Labour……I really tried but have now given up!

Grandmabatty

I think I'll give them longer than a month before I give up on them. You had Tories in charge for 14 years with any number of Prime Ministers, some voted for, many not. At what stage did you give up on them?

Well said, Grandmabatty!

I’m not best pleased about the withdrawal of the heating allowance, but let’s give them more time to get into their stride and see if they give any concessions to pensioners to make up for it.

I am not going to forget the way the job of Prime Minister was undemocratically passed around among senior Tories, or the way underfunding has wrecked statutory services. We can’t carry on like that!

Callistemon213

I think I must be lopsided as the only slip off one side.

Maybe it’s the wrong tune?

Due to medically induced weight gain, I no longer possess a bra that fits. Problem solved - don't wear one!!

I am afraid that I don't trust RR. And what else she might impose on pensioners - not all have an occupational one. I also don't think that she has done her sums properly. I never bothered with Pension Credit, as I did not think that I could claim it. However, following advice from a Gnetter, I looked at the Age UK calculator. I think that I will be entitled to about £5 per month. This claim will allow me to access other benefits, including WFA. Now, if every pensioner in the country does this, RR's benefits bill will skyrocket and there will be minimum savings. In my view a pointless exercise. By all means do a means test - but, of course that is not allowed, as it is considered "unfair". No it isn't.

She is raising the minimum wage to £12 ph. It will cripple some industries, which might go under (more people on the dole). And what about the care sector? Agencies will have to put up their charges, which will be passed on to the elderly clients, who will not be able to afford it. Not everyone has a home to sell to cover care costs. Then what? Who will pick up the tab? The taxpayer, I guess.

I don't think that this has been thought through properly.

I had to check what the thread was about.

I think there are a number of posters who enjoy derailing threads, particularly if they disagree with the topic under discussion.
So, yes, I still stand by giving a fairly new government more than five weeks to effect changes when the last government had 14 years

Grandmabatty

I think there are a number of posters who enjoy derailing threads, particularly if they disagree with the topic under discussion.
So, yes, I still stand by giving a fairly new government more than five weeks to effect changes when the last government had 14 years

👏👏👏👏

It’s good that more pensioners are looking at the Age UK calculator
Good the minimum wage has increased

The issue of funding health and social care was ignored by the last government. Other than by Johnson who claimed to have an oven ready plan - one of many lies

Increasing the minimum wage should bring a lot of people off benefits. I see no reason why employers should be able to pay wages that are below what is necessary to live, and pass the responsibility for paying their staff (and therefore their profits) to the state. It is also unkind to people who work but don't earn enough to get off benefits. They have to endure the indignity of a means-test and have their income and savings scrutinised so they can never improve their position even though they work.

Doodledog

Increasing the minimum wage should bring a lot of people off benefits. I see no reason why employers should be able to pay wages that are below what is necessary to live, and pass the responsibility for paying their staff (and therefore their profits) to the state. It is also unkind to people who work but don't earn enough to get off benefits. They have to endure the indignity of a means-test and have their income and savings scrutinised so they can never improve their position even though they work.

Absolutely and some very large organisations have workers on Universal Credit (ironically some as civil servants and working for the DWP!)

I have recently switched jobs but worked in manufacturing previously, £12 is quite low in manufacturing in a factory. You get nearer a basic salary of £14-£15 an hour but easily @ £20-25 an hour overtime. You can earn a really good wage.

dalrymple23

Due to medically induced weight gain, I no longer possess a bra that fits. Problem solved - don't wear one!!

I am afraid that I don't trust RR. And what else she might impose on pensioners - not all have an occupational one. I also don't think that she has done her sums properly. I never bothered with Pension Credit, as I did not think that I could claim it. However, following advice from a Gnetter, I looked at the Age UK calculator. I think that I will be entitled to about £5 per month. This claim will allow me to access other benefits, including WFA. Now, if every pensioner in the country does this, RR's benefits bill will skyrocket and there will be minimum savings. In my view a pointless exercise. By all means do a means test - but, of course that is not allowed, as it is considered "unfair". No it isn't.

She is raising the minimum wage to £12 ph. It will cripple some industries, which might go under (more people on the dole). And what about the care sector? Agencies will have to put up their charges, which will be passed on to the elderly clients, who will not be able to afford it. Not everyone has a home to sell to cover care costs. Then what? Who will pick up the tab? The taxpayer, I guess.

I don't think that this has been thought through properly.

So you're now complaining because you have realised that you are entitled to pension credit which might give you additional benefits too?

dalrymple23 Eligibility for pension credit is factored in to the equation, that’s why when they removed the WFA Rachel Reeves specifically encouraged people to check their eligibility?

Now, if every pensioner in the country does this, RR's benefits bill will skyrocket and there will be minimum savings.

