Pensioners hit hardest by Osborne's Budget

[Gromit]

// The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the two groups will lose much more of their income than childless couples over the next four years because of the Coalition’s tax and benefit changes.
According to the institute, the country’s leading economic think tank, this is because the increase in VAT and other taxes combined with changes to the benefit system will disproportionately affect pensioners and families. //

http://www.telegraph....rs-twice-as-hard.html

Any OAPs regretting their vote yet?

[mike11111]

The £10 Christmas Bonus predates Callaghan. It was actually introduced by Heath.

[sandyRoe]

Then Thatcher's decision to let it stay at £10 is even more of a disgrace.

[alexanderd]

after all these years of labour isnt it still £10?

[sandyRoe]

Labour directed their help to the needy in other directions. But, yes, it still is a tenner.

[craft1948]

sandy you have just given me the biggest laugh of the day.......

[jno]

they added on an extra (one-off) £60 a couple of years ago.

[alexanderd]

Sandy name them

[cazzz1975]

the country is broke, why do we seem to expect to live the life of riley when we have ran out of money?

[anotheoldgit]

sandyRoe

/// Remember the £10 Christmas Bonus? It was introduced by Jim Callaghans government. Throughout all the years of the Thatcher gove it stayed at the same level. ///

mike11111

/// The £10 Christmas Bonus predates Callaghan. It was actually introduced by Heath. ///

sandyRoe

/// Then Thatcher's decision to let it stay at £10 is even more of a disgrace.///

alexanderd

/// after all these years of labour isnt it still £10? ///

sandyRoe

/// Labour directed their help to the needy in other directions. But, yes, it still is a tenner. ///

craft1948

/// sandy you have just given me the biggest laugh of the day ///

Yes me too craft, you just couldn't make it up could you?.....

[sandyRoe]

I'm only offering an opinion here, as many do. I never claimed to be an expert on benefit levels.

[BertiWooster]

//So in the meantime and before it happens, just ignore all the scaremongering that we get from the media. //

AOG - the post wasn't about scaremongering that we get from the media - was it - unless you consider that the IFS are scaremongerers ?

[LoftyLottie]

LOL Berti!

[sandyRoe]

Then that's why Thatcher never raised that £10. Anything to do with Ted Heath would have seemed poisonous to her.

[modeller]

I can understand LibDems being annoyed with their party, because for many years they were left of Labour . Maybe George Galloway's Respect party could have accommodated them .
They chose however to join the Tories for short term political gain .
We will soon have a new leader of the Labour party it could move to the left or right . If Ed Miliband or Diana Abbott succeed in their bid it will go back to the old Labour policies in which case I think that will be a home for you disenchanted LDs .
On the other hand if David Miliband gets elected then it will be back to the Blair days . A period that was not to the liking of the LDs. So I think its Talk Nicely to George G time . He might accept you .

[ato]

Surely the way to save money is not to buy the nuclear weapons and to ban the royals
opening these properties as is done in France.