The Winter Fuel payment and the Vote for BRITISH ex pats.

George Osborne said during his Financial statement of Wednesday 25thJune.

“EU law now says that people living in the European Economic Area can claim Winter Fuel Payments from us even if they didn’t get it before they left the UK. Paying out even more money to people from all nationalities who may have worked in this country years ago but no longer live here is not a fair use of the nation’s cash. So from the autumn of 2015, we will link the Winter Fuel Payment to a temperature test. People in hot countries will no longer get it.“

The nature of Osborne’s phrases are disgraceful.  This is not truth, the whole truth, but it is ‘propaganda’.

He has chosen loaded words which are meant to colour the thoughts of the British public. A famous propagandist of the last century said “The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think is right.” 

Read and note…..

‘people from all nationalities’.  The overwhelming majority of recipients of the Winter Fuel Payment in Europe, are like myself, British people descended from generations of British people. This phrase is used to suggest that the money is not going to British people. Would he have dared say ‘British Citizens’?

‘who may have worked in this country’  They receive a State pension, thus they most certainly worked in Britain.  The word ‘may’ is used to imply a sense of idleness. Would he have dared  omit the word ‘may’?

‘Is not a fair use of the nation’s cash’  Why is it not?

‘In hot countries’.  The word ‘hot’ suggests what? Searing temperatures all the year round?   It is an exaggeration and suggests to the listener warmth all the year round. Which is of course is George Osborne’s intention. Would he have dared say ‘the southern countries of the EU?’

He desires the resident population of Britain, to believe that what he says is the truth.

The BBC web site says that the Climatological Unit at East Anglia University in Norwich compiled figures to show that 7 EU countries are warmer in winter than SW England.  Spending Review documents revealed, that the seven countries where ex pats will lose the payment, are: Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain.”

Tell that to the expatriates in  Brittany, or in The Auvergne, Lille (France) and Tournai (Belgium), and the towns of the Spanish hinterland or of Italy. The continental climate is characterised by hot summers and cold winters.

The attitude against the pensioners is further hardened by articles in the press illustrating the pensioners sunning themselves on the sunny summer shores of Spain.  In Barcelona it was minus 7 overnight this February. Most of Europe freezes every winter, this year worse than is usual.  In Central Italy eighty centimetres of snow fell.  In Central France in February 2012 it suffered successive nights of temperatures  minus ten. 

The summer sun does not allay the winter's frosts.

True - the Winter Fuel payment is a stupid payment - but it should be administered equably everywhere. If it was incorporated into the State Pension (incorporating the equally bizarre £10 Christmas bonus!), making the whole taxable.  In that manner the better-off would lose some of it.

Should the British Government have any concern for British Citizens Abroad? Yes of course.  For those who live in Europe the principle of ‘freedom of movement’ should prevail.  But the British Government resists supporting the retired Briton Abroad.

Governments and tyrannies will not change unless they are forced to do so.  We all imagine that we live in a democratic society in Western Europe. It is more fondly felt than fact. Democracy does not exist for the Britons Abroad.  The British Government denies it to them.

The British Government, which we all would like to perceive as a bastion of democracy, is as stubborn and as deaf as any. 

Is it not apparent that a certain dictatorial element remains in the thoughts of the party-politic in Britain.  The expatriate has no vote. Antipathy is raised against the expatriate in Parliament, and in the press.

We have no effective voice. Is it not time that we had a political voice?

In the eyes of many in Britain today, the Briton who dares to live abroad is considered to be almost a traitor.  We have Lord Lipsey who dares to say that the Briton Abroad should never be represented in Parliament.  We have governments who sign to treaties in Europe which guarantee that the elderly Briton who retires to Europe will receive the same consideration from the British Government as those who remain at home.  But in the outcome, they are deprived of income and support which those who stay at home might enjoy.  The winter fuel payment which all the elderly enjoy in Britain has not been received by the most elderly of  the British Citizens in Europe.

The Pensioner in Europe cannot make his feelings felt through the ballot box because the government has not granted to him the permanent citizen’s right to vote.

Lord Lipsey again says that such pensioners have no part to play in the economy of Britain.  Yet their pensions and much of their expenditure is demonstrably part of the British Economy. 

