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The bits about “open doors” and “money going abroad” suggest this isn’t entirely coming from a good place.
Accepted, on reflection
Regarding this song, I have read that “Satire is often the most powerful check on power – and this song is highlighting the seriousness of Labour’s political choices to give bumper pay deals to their union paymasters whilst stripping some of our poorest pensioners from vital funds to heat their homes this winter.” Perhaps read Mark Tovey’s report (pdf reference) ‘Robin-Hood-in-Reverse-aid-Final-Version-.pdf’ – I am fully aware of poverty and needs throughout the world and this ‘song’ is stating fact. When I listened to it I did not feel that it was “polluted by the inference that immigration and foreign aid are part of the cause of pensioner fuel poverty”. It is a sad and cruel fact that there are those in this country who will die because of freezing conditions in their homes – it has occurred in previous years, and with the withdrawal of the WFA from those marginally above the pension credit level, will inevitably cause further deaths. I agree with ‘Pilgrim Slight Returns’ @12.47pm in this conversation. Equally this song has and is raising much needed funds for Age UK – when I last checked ‘Just Giving’, more than £50,000 had been raised for Age UK – possible other donation sites are raising funds from this song for them too, it is certainly ‘on sale’ and those involved have said that all monies will go to charity.
True to form, I see the B.BC has refused to play it. No surprise.
Very sad, that it has come to this – “Labour” being attacked becuase it is incapable of doing politics (it deserves to be attacked btw). The article by Owen Jones nailed it.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/20/starmer-labour-failures-disaster-committee
The guys advising Starmer ……”one-dimensional hacks who learned their trade in the grimmest recesses of student politics”. Couple that to Reeves and corner shop finance & here we are. Not that Deform/Fartrage have any ideas – but LINO are very happy to make ammo for them, and pensioners just so much collateral damage.
Im going to be a party pooper here. Sadly the sentiment is polluted by the inference that immigration and foreign aid are part of the cause of pensioner fuel poverty. More appropriate would have been to link it to the £22bn largesse Starmer is gifting the fossil fuel industry .
I fear this is a gift to the Reform company.
If anything the video is a salutary reminder that we are now entering a very interesting period in our politics where we may be seeing unexpected combinations of sentiment being formed, behind which there maybe mobilisations of popular support.
For example – what might happen if Farage turned up on telly committing himself and his party (?) to MMT?
Fanciful I know but who ever thought that we’d seriously leave the European Union? Well, I mean the more intelligent of us anyway?
The producers of the video might honestly believe that their ideas stack up. But the other reality worth considering is that this is deliberate divide and conquer tactics aiming to prevent better counter-narratives from forming. So, we are fore-warned and it is worth watching for that.
Interesting perspective
I am glad I did share this
Many thanks PSR, a line of reasoning that would never have occurred to me. But now the thought is rattling around my head, I am wondering where next more evidence might appear to support that line of reasoning.
Richard, I amy have completely lost the plot, and even the book, but would you care to hazard and explanation why Rachel Reeves requires both Andrew Bailey, Governor of the BoE and Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority, to join her as part of Britain’s delegation to China next month.
This kind of heavy concentration of Central Banking and Financial Sector involvement might suggest such portentous development agreement between the UK and PRC; but surely we are nowhere near that: or are we supposed to be an explanation by the UK how things work here (surely not!), or following Brexit and desperation over US tariffs (Mandelson is being pumped up as the world’s greatest networker and commercial genius, but the real truth is the ‘special relationship’ is of small consequence*), we really are very, very desperate? What on earth is this supposed to mean?
* The modern US ‘special relationship’ is with Israel, which is close to suggesting that Israel ‘de facto’ can shift US foreign policy.
I strongly suspect they are selling to replace Russian money……
Then they are playing with fire; and we really are desperate.
We are.
Thank you, both.
The City’s reliance on Russian money is overstated, despite what the likes of Cadwalladr, Hodge, Judah and Snyder think.
China isn’t interested, either, and scaling up at home or in select places like Singapore and Geneva.
The City’s is in decline. No one’s interested, not even Africa.
Agreed
And this is an act of desperation.
I was wondering if The Colonel was going to pipe up about this one. Interesting.
As predicted:-
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/winter-fuel-payment-pension-credit-dwp-wait-labour-b2665803.html
Increasingly obvious Starmer is a liability for this country just like Boris Johnson!
As we continue to pressure this disgraceful Labour Government into making a U-turn on this cruel and disastrous policy, we should also consider pragmatic things that we might be able to do to help the less fortunate ignored elderly to stay warm. While this is a moving video, I couldn’t help noticing that not one of the pensioners featured was wearing a hat. The reality is that more body heat is lost through extremities, hands and feet, but most especially the head. Those who can knit need to get knitting the gloves, socks and wooly hats that the elderly with cold, drafty homes can wear indoors and even in their beds.
In the UK we have the most poorly insulated homes in Europe; The first genuine ‘Green’ priority of this government should have targeted the insulation of homes rather than the ‘Carbon Capture and Storage’ gimmick. This is another area where we must continue to keep up pressure regarding home insulation for the government to address this neglected priority. However, until Starmer and Reves change tack regarding the Winter Fuel Allowance, the most immediate priority this winter will be informing and encouraging personal heat retention by covering and keeping extremities warm. A huge national drive to get these woolen items made and donated to those in need will seriously embarrass this government, as well it should.
I am lucky enough to live in a well insulated building with double glazing and communal heating of all flats, so I am not worried about keeping warm. However, I am concerned for our most vulnerable elderly this winter. When I worked in the ER, (A&E), at Jackson Memorial in Miami, the area was aggressively air conditioned for clinical reasons. When any frail elderly person spent time in the treatment area we would pile on the blankets and make them a Wee-Willy -Winky hat to keep their head warm. A length of stockinette, the soft tubular material normally used under casts, was cut and tied with a knot at the top and a wide cuff tucked over at the bottom: instant Wee-Willy -Winky hat! This got me thinking…
I am no good at knitting. so I decided to buy a roll of stockinette and make up some Wee-Willy-Winky hats. This UK stockinette is not as thick, so I folded the tubular section back on itself and sewed around the top end to create a crude bobble. A 29 inch section for each hat allows for a folded back cuff; one roll of 22cm Stockinette is enough to make 33 Wee-Willy-Winky hats to be given away this winter. If you have the time, get a group of friends together to start knitting, if not, at least get the word out regarding staying warm indoors, and in bed, as this could save lives this winter. If enough of us take on this challenge it will shame selfish Starmer and cruel Reves.