Benefits v Defence Lord Robertson

[Wednesdayschild87]

Lord Robertson’s Speech… seriously does anyone care?? He’s laid out the fact that as a nation we can’t carry on like this… he said we can’t afford to keep throwing money at benefits whilst leaving our country defences I’m actually shocked no one has come out and spoken on this matter before. I’m incredulous.

The welfare bill that everyone is worried about is half pensions, so however you personally want to categorise it, it’s very much a part of welfare in this context.

Also not everyone has contributed to their pension. There’s not a presumption that all pensioners are wealthy either. Lots are very poor and they should be helped. But if the country is on its needs welfare wise - we have to be looking at whether it can remain universal. Welfare should be based on need, not as a reward.

Totally agree - pensions need to be means tested. The time when we could afford any sort of benefit that isn't means tested is long gone!

Im not saying we shouldn't pay pensions and let elderly people starve on the streets! I just think child benefit is AT LEAST as important. I dont want kids going hungry or homeless either and there are significantly more kids living in poverty than elderly so I really don't understand the posts saying stop child benefit before pensions.
We should totally drop the triple lock though.

Until recently, when fuel went up, no one expected the Govt to fund a price reduction.

Why would some argue for a fuel duty cost when fuel was a normal price

Subsidise their home heating as they turned the 'stat to 21'C

I don’t understand why the winter fuel payment was only means tested recently and a household with an income of 65k still qualifies.

And why elderly get winter fuel payment but those with a child under 1 dont.

Resilience?

Ah yes. Of course. BE MORE RESILIENT NOWBORNS!! 😆

Perhaps they should ? Don’t argue to remove it from one group because another should also have it.

Sorry that reply should have been for Foccaciaisyum

Generous state pension, are you serious? The UK pension is one of the lowest in Europe!!

Someone has mentioned about ensuring tax receipts are all obtained. And I agree with this. If you look at the list which is published, of those who have defaulted on paying the tax that is due the amounts are appalling. Those on the list should be made to pay up.

All of those on large public sector pensions could be means tested for state pension. Maybe start with them

No it isn't.. this nonsense keeps getting trotted out. In Europe people get only their state pension as their employers pay into it directly. In the UK we get state pension PLUS our employer pension. Its just a different system. Stop playing the victim!

And how many of those 8.4 million are claiming rent which ends up paying a landlords mortgages?

If you have not paid into a pension, you will get a minimum.

And it is not categorising to argue the pension part of the welfare bill should not be considered so. It should not be. That it is doesn’t mean we should just accept that it is. Labelling it so and putting it under the same heading as Universal credit etc is inappropriate.
I don’t consider it to be welfare bar perhaps pension credit.

So what if it does? They’re entitled to it.

So let’s do free breakfast and lunch clubs at school. Not handing over more ££ to parents to feed them junk or not at all

You’ll get a minimum which is then subsidised with pension credit. As well as housing benefit if you rent.

if we take pensions out of the equation then, we have no issue as the welfare bill wouldn’t be anything like the value of tax receipts. Well just get the pension fairy to sort them out!

Sorry, i must have been unclear. My children and grandchildren will not receive state pensions at the same level (poor choice of words in saying generous!) as the current state pension.
I do wonder whether the triple lock is quite the sacred cow politicians think it is. The pensioners in my family are aware of just how hard life is for young families now. They are quite content not to receive a bigger pension increase than their children receive in wage increases.

god your distaste of the poor is as ignorant as it is insufferable.

For those who are too young to remember, before tax credits ( a huge taxpayer subsidy for employers), employers used to have to put their hand in their till to pay for staff if they wanted to keep them. When workers were in short supply.
When workers were not, then workers took a hit until it reversed back again.
It kept employers on their toes. And workers could sometimes call the shots. And the taxpayer didn’t pay up to prop up employers wage bills.

As a ex member of the forces, in no way would I wanted to have been teaching asylum seekers or immigrants weapon handing skills.

There’s a reason you can’t join without citizenship.

The people you serve with your trusting with your life. You only have to look at examples in Afghanistan where members of our afghan army counterparts turned on us.

Whilst rare, you’re tempting fate for similar but us arming them in the UK.

No thanks.

MPs don’t decide their salary and many civil servants earn more than your average MP, their salary isn’t a lot.

Before MPs had salaries, the working classes campaigned for MPs to have wages to stop a political career only being available to the wealthy. Do you really want just the Jacob Rees Moggs of the world in charge?

Can you add what they cost the NHS to this list too!

Generous state pension, are you serious? The UK pension is one of the lowest in Europe!

You can’t compare to European ones, theirs are linked to what is paid in not a flat benefit like here & far fewer have private pensions.