Anyone up for a Live LEFTIES Budget Thread?

[ImSoNotTelling]

I am installed on the sofa.

Thought it might be nice to do a Lefties revival thread to watch it unfold

Brace yourselves everybody...

Screw the tax on cider I'm on Scumble from now on.

WandersOffSingingSongsAboutWizardsAndWalkingImplementsTiggaxx

I find it strange that someone would agree with measures simply on the basis that someone else disagrees with them.

That's the whole bloody problem with the politics in this country.

No, Claig. It is just boring listening to you.

I notice that you Tories just can't keep away from any leftie threads. Why is that?

I agree, it seems to me that that was the basis on which Labour's entire economic policy was constructed

some of us feel it is our duty to enlighten

"The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few. Where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe. And where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect"

Don't misconstrue what a leftie is, so there is a recap.

Its funny how you can spot a Tory a mile off.

PMSL @ claig enlightening anyone!

Interesting on the DLA. Did they not say they plan to cut the bill by 10%? And they can predict this before the new assessement? Crystal balls?

truly worthy sentiments, brings tears to the eyes, shame that social mobility has declined and the rich-poor gap has increased. Maybe they thought we didn't deserve the rights because we were not dutiful enough, unlike their friends such as Fred the Shred.

I'm not a Tory, I'm an independent, I'm open to good ideas from any side. I'm like them, I also believe in tolerance and respect, and in addition a free exchange of views.

ROFL @ Independent

They will make sure they cut it by 10%. At least.

All those people faking their disabilities better watch out

I thought dla was really hard to get, and required loads of forms? Why are they going after this? And only cut by 10%?? Surely the cost alone in assessing will outweigh the savings??

Is it that they have seen a way to ease the administrative burden and it is from there that the cuts will come?

TBH when you look at the govt expenditure benefits is a pretty minor cost but it is the one everyone gets their knickers in a twist over

On that C4 prog last night the audience voted to cut our armed forces back

TBH I think that many/most people feel like that, but I think that the people (men) in power like to feel important by being a "big player" armed forces-wise on the world stage. We can no longer afford to punch above our weight in this dept IMO.

hope you're right about ib being easy riven - well, jsa anyway - dh is about to apply. he's had it in the past, don't remember it being THAT easy, it took six months to be approved and he found the process so shitty and destructive he came off all his meds (on a 'if I don't take these I can't be ill' principle), took the benefit and went missing for five days. There you go, the workshy scrounger, spending ££ of taxpayers' money travelling the country and sleeping rough.

I do love the attitude to benefits generally - rather like Labour's approach to GP referrals, they were convinced there were loads of inappropriate referrals and spent £££££ trying to find them (turned out to be about 2 a year) - could it possibly be that industrial capitalism is not tolerable by a percentage of the population and hence they will be made ill by it?

Marking place to catch up tomorrow...and blowing big mwah-y lefty kisses to the Lefty Lefties. I've missed you.

I've posted on the other thread, but this is pretty bad news for benefit claimants:

"Excluding the state pension and pension credit, from 2011 benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the, generally higher, Retail Price Index, saving over £6 billion a year by the end of the Parliament." (from BBC News site).

Coupled with CB freeze, and VAT rise, this will be a pretty big hit for some families.

They can't change the increments of public sector pensions already in payment presumably? Surely that will only apply going forward?

Usually pension already in payment and already accrued are protected by law - that's teh case with private sector employer schemes anyway. I am very surprised if they are able to alter the terms of public sector pensions already being paid.

OK had a look at the full document

"This change will also apply to
public service pensions through the statutory link to the indexation
of the Second State Pension. The Government is also reviewing how
the CPI can be used for the indexation of taxes and duties while
protecting revenues."

So it was written into all public sector pensions all along. I didn't realise they could tamper with pensions already in payment like this.

Full doc available here

Is there a new lefties thread somewhere? (sobs).
I've just read a thread gloating about the Guardian losing a major income stream because public sector job ads are to go online, and it's made me shake with anger and unable to put together any coherent argument that doesn't involve a lot of very bad words.
I need the warm embrace of fellow lefties.......

I do not think there is one. As it was always taken over by the Tories, we are now Twitter. I mean I am not, but the ones who know how to use it.

I have a special few leftie questions for my rendez vous with Boris tomorrow.

monkeysavingsexpertdotcom - bless..I'll miss the Guardian too.

I haven'd enjoyed reading anything as funny since I stopped reading the Beano