4 hours ago, MarkT63 said:

Is that a serious question? 

Of course. It's a discussion point...

18 hours ago, johng said:

Poeple work hard all their life want to give their children something on their death...why should it all go back to the government ?

Everything goes back to the government sooner or later. Old people need to be more selfish. Spend your money, downsize from the family home for more cash, spend it before the leeches get it. Inheritance is probably the most family divisive thing on the p!anet.

On 8/23/2025 at 6:09 AM, CharlieH said:

The Express 2025-08-22

 

22 hours ago, johng said:

Poeple work hard all their life want to give their children something on their death...why should it all go back to the government ?

 

Inheritance tax.

Has always been nothing more than government theft. 

It should have been abolished, yesterday.

10 hours ago, James105 said:

End net zero, cut foreign aid, end illegal immigration, reduce the size of the state for starters

Easy to say, not easy to implement, and what would be the consequences.

 

Net zero - how much has actually been spent. And what are we going to do, import more gas, coal and oil - because we no longer have much in the way of exploitable reserves left. Nuclear power is now the most expensive source of electricity. Wind and solar ARE the future. And maybe your eyes and ears are shut to the news of what climate change is doing - more droughts, more floods, bigger storms and more wildfires in the world. More coastal erosion - in East Anglia the rate of erosion is now up to 50 times greater than was predicted.

 

Cut foreign aid - it has been cut. Where do you think the money for housing asylum seekers and illegal migrants  comes from? You may not be aware that it is planned that very few new foreign aid projects will be funded in the future, current projects will be funded only in as far as they are currently planned.

 

End illegal immigration - you are aware that this is only about 5% of all migration. How will you stop it? Sink the boats, drown the refugees? Sending them back is also a massive legal and logistical problem.

 

Reduce the size of the state - every government for years  has tried to cut the number of people it employs, but always find that the bureaucracy gets more and more inefficient if you cut it too much. I suppose we could scrap the NHS, police, state education - is that realistic? We have already scrapped most of the military. Bring back the workhouse!

On 8/24/2025 at 8:03 AM, Scott Tracy said:

Why should there be inheritance? 

Why shouldn't there be inheritance?

On 8/23/2025 at 6:09 AM, CharlieH said:

This has sparked warnings about the potential consequences on older Britons if pensions become a target for additional revenue.

Mmm. The title of this piece is "Rachel Reeves Pensions Tax Raid Sparks Outrage Among Older Brits", but the only mention of stealing pensions is in the quote above.

 

The quote is in no way suggestive of a tax raid.

 

The title of this thread is misleading.

On 8/23/2025 at 8:21 AM, The Cyclist said:

Gordon Brown Mk 2

 

Raid Pensions

Beyond the title, there's no mention of tax raids that I could find.

23 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

Have they considered, now don't laugh,.....spending less?

 

I know it's silly, but if you quit meddling in the Middle East, arming moderate headchoppers, and regime changing stable governments, maybe some of those gimmigrants could return to their homes.

 

Just sayin'.

 

This is Labour we are talking about.

 

Tax and spend.

 

Huge state interference in people's lives.

 

Wreck the economy.

 

Blame the Tories.

 

Same every time. 

On 8/24/2025 at 4:16 PM, Chomper Higgot said:

‘Tax raid’ that hasn’t happened sparks ‘outrage’ shocker.

What is also shocking is how few bothered to read and understand the article beyond the headline.

On 8/24/2025 at 8:32 PM, DonniePeverley said:

Most older Brits voted Brexit so deserve to make contributions as they ruined the British economy.

 

That's just the problem with pensions in the UK, they think they can do and say what they want and face none of the consequences long term. 

"Pensions" or "pensioners"? Pensions can't do or say anything.

1 minute ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

What is also shocking is how few bothered to read and understand the article beyond the headline.

So you are saying we don't need to be concerned? Let's think, Huge black hole in the economy. How are they going to fix it. Tax increases may be. Taxes are going up because they aren't index linking the tax threshold. That impacts those on fixed incomes and the less well off more than the better off.

