Peace of Mind

Name not bloody bane …..I m going

Sorry that bane should have been Marge in the first line I was agreeing with you Ali

Oh for an edit button 🙄

I m nearly 80 so similar to you Ali but my thinking is the opposite I m not very well off but I am a bit above the thresh hold so will lose my winter payment and who knows what else BUT I m willing to go along with all that because I believe it will improve the country on the whole eventually
I feel much safer under a grown up prime minister than the last government
I hate the right wing press for the fear it whips up amongst all the country but particularly elderly folks and a lot of it is totally untrue and with A1 I wonder how much is even written by a non human

It seems to be the right wing press who are circulating all these rumours.

So, I will wait for the budget before I start worrying.

I am sorry the current political change, with its inevitable tough decisions, is worrying you, Marg75, but I hope you can find some peace of mind from the positive responses to your post.

What a tonic it has been to read those posts! Yesterday, I found myself becoming increasingly upset by the constant criticism of our new government in the morning programmes. It’s sad that much of the populace has a short memory and the media is indeed largely to blame.

Thank you to those who've contributed to making this an optimistic thread! Just what is needed. 😀

Thanks for your replies, I understand where you are all coming from. Nevertheless I still have serious doubts about our political future. Only time will tell obviously. Meanwhile it is going to be a very cold miserable winter for a lot of pensioners which takes me back to what I said originally about piece of mind financially which all of us deserve at this time of life.

I agree too.

There has been some quite nasty scaremongering on GN on things that have not happened, just suppositions.

what *Doodledog" said

I think that there is a deliberate and concerted effort from the Tory press to demonise Starmer and try to bring Labour down. So much of what is being said is not based on fact. We don't know what the budget will hold, but there have been no announcements about council tax, bus passes, prescriptions, inheritance tax or any of the things people are worrying about. Everything is preceded with 'I have heard that. . .', but many people are not stopping to wonder where the things they've heard have come from, and why the rumours have been started

Ali23 I agree.
I'm much less pessimistic now!

Just hope Trump doesn't get in now ' as that would undoubtedly have widespread negative effects.

Ali23

Sorry you feel so vulnerable, Marg75.

Personally I feel the opposite because I think that the last government were dishonest and created an illusion that things were improving whilst our social institutions were crumbling and the gap between rich and poor was growing.

So I actually felt more insecure before this government gained control. Now I know things are tight but there is an honesty that had been missing since before the pandemic.

I’m hoping that we are heading for solvency as a nation.

I agree with you, Ali. I am much more hopeful for the future now. I think that there is a deliberate and concerted effort from the Tory press to demonise Starmer and try to bring Labour down. So much of what is being said is not based on fact. We don't know what the budget will hold, but there have been no announcements about council tax, bus passes, prescriptions, inheritance tax or any of the things people are worrying about. Everything is preceded with 'I have heard that. . .', but many people are not stopping to wonder where the things they've heard have come from, and why the rumours have been started.

We know that there are hard times ahead - we've been told that 'tough decisions' will be made. But we don't know what they will be (which is why I dislike cliches in politics), so it makes more sense to wait and see. It might be that we will be a bit worse off financially, but if in return we get a functioning NHS, better housing and less crime, it will be worth it.

Starmer has already brought in a ban on no-fault evictions, commissioned a review into the NHS to feed into a ten year plan of reforms, and cracked down on rioters - all steps in the right direction, surely? I think there is more cause for hope than despair, which is not to belittle your concerns, Marg. Can you try to boil your worries down to more precise ones rather than generalised anxiety about the future, and think about what exactly you think might happen? I find that helps me when I'm worried, as often the truth is that under the fear is nothing very specific.

What I’d like to know is: if the Labour Party succeed in filling the £22bn hole in the economy, will some of the cuts be reversed? Will we all then be better off?

Marg75 - I think we have all got the same worries. I am divorced and live on my own. As I.’ve got older, I worry about my health more than anything. I don’t worry too much about what the Government is doing. Never was interested in politics.
I’m sure everything’s going to be fine - as my dear mother used to say …”just cut your coat according to your cloth” , or something similar. Thats what we will all have to do.
So cheer up Marg75 - I’m sure someone will come along with more constructive advice

Sorry you feel so vulnerable, Marg75.

Personally I feel the opposite because I think that the last government were dishonest and created an illusion that things were improving whilst our social institutions were crumbling and the gap between rich and poor was growing.

So I actually felt more insecure before this government gained control. Now I know things are tight but there is an honesty that had been missing since before the pandemic.

I’m hoping that we are heading for solvency as a nation.

Thank you Lisaangel10.

I don’t think you are alone in admitting this Marg75. What a gloomy time for us all. Tonight I hear the Labour Party are not ruling out stopping pensioners bus passes. Where is it going to end? May be prescriptions next.

They just do not care about us at all. Work hard, pay your taxes, raise the next generation. In our later years there is a whole army of retired people doing invaluable voluntary work. None of that matters to them. We should be valued and cherished, not being robbed of everything.

You are very lucky to have each other. Xx