tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post2514161845350386108..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: One of Many?Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-41185988323837013602007-03-24T20:53:00.000+00:002007-03-24T20:53:00.000+00:00Some posters here (and commentators elsewhere) are...Some posters here (and commentators elsewhere) are apparently confused about what 'pensions' and 'pensioners' are. NuLab likes to refer airily to 'pensioners' when in fact they mean people over 65. But there are many, many employees in the position AR is in - a professional doing a specialised job, made redundant with a discounted company pension, and who at the age of 55, 58, 59, 60 or 61 has a decreasing chance of getting another job. And no help from the government.<BR/><BR/>'Tory-boys' (you don't seem to be doing much growing up yourself, btw, judging by the arrogant and complacent tone of your posts here): <BR/>Your NuLab paradise does not extend to the younger workers, or those who are pensioned off early. Such people as AR do not qualify for tax credits, nor is it any practical use to tell someone to 'look forward' to becoming 65. Do the sums yourself. The calculation AR has made takes the increase in the personal allowance into consideration, and I bet you won't be trying to live on the pittance of the 'minimum guaranteed pension', which is a) by no means guaranteed, and is <BR/>b) available only from age 65. <BR/><BR/>In AR's position, at his age, there are no 'minimum guaranteed pensions', nor are there any other special allowances available. He is in line for no benefits, no help at all. If he turns up at an employment office, they'll just laugh. Nor can I see how he (or anyone else with a low income paying today's exhorbitant fuel bills) is helped by paying 'only' (huh!) 5% VAT on fuel (which is a reduced VAT rate negotiated between the EC and the Tory government in the 1980s, btw, nothing to do with Labour, and nothing for any government to be proud of). <BR/><BR/>And now AR will be taxed on a major part of his income at TWICE the previous rate - 20% instead of 10%. <BR/><BR/>This is not an accident - NuLab knows these people have no clout, no union, no party to protect them. (I shouldn't think a pension of £9000 a year registers much on Ming's or Cameron's radar either, btw. Their pensions - like Brown's - will be paid by the future taxpayer.)<BR/><BR/>Any increases for the poorly paid or early-retired are in any case completely wiped out by the massive double-digit inflationary rises in fuel and council tax bills since 1998.<BR/><BR/>But for you, 'Tbngu', anyone who points out the sheer unfairness of this, is just - now what was your delightful phrase?, ah yes - 'Only a stupid old fool.' <BR/><BR/>It is exactly as Hatfield Girl said - NuLab wants everyone to become means-tested clients of the state. The irony is that this particular group of workers made redundant in their late 50s with a small pension will get nothing back from the state, however many means-tests they submit to. <BR/><BR/>They deserve our respect. Keeping going on 9K a year before tax, without any further housing or financial benefits, sounds pretty heroic to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-73341538008519117302007-03-24T18:34:00.000+00:002007-03-24T18:34:00.000+00:00Has Mike not realised that Mrs Thatcher retired 17...Has Mike not realised that Mrs Thatcher retired 17 years ago? So anything she got wrong is unlikely to be repeated. Whereas Brown (although he has been bunging the economy for 10 years) is quite likely to be around at the next General Election (but not much beyond!)<BR/><BR/>Doris BonkersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-73823367954532345612007-03-24T13:45:00.000+00:002007-03-24T13:45:00.000+00:00Achilles - I'm sorry; I didn't see your comment at...Achilles - I'm sorry; I didn't see your comment at first reading.<BR/><BR/>Property in Mexico. No. It's not expensive. Roughly on a level with Portugal. Some of the capital cities of states that are governed by conservatives are very well run and are simply lovely. Lots of supermarkets and malls on the outskirts, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-47644401716985515892007-03-24T12:43:00.000+00:002007-03-24T12:43:00.000+00:00verity said... The Poll Tax was an excellent idea....verity said... <BR/><BR/>The Poll Tax was an excellent idea.<BR/><BR/>That's the kind of posting we appreciate,more please.<BR/><BR/>Gary Elsby said... <BR/><BR/>You don't need to fill in a tax return, Jonathan?<BR/><BR/>Gosh they really were a bit of a disaster were they not,I had forgotten about the mad cow disease,keep them coming posters,the more Maggie and co. disasters the better.Perhaps Iain could offer a prize ?