Tory welfare cuts will impoverish 200,000 children next year and more than 600,00 in 2020

John McDonnell has written a letter to Osborne, to say he will back him if he reverses the tax credit cuts.

Here's the letter.

press.labour.org.uk/post/131869433469/john-mcdonnell-writes-to-george-osborne-on-tax

Anyone who will be affected by tax credit cuts, the People's Assembly would like to hear from you.

www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/tax_credit_cuts_we_want_to_hear_from_you

It must apply to some of your children or grandchildren.

This is how the living wage is worked out.

www.lboro.ac.uk/research/crsp/mis/thelivingwage/

If you can think of any better way to decide, I am sure they would not mind hearing ideas.

www.welfareweekly.com/over-half-of-brits-forced-to-borrow-money-to-buy-food/

This is very worrying.

As far as a living wage is concerned, I think the Living Wage Foundation do the best research. I do not think any other group does as much in this area.

www.livingwage.org.uk/

It's heartening that there are more and more big businesses signing up to it.
I noticed yesterday that the government claimed that companies like Ikea had signed up to it since they espoused the national living wage. That is such a lie, I am surprised they were not challenged on it.

He's a chameleon who just does what he's told (one can only speculate whether it is his PR team, Osborne or Tory grandees who pull his strings)
Remember this cycling, putting wind turbine on his house, version of Dave?
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6505807.stm
"Greenest government ever" and rebranding Tories with a little green tree logo, Dave?
Now we have "cut support to renewables" Dave.

April 2015. No, I do not want to cut tax credits, they are not going to fall.

October 2015, I am delighted we won the debate (to cut tax credits)

Good old Dave

I agree about a living wage and I don't believe this government are really interested in making sure people are properly paid. They are constantly saying one thing whilst doing the opposite. There is also the question of affordable housing. However much you pay in wages if a family are in privately rented property they are still likely to have very little left after they have paid the rent and are at the mercy of the landlord if he decides to raise the rent.

whitewave, this government who voted against the minimum wage are not going to do a thing about a living wage George Gideon has given the minimum wage a new name though, the living wage !

Assuming we all agree that everyone should as least earn enough in order to not need handouts, the first thing we should tackle and agree on is what is in fact a living wage. Not an easy thing to establish. We can't accept what the government thinks it can get away with, we need a much more intelligent and well thought out minimum.
Once this has been agreed, then we should enshrine it in law with a rise each year according to inflation.
We then need to phase out the support gradually ONCE we can show that the living wage is being paid by all businesses. The safety net will be in place until everyone can be confident that businesses are not riding on the backs of the Tax payers.

We have a drop in centre for people who are struggling, it makes me weep to listen to their fears waiting for the letter to arrive - just before Christmas ! Suppose instead of a cuppa ,a hug and listening to their fears we should say - well you will just have to cut you coat etc.

The figures are horrific. This policy is once again making poor families suffer. All the people who keep going on about how people need to tighten their belts and make do, should remember that times were different. There was affordable housing, and it was possible to live on one income, now families with two parents working, on low pay can hardly manage. It's just wrong to subject them to more cuts.

Latest research from the Resolution Foundation, which has just been mentioned on Question Time.

www.resolutionfoundation.org/media/blog/we-cant-tax-cut-our-way-out-of-the-tax-credit-problem/

If Osborne did all the things he says he is going to do straight away, i.e., put up tax threshold to £12,500, pay £9.00 living wage from next April instead of in 2020, etc., it still would not make up for the tax cuts threatened.

London statistics here. I am so pleased I do not live there.

www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/press/

There is a petition on 38 degrees to get the Lords to object to the tax cuts.
Needs to be signed before Monday.

Considering how often Cameron, Osborne, et al, tell us they are fixing the roof when the sun is shining, you'd think they would be all for solar!

The UK is considered to be the best place in Europe for windpower. It's one of the best in the world. Because the government is in hock to oil and gas, we are squandering a cheap resource. Onshore wind is now the cheapest form of electricity in this country.
Even that fantastic country China is now building wind turbines at a very fast rate, and doing away with so much coal.

I;m not claiming expert knowledge but I support JessM's view on nuclear power.

