Agenda 2019

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/800000-people-lifted-out-offuel-poverty--by-redefining-it-8976232.html   800,000 people ‘lifted’ out of fuel poverty – by redefining it The UK is second only to Estonia among European countries for the number of people struggling to pay their energy bills When the statistics show a figure that is not acceptable, or embarrassing, governments (of all political positions) have a very simple solution. The answer to the problem is "move the goal posts" and in this way, the offending information can be manipulated to reflect the picture as the incumbent government would prefer it to be rather than what it actually is. The natural extension of this, is that when your new calculation becomes problematic, it is always possible to revert to the previous calculation and choose whichever figure is the most acceptable. The classic example of this subterfuge is the way in which RPI and CPI are interchangeable for governm...

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/29/ed-miliband-winter-fuel-benefits-pensioners_n_3177367.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Ed Miliband has suggested the Labour Party would consider withdrawing benefits such as the winter fuel allowance and free bus passes from wealthier pensioners. “Means testing is being used to divide and rule—to pit young people against pensioners. But the real divide isn’t between young and old, it’s between rich and poor.”   We have been here before. What is a "wealthy pensioner". How is "wealth" defined? Living in a large private house, but having only a state pension as income, can hardly be described as "wealthy". On the other hand, a couple living in private or social rented accommodation, both drawing state pensions and where perhaps one of the partners has income from an occupational pension plus a private pension, would have a far larger disposable income than many. Clearly there would have to be some means of comp...