That's The Grey Vote Sorted Then.......

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64949083
....oh dear, poor Labour, just when they thought half a century without a GE win just might change!

[ToraToraTora]

...sorry my mistake, I should have said.....almost grey vote!

[ichkeria]

So, if Labour wins the next election, who are you going to say has really won :-)
Don't these changes largely benefit people who have already got big pensions savings?
Not a huge portion of the electorate, even assuming that would be enough to tempt them anyway ...

[ToraToraTora]

ich currently Labour is infiltrated enough with anti Semites, pro terrorists, 5C and communists to qualify as real Labour. In the unlikely event they win I will acknowledge them as real Labour and Sir Beer will be the 4th leader to win an election.

[maggiebee]

//Critics say the move will only benefit a small fraction of the workforce.

UK economic growth has flatlined in recent months and the Bank of England expects the UK to enter a recession this year. About a quarter of people of working-age - around 10 million people - do not have jobs.//

Wonder who the 10 million will vote for?

[Old_Geezer]

While it's nice to hear, I'm unsure how it helps most who aren't going to get a superb pension. It's not that easy to hit the present limit.

[New Judge]

//Wonder who the 10 million will vote for?//

I doubt they'll vote for anybody. Many of them are not without jobs because there are none - they're without jobs because they can't be bothered to go to work (hence one of the reasons why the economy is remaining flat). If they cannot be bothered to work, I doubt they'll be bothered to vote.

[naomi24]

Maggiebee, and yet we’re constantly told we need immigration because we don’t have enough people to fill the job vacancies. How does that work then?

[Zacs-Master]

UK economic growth has flatlined in recent months.

It'll pick up when the dead weight of Scotland is cut free.

Plus it's actually not true:
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-economy-grows-03-january-beating-forecasts-2023-03-10/

[Gromit]

Yeah, they older voters won’t have noticed the Conservatives have tanked the economy. The record inflation and cost of living crisis will all be forgotten when they vote, not to mention record illegal immigration, but they will remember this little bribe.

[New Judge]

//...we don’t have enough people to fill the job vacancies. How does that work then?//

It works because there are huge swathes of people across the country who will not work. They can be seen roaming around the High Streets across the land every day (weather permitting). There are also large numbers of people who, if they do work at all, only work part time hours. Under Mr Brown's ridiculous "Working Tax Credits" scheme they have the other part of their wages made up by the taxpayer. No, they are not all too sick to work, they are not all caring for somebody else thus preventing them from working. They simply will not work. And for so long as this situation is allowed to perpetuate this country will never see prosperity from economic growth.

The idea that huge numbers of people must be shipped in to do the work that those already here will not do is preposterous. The UK is short of about one million homes and many of its public services are either broken or very close to it. There simply is no room for any more people whilst large numbers are being paid to do nothing.

//Yeah, they older voters won’t have noticed the Conservatives have tanked the economy.//

The Conservatives were not solely responsible for the economic mess the country faces. The only aspect for which they should be partly blamed is the complete abandonment of any strategic energy policy. But successive governments for the last 30 years must share this blame. Other causes are outside their control - the war in Ukraine and the pandemic to name but two. All parties were quite happy to see more than half the country paid to sit at home for the best part of two years and in fact if Labour had been in government furlough would probably have lasted longer than it did.

//...but they will remember this little bribe.//

This "little bribe" will be of benefit to very few people. Not many manage to amass a pension pot of more than £1m and increasing the limit to £1.8m - if that's what happens - will have very little impact.



Meanwhile employers have difficulty filling vacancies and the services that people need are understaffed.

[jno]

this isn't about the grey vote, it's to discourage people who are working from stopping.

[New Judge]

//this isn't about the grey vote, it's to discourage people who are working from stopping.//

Agreed. But the numbers involved are miniscule. What's really needed is a strategy to get those who do not work at all off their backsides. And I see no sign of that.

[Gromit]

// older voters won’t have noticed the Conservatives have tanked the economy. The record inflation and cost of living crisis will all be forgotten when they vote, not to mention record illegal immigration, but they will remember this little bribe. //

Not.

[maggiebee]

Zacs-masterUK economic growth has flatlined in recent months

//Plus it's actually not true:
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-economy-grows-03-january-beating-forecasts-2023-03-10///

So glad to hear that. I didn't make it up, it's in the post that TTT is wittering on about. Did you even read it before responding?

[10ClarionSt]

Quote form that article:

"....the move will only benefit a small fraction of the workforce."

[Gromit]

Gordon Brown was the master of election bribes.
Until he discovered the hard way that they don’t work if your record is bad. And the Tories recent record is very bad.

[10ClarionSt]

T'would seem that it was all Labours' fault and that of lazy people. However, some people have more than one job. Some companies are quite happy to have virtually all of their workforce on part-time hours or zero hours contracts. Some companies are quite prepared to use agency labour rather than full time employees.

Come on NJ, how do you know the circumstances of the people that you're seeing "in the high streets"?

[New Judge]

//Come on NJ, how do you know the circumstances of the people that you're seeing "in the high streets"?//

I don't. But it would be statistically highly improbable that they were all unable to work. As well as that, I personally know a number of people who have never worked and have no intention of ever doing so. They are not of "private means". They live largely on benefits.

Of course you don't have to believe that there are large numbers of such people. But I think the failure to recognise that is one of the reasons why the problem will never be properly addressed.

[douglas9401]

Not going to wait for the evidence then? Guilty!

Mostly true though.

[New Judge]

//Not going to wait for the evidence then? Guilty!//

The problem is, Douggie, that the evidence is never going to be forthcoming. The default position is to dole out taxpayers' money with few questions asked. The benefits system has grown from a safety net for those who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, to being the main source of income and a lifestyle choice for many people who could work. It will never be tackled because it is always seen as an "attack on the poor", so we're stuck with it.