Yes using the free electricity you get from you solar panels when the sun is shining is a brilliant plan and I did it often when i lived beneath them. Even better than hoovering - put the chicken in the oven.

The statistics re the deaths caused by different forms of energy production are well known e.g.

www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/06/10/energys-deathprint-a-price-always-paid/

Coal is a massive killer.

We may think getting killed by a shark is scary. But the risk is actually extremely low, even if you regularly bathe in places where they live. The thought of a nuclear accident is scary. But the risk is extremely low. We have an emotional, rather than logical response to both.

The biggest risk of a nuclear accident is thyroid cancer in kids - we know this now and the preventative treatment was used in Japan. Tiny number of deaths so far among cleanup staff, but from a variety of causes.

Thinking about the possible consequences if an accident was not dealt with effectively is the stuff of nightmares
I agree with that too, and think that the consequences of Chernobyl are with us and have not been disclosed to the public.

Otherwise you are going to be in big trouble on those overcast days with no wind.

Whenever we are out anywhere, DH remarks 'Just look at those wind turbines, they're not turning, useless again today' (I can predict what he is going to say )
We were advised against solar panels because of the position of our house and I was reading something the other day about someone trying to do their vacuuming when the sun was shining to take advantage of their 'free electricity'.

JessM "Nuclear is also much safer than the alternatives" Perhaps the inhabitants of Chernobyi and Fukushima would disagree with you. Although the cancer rates amongst them are not as high as expected their enforced relocation has left them with a huge number of problems and resulted in early deaths in the case of Chernobyl. The victims of nuclear accidents that were contained. Thinking about the possible consequences if an accident was not dealt with effectively is the stuff of nightmares.

I think we all grew up thinking nuclear = bad.
But having looked at the options now, in the face of the threat of global warming, it is clear that if we want to live with the convenience of electricity we have to embrace nuclear as being a much greener and safer option than burning vast amounts of fossil fuels. Renewables should be part of the mix, of course, but getting the renewable industries up and running requires government support. It just ain't going to happen without it. We are still a long way off generating significant amounts from either waves or tides. (and the Severn Barrage plan was turned down...)
But whatever mix of renewables that is established, you have to have something big and reliable like nuclear in the background to cover the base load demand. Otherwise you are going to be in big trouble on those overcast days with no wind.
Nuclear is also much safer than the alternatives. Coal continues to exact a dreadful toll across the world - both workers and those who are the victims of pollution.

How much do you think the ones in hospitality and catering will be paid?

I would hope that there will be a lot of jobs (not just hospitality and catering!) available for local people as well as bringing in workers from elsewhere.

Whether anyone is for it or against it, it is going ahead and jobs will be available.

Ana that is an interesting statement about cause and effect. Could you help us out and explain in a bit more detail.
I was under the impression that the current crisis is caused by the sharp downturn in the Chinese economy, which led to severe over-production of the Chinese steel industry. But maybe I am missing something.
durhamjen - the initial jobs at Hinkley are construction-related. Many people would welcome the opportunity to work on it, but may not have the specialised construction skills.
Where I live the majority of people are positive about the building of Wylfa 2 which will help the economy of a county where 52% of the children are in families that receive tax credits. The local college is ramping up sharply to provide the skills needed to do the construction - it's not just the reactor that needs to be constructed it requires a lot of other buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

I did look at it, roseq.
How much do you think the ones in hospitality and catering will be paid?
It also says over the coming years, not now. It's the construction workers that will be needed now. My husband used to work for Taylor Woodrows, and they wanted him to work on Sellafield. He refused.
Not everyone who can do the job should be made to. Even the unemployed should be allowed to have principles.

I have also looked at house prices in Bridgwater compared to Scunthorpe and Redcar. Two pages under a hundred thousand in Bridgwater, mostly two bedroomed flats. Twelve pages in Scunthorpe, mainly three bedroomed houses. Not quite on the same scale.

Ana, what do you think the tower and base are made of in a wind turbine?
Steel.

Just as an aside, my DH was a nuclear power engineer, so I actually know quite a few people who are qualified to work in that field. I accept that I'm probably one of the few Gnetters who does, though...