Rachel Reeves has announced that winter fuel payments will only be paid to those on Pension Credit.nsion Credit

Doodledog

maddyone

We should do what Denmark do and provide accommodation for MPs to stay in when they are in London. We should not be paying for second homes for MPs that they can keep when they leave parliament. No wonder they’re keen on house prices rising, just think of the profit made when they sell the second homes that we paid for.

Yes, I have often said that there should be a hotel/hostel near the HoC where MPs can stay. Something on the lines of the Holiday Inn - not luxurious, but comfortable. Maybe they could all have their own rooms, with those who attend more debates getting the better ones? That way they could leave their things there and not have to drag cases with them.

Would that be easier for security or not? Having them all in the same place might make it a target, but equally it might be easier to protect one building as one each.

I think it would make them a target to be honest.

I think the best option is to demand a raising in the level where the benefit gets stopped. We need the money raised for other pensioner concerns in health and welfare.

GrannyGravy13

Callistemon213

I think Malvern (West Worcestershire) has had a Tory MP since records began! 🤔

Still is Conservative

Yes!
Since records began 😃

That's why I wondered what they thought of Ms Smith choosing Malvern as her title.

Totally agree with Sycamore 123 ….. those just over the limit will struggle even more than they do now. Maybe the suggestion needs addressing more forcibly and prioritising by certain agency’s. Certain pension categories do not need the winter allowance, however some certainly do and rely on it now for assistance in meeting that commitment in the depths of winter. Dispose of the £10 Christmas by all means; it matters very little now from when it was first introduced.

You are absolutely right, a lot of pensioners are living on the bread line as it is, this is a massive blow for some, and i fear the rise in hospital admissions will be massive. Heartless labour picking on our elderly.

Yes Doodledog but now I realise that things have changed, I don’t think it’s necessary so much. It would be good for those MPs who prefer to use a hotel for overnight stays, providing everything necessary was provided. I’m not thinking Travel Lodge here, much more nice Hilton type accommodation with a restaurant provided and security of course, but it won’t happen now that the rules have changed.

maddyone

We should do what Denmark do and provide accommodation for MPs to stay in when they are in London. We should not be paying for second homes for MPs that they can keep when they leave parliament. No wonder they’re keen on house prices rising, just think of the profit made when they sell the second homes that we paid for.

Yes, I have often said that there should be a hotel/hostel near the HoC where MPs can stay. Something on the lines of the Holiday Inn - not luxurious, but comfortable. Maybe they could all have their own rooms, with those who attend more debates getting the better ones? That way they could leave their things there and not have to drag cases with them.

Would that be easier for security or not? Having them all in the same place might make it a target, but equally it might be easier to protect one building as one each.

Visgir1

We all knew taxes had to rise despite the pre election denial.
The WFP was a bit of a shock , very unfair to so many.

One thing I'm sure will also get cancelled is free Prescriptions when you hit 60.
If you have to wait for your SP until 67, the assumption is your working?
So I reckon that will be her easy target next?

Prescriptions are another area where universal provision would be so much fairer and simpler. There are exclusions for some conditions and not others, for people on benefits, younger and older people and so on. I think more people get them free than pay for them, and it costs a lot to differentiate between those who should pay and those who shouldn't.

Again, why not have an NI card or something that shows entitlement to free prescriptions and make them free? Otherwise, I suppose it does make sense to tie the right to free ones to being over pension age, but I would very much like to see a review of the conditions that lead to getting everything free. Maybe it's fair to get free drugs for complications of the condition (eg all the medical problems that can go along with cancer and its treatments), but it seems wrong that someone with, say, a thyroid condition should exempt from paying for antibiotics or painkillers as well as for their thyroxine. I was in my late 50s when I was diagnosed with Graves (a thyroid disease) and was surprised to get my asthma drugs free because of that, when I'd had to pay for them previously. Asthma is life-threatening. At 60 the charges stopped altogether, which was illogical too, as the retirement age is 66 for my age group.

These things are always so complicated that apart from the moral implications of giving to some and not others, it would be cheaper and simpler to make them universal, or charge everyone £2 or something. Same with bus fares. The recent £2 fares have made a big difference here, as bus fares were very expensive before they came in. Buses are now much fuller, and routes more viable, and passengers are of all ages and apparent income groups. Isn't it better to have 60 people all paying £2 than 6 people paying £8 and many of them having a free travel card for being over 66?

Callistemon213

I think Malvern (West Worcestershire) has had a Tory MP since records began! 🤔

Still is Conservative

All the Badenoch flight story does it to highlight the vagaries of flight pricing:

Badenoch had travelled to Mexico for an official visit to discuss the UK’s bid to join the CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc, of which Mexico was a founding member, as well as bilateral trade with the country. Her business class flight there was covered by her department.

