At a time when they want to grind the ordinary people into the ground we now have this.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/no...rate-income-tax

Typical, help the rich get richer.

They would do better to cut the 5% VAT on Gas & Electricity with the cost already so high.

Then there is the £9000-00 a year fees for students who go to University in England.
£27000-00 for three years.
How many working class parents could afford that, especially when they have other children in the family with the ability to go on to Further Education.
It's all very well to say they don't repay the Fees until earning over a certain level, but imagine having that amount of debt when just setting out in life.

I was talking about this with my g'son a couple of days ago and telling him how lucky he was to be living in Scotland and did not have to pay any Fees.
How would his parents manage to pay £9000 a year for him then his two wee sisters even though both his parents work and both have Degree's from Strathclyde Uni.

One g'daughter in 3rd year at Secondary School who is thinking about being a Teacher. The other still in Primary and also doing well at School.

Aye, keep the rich on top and keep the working class in their place.

Absolutely Heather, and in the same breath as this on this morning's news, they also suggest that any pensioner who finds that don't really need their winter fuel allowance should consider giving it to someone more needy. Personally, I despair of this despicable government.



http://www.totallymoney.com/news/index.php...fuel-allowance/

Dinnea despair Melody they ain't worth it. Get on the campaign burn yer drawers, chain yerself to the pailings and vote the enept bastages OOT!

There is no a day that goes by that I dinnea grow to depise more and more the way that this shower of idiots are sending the UK further aroond the U-bend. This auld camels back is getting sore here.

Cameron is nea mair than an overblown public schoolbrat who exudes smug aura of self righteousness and pretentiousness which is sickening. I doobt Auld Maggie would be proud of her political demon spawn.

The sooner this incumbent pile of political dross is given a royal flush and the twa fingered salute the better it will be for the vast majority of the UK population.

Cut out the middle man Melody.
I've PM'd you my Bank account number (It's not Credit Suisse )

I read that about the Winter Heating Allowance in the newspapers yesterday and could not believe the cheek.
So why give it to ex pats who live in warm Countries. How many of them died last Winter from living in a cold house??

Bilbo's won't like that remark.

What about taxpayers having to pay £400,000-00 for Policing Zara Philips wedding in Edinburgh, a wedding that was said to be a private family affair.

No, I do not like that remark. I am fortunate in living near the coast, where it does not get very cold, but we still need heating in the winter months. There are however many expats who live further inland and at higher altitudes and the temperatures can be very extreme there.

As I am foolishly venturing back to Scotland for most of January, we will probably use up this year´s allowance there.

PS. I have no knowledge of expat deaths through hypothermia but I will ask around for volunteers, if this will help justify our position to you.

Probably well outnumbered by those who go with Cirrhosis

Well Bilbo's according to the same report about the well off giving up their Heating Allowance, it also reported that last year 25,000-00 older peolple died last year purely due to the cold. The same is expected this year.
Britain has one of the lowest State Pensions and one of the highest death rates from the cold in Europe.

Apparently giving up the Heating Allowance was done last year and raised £250,00-00 and was recycled to cash strapped OAPs.
May be a good idea after all for the wealthy to give up their Heating Allowance.

Eat your heart out, baby !

I hardly think it necessary to inform me about the niggardly UK Pension. We manage to survive on it simply because we moved here. If we had remained in Scotland, we might have been added to that 25,000. From that you will gather that we cannot be classed with the wealthy, and so we will hold on to this paltry (now reduced) bonus as long as we can.

Yes last year it was reduced to £125.

So that is how the Government can reduce the tax for the wealthy and keep all the immigrants and so called Asylum Seekers living high on the hog at our expense.

Well Bill I did not count you among the wealthy, but if you have a spare euro throw it my way and it will help to pay for my gas heating this Winter.

I´m afraid my money is all tied up in empty bottles, not all of them butane gas.

I agree, too many pensioners wasting money on alcohol when they could be donating it to the younger ones who will make better use of it. Now if they cut my super rich tax rate and with donations fleeced from gullible pensioners, I can turn ma heating up, hiv a good swallie and say thank you to all the kind old folk for showing the spirit of the blitz.

Apparently giving up the Heating Allowance was done last year and raised £250,00-00 and was recycled to cash strapped OAPs.

May be a good idea after all for the wealthy to give up their Heating Allowance.

Seniors in Ontario do not get financial help with winter heating .
However , Low income people do which of course includes seniors
who live on or below the poverty level . and the financial help given ,
goes to the gas supplier .

How am I to interpret that sum?
250 thousand?
2.5 million?
25 million?

Two hundred and fifty thousand.