I accuse the British Government of indifference towards its citizens abroad. We are open to abuse by our own government, because they deny us representation.

In the newspapers today it is reported that the British government  is preparing to pay out, up to £5000 to prisoners who have gone to Court as a result of being denied the vote, and yet lawful British pensioners who have taken up the option under EU law to move elsewhere in Europe are denied the vote with no suggestion of recompense. The world is going mad around me!

The cold heart of Britain’s Governments is felt most severely by those who have given so much for Britain in their working lives and still remain ambassadors for British grit and determination.

ALL BRITISH CITIZENS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

If you have not already done so, send en e mail to the Parliamentary Committee which one sincerely hopes is seriously considering the Representation of  Overseas electorate………….

Send to Jonathan Blades at the Palace of Westminster

 jonathan.r.blades@gmail.com

Kind regards – and good luck!

A letter which will haunt Labour up to the next election has finally been pictured for the first time in the British press

The infamous letter admitting there was ‘no money’ left after the 2010 election by the outgoing Treasury chief secretary Liam Byrne for his successor.

It states: ‘Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam.’

The letter, written on government note paper, was opened by Lib Dem David Laws who became Chief Secretary to the Treasury when the coalition was formed.

Mr Laws had assumed the envelope would offer advice on how to conduct himself in government, but was shocked by its contents.

Labour's Liam Byrne has said he will regret writing the letter for the rest of his life

The decision to publish the letter has seriously soured relations with the Labour party.

Labour MPs have apparently accused Mr Laws of behaving ‘like the class swot’ for releasing the letter.

It is incredible that Labour MPs should be demanding a cover up? Doesn't the public deserve to know, and its a stark reminder that Labour can't be trusted with the economy.

Earlier this month Mr Byrne, now Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, admitted ‘It was a very foolish thing to do, I suppose I did think there was a convention amongst honourable members that private correspondence would stay private. There's obviously a very old tradition of these notes that goes back to the 1930s. I felt disappointed that some very old conventions had been cast aside for political advantage.’

He was obviously expecting MPs to act honourably, but there's not much honour in any political party anymore.

Ed Balls, who behaves like a schoolboy in the House of Commons, has now said that he would not reverse the cuts if labour were in power. It seems to me that they are simply not to be trusted with the economy or the state of the country in general. I appreciate that the current leadership of the Conservatives may not be perfect, but they were left with very limited resources financially.

George Osborne should have a copy of that letter in his pocket, and every time Ed Balls starts rambling about this government’s mishandling of the economy, he should just wave the letter at him.

This country was becoming one of the wealthiest in the world we were a thriving, happy country and things were looking quite good until 1997, when New Labour formed a Government, under which we enjoyed a 'World Boom', de-regulated the Banks, invented a few million 'non jobs' by inflating the civil service, encouraged people to become dependent on Benefits whether IN or OUT of work, and finally allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants to come here in an attempt to skew the voting trends of this country. Just look at how miserable we all are now after the state New Labour left this country in, it speaks for itself surely!

And where are Messrs Brown & Blair now? Blair, a prime example of a champagne socialist, is occupied full time in increasing his wealth, and Brown, famous for his promises to end boom and bust, skulked off to Scotland, not having had sufficient time to make his pile.

Is there no end to the stupidity of Clegg.

Mr Clegg told the BBC One Andrew Marr programme, that handouts to the elderly should therefore not automatically be exempt.

Appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Clegg said

'I think the fact we are asking people on low incomes to pay through their taxes to basically pay the fuel bills of people who don't need to heat their homes because they are living in sunny parts of Europe and maybe didn't even work here, I think that lifts the lid on a wider problem in our welfare system,'

'Yes, we need welfare reform. We have already made, with my full support, significant savings to welfare. What legg fails to realise is firstly he is in office through a glitch. Secondly he is getting into dangerous ground when taking on pensioners. They are now the largest voting block, and shouldn't be messed with.

His one saving grace is that he knows that British ex patriates have no voting rights, and so he can walk all over them, but remember they have relatives still in the UK.

He further said that handouts to the elderly should therefore not automatically be exempt from cuts

'But if you're going to make further welfare savings, which I am prepared to look at, then you've got to start at the top, you've got to start with welfare for the wealthy, benefits paid to the rich and the retired.'