23 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

Have they considered, now don't laugh,.....spending less?

The funny thing is, this whole argument about balancing the government's books is based on economic fallacy. The UK uses a "Spend & Tax" system (codified in law in 1866 I think). Parliament approves the budget and taxes are raised to sterilise the government spending.

 

It's a little bit technical, but relatively easy to prove, given an understanding of how money is created in the UK and the role of the BoE, that it is not the size of the government deficit that matters¹, but the ratio of public to private debt. What follows from that is the possibility of eliminating direct taxes entirely. Govt could move to consumption-based taxes for example.

 

Then it becomes not spending less, but spending different.

 

[1] "Matters" means the economy not being driven into crises as we saw in the GFC almost 20 years ago,

Think we will have to name this one Rachel's sink hole as we are going down the plug hole fast🤔

9 minutes ago, Geoff914 said:

So you are saying we don't need to be concerned?

I am not saying that at all. Those who have sounded off on a pension raid were reacting to the title and not the content of the piece. In my opinion it is a bad piece for that reason. Perhaps a better title that was truthful and relevant to the contents of the piece would have been more accurate.

4 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Think we will have to name this one Rachel's sink hole as we are going down the plug hole fast🤔

I missed when the UK gubmint explained/ blamed this alleged GBP 51B black hole like when the GBP 11B was blamed on the Tories.

 

I don't want to think about any of RR's holes thank you very much!

15 minutes ago, Geoff914 said:

So you are saying we don't need to be concerned? Let's think, Huge black hole in the economy. How are they going to fix it. Tax increases may be. Taxes are going up because they aren't index linking the tax threshold. That impacts those on fixed incomes and the less well off more than the better off.

 

You have to take into account this an article from the Daily Excess.

 

They run a piece everyday on pensions because of the age profile of the readership.....new tax on pensions, triple lock under threat, triple locked final this year, pensions to be means tested........

Want an answer? Bradbury Pound is the way to go.

 

Stop making the rich banksters even richer.

45 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

You have to take into account this an article from the Daily Excess.

 

They run a piece everyday on pensions because of the age profile of the readership.....new tax on pensions, triple lock under threat, triple locked final this year, pensions to be means tested........

I hope you aren't suggesting that the triple lock and not means testing pensions is 100% safe under this or any other Government. Both sides hate the triple lock and given half a chance would introduce means tested pensions at the drop of a hat.

15 hours ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

Beyond the title, there's no mention of tax raids that I could find.

 

Have you seen mention of a £40 - £50 Billion black hole. Made by various economists and other Institutions like the IFS and the OBR ?

 

What other means do you think are readily available to fill that Black Hole ?

On 8/23/2025 at 8:21 AM, The Cyclist said:

Gordon Brown Mk 2

 

Raid Pensions

 

PFI on steroids, this re-named as PPP
 

Sell the UK's Gold reserves on the quiet, and the cheap.

 

Meanwhile National debt has increased by £187 Billion since Labour came to power.

 

At least Gordon Brown had 1 memorable act as Chancellor, he kept the UK out of the €.

 

What memorable act will Reeves be remembered for, resigning I would suggest.

Publicly sacking Rachel Reeves would be more memorable and probably better for the UK as well, though that is unlikely to happen with the current Labour Party leader.

28 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Publicly sacking Rachel Reeves would be more memorable and probably better for the UK as well, though that is unlikely to happen with the current Labour Party leader.

 

And that is part of the problem. Very rarely are these mutants sacked and held accountable.

 

They are normally moved sideways instead.

3 hours ago, The Cyclist said:

Have you seen mention of a £40 - £50 Billion black hole. Made by various economists and other Institutions like the IFS and the OBR ?

I have seen mention of the GBP 40 - 50B black hole. It appears the GBP 11B "left by the Tories" has either been replaced or has metastasised into something much larger in less than 2 years.

