Autumn Statement 2013 - your thoughts

[RebeccaMumsnet]

The Autumn Statement is currently live on the BBC

Thought to be included are a potential faster rise in pension age, married couples tax allowance, growth forecasts to be revised up and a fuel duty freeze

Share your thoughts below.

Employment Support Allowance replaced Incapacity Benefit not income support

Osborne Announces Cuts That Take the UK Economy Back to 1948

Under Coalition plans, “day to day spending on public services… (will be at) It’s smallest share of national income since 1948”. George Osborne’s 2013 Autumn Statement on spending plans for the UK government consisted of 7,025 words and took 50 minutes to read – but could have been summed up by that one line in the report of the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Ideological Austerity

On arrival in government, the Conservative section of the Coalition government were keen to present austerity as temporary, necessary and purely practical. Back in 2010, Cameron claimed that he “didn’t come into politics to make cuts”, and that austerity was simply temporary spending restraint based on a necessary effort to cut the deficit, not “some ideological zeal”.

In 2013, ‘Austerity’ is delivering the half century long ambition of the Conservative party: to revoke the post-war social contract of the United Kingdom.

The modern welfare state: decent pensions, affordable and decent social housing, a publicly funded and managed healthcare system, a reliable and low cost transport system, the guarantee of a decent education regardless of circumstances of birth. This was the social contract the UK public signed up to in the post war period. Why? Because these generations had lived through the horrific consequences of unrestrained capitalism; enormous inequality, widespread poverty and destitution, starving and malnourished children, an entrenched class system, the benefits of the hard work of the many enjoyed by a privileged and undeserving few.

cont'd

www.scriptonitedaily.com/2013/12/05/osborne-announces-cuts-that-take-the-uk-economy-back-to-1948/

Amusing that I regard them as wet wet wet, tinkering whilst the debt grows and grows and the left think the Government is cutting too much.

It replaced both Darkesteyes, back in 2008. The transfer from those to the new version was a bit mashed up with a lot of reassessments and likely not complete nationwide at the governments rate, but it's not something one can claim now, it's only available to those who were already on it. No point in including it in a cap when it has mostly been replaced and can't go up anyways.

Juliet-

Amusing that I regard them as wet wet wet, tinkering whilst the debt grows and grows and the left think the Government is cutting too much.

Is your MP a Tory? Have you asked him or her to go after the > £100 Billion / year in tax evasion?

Its very difficult to get a job in your 50s already, raising the retirement age will mean those people who lose their jobs in their fifties may have to support themselves for a very long time until they get the state pension.

That is a very good point zebra they will also be forced to attend the job centre regularly to prove how they are trying to find work.

This happened to my Mum. In those days she was able to retire at 60, however when she lost her job at 56-ish it was hell trying to get another one because of her age.

I'm thinking that unless employers take on board that staff will be around a lot longer, things will be very tough for that age group.

And this government isn't exactly strong on employment rights - seems like the employers have all the cards these days.

Raising pension age also very inequitable for those living in parts of the country where average life expectancy isn't much past 70. a pretty sick example of a harsh and over-the-top deficit reduction strategy.
Not heard much else of the detail yet tho..

looks like we are heading as a country in the right direction

All very depressing. On a personal note, free school meals quite cheering as DD goes into reception in September 2014 but other than that nothing to feel positive about. And I feel the same about pensions - by the time we actually get to pension age (in our late 80s by that stage no doubt) there will be nothing left to claim.

I retired as a full-time teacher two years ago, aged sixty- five; both my parents worked as long as they were allowed- sixty-five and seventy, and would have worked longer if they could; stop whingeing and be thankful you have got a job. Please don't start about the quality of the work of older people; from what I observe we have produced a generation of lazy, under performing children who don't want to work when they have the opportunity.

MY DH has a manual job there is no was that he could continue with this job until 70. Not all people work in offices pushing pens all day, some people come home each day aching and dirty

You don't have to do a manual job and be aching and dirty to do a physically and emotionally demanding day's work.

Under Coalition plans, “day to day spending on public services… (will be at) It’s smallest share of national income since 1948”. George Osborne’s 2013 Autumn Statement on spending plans for the UK government consisted of 7,025 words and took 50 minutes to read – but could have been summed up by that one line in the report of the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility

Sums it up really.

It was complete rubbish.

The capital gains tax thing will only apply to gains from 2015 for foreign owners of properties, no easing of the cost of living for ordinary folk. The government are basically hoping that the whole of the UK economy can survive on forever rising house prices as all other industries are either dying or broke. Basically a sop to the older generation who tend to have large homes they bought cheaply, good pensions etc and a "screw you" to the younger generations who are going to be forced to work until they die in order to pay for a hovel to a slum landlord (and because the young don't tend to vote, they can do this with ease).

It's short-termism in the hope that they get re-elected (not a hope in hell).

I am feeling very bleak about the future, we can't save because my earnings are eaten by childcare and DHs just cover our (very frugal) living costs. The cost of living is going up but our salaries aren't and neither of us have secure jobs.

We work so hard and I feel like we will be working until we die to finance an increasingly mean existence.

Very positive and the OBRs projections going into the future also look good particularly in comparison to our competitors.

More people working longer surely isn't good news for young people and the million or so NEET that cannot find a job?

ophelia - you have summed it up perfectly there..

Why does the number of older people working affect the number of younger people, the labour market is not a zero sum game.

We work so hard and I feel like we will be working until we die to finance an increasingly mean existence.

That's exactly what is going on, and it will continue to get worse until we fight back.

Why does the number of older people working affect the number of younger people, the labour market is not a zero sum game.

That's misleading. At any one point, it is a zero sum game, as there are only so many jobs available. Having people work for longer means that jobs are occupied which would otherwise be taking up by the staggering numbers of unemployed young people who can't find work.

Well put ttosca - exactly my thoughts.

Maybe not in the longer term utreas, but in the short to medium term the lack of turnover must have an impact on the younger workforce.

A small example - my MIL works full time in a traditionally 'young persons industry' but at the age of 64 still feels she needs to continue working in order to be secure financially before retirement.

Somebody reassure me they won't get back in.

What is the actual likelihood?

The Tory scum? There's no way they'll get a majority in 2015. It'll be another hung Parliament.

So what Condems all over again?