Extraneus_in_a_insolitus_terra
41.8K posts

Extraneus_in_a_insolitus_terra
@ExtraneusT
A traveller, a stranger in a strange land, all my life. If you cannot see the Light, be the Light for others.

Keir Starmer deserves our thanks… but he won’t get it independent.co.uk/voices/keir-st…




“WHERE ARE ALL THE WHITE PEOPLE?!” Young voters are noticing what many of us have noticed about Reform and their new policy of standing candidates from every nationality but English. There’s only one true option to get Britain back.

Is the state pension really so 'meagre'? Let's take a look... The basic state pension is just £12,547 a year. But... Only around 15% of pensioners rely on the state pension alone. The vast majority have other income from private pensions etc., which is exactly how our system is designed to work (and why the UK has generous tax breaks for pension contributions). The small proportion of pensioners whose only source of income is the state pension are entitled to other benefits in addition, including pension credit, housing benefit and council tax support. A pensioner with no other income, no savings, no disabilities, no care responsibilities and rent of £800 per month is entitled to £401.55 a week in benefits including state pension, which is £20,881 a year. For comparison, a full time minimum wage worker has an after tax income of £21,364. Unlike a pensioner, a full time minimum wage worker is not entitled to free travel, free prescriptions, a winter fuel payment or senior citizens discounts. £21,000 a year is not a lot of money. But the very poorest pensioners have similar incomes to low-wage workers. Given the greater costs faced by those who are working, it's perhaps not surprising that working age adults are now more likely to live in poverty than pensioners. And at the other end of the scale, one in four pensioners are millionaires and still receive the basic state pension, paid for by current tax payers (including those on minimum wage). No one (definitely not me) is suggesting that the state pension should be reduced for the poorest pensioners. But pension spending now accounts for half of the UK's social security budget and, given the urgent need to cut government spending, we must consider reforms like means-testing and scrapping the triple lock.

It's an absolute disgrace that the US would endorse any candidate in any free European election - but to endorse the pro-Putin candidate shows just how far from democratic norms The US has is willing to go. I guarantee he'll be here campaigning for Farage before too long. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

He is a crook. And remains one despite being pardoned by Trump. Indeed a Trump pardon makes it worse BadLoss

No idea why these guys don’t like clean air, energy security and a future for the next generations…and…



He is a crook. And remains one despite being pardoned by Trump. Indeed a Trump pardon makes it worse BadLoss