Now, it is possible that what I am about to say is just one of those economic myths tha I complain about, but we are constantly told that there are £xbillions in unclaimed benefits. If this is true, more pensioners claiming what they are entitled to won't make the projected savings any smaller because the money to cover the claims has already been allocated.

I hope that makes sense 🤔

As far as increasing the minimum wage is concerned it happens pretty regularly and has not been proven to cause price inflation.

Casdon said it better than me 😆

Now, if every pensioner in the country does this, RR's benefits bill will skyrocket and there will be minimum savings

Not every pensioner will claim, though, because many know they aren't entitled to Pension Credit.

But yes, do claim if you are eligible, even if it's a small amount.

Due to medically induced weight gain, I no longer possess a bra that fits. Problem solved - don't wear one!
Blaming the government for this too?

ronib

It’s been said from the very beginning of the campaign that Labour will not raise tax on working people.
So who is left? Clearly pensioners? Doubtless more information to dribble through.

They could/should reduce tax relief for pension premiums at the higher rates. They could tax investment income at the same rates as earned income. They could make changes to CGT. All of these would hit the wealthier amongst us.

If RR puts up the tax on wine, champagne and gin, I will really be unhappy…

Wine has gone up a lot anyway 😮

Dinahmo

ronib

It’s been said from the very beginning of the campaign that Labour will not raise tax on working people.
So who is left? Clearly pensioners? Doubtless more information to dribble through.

They could/should reduce tax relief for pension premiums at the higher rates. They could tax investment income at the same rates as earned income. They could make changes to CGT. All of these would hit the wealthier amongst us.

Joking aside I think those of us that will be hit by those taxes were aware and have done whatever is legal to mitigate their losses

I hope that they do not go after ISA’s, as that would definitely be a step to far.

Callistemon213

Wine has gone up a lot anyway 😮

I know.

All my girlfriends drink gin, it took me many years to find a gin I liked only to find out that none of them liked that brand 😡

Sago

When Labour came to power, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, some good decisions were made such as James Timpson appointed Minister of prisons, I was feeling positive.

However, as my husband predicted, it wouldn’t last.

Removing the winter fuel allowance and the cap on nursing home fees was dreadful but her latest move is beyond comprehension.

Angela Rayner has dropped Tory plans to limit applications for social housing to long-term British residents.

The Housing Secretary has formally scrapped reforms that would have prevented recently arrived migrants from applying for a council house in England.

Enough is enough!

I think within similar timescale (a month) of Johnson becoming Prime Minister he'd lied the Queen and illegally pro-rogued parliament.
Your husband may like to ponder on that.

Funny they way that complaints about this government are dismissed with
“Well look what the last government did.”
It’s like the playground cry of
“He did it first!”

And the assumption that anyone criticising this government automatically endorsed all the previous government’s actions, which is not true.

dalrymple23. With an MSc in Economics, I’m sure Rachel Reeves can do sums properly!

People have a right to claim benefits. Many people needing to do so are only in that position because we have a low wage economy.

MaizieD says:

more pensioners claiming what they are entitled to won't make the projected savings any smaller because the money to cover the claims has already been allocated.

Exactly. The government factors in contingencies for unclaimed benefits and maintains reserves to cover this. It isn’t extra money that has to be found.

Policy in Practice estimates that the total amount of unclaimed income related benefits and social tariffs across Great Britain is now £22.7 billion a year.

policyinpractice.co.uk/missing-out-2024-23-billion-of-support-is-unclaimed-each-year/

As regards minimum wage.

The legal minimum wage for those aged 21 and over increased to £11.44 on 1 April 2024. Before that it was £10.42 but only for those 23 and over and only £10.18 for those 21-22).

The government set a minimum wage through a negotiation process with the Low Pay Commission. The projected next rise (for April 2025) is between £11.65 to £12.18, with a central projection of £11.89 - with the proviso that forecasts could change over the year. This explains how it’s done:

minimumwage.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/19/what-will-the-minimum-wage-be-next-year/

I don’t know if others saw this story.

Before 1 April 2024, Tesco was paying its staff £11.02, so slightly above the then minimum which would give employees and extra £4.80 a day extra for working eight hours - £3.00 after stoppages.

The employer agreed with USDAW to increase this to £12.02 but did not pay it until the end of April 2024 effectively paying its staff below minimum wage for four weeks. It saved the company £17 million. Regulations do allow this but when the CEO is paid £10 million a year it’s pretty mean.

www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/07/tesco-pay-rise-delay-minimum-wage

Tesco’s pre-tax profits to 24 February 2024 were £2.3bn, up from £882m in the previous year. while sales rose by 4.4% to £68.2bn. They would hardly have been crippled by paying their employees the higher rate from 1 April.

It’s obscene huge profit making companies not paying staff a living wage and have them subsidised by our government.