realistically 10,000ppm is the upper limit.
Most commercial greenhouses raise the CO2 level to 1000ppm as that's the cost/benefit optimum for plant growth and yield (in the UK anyway - tropical grasses (C4 p/s) cope with higher temperatures and lower CO2 levels better than temperate plants (C3 p/s) or the relatively rare CAM plants (adapted to deserts, where H2O is the limiting factor))
I'll believe the warmists when their proposed solutions to the 'problem' involve lower taxes and cheaper energy, largely generated from nuclear.
Societies flourish when energy is cheap and wither and die when it's expensive: warmists' 'solutions' to Climate Change will, inevitably, kill our civilisation.
I note that 'being Green' and 'economic growth' are mutually incompatible, though few in power (!) seem to accept that simple truth.
You are thick enough to believe those retired from the workforce are included even when I specifically list out the data included as being JOBSEEKERS allowance and UNEMPLOYMENT benefit. In addition to being entirely negative in your posts, regularly abusive to other posters, and using hate slurs about social groups you dislike, I've concluded that you have no redeeming features whatsoever. Even when you are comprehensively shown to be wrong, you are psychologically incapable of conceding a point. There is thus very little point engaging with you.
BBC ticker:
BREAKING NEWS:Sunderland FC say it is "insulting" to new manager Paolo Di Canio to accuse him of being "racist or having fascist sympathies"
"According to dutch scientists, Antarctic sea ice has expanded substantially in last 30 years. Not that the Beeb will mention that! Story is in The Age in Melbourne if you want to check it out."
Thing about cultural hegemony is it works a bit like voodoo mind-control. As long as the BBC says global warming exists on the 6 o' clock news then the majority will believe it and politically it will exist.
But by the same token pointing out to people the BBC admit on a quiet corner of their website that global warming flat-lined in 1998 (at an elevated level to be fair) is enough to burst the voodoo spell on an individual level.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulhudson/posts/Global-warming-The-missing-energy
It's magic.
And yet Labour see those who rent in the private sector as second class citizens since 2008? When were the BBC making a song and dance about it then? Oh...
"And to think that Mr. Smithson pays for this as well."
For the first month Vanilla is a free trial so no one is paying for it - we have a few days to go yet.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000156318/article/leon-sandcastle-will-be-drafted-no-1-overall-by-chiefs
Leon's 40 yard dash time of 4.20 at the Combine was impressive.
I concur with Mr. Llama and Mr. Max.
Incidentally, hasn't this been the case for years with private sector housing? Why does it suddenly matter when it's public sector?
In the same, way private sector pensions have been hit far harder in recent years than the public sector, but all the complaining seems to revolve around the latter.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21994889
"Paolo Di Canio: Sunderland manager hurt by fascist claims
Paolo Di Canio says he is hurt by his portrayal in the media since becoming Sunderland manager.
The Italian was appointed boss of the struggling Premier League club on Sunday following the dismissal of previous incumbent Martin O'Neill.
Di Canio apologised for causing offence with statements of a political nature but said he had been misquoted.
Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne denied Di Canio was a fascist or a racist, as some have claimed."
Paolo Di Canio: Sunderland manager hurt by fascist claims
Paolo Di Canio says he is hurt by his portrayal in the media since becoming Sunderland manager.
The Italian was appointed boss of the struggling Premier League club on Sunday following the dismissal of previous incumbent Martin O'Neill.
Di Canio, 44, apologised for causing offence with statements of a political nature but said he had been misquoted.
"What I can say is that if someone is hurt, I am sorry," said Di Canio in a statement released by his club.
Ex-foreign secretary David Miliband resigned from the board of Sunderland because of Di Canio's "past political statements" but chief executive Margaret Byrne denied Di Canio was a fascist or a racist.
Di Canio has called former fascist dictator Mussolini "a very principled ethical individual" who was "deeply misunderstood". In 2005, he was pictured making a raised-arm salute to a group of supporters of Roman club Lazio, where he was playing.
"I expressed an opinion in an interview many years ago," Di Canio added. "Some pieces were taken for media convenience. They took my expression in a very, very negative way.
"But it was a long conversation and a long interview. It was not fair.
"Talk about racism? That is absolutely stupid, stupid and ridiculous. The people who know me can change that idea quickly. When I was in England my best friends were (black England players) Trevor Sinclair and Chris Powell, the Charlton manager - they can tell you everything about my character.
"I don't want to talk about politics because it's not my area. We are not in the Houses of Parliament, we are in a football club. I want to talk about sport. I want to talk about football."
More to follow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21994889
Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary, boss of Gigginstown stud, gives 200,000 euros to fund for paralysed jockey JT McNamara after Akorakor win
It's about to get colder, and stay colder, for some decades to come."
Well, the obvious solution to that is for the UK to close down much of its industry and to build lots and lots of windmills using imported components. Then we shall be all snug and toasty warm.
The data I have can not strip out claimant numbers across multiple benefits because there is almost certainly overlap in the claimant population.
Richard Feynman and Roy Orbison died in 1988.
Therefor Richard Feynman and Roy Orbison caused global warming.
Nice to have some proper discussion rather than a demented puppet leaping about dodging 3D graphics and a ship of celebrity fools.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BGxudoUCcAEgzLB.jpg:large
2010 is the highest temperature on record.
Wow - so now I've proved there's life after death as well.
This is turning into a productive morning! ;-)
I was reading about the Singapore system the other day. Apparently they take a chunk out your wages to go into a personal account that can only be spent on healthcare, housing and pensions. In one way it's very paternalistic, but it also encourages individual responsibility, as it's all based around the individual, yet also makes sure people plan for the future.
Socrates, unlikely to happen here as we have too many whinging lefties and liberals, all very well off and not affected or having to mix with the lower classes. Add to that dolts as politicians and it will only be sorted when we have been forced to go to the IMF cap in hand.
Big difference is that in countries like Singapore you do not get more money for lying in your bed, your family starve. Only in the UK can you lead a better lifestyle by never working and just taking other peoples hard earned cash, and yet they still whinge.
I've no idea what they're squealing about, but they are in full throated outrage. Is this an April Fool that's gotten out of hand?
Given that Nicholson professed support for communism, am surprised he was ever allowed to progress to a position of influence in the NHS.
" Surely you mean smug? "
My house hasn't been over 8C upstairs in 5 months unless it was warmer outside.
I very much doubt any of those who vote of greeny legislation are ever below 70F or 20C indoors.
When you go to bed dressed in sweatshirts, jogging bottoms and thick socks - and hope cats lie on you - that kinda says it all when it comes to those who are experiencing the cold and those who don't notice.
Or is it more perfectly windy today than then?
Find What: "Mandela"
Replace With:" NHS"
Tweet.
Carry on drinking.
Labour mastered fiscal incontinence 1997-2010.
Any suggestions how I can avoid evade bedroom tax. Can't find anything on it on the HMRC site.