<BR/><BR/>Yak40 said... <BR/><BR/>I still think the Poll Tax made a lot of sense.<BR/><BR/>Appreciated more please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-45512751142250749812007-03-24T11:56:00.000+00:002007-03-24T11:56:00.000+00:00You don't need to fill in a tax return, Jonathan?J...You don't need to fill in a tax return, Jonathan?<BR/><BR/>Just try it then and see what happens.<BR/><BR/>3 things that were a disater under Thatcher:<BR/><BR/>Margaret(cat A)<BR/>Dennis<BR/>Mark<BR/>Carol<BR/>Norman (sectioned)<BR/>Jeffrey(open prison)<BR/>Jonathon(open prison)<BR/>John(selwyn/burger king(NSPCC)<BR/>John(Knott)(cat A)<BR/>John(Major)(HMP)<BR/><BR/>need I go on?<BR/><BR/>GaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-77250639967446507012007-03-24T01:09:00.000+00:002007-03-24T01:09:00.000+00:00AnonHow do you know how long he was a BT engineer ...Anon<BR/><BR/>How do you know how long he was a BT engineer for?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65515452243644074062007-03-23T19:29:00.000+00:002007-03-23T19:29:00.000+00:00Thats a piss poor pension for a BT engineer, Bt pe...Thats a piss poor pension for a BT engineer, Bt pensions, (under the final salary scheme) certainly for a man of 62, were calculated in 60ths. if he did 25/30 years, most did, he would be on twice that, at least. Sounds fishy to me!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-31739330467365791732007-03-23T18:38:00.000+00:002007-03-23T18:38:00.000+00:00The Poll Tax was an excellent idea. But by the ti...The Poll Tax was an excellent idea. But by the time it was proposed, an immense client state had already been established and people were under the impression that asking them to pay for services was somehow "not fair" or "against the poor".<BR/><BR/>It would have been more just than the present system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-36180702955909501072007-03-23T18:21:00.000+00:002007-03-23T18:21:00.000+00:00I still think the Poll Tax made a lot of sense in ...I still think the Poll Tax made a lot of sense in many ways. Use more, pay more.Yak40https://www.blogger.com/profile/10391635243252561168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-6095849633285745862007-03-23T17:53:00.000+00:002007-03-23T17:53:00.000+00:00I suspect I will not be affected one way or the ot...I suspect I will not be affected one way or the other, but still think it is an awful budget. How can Brown describe it as "neutral" when by his own figures the tax take is going to go above 40% GDP once it has all taken effect?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-86185638731160040622007-03-23T17:27:00.000+00:002007-03-23T17:27:00.000+00:00Dismissing the worries of Tory-voting pensioners w...Dismissing the worries of Tory-voting pensioners was, of course, pioneered by Gordon's acolyte-in-chief Shiti Vadera - "grannies losing their blouses"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-5583767930063576092007-03-23T17:02:00.000+00:002007-03-23T17:02:00.000+00:00The sight of the massed ranks of labour back bench...The sight of the massed ranks of labour back benchers cheering a tax rise for the poorest surely means that traditional party politics of the last 100 years or so is at an end. We have returned to the late 18th century world of "ins" and "outs".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-46685676465497940572007-03-23T17:00:00.000+00:002007-03-23T17:00:00.000+00:00verity said... Well said, HG! crikey no...verity said...<BR/><BR/> Well said, HG! <BR/> <BR/> crikey now that's what I call an economical posting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-58852594853603701542007-03-23T16:50:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:50:00.000+00:00Well said, HG!Well said, HG!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-40057954246857167822007-03-23T16:46:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:46:00.000+00:00If the retired BT engineer has only an income of ...If the retired BT engineer has only an income of £9000 a year, and has to pay tax on that, and has just had his tax raised, which is what seems to be the case, then every Labour party activist, or supporter should hang their head in shame.<BR/><BR/>There can be no justification for taxing at such a low income level and the only explanation for this is to force those with low incomes to submit themselves to the means test and become clients of the state.