'Grandmothers back means test on winter fuel allowance'

I've been looking for the survey itself - it's not in 'Product tests & surveys'.

I agree with Grumppa - means testing for WFA etc would be too costly.

JDP is a loud mouthed, strident woman. Sometimes, to do with our humanitaran work in Rotary, someone will use the words"do-gooders". One response is: "I'd rather do good than do nothing."

Just listened to CariGransnet on Radio Scotland, speaking to Kaye Adams. Apparently 76% of the people on GN who completed the survey (1000, I think?) thought that benefits such as Winter Fuel Allowance, no TV licences for over-75's, free bus travel etc should be means-tested.
It seems that the the means-test would be made on income (over £50,000), rather than savings.
I think I did fill it in, and felt that the allowed income should be around this amount.
It's a difficult one, isn't it? One of the chaps in our village won £11,000,000 on the National Lottery a few years ago. He built a large house on the outskirts of the village and he will, of course, receive all of these benefits. There again, he may just donate his Winter Fuel Allowance to a better cause.

What was the title of the thread where the subject was thoroughly discussed, dissected and tossed back and forth? I wanted to draw The Bat's attention to it, to read before ranting again at us all as though each one of us were personally stealing the baby's rusks, but I can't find it.

Janet Street Porter could do with reading it too.

I put "The Bat" because I can't spell the poster's name. I have not seen it before, they must be newly joined.

I don't remember means testing being mentioned.
When WFA existed in France it was done through the tax system. If people paid tax at a certain level they couldn't apply for it. Not expensive or complicated.

I think I might have completed the survey but it is difficult to remember now. If I did, I know full well that I didn't support means testing for anything because it is inefficient, unfair and massively expensive.

I remember it. I think the question was something along the lines about would it be right for it to be withdrawn from people with an income of £55,000+ p.a.
As I was feeling sore at the time about WFA being withdrawn from my elderly neighbour who lives in a freezing house with only a couple of oil stoves through freezing winters, I think I ticked yes. I still think WFA should be rolled into the state pension where it would be taxed.

I took part in the survey, and as far as I recall it was posted on the forums, as competitions, surveys, etc. usually are. It may have appeared in the newsletter too. Interesting that not many regular posters remember seeing it.

This is beginning to sound like Family Fortunes.

Q Name a test that members of Gransnet would like to see forced upon the nation?

Our survey said......ALZHEIMERS

To be fair to JSP she does make a point of saying that only 1002 took part in the survey, out of the many thousands of members, whereas Cari's infographic is quoted as saying "24% of Gransnet users think the state pension ..........".

Also, "Our survey shows quite a high level of support for means testing among Gransnet users ........."

Eloethan must have been all those 'silent majority' members - you know, the ones whose sensitivities we must be aware of, and who win all the competitions

Great crossword clue, Galen

Is there anybody out there who actually did the survey?

When was the survey done? I read about it in The Times today but don't remember taking part!

Galen

A misspelled flying mouse aka bat! Is amazingly vituperative!

Calm down dear it's only a survey

eh? So a small sample of Gransnet members expressing their view about means testing the winter fuel allowance is the cause of all that? Blimey!

And the winner of the most exaggerated rant of 2013 goes to......?

PS. You left out the Daily Mail.

Who are the traitors who supposedly voted in this survey?. Please remember, the conservatives have successfully engineered the most evil hate campaign against ALL those on benefits. Everybody supported going after the scroungers but now we find that the tories are targeting ALL people on benefits. Look at the plight of the severely disabled who cannot work and have had their benefits cut or removed completely. Forced into destitution and in some cases, death. Do you honestly believe that the tories will stop at the rich pensioners, of course not, they will attack ALL PENSIONERS. Do you know that the evil witch Thatcher, by privatising the power industry, is responsible for the death of over 600,000 people since 1990 and the death toll rises every winter. These people died a most horrible death, they had to choose whether to freeze to death or starve to death.
At a time when the UK is helping disabled and sick children, "Children in need", just remember that disabled children on benefits will grow to become non working adults on benefits, as such are hated by the tories. The tories and their hate campaign has shown the poor, old, sick and genuinely disabled people and children, what it must have been like being a Jew in Nazi Germany in the 1930's.
I am aware that the UK is in dire financial difficulties, but forcing those in most need to suffer by removing or reducing their benefits, thus forcing them into destitution is wrong. In fact it amounts to human rights violations, no wonder the tories want to get out of the human rights act.

She won't even have bothered to do that; bet her researchers did it. You jus tknow she's one of those people [y'know the sort] that have never in their lives said 'perhaps I could be wrong'...

As usual, a survey shows that a certain percentage of THOSE WHO FILLED IT IN had a given opinion. A journalist who can't be bothered to look at the posts on the subjects then berates all Gransnetters. Nothing new.

"Shared"a railway carriage with JSP once. She wandered about on her mobile talking at the top of her voice mainly under the sign which has a phone and a cross through it. Glaring did not make any difference. She got out at Northallerton I think thank goodness.her rude behaviour has made me disregard anything she ever says.

Sorry, "it" above refers to WFA.

I thought there were quite a few people who thought it should be included in the normal pension and consequently subject to taxation. Not sure how that is reflected in the result. The threshold quoted in the link is quite high, I would have thought, at £55+k a year.