There must be a lot of wealthy OAPs in Britain to have giving up that amount at £125 per OAP.

the government should make the heating bill payments , according to income .

Just curious, how much is the old age pension in the UK, and does everyone get it at 65 regardless of income?

Southsider, there are a lot of if's and but's regarding the State Pension.
Go into DWP and read about it.

In some cases those who did not work to earn a Pension can come off better that those who did.

The lot of people who worked 40 years and earned their Pension do not qualify for Pension Credit.

I can see it's complicated, a lot of variables, thanks.

200 is all it would take.

You can turn this anyway you wish Heather , but the botton line is and should be based
on a family's income according to their income tax declaration . or maybe they should just
freeze this winter because they are short of a few stamps .
Now , how about those people whom you do not consider wealthy in your estimation , but in actual fact can afford to pay these extra heating costs, " I for one , still say , these bills should be paid by the government according to income .
I am not a socialist by nature ,but I sure as H*ll would not see anyone freeze to death all because of a few lousy stamps ,
It seems to me that according to these boards , people want socialism as long as it does'nt stomp on their toes, and once again
" I will say " such hypocrisy !

The thing about fuel poverty is that it conjures up images of pensioners trying to save every penny whilst wearing as much heavy clothing as possible before even considering turning on the heating.
Whilst this scenario may well be true, it's not the only one. This affects the low paid, the
unemployed, the disabled and business as well. Business? Well yes, as fuel prices rise, this adds additional expenditure to employers who may either have to go out of business resulting in thousands of job losses nationwide or who have to increase their prices (or a mixture of both) which in turn pushes prices up for everyone, adds billions more to the benefits bill and kills more and more people as every year passes. We must be the only oil and gas producing country in the world where this passes without serious comment year after year.
Nobody needs die in this prosperous country of ours because of cold, and nobody should. This in itself ought to be a wake up call to us all that perhaps we Scots ought to take control of our own energy policy by becoming Independent. Let's face it, policies made in the S.E. of England and its Home Counties will reflect that area more than any other and any tax cuts for the wealthy will mainly be felt there, therefore negating any possible difference to us Scots.
We have to wake up to the fact that we have, within our grasp, the power to do things differently, and for once, to do the right thing for the people of Scotland. If we do, the politicians better get it right, but the ones in charge from Westminster are definitely getting things wrong.

My wife worked for 8 or 9 years before leaving Scotland and when reaching pension age was awarded a pension of 55 pence per week.
minimum requirement is 10 years.
I qualify next year but having the same contribution record as my wife, i dont think I will bother.
I can see the UK goverment needs the 55 pence more than I do

Morning all. The problem with that scenario Tam is that the majority of our power companies are now foreign owned and i dont think we could afford to buy them back. IMO.gas and electricity are essential to life and should be brought back into public ownership if at all possible. If our own government doesnt care how can you expect high heid yins in France Spain etc to worry if people in Scotland are freezing to death. Cheers

Kin naebdy coont on here ? The answer is 2,000 !

See! The benefits of a higher education.

There was me thinking you were a bit of a 'nutter', Rabbie but you prove you have 'sound reasoning' with the above.
He and Clegg - especially with the constants use of their hands - remind me of the second hand car salesmen of the 50s trying to sell a 'good runner' as they called their old bangers of the day

(Oh maggie would be proud of him alright - but despair with their lack of cunning that she had)

Hear! Hear!

I wonder if the Daily Mail will carry this story tomorrow, after all, it does like to highlight cheats

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/26/o...ark-council-tax

Naw Ash, ye know that's the rich greedy cheats, ye know they'll no report on them in their newspaper. They'll be far too busy reporting on some poor soul who lives in a council house. Aw naw ah forgot it's no a council house it's social housing, ye know they places that we were all brought up in that the bad people live in now.

I saw a report of this Council Tax dodge in the Sun newspaper today.

It's great how the rich can afford these fancy Flats and not pay the Council Tax on them.
I hope they get the names of the lot of them.

Maybe the council could adopt the tactic used for motorists who don't pay their road tax, who can have their cars seized and crushed.

Send the bulldozers in!

Excuse me, missus. Ah wisnae brung up in a cooncil hoose. Ah wis born in ma grannyŽs wan but left at 6 days auld anŽthat wis that !Click to view attachment


10, Wallace Street, Plains, Airdrie. Still nae plaque oan the waŽ !

Bilbo.s. >Lovely it is too. Ye definitely should have a plaque ye know ah'd write in aboot it.

Bill I'm surprised ye didnae sell the garden railings for scrap ... like ye did the bars oan the windaes.