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65163534333632180702007-03-23T16:39:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:39:00.000+00:00Mike The problem with most of the commentators her...Mike <BR/><BR/>The problem with most of the commentators here is not that they are too young to remember why they are no longer still in power - the problem with most of them is that they worshipped Mrs T during their formative years when everyone else was into the opposite sex/football/band/whatever and they still cannot accept that she did anything wrong when she treated the British economy as though it was one of the chemistry sets she should have stuck to. <BR/><BR/>If this isn't true - I defy each and everyone of them to list 3 things which were bad about the Thatcherism and which should never be repeated.(fr - I'm quite happy to repent about unburied bodies, Soviet fraternity and Frank Allaun)<BR/><BR/>The Labour Party moved on - and hallelujah there appears to be the first glimmerings of some progress in political thinking in the Conservative Partytory boys never grow uphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11172736984147732661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-84636415615339263932007-03-23T16:31:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:31:00.000+00:00Verity said... mike - I have absolutely no idea...Verity said...<BR/><BR/> mike - I have absolutely no idea who you are...<BR/><BR/>But you must remember me only the other day you reprimanded me for a posting I made about your American friend,I in return used the American word "shucks" in a comment as a gesture of friendship,remember me now ? I pointed out that your postings tended to be very boring and that you used very,very long words to show what a clever person you were,surely that must ring a bell,no ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-29654757558540785282007-03-23T16:30:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:30:00.000+00:00Verity,Is property in Mexico expensive?A.Verity,<BR/><BR/>Is property in Mexico expensive?<BR/><BR/>A.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-52789809463894011922007-03-23T16:21:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:21:00.000+00:00Dear everyone,I hate the Labour and Conservative p...Dear everyone,<BR/><BR/>I hate the Labour and Conservative parties because I have lived through both party's attempts to run Britain, and they were both rubbish.<BR/><BR/>I shall be directing my vote elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>AllanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-27874565004358257642007-03-23T16:17:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:17:00.000+00:00mike - I have absolutely no idea who you are, but ...mike - I have absolutely no idea who you are, but you sound like a silly little prat. You also sound very angry. Don't waste your time addressing me directly again, because I won't react. Scat! Shoo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-57839935439843851882007-03-23T16:04:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:04:00.000+00:00verity said... Council tax where I live is H...verity said...<BR/><BR/> Council tax where I live is <BR/><BR/> Hi verity see you have stopped using those very long words you like so much,well done so pleased you took my advice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-67756412186318057882007-03-23T16:00:00.000+00:002007-03-23T16:00:00.000+00:00fr said...The voters saw it differently and we did...fr said...<BR/>The voters saw it differently and we did not like what we saw and we did indeed vote you out,three times we voted you out you know,three times soon to be four.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-24521810403002952042007-03-23T15:57:00.000+00:002007-03-23T15:57:00.000+00:00Council tax where I live is £20 a year. We get th...Council tax where I live is £20 a year. We get three garbage pick-ups a week - two for household waste and the other for recyclables. We pay separately for this excellent, dependable service at the rate of £1 a month. The streets are clean, the drainage is good - no flooding even during very heavy rain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-24174604915036065632007-03-23T15:49:00.000+00:002007-03-23T15:49:00.000+00:00Trouble is the labour fan base who post here are t...Trouble is the labour fan base who post here are too young to remember mighty union leaders, beer and sandwiches at no. 10, unburied bodies, hospital porters doing the surgery, Frank Alaun, composite three at the TUC, sleeping bags on the car production lines, fraternity with the Soviet Union. We didn't want you anymore you know.You were not liked and we voted you out. [I didn't make all of this up]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-5771538007642066622007-03-23T15:31:00.000+00:002007-03-23T15:31:00.000+00:00Trouble is the conservative fan base who post here...Trouble is the conservative fan base who post here are too young to remember why they are no longer in power,we didn't want you anymore you know.You were not liked and we voted you out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com