Agree with you on that one.
More political posturing by Captain Hindsight than anything else on a subject he feels comfortable with being an ex DPP before he gives in to his union paymasters and puts up everyoneās taxes to pay for it. It is nice to see the Chancellor keeps her fuel allowance though so at least sheāll be warm through the winter, unlike a lot of pensioners unless they end up in hospital with cold related problems.
2 Likes
I absolutely agree that the rioting and looting recently should be dealt with in the heaviest manner, my concern is that Starmer is far too cosy with his old friends in the judiciary. Just take a look at his antecedents to see whose shoulders he was rubbing against not to long ago. The early release of serious criminals to make room for schoolboys and grannies for very minor errors, smells strongly of what a certain Austrian wallpaper hanger was doing in Germany during the mid to late thirties. Dangerous little men, both of them.
I have resisted until now responding to this thread, but thought I would add my thoughts.
Basically as a retired and I guess one of the lucky pensioners to be reasonably comfortable in my retirement, it does not make any difference that I can see or have seen on witch political party are in government.
They all tax me just in different ways. Swings and roundabouts unfortunately, it is always us in the middle that get penalised.
So it really doesnāt matter which lot you follow, same result so not a lot of point arguing about it.
2 Likes
@Wessa - I appreciate your thought processes and normally share a similar ambivalence to whoever is in governmentā¦ but Iāve had this growing unease about how UK society is changing for a while now, some of it is obviously driven by media types - some of it first hand experience.
Recently though, it feels like the imposition of the governmentās social control ideas is being delivered by a clenched fist (Iāll hold off saying āby jackbootā for the moment).
The recent riots will probably, in years of study, be recognised as coming from a background of more than just the simple moronic racist thuggery that it culminated inā¦ no doubt the media helped fan those embers into flamesā¦ but just as a government is saying that they have inherited a broken prison system and early release is essential, in the next breath they have ordered the biggest crack down on social unrest that I can remember, ordering operation Early Dawn to house the thousands arrested and charged.
My paranoia jumps from either - the government has information about how big the feeling of unrest is in this country and wants to stamp out any spark before something big happens - to - heās a bit despotic in ideology (a picture echoed by others on this page). Itās probably a mixture of both!
4 Likes
Itās always the man in the middle who gets squeezed. And lets be honest, pensioners canāt go on strike can they?
1 Like
@DCS222 as you say a broken prison service is a cause for concern and as you say not helped by the recent crack down following the riots.
I donāt have any problem with peaceful demonstrations to raise peoples concerns to bring authorities to task. But the recent outbreaks of lawless thuggish behaviour with looting and criminal damage is completely and totally unacceptable and rightly needs appropriate punishment.
Our society has definitely changed for the worse over the last twenty years or so. This is a complex issue which is replicated all over the world. I donāt know what the solution is and I guess those in power are just as puzzled as me.
Change is difficult and Iām not sure that the journey we are on is going to change anytime soon.
Keep taking the pills and keep your head down.
2 Likes
Stuck somewhere in the middle between those relying totally on government handouts and the rich pensioners are easy targets. Those of us who have saved up and have a private/company pension that weāve paid in for years to prepare for our retirement are in the PAYE or PUYP ( pay up you pensioners) trap with no means of escape.
The latest grab involves the abolishment of the 85k limit on paying for personal care.The rich however have accountants and are able to hide their wealth in trust funds to avoid paying for their care while the poor just expect the state to provide so spend everything they have knowing thereās a nice safety net for them so that inheritance you were hoping to leave your kids will be long gone as cash strapped local authorities put a charge on your property to recover their costs.
4 Likes
Ade you are so right in your assessment 
1 Like
Point of order @Littleade the government has not abolished the 85k care cap, they have chosen not to implement it; as have previous governments. Not a cash grab, more a choice of not spending more. 
The Tories have said in their manifesto that they would impliment the social care cap from 2025
Iāve read Labours manifesto but itās very light on actual detail but Racheal Reeve said she was scrapping the social care cap on 29th July, so based on the above I appear to be correct
2 Likes
Aye, Iām afraid Iām reminded of Orwellās rather gloomy ending to Animal Farm. He was on the money though, theyāre all the same in the endā¦
āThe creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.ā
2 Likes
Sort of correct, but for the sake of clarity it should be remembered that the Ā£86,000 cap was originally to be implemented in October 2023 but was cancelled in the 2022 Autumn statement on grounds of cost and potential staffing issues. Conveniently the new implementation date had a general election for certain prior to it happening: an election they have known for some time they had little chance in.
1 Like
Youāre just TOO cynical 
1 Like
Must get round to reading that one day. I read 1984 in 1984 and it scared the bejeesus out of me.
I didnāt like Animal Farm. The message is that thereās no point in people liberating themselves from their oppressors, as their new rulers will be just as bad. Which amounts to saying that you might as well put up with the current lot and never try to throw them out, which is a thoroughly defeatist and reactionary position. It suits those currently benefitting from the status quo very nicely, just as it suits them for people to believe that āTheyāre all the sameā, so thereās no point in changing anything.
By all means be aware of the danger, though. Donāt give new leaders too much personal power, and change them regularly.
1 Like
1984 has several (extreme) extrapolations of todays world, amazing writing really.
Such as the huge influx of surveillance technology, like satellites, facial recognition or simply the amount of cameras connected to the internetā¦ it would be fascinating and possibly somewhat unnerving, to see what places like GCHQ are actually able to monitorā¦ luckily, we donāt have a ābig brotherā
Whatās missing from 1984 is that Orwell had no concept of the internet or how data gathered through online sources can be combined with behavioural psychology to accurately derive and predict likes, dislikes, fears, life situations, medical conditions, interests, movements etc. Whistleblowers have given us an insight over the years in to the information GCHQ and the NSA have and how they use it. Governments like control. Data analytics and the increasing power of AI provides it to unprecedented levels.
Ord course, the book is a dystopian view of the world, not a prediction. Still, what happens when bad actors enter the scene, like a Putin, or even a Trump, with their invasive policies? The potential for a government to misuse that data is deeply disturbing. Itās a 21st century societal problem.
3 Likes
Have to say I preferred Animal Farm. I like the writing style, very simple and so different to 1984. A bit like Siddhartha was to other Hesse novels. And yes, itās all a bit fatalistic, but history seems to have borne him outā¦