Can’t just be me who is sick of the moaning about the private school VAT and winter fuel payments

[TruthorDie]

The moaning about them seems to be never ending. So tone death and indulgent on both counts. Not sure which is worse. A friends mum was ranting on social media earlier about winter fuel payments being stopped and how “worried about being cold” she was. Bad news is Lynn you haven’t needed to work since 1989, married to an oil exec and have had lots of the good life. I’m sure all of your Florida holidays keep you warm enough!

Bright children can get on anywhere, my siblings and l went to a comprehensive. We all have a couple of degrees, one of us has a PhD so it didn’t hold us back too much in life. Before anyone comes at it from the neurodiversity angle then l am and l wouldn’t be surprised if my younger sibling isn’t

And those who do are not eligible for pension credit. Anyone who is in receipt of full state pension does not qualify for pension credit . The hardest hit will be pensioners living alone with their state pension as their only income and nobody else to share the fuel bills .

He is paying tax on it, though.

This!

I think it makes sense for some pensioners to lose the allowance, and if they have found a way to measure who goes and doesn’t neeed it then that’s for the good.

And as for the VAT on fees whingers, good Lord give me strength! There are clearly a lot more people paying for privilege on MN than in real life … pay your tax or use state schools. But just make your decision and get on with it!!

It invariably always comes down to money - let’s be honest with ourselves.

Anything which takes money out of pockets, and for some, the envy attached to seeing others doing better - either through luck or hard work - many don’t differentiate.

Its beyond ugly, and those people must be rotting from the inside out.

I’m unsure about the winter fuel payment. I think one good way to decide would be to see what Labour have said about it in the recent past. Oh look, from last November:

https://x.com/darrenpjones/status/1726503349036748968

Oops.

Anyway, I’m loving the benefit bashing by Labour fans. Funny old world!

I think maybe a goady post on both counts. I know people who are going to have the winter fuel funds withdrawn, and whilst slightly disgruntled, they accept its the right decision for a lot of higher income pensioners, who didn't really need it. I think maybe you read MN too much as it's mostly on here where people complain about VAT on private schools and fuel payment withdrawals. And tbh, it's allowed for some to be pissed off. I guess there have been some government decisions in the past that you've not agreed with and you've vented on here? You do understand that people are entitled to a different opinion to yours?

Apparently there is a bottomless pit when it comes to Labour's pet projects. And look how quick they gave doctors 22% pay rise. Labour love spending money.

It’s very disappointing Labour are using an easy target of reducing winter fuel payments

there are other areas that money can be saved and raised but this is easy to implement and many will suffer

thousands of pensioners die every winter of hypothermia

That’s not true. I’m tired of it too @TruthorDie. My sympathy lies with parents who can’t feed their kids because of the two child benefit cap.

And no doubt you'll happily take your inheritance when it comes. Or will you donate it to the poor? Or doesn't your 'bleeding' heart entend beyond your need to keep your parents ill gotten money?

Then it’s time to contact HMRC and get it stopped. He should get a rebate too. It’s clearly a mistake unless he has income other than his state pension.

DD is one of the autistic SEN children that falls through the cracks she meets the criteria for an EHCP but our local authority will only assess after multiple tribunals I've heard of none verbal children who have had to go to tribunal.

When she started secondary and really was spiralling we faced a choice fight for years for an EHCP that we'd then probably have to fight again for it to be implemented or in a moment of madness I realised with a recent pay rise we could just about afford private school.

She is absolutely thriving and the change is almost miraculous.

I don't complain about the increase but it is frustrating especially as they are talking about discounts for those with EHCPs which in our area are gold dust.

We've already used up all her savings for uni or a house deposit to pay for extra tutoring and support because she's at such a disadvantage academically (it's an urban myth that all autistic people are brilliant, she is brilliant because she's her but she also has dyslexia and dyscalcula).

We'll just find the extra money and we are lucky to be able to do that but it does seem a poorly thought out and done as a vote winner.

We aren't the only parent in DD school with a story like that there's a high proportion of autistic girls in her class who are similar but hey there girls and autistic to boot so why would they matter we all know that most governments don't really care about women and girls!