 

As I wrote: the article's only mention of a "tax raid on pensions" is in the title of the article. Having read it again, I found this:

Quote

"Economist Elliott Jordan-Doak... "Stealth taxes, duty increases, and a pensions tax raid may be unavoidable if the Chancellor aims to keep headline tax rates unchanged".

But this is speculation, whereas the headline states it as fact. It is this that I object to, nothing else.

 

I find the quality of the "news" articles posted on AN to be, on the average, low and that was the main reason for my initial post.

 

Quote

What other means do you think are readily available to fill that Black Hole ?

I don't know. I wouldn't rule out anything to be honest.

 

What is interesting (in the sense of the Chinese curse), is the economic reasoning leading to the apparent need to plug the deficit and "balance the books" is based on fallacious reasoning. In other words, a lot of economic damage is done by the government to the people it is supposed to work for, based on provably false ideas.

53 minutes ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

I have seen mention of the GBP 40 - 50B black hole. It appears the GBP 11B "left by the Tories" has either been replaced or has metastasised into something much larger in less than 2 years.

 

The £22 Billion black hole. That magically adds up to the same amount that was thrown at Junior Doctors and Africa for climate change nonsense.

 

That was the premise of the tax rises in the last budget.

 

So the £40 - £50 Billion black hole has appeared since the last budget. Less than a year.

 

57 minutes ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

What is interesting (in the sense of the Chinese curse), is the economic reasoning leading to the apparent need to plug the deficit and "balance the books" is based on fallacious reasoning. In other words, a lot of economic damage is done by the government to the people it is supposed to work for, based on provably false ideas.

 

This is what happens when you make a budget and spending promises / pledges, based on assumed growth.

 

In Reeves's case, that assumption has kicked her right in the axe wound.

 

Governments have never worked for the people for decades. about the same time the WEF /  OECD / Davos crew started getting powerful.

 

6 hours ago, The Cyclist said:

 

So the £40 - £50 Billion black hole has appeared since the last budget. Less than a year.

 

 

About the cost of HS2 then. They p155 money up against the wall. £100 million for a bat tunnel.

This is a calculated political move.

The pensioners people who are being hit with the tax burden were for the most part not Labour party voters. Labour doe not care about them and is insulated from their voting intentions.  The pensioners who were most likely to vote Labour do not have the assets to tax, and will continue to vote Labour. Angry union militants and people who liked to march in protest marches in their 20's   become wrinkled versions of themselves when they reach pension age. They are just crankier and more resentful of people who worked, saved and sacrificed to build a future for themselves. 

10 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

This is a calculated political move.

The pensioners people who are being hit with the tax burden were for the most part not Labour party voters. Labour doe not care about them and is insulated from their voting intentions.  The pensioners who were most likely to vote Labour do not have the assets to tax, and will continue to vote Labour. Angry union militants and people who liked to march in protest marches in their 20's   become wrinkled versions of themselves when they reach pension age. They are just crankier and more resentful of people who worked, saved and sacrificed to build a future for themselves. 

Only partly true. In another fours years at the next election a significant number of the current pensioners wont be here. So the Government don't give a <deleted>.

On 8/24/2025 at 1:38 PM, johng said:

Poeple work hard all their life want to give their children something on their death...why should it all go back to the government ?

Why give them money on their death? Why not while they are alive? They can then see what it does to families, rather than leaving money and destroying families when they are gone.

 

Bank of mum and dad, but no paying back. 

8 minutes ago, Scott Tracy said:

Why give them money on their death?

 

Because that's what they want to do ?..they can leave everything to the donkey sanctuary  or they can give it all to their one favourite kid or distribute it equally between all their kids  or to the whole remaining family  whatever  up to them...not to mention that no one knows when they are going to die..but its good to know that when you do,  the thieving, liar, warmongering dictatorship government is not going to get it all.

21 hours ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

I have seen mention of the GBP 40 - 50B black hole.

 

The only gaping black hole was between the ears of Rachel from accounts. 

 

2 tear Rachel with her fake CV in one hand and her budget for recession in the other. What could possibly go wrong?  😃