This government needs disabusing of the idea that pensions are a “benefit”; they have been earned by many years of hard work and sometimes hardship. Do members of parliament think, therefore, that their own pensions should be classed as benefits, and thereby subject to harsh cuts like everybody else’s? If not, surely this is highly hypocritical?
All of this looks a lot like a vendetta against pensioners, possibly on the mistaken assumption that all pensioners are either loaded and/or voted for Brexit, and therefore deserve to be punished. Whether this is true or not, these are the optics of this situation. This is how it looks outside the Westminster bubble!
I am sorely disappointed in your decision to back these punitive, mean-spirited winter fuel cuts, whilst pouring billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into projects that your government well knows the majority of people in this country disapprove of, including, I might add, people who are Labour supporters, and many of whom who are not elderly and can afford to heat their homes.
Many of these voters will end up shivering in winter as Labour’s “Net Zero” policies cause energy bills to rocket to previously unknown levels, thereby filling the pockets of the shareholders whilst people huddle round in their homes wrapped in blankets as their fingers and toes are frostbitten. I do not agree that Net Zero policies are cost effective. Many will have to choose between eating and keeping warm. This is well-documented.
I accepted the democratic vote but not the undemocratic method by which it came about, namely the unreliable first pass the post system.
Most people I know are not on-board with Net Zero, perceiving much of it to be unachievable without destroying vast swathes of countryside, especially at the expense of those for whom rocketing fuel bills could prove to be fatal.
However, this inevitably formed part of your decision to vote in favour of this unpopular policy. I sincerely hope you are going to listen hard to the views of people around here and act on what they need and want, irrespective of what this government thinks is best for people. So far, I have not spoken to anybody of any demographic or politics who is enjoying the policies of the Starmer government, including, I might add, ex-Labour voters, some of whom I have heard expressing regret for having voted for Labour.
I am sorry that the beginning of your tenure as our MP has been blighted by this unfortunate decision on your part, and does not bode well or inspire confidence in the electorate of this constituency to come and see you and ask for your help with other matters.
Many people are too scared to express opinions in this frigid, punitive and, frankly, dystopian political climate.
I would like to think that the people of this constituency can rely upon you to listen to – and act upon – their wishes, rather than toeing the line of a party that won the election with only 34% of the vote.
You may or may not agree with what people around here require you to do, but you really must acknowledge their views, without prejudiciously judging their reasons for the way they vote. Your first obligation, surely, is to the people who elected you – and those who didn’t – rather than the party, and particularly not the Starmer government.
On the whole, pensioners in this country are given a rough deal and in comparison with pensioners in other countries, are very poorly served and way down at the bottom of the pensions table.
I hope you will listen to your constituents in due course and make every effort to seek their opinions before voting in the House. Before voting, please consider your constituents rather than the Labour cabinet’s one-size-fits-all ideology when it comes to pensioners; not all of whom are the millionaires that many left-wing commentators appear to think they are!
Finally, it is not good form for senior cabinet members to be seen getting huge grants for their fuel allowance, whilst raiding the pension pots and allowances of the less fortunate. It smacks of a “Marie Antoinette” attitude. It may be a good idea for you to raise this in Parliament if you haven’t already. Sometimes it’s good to be a “loose cannon” or renegade. It certainly livens up the proceedings, and shows political courage. Please remember that the voters have long memories, many of whom will still be active in 2029.
You and your colleagues must remember that your election to this position is a privilege. You owe it to those who elected you – and those who did not – to serve them, rather than merely the Starmer government.
Kim Rye is a former Fleet Street copytaker. She is a sub-editor on 007 Magazine & Archive.
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Well said. My next-door neighbour is a widow with a small private pension plus the state one; she does not qualify for any state hand-outs that this spiteful, vindictive government are so willing to splurge on illegal migrants gatecrashing the country. Pensioners are easy targets: they can’t strike for more money and can’t find work due to age discrimination in the workplace either. Meanwhile thieving Reeves and her minions steel hard-earned pensions from the ‘strivers’ to pay-off their Union chums for higher pay for less productivity. Some of us remember growing up in the 1970s… Those gullible young people so eager to vote for socialism will soon discover the folly of their ways, whilst the rest of watch as our beloved country rots before our very eyes.
That’s the trouble. Too many people can’t be bothered to check policies and candidates before voting. Even worse. Still lazy people who always moan the loudest but never go to the polling station.
I have written 3 times to my new Labour MP and never received a reply. This from someone who was a Labour Councillor alongside my mother for many years.
There is no democracy left in this country and no political way to stop the Uniparty destroying our country. It is either slip further into this Globalist Communist hell or people will have to fight the Government and our population looks far too weak and lazy for that.
Sad, demented times ahead.
I fear you are right. If we don’t pull something out of the bag by 2019 we are done for. However, I take heart in the fact that the Reform UK membership is galloping. 77,000ish last time I looked.
Sorry I mishit the key. I meant 2029 of course! Dread the thought of revisiting 2019 and What followed!
The state pension was introduced in 1908 and before that families took responsibility for their elderly and they had to do afterwards because the pension was small. When I was younger most homes had three generations, because families knew that had to support themselves because the government would not. This article does not see the true picture. There is no pension scheme or fund for state pensions. The pensions are paid for by the people working and paying taxes which also means any pensioners paying tax are contributing to their own pensions.
We work for around 40 years and we know that we will eventually retire and we should recognise that we must take responsibility for providing for ourselves when that time arrives. But what do most do, they ignore it and spend on holidays, entertainment and other activities that they believe are more important than saving for their retirement. Socialism is wonderful for the people who believe it but they soon see how it fails them when they need socialism to provide for them.
‘Saving for retirement’ sounds like good practice in theory, but perhaps you would like to advise on how one is supposed to save anything, (unless you have a very well paid job), when even living from day to day is a struggle. I absolutely despise self righteous comments such as ‘they ignore it and spend on holidays, entertainment and other activities’. I personally do not smoke or drink, never eat out or order takeaways, don’t take foreign holidays and never have done, or indeed any kind of holiday, apart from one package holiday to Spain way back in the 70s – oh dear, naughty me. I have bought my clothes at charity shops for years and don’t go to the theatre, the cinema or the pub. Perhaps in your wisdom you can tell me what else I SHOULD have done in order to ‘save for my retirement’?
I used to write to my fake Conservative Party MP quite regularly but since the Covid scam I just can’t drum the enthusiasm anymore.
I have come to the conclusion that most MPs fear the Whip more than their own constituents and the Party fears their masters (global NGO’s such as the WEF, WHO, UN, World Bank, Bank of International Settlements, politicised billionaires, party donors, charitable industrial complex, foundations and Uncle Sam’s deep state) more than they do the displeasure of the British electorate. All establishment MPs and their Parties have been bought and corrupted by the powerful organisations and individuals set out above.
I now find my time is more effectively utilised and more rewarding by campaigning for Reform UK.
Kim, thank you – but if I may say so, you have been far too kind towards your MP. I personally have never felt so impotent, afraid and depressed as I do under this vile government. Full of liars and hypocrites, seemingly intent on ruining our country and everyone in it. I feel sick every day, with worry about what they might come up with next. There seems to be an general opinion that Starmer is ‘out of his depth’, ‘a rabbit in the headlights’, ‘incompetent’, ‘stupid’. I disagree – I believe he is pure evil, completely aware of what he is doing, and does not care about anything except his own power. Certainly not this country or its people. The speed and ferocity of the policies he has implemented, to me indicate that he has been planning this in detail for years.