Would you be willing to say which council he is taxed by? I don't want to identify him too much, but different councils can give different fundings depending on different sets of criteria. I'm more than happy to help look up. One of my neighbours was told by our council that they couldn't get any help, but the next borough council would reduce the council tax massively given the same criteria and another council (no where near) would help out with a different scheme.

Calling the NHS a pet project is an interesting description. I’m sure everyone on this post has used it at some point. Pensioners are also often heavy users of it. The doctors weren’t paid properly for sometime -like lots of professions e.g. teachers, nurses etc. That’s why lots of them are going abroad or don’t work in direct clinical practice

This. It’s a sorry situation and threads like this are exactly what Labour wants -to stir up jealousy and anger against a fiction they have created, lumping all independent school parents into one category. It makes no financial sense for the country, it is directly targeting children, but they’ll push it through because they are bitter.

Wonder why they don’t slap VAT on private healthcare then to “fund” the NHS.

The only thing they can go after (without more riots) is housing eg second homes, tax on large homes etc

There's always an issue around pension credit as so many have said on here, there's a cut off point and many don't get anything even if they are a £5 a week over etc., but there are other grants and support and Age Uk, CAB etc can help people look. I'm 62 but will fall into the "just too much for PC" category. I'd like to see some sort of sliding scale. So if I am concerned about the fuel payment, it's for others, not me.

But there's the rub as I AM surrounded by wealthy pensioners; most have 2 or 3 houses paid outright and their income from private pensions in addition to their state pension is so high that they are paying higher rate income tax. And yet these are the ones complaining the most. People who never give a shit about anything are now doing their keyboard campaigning wanting their £300. I can assure you they are not wanting it on behalf of the poorest pensioners in our society!

On the contrary. NHS needs a huge overhaul. But doctors pay (on this scale) is the least of their problems. I would suggest heavy top management needs to be looked at first. You could throw millions at NHS and still would be no better. The structure and management should be their focus before just throwing money into the pot.

The NHS is under managed if anything. It definitely needs an overhaul but not necessarily in the areas you suggest.

So you and your sister were ok so that means everyone will be. Great, glad that's sorted then. Isn't it marvellous how everyone can cope the same?

The NHS 100% needs an overhaul but paying clinical staff properly is a start

Ah yes the Dr's.

Under the last labour govt when Brown brought us slap bang into the European average, productivity declined - and the onky discernible change was a massive pay rise for NHS staff. (Also “chronically and historically underpaid” according to them).

You could cram the entire GDP into the maw of the NHS and it would still demand more and screech about underfunding - even (as now) with the consultants’ car park full of Jags and Mercs.

The NHS doesn’t even do irony well.

Give over...

I would like a much smaller state and a low flat tax but I would probably have to move to Guernsey to get that as Labour and the Tories are huge state, massive spending very high tax parties these days. For most people since 2010 tax has gone down but for the top 10% it is the highest in 70 years. So 90% of people are really glad about that of course and about VAT on school fees (if it comes in and if it is not legally challenged) and business rates for private schools. People tend to like taxes other people pay.

No one has sympathy on full time working mothers with vast childcare costs who might then choose with older children to pay school fees but also have 9% student loan/graduate charge, no single person tax allowance any more due to income, no child benefit etc. These mothers tend to live in the SE so have the highest rents in the country to pay and probably a rising mortgage never mind vast stamp duty when they move.

I don't think any of us ask for sympathy but if you bite this hand that feeds enough then Labour may find this top 10% demographic have had enough, earn less and are less productive. (Top 10% of earnings are on £67k a year or higher but I really meant people on 100k+ a year in my post)

Doctors only form a small part of the NHS. Many who work in the NHS contribute to the cogs going round. I suspect a lot in the NHS will see what the Dr's have received and will shortly be putting in their salary increase 'bids'. Let's see how Labour deal with that. They tend to spend first, then look at how to cost it afterwards. Junior doctors applied to train when they knew their salary, so assume their applications to study medicine wasn't solely based on salary offered at that time.