The Labour Party announced earlier this month it would strip the wealthiest pensioners of the winter fuel allowance if it wins the 2015 General Election.

And speaking last weekend, shadow chancellor Ed Balls said he planned to include pension spending inside Labour's proposal for a welfare cap - adding later that the party was committed to the coalition's 'triple lock' pension increase reforms.

Clegg added: 'We need to have a debate about welfare for the wealthy. That is being blocked at the moment because Conservatives don't want to have that debate.

He said that the Coalition should consider cutting the winter fuel allowance for ex-pats. Would he also consider cutting the income tax that most of the ex patriates living in Europe still pay to the British government. He should then go on to looking at the waste generated by a bloated parliament.

On his father's side of the family, Clegg is related to Kira von Engelhardt, daughter of a Russian baron of German, Polish, and Ukrainian origin, his Dutch mother,is Hermance van den Wall Bake.

What does he know about climate and temperatures in southern Europe apart from what he has been told by his Spanish wife.

The man is a total fool and should be out of parliament after the next election.

Climate change: What's the big deal?

River Thames frost fairs were held on the tideway of the River Thames at London between the 15th century and early 19th century, during the period known as the Little Ice Age, when the river froze over.

During the Great Frost of 1683–84, the worst frost recorded in England, the Thames was completely frozen for two months, with the ice reaching a thickness of 11 inches (28 cm) in London. Solid ice was reported extending for miles off the coasts of the southern North Sea (England, France and the Low Countries), causing severe problems for shipping and preventing the use of many harbours.

why can't the scientists prove climate change 100%

First of all, it is worth bearing in mind that any data on global temperatures before about 150 years ago is an estimate.

There have been several "hothouse earth" periods when the temperature exceeded those we experience today. The warmest was probably the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which peaked about 55 million years ago. Global temperatures during this event may have warmed by 5°C to 8°C within a few thousand years, with the Arctic Ocean reaching a subtropical 23°C.

The warming, which lasted 200,000 years, was caused by the release of massive amounts of methane or CO2. It was thought to have come from the thawing of methane clathrates in deep ocean sediments.

Since then, the Earth has cooled. For the past million years or so, the climate has switched between ice ages and warmer interglacial periods with temperatures similar to those of the past few millennia.

What is clear from the study of past climate is that many factors can influence climate: solar activity, oscillations in Earth's orbit, greenhouse gases, ice cover, vegetation on land (or the lack of it), the configuration of the continents, dust thrown up by volcanoes or wind, the weathering of rocks and so on.

Many of the world's politicians have chosen to focus on greenhouse gas, because in that way, they can also focus on tax hikes. In this way they can raise money, when they are desperately trying to increase taxes to pay for an accumulation of ill advised projects that they have signed off.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey last night launched an attack on ‘dangerous and destructive’ climate change sceptics.

The Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister accused ‘publicity-seeking’ critics of ‘selectively misreading’ the evidence.

If that is the case Mr Davey, why can’t you produce the evidence that proves your theory 100%.

THE VILLAGE IDIOT

The Shadow Chancellor used a speech on the economy to claim There is 'no evidence' that the last Labour government ran up too much debt, and the next Labour government would impose 'iron discipline' on spending.

ED BALLS IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE VILLAGE IDIOT. This man is not just in denial he is as mad as a hatter.

Bliar promised us that Boom and Bust was over?. Truth is that Balls is still living that dream. Liam Byrne left for his successor a note which said "There's no money left"

Thousands of families are suffering today because of the mess Labour got us into, debt being the major problem, and to suggest that if elected, Labour would do the same again is tantamount to lunacy

In a recent poll, it was estimated that 30% of the British population thought the economy would be safe in Labours hands. 30% of people who are oblivious to the debt they left the country. 30% of people who just can't grasp that our present problems are largely due to Labour!

Balls is clearly someone who accepts that his party will not win the next election. No one would be so stupid as to make the statements that he is making, and hope to get away with it.

Labour maxed out on the Nation's credit card and it's claims of  "End of boom and bust", "education, education, education" and "British jobs for British workers" has proved to be a pack of lies.