But before travelling, she asked the office of DBT permanent secretary, Gareth Davies, whether the department would pick up the bill for a flight to Dallas, where she was holidaying with her family, as the overall cost was lower than a business class return from Mexico.

Her request was refused amid concerns that a taxpayer funded detour would be hard to explain unless it was for official business, even if the flight was cheaper. The DBT said it was normal for permanent secretaries to advise on what was appropriate.

I think Malvern (West Worcestershire) has had a Tory MP since records began! 🤔

GrannyGravy13

Whitewavemark2

Sparklefizz

And Jacqui Wotsit claimed for her husband's porn films!!

I know quite dreadful!! But she had the grace to resign.

More than happy to take up her new position…

I know she's from Malvern originally but I wonder what the good folk of Malvern thought and now think of her elevation in status?

Apologies, I was way out of date. According to ISPA MPs are now entitled to choose between hotel accommodation up to £190 per night, rented accommodation which must be registered and approved by IPSA and the rent is then paid, or buying accommodation for which associated costs including energy, utilities, internet and council tax will be paid. There are limits on amounts re rental costs. The date of the document I looked at was April 2022 and so amounts have probably been amended since then.
Obviously MPs need an accommodation budget if their constituency is outside London, and I’m very pleased to hear that they can no longer buy a house at the tax payer’s expense. That is progress.

Whitewavemark2

Sparklefizz

And Jacqui Wotsit claimed for her husband's porn films!!

I know quite dreadful!! But she had the grace to resign.

More than happy to take up her new position…

Sparklefizz

And Jacqui Wotsit claimed for her husband's porn films!!

I know quite dreadful!! But she had the grace to resign.

Sparklefizz

And Jacqui Wotsit claimed for her husband's porn films!!

Jacqueline Smith now sits in the House of Lords as Baroness Smith of Malvern, and has been appointed as Education Minister in Sir Starmer’s Cabinet

Sago

x.com/lucylocket1700/status/1818624572477816842?s=48&t=DkhdQ2XfYrlsnpbIttCU3w

Hypocrites.

Yes I agree Sago what a hypocrite Starmer is and that Reeves pair of liars.

LABOUR THE NASTY PARTY

And Jacqui Wotsit claimed for her husband's porn films!!

Doodledog

MissAdventure

Mps have always claimed expenses.

Of course they have. It's the sort of job where they need to have staff, premises, travel costs etc paid, or they wouldn't be able to serve your constituents. Those living in Westminster or somewhere that allows for a to walk to work might not need to claim so much; but MPs in Northumberland or Cornwall (or anywhere far from London) have to split their time between the HoC and their constituencies, and travel costs money. RR represents Leeds West, which is not a few stops on the tube from Parliament.

Also, the number of letters/emails that MPs get means that they need to employ people to ensure that correspondence is answered, and security considerations mean that they can't run surgeries from a room in their house. Foreign travel is also necessary to attend meetings with dignitaries.

Expenses, if available for scrutiny, are not extra payments on top of salaries - they are to cover the expense of the job if you are split between two cities. I would love to see Parliament travel the country, with maybe three months in Leeds, the next three in Penzance and so on, to stop the London-centric nature of it all.

There is a story in the press now saying that Kemi Badenoch wanted a taxpayer-funded flight to go on holiday. That sort of thing needs to be stamped out, but legitimate expenses are a different matter.

Yes, and recently she has been investigated (yet to report) for bullying her staff.

I'd win the typos competition.

J52

Apologies Callistemon213. I’d lose Just a Minute for repetition!

😁

And it took me more than a minute to type, copy and paste so I lost too.

Doodledog The Badenoch story is in the gift of the Guardian. It seems the Guardian is using the same technique which worked against Dominic Raab. Gutter press stuff.

MissAdventure

Mps have always claimed expenses.

Of course they have. It's the sort of job where they need to have staff, premises, travel costs etc paid, or they wouldn't be able to serve your constituents. Those living in Westminster or somewhere that allows for a to walk to work might not need to claim so much; but MPs in Northumberland or Cornwall (or anywhere far from London) have to split their time between the HoC and their constituencies, and travel costs money. RR represents Leeds West, which is not a few stops on the tube from Parliament.

Also, the number of letters/emails that MPs get means that they need to employ people to ensure that correspondence is answered, and security considerations mean that they can't run surgeries from a room in their house. Foreign travel is also necessary to attend meetings with dignitaries.

Expenses, if available for scrutiny, are not extra payments on top of salaries - they are to cover the expense of the job if you are split between two cities. I would love to see Parliament travel the country, with maybe three months in Leeds, the next three in Penzance and so on, to stop the London-centric nature of it all.

There is a story in the press now saying that Kemi Badenoch wanted a taxpayer-funded flight to go on holiday. That sort of thing needs to be stamped out, but legitimate expenses are a different matter.

If tax payer funded second homes have been stopped - good!

Apologies Callistemon213. I’d lose Just a Minute for repetition!