Tax payers alliance on BBC politics - cutting pensioner benefits

Hi Durhamjen,

Osborne doesn't care for anyone below his salary; remember the "oik" incident reported by a newspaper. Cameron and co have started at the bottom, first. No, I don't mean to be callous ~ I mean those who can't fight back - for whatever reason.

I really believe that those who are in your late forties, will experience seismic change to pensioner benefits as people of my age fall off their twigs.

A DS of ours is putting all spare £s into a private pension, as he believes he'll receive very little or nothing when he retires.
Then, the (UK) government will renege on any pension promise or benefit made.

Sorry to be gloomy, but, * they, the tory cabinet don't care*!

Why the Labour Party didn't choose a moderate leader is quite beyond me. As it is, people like me would never in a month of Sunday's vote for a left wing union led government, which in turn gives the government the where with all to do exactly as they please, safe in the knowledge that for 'us' and there are plenty of us, the alternative is an anathema. A differently run opposition might well have given 'us' food for thought and thus made the government a bit more circumspect in the knowledge that at the next election particular pigeons could well come to roost! But?!!!!!!

Niggly, have you ever voted for a Labour government?
By what you say above, it would be pointless trying to get your vote. I doubt you would even vote for a moderate. Did you vote for Blair? He's as close to a Tory as you would get.

There were no moderates standing. Three rightwingers, and one who stood by his principles; that's who Labour voters voted for and why not?

The answer to your question is no, but I must admit to being tempted by Tony Blair when he first came to power. If he were to be standing now as he was then, I probably would. He was extremely charismatic, forward looking and exuded enormous hope for the future, really fired you up and was inspirational. There's no reason whatsoever why you shouldn't have who you want as your leader, but he's not for me.

I see Corbyn's got a spin doctor from the Guardian now, so perhaps he'll be given an image makeover in an attempt to appeal to more than just those on the Labour left.

Really? It's not just him, It's being run by the trade unions that would make me and others like me, shy away. My bent is not dyed in the wool by any means, but remembering the winter of discontent and the country being virtually economically ruined, plus the vision of what's happened to Greece, has coloured and reinforced my opinion that anything is better than a repetition of that. Sorry, that's how I feel.

You have admitted that you have never voted Labour, niggly, so it would be better if you stopped pretending.
I can see no reason whatsoever for anyone in the Labour party trying to attract your vote, as they would lose far too many from the grass roots.

Wow, If this is a sample of the attitude of the Labour Party, then clearly I've escaped a fate worse than death!! I thought, Stupidly, that we were having a civilised conversation, whereby you would be trying to convince me of the error of my ways!! How wrong can you be! This belligerent way of talking is exactly why people other than those on the far left simply give up posting on these threads. It's a pity but there it is.

Attitude of the Labour party? It's my attitude, niggly.
No worse than your far right attitude. It's strange that you never give up posting on these threads, even though you always say you will.

Are you suggesting that I should be banned, if I won't go away? What's happened to freedom of speech? and freedom of expression? or doesn't that exist in your left wing world? I'll leave as and when I please, and change my mind as and when I please. Ok?!

No. I did not suggest that at all. You can stay on and say what you like, as can anyone else. I just said it's strange that you are always saying that you are not going to stay on a thread, and then you do.
I presume you include yourself in ' people other than those on the far left' in your post of 22.31.

The answer to your question is that I am certainly not on the far left, never have been and never will.be, equally contrary to popular belief, I am not on the far right either. That is why I made my original post; you could suggest the Lib dems, but that would now let in a far left government, so people like me ' hang onto Nurse because of fearing something worst''. The worse fear of course, is the economy, which Labour always seems to manage to wreck, and without a sound economy, you can't do anything to help anyone without eventually causing misery for everyone except the very wealthy. This is of course only my opinion, and no doubt I'm quite wrong, but this is how I feel and a lot of friends and acquaintances feel the same.

Ana I don't think that JBC's new 'spin doctor' is going to be a lot of use in helping him and his new Cabinet appeal to the public in general or to win the next election; not if his past record has anything to go by.
Not the wisest appointment I would have thought.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/10/21/seumas-milne-jeremy-corbyn_n_8345452.html

nigglenellie Trades unionists were central to the forming of the Labour Party and many people left the Labour Party because it had moved away from its founding values.

You say that you have never voted Labour and have only ever been tempted to do so when Tony Blair was the leader. I had high hopes for Tony Blair too and it is true that he did halt the disintegration of the health and education infrastructure, but, he used an economic strategy more in keeping with Conservative ideology - i.e. committing the taxpayer to the servicing of hugely expensive private finance contracts. Add to that his admitted promise of military support to the US long before the issue of WMDs had even been raised, and many Labour Party current and former members came to see him as unrepresentative of Labour values.

It is therefore quite understandable why Labour members wished to appoint a leader who actually represents the party's values. By going out of its way to try and appease the right wing press and to attract Conservative voters, many people believe the Labour Party lost its way and, speaking personally, I do not believe it is wise to try and attract people who could not even bring themselves to vote Labour when its leader bore more resemblance to a member of the Conservative Party.

You're probably right, Eloethan, but it does seem as though it's going to be a long, hard slog before the Labour Party can have any realistic hopes of being in power again.

Perhaps that's acceptable to the majority of members - maybe they'd rather be a party in permanent opposition, giving them permission to demonstrate, harangue, protest etc. without the bother of having to put solid alternative policies forward. A bit like the LibDems before they found themselves in such an indivious position in the Coalition.

You have beaten me to it Anaexactly what I was going to say!

Great minds think alike.

Wow Gracegran. How succinct. All you need to do is put it to music . . .I'd buy it

Reminds me of Edmund Burkes ...Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.

Why are we so phlegmatic or is it because we're lazy? We'll deserve
all George and Co dish out, if we, the electorate do nothing. Surely
it's time to have them on the ropes.

niggly what would you do about it? What could we/you/us achieve?
Is it time to ask Private Eye for guidance information

Austerity? Not for the likes of the top 5% = gravy, all the way to their
various off shore accounts in shell companies.