Anthony Butcher

UKIP have finally released their latest leaflets, paid for by Alan Bown (thank you Alan!). The main promise is to increase the state pension by £25 per week per person, matching the Liberal Democrat promise, but without the need for an increase in income tax.

I thought that this policy was supposed to be kept quiet for the time being, but the first leaflets have been sent out, and a letter from David Lott accompanying them suggests that the first million of these leaflets are now being distributed. I have see the leaflet in two different places now, so I am fairly certain that this is out in the public.

This is a bold move away from the old use of the Independence Dividend. Now all of the money is being used to fund the pension promise as far as I can tell, and I think that this is definitely a good idea.

I haven't seen the finances of the promise yet, but it looks like it will be sucking in all of the funds that were previously used for other policies. Based on the old manifesto, every £5 increase on the pension costs £2.8 Billion per year, so we can cost this at £14 Billion per year.

I am worried that this hasn't received a big press conference announcement, and has just been oozed out quietly via the leaflets. This will be a major campaigning factor in the general election and should be plugged by the leadership at every opportunity. I am somewhat confused by their silence on this issue.

Biscuitman

Have you not read my speech on pensions Anthony?

It takes 3.5% of GDp, £35 billion, to sort out pensions - the governments own think tank gives the cost to industry of EU regs as £100b.

Getting rid of one third of that covers the pension need... I know its not a straightforward case of taxing all the savings scrapping unneccessary regs would give but it shows there's plenty of scope... the Lib/Dems have no means, within the Eu, of coming up with their £25 pw... and if they're proposing tax increases to pay for it....NOBODY ever voted for higher taxes. The Libs tried once before, advocating putting 2p in the £ on NI to pay for a proper NHS... polls said thats what everyone was in favour of... result...Lib dems lost 8 seats.

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IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

Anthony Butcher

I did indeed read it, and very good it was too.

I took my numbers straight off the UKIP website. If you think that they are wrong, then you should take that up with the leadership!

The problem is that there are so many different numbers passed around, that it is very hard to know which ones are accurate. I tend to favour using the worst case scenario. If, as you say, it will take £35 Billion just to sort out the pensions crisis, then we are going to really struggle to make the numbers work for a £25 increase on the state pension in addition.

http://www.civitas.org.uk/hwu/prcs37.php
I am not sure where your number of £100 Billion comes from, but I am not convinced at the moment. £6.3 Billion sounds far more likely to me.

And we shouldn't forget that we can't simply scrap every EU regulation. Some of them are perfectly sensible I am sure, and we would only want to scrap those that are impractical and unnecessary.

Biscuitman

Slightly different approach, at the moment the Basic State Pension is enhanced by means tested benefits to £140pw, (Minimum Income Guarantee - MIG)..

Raising the State Pension by £25 restores the link with National Average earnings and effectively does away with means testing - doesnt cost anything Net, saves huge admin costs, 40% of pensioners dont claim their entitlement under the MIG and saves the hassle of having to claim every year.

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IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

Anthony Butcher

Sorry for appearing thick on this one, but are you saying that the £25 won't actually cost anything, because the combined savings come to £14 Billion?

C_steam

What about the taxation on Company pension funds?

Biscuitman

if I remember the number correctly, the max means tested payment under MIG is £28... so the State Pension comes out of one kitty and the MIG out of another... paying it all as State pension takes away the stigma of means testing but doesnt cost us anymore .... and we save on the army of means testers .. applicants have to submit forms for re-assessment every year.

As for the tax on pension funds, (C_steam), thats £6 billion a year and is a disincentive to put money away in your pot.

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IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

Karen

It is all very well for pensioners but what about young families who have to pay for everything?
Nichts bekommen: alles bezahlen!

Biscuitman

The sad fact is that anyone under 30 is screwed.

They're not only facing having to pay big lumps for their pension but also big lumps for mine and the rest of the baby boomers all over europe.

Worse still if they're graduates 'cos they're doubly screwed with their student loans, overdrafts and usually maxed out credit cards before they even start work.

At least if we're out of the EU we can ease the burden.

The speaker before me at the recent Berkshire Forum spoke on the economy. He had 30 years plus experience of running a business that exported 60% of it's goods .

Just one example from his speech encapsulated transport, industry and housing.... (the afternoon session was quite technical and made a change from speakers just saying 'No to EU') ... sorry I digress.

The roads in the S/east suffer from too many lorrys... lorrys bound for the southern ports to ship to europe. Jobs are plentiful, (ish), houses are tooooooo expensive.

If we divert our energies to exporting to the rest of the world then those ports are not in the S/east.

Industry likes to locate near ports... so encourage that, which means more jobs outside of the S/east .... more people wanting to live in an area, need for houses, cheaper land etc etc....

A damned good way of reducing the North - South divide....

I came down here in 1983 and how we managed to afford it I'll never know.... (can now sell up down here, repay my mortgage and go back and buy three of he houses we last lived in up there),

...reducing the pressure on the s/east.

Gives young families half a chance ... but they have to move... but all ties in with exit from the EU.

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IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

C_steam

Err - sorry I wasn't clear. I meant it to mean "what would UKIP do about the nicked 6 or 7 billion, and what approach to this taxation in future?"