Simon Hughes speaks out against the benefit cap

strapworld

Why do you give this insignificant, rent a quote, fool the oxygen of publicity? Deputy leader of a small runt of a focus group.

The problem with this coalition is that these people, who should not be seen nor heard, believe themselves to be holding the reins of power.

One thing we all can be sure of. This fool cannot be trusted by anyone. He is pure self.

ellis000

This is nonsense. There is absolutely no way that Cameron/Osborne will row back on this - this would cross the thin blue line. Must be a slow day James if you are running this BS up the flagpole.

Hexhamgeezer

Sorry Mr F I won't be reading your article.
'Simon Hughes speaks..' is quite enough.

Nickle

So much for an MP who got caught on his expenses trying to fiddle money for the same laptops twice.

"But the principle that it's not fair to ask someone who's earning say £20,000 or £25,000 to pay someone who is on £80,000 or £100,000 to get child benefit is one that I think is very important. I'm very clear that it's fair that we should ask those who are better off in our society to make a contribution to the savings we've got to make as a country to pay down the debts that we've built up over the last decade in Britain. How we implement that is something we are going to set out in the next few months."

It's not fair to charge people tens, hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax, and offer nothing in return.

It sets the message. You are here to be robbed so we can live the high life on the money.

As for the cap. It should be in place. People have been claiming 170K plus on benefits to live in Knightsbridge.

Families of 5 kids have been getting the following

Housing benefit - 104,000
Child Tax Credit - 13,337.04
Income Support - 5,539.67
Council tax - 2,157.83
Child Benefit - 3,863.91
Free Schooling - 6000 * 5 = 30000
Free Health Care - 1800 * 7

Total 172,000

That's a major lottery win year in, year out.

Paid for in part by taxing people on minimum wage 2,500 pounds a year in direct taxes.

TrevorsDen

'left wing conscience'?

No, he represents the wing that would prefer to just exist as a perpetual protest. Not for him the responsibilities of actually doing something. Whatever anyone ever does is always 'unfair' to Hughes.

£26000 is unfair?
Can someone tell us how much someone in work has to earn before ending up with 26,000 in their pockets (and maybe tell us how much they then need to pay for pension provision?)

Nickle

Hughes will warn: "As it currently stands, the benefits cap will break up families, as it will provide a financial incentive to be apart. Under the plans as they stand, a couple with four children will see their benefits limited to £500 a week, but if the parents live separately, they will be able to claim up to £1,000. How will that support families?"

=================

Simple solution. Cap the payments at 26,000 if they are together or separated.

26,000 a year tax free means a before tax income of 36,000 a year.

Nothing like making the poor pay tax to keep the feckless in style.

Erica Blair

Housing benefit doesn't end up in the pockets of claimants, it is paid to the landlords.

As ever Tories want to see the poor begging in the gutter. You are truly 'lower than vermin'.

Tom Pride

“left-wing conscience of the party”

Go tell that to Peter Tatchell.

Ostrich (occasionally)

Erica Blair 14th, 5:09pm

"You are truly 'lower than vermin'."

If you're seeing the underside you must be looking upwards.

Bruce, UK

Honest Iago.

And as for Erica - you want to continue a system that allows eeeeevil landlords to profit from the poor, pure Balls.

David B

The issue that arises is what is "fair". What is fair to me can be unfair to someone else. Fair is an arbitrary defination based on a point of view and is much loved by the left precisely because it is means so many different things to different people.

We need to move to the legal definition of reasonable. It may be unfair to cap benefits to the average income but is it reasonable to say a person in work should earn less than someone on benefits and the answer must be no.

We need to reframe this debate and take it away from the emotional roadblock that it is falling into.

libertarian

Dear Erica Blair

You talk nonsense. You can opt to have housing benefit paid to you or directly to the landlord.

Don't know about Tories but socialists like you are responsible for the castration of the working classes

Fergus Pickering

There are plenty of people I'd like to see begging in the gutter, dear Erica. Starting with you.

David Ossitt

Always remember this man stood at an election and let it be known that his main opponent was a homosexual he used this true fact as a weapon, never letting on that he also was of the a pillow biting persuasion.

David Ossitt

Erica Blair

“As ever Tories want to see the poor begging in the gutter.”

Codswallop, socialist hyperbole, Tories want to see the poor, the sick, the old and the infirm being helped to live with a decent standard of living, preserving their dignity.

What we also want is for those who can work to be taken off the soul rotting dole for life and to ensure that those who lay abed whilst others work are incentivised to get up and find a job.

Whilst on the subject of benefit how can anyone justify paying £3,000 or £4,000 per week in rent for a work shy immigrant?

Hepworth

This would be the same Simon Hughes who in a major speech said-quote, "I look forward to the day Britain has a Muslim government"?
This shows the depths this creature is prepared to sink.

Hexhamgeezer

Erica Blair @ 5:09pm. Get your facts right before you fling the insults.

Poseur.

Nicholas

Erica Blair = Propagandist

The government (including the Lib Dems) need to call Labour and their supporters on resorting to propaganda (dog whistling and scare tactics) and nail their lies. In reality socialists have presided over more oppression of the poor than any other party.

Archie

Simon Hughes? Wasn't he a TV presenter once?

Steve Tierney

How is somebody on £500.00 a week - for doing nothing - "poor?"

I know a great mnay people who've never been out of work a day in their lives, who earn less than that right now.

Erica Blair you are an insult to the genuine, decent, hard-working folk who really are struggling to make ends meet. Millions of them.

Frank P

Simon Hughes is a pompous queer who is so full of shit he wants to share it with his close friends and even some he has only recently met at the local cottage.

Trapped

The hilarity of the people attacking Erica made my evening. So, I'll tell you a little story. A close friend of mine is currently disabled, not in the bad back sense, but in the genuinely unable to work sense. He suffered a severe head injury, and he'll never be able to work again, he spends half his life passed out, not through his own choice. He's on incapacity benefit, and is currently pending getting a 'lower' DLA award (he's able to handle things that mean an overnight carer isn't required). He's 31. He's in a flat which is well within the 30% LHA percentile, and he has no other means of support.

At 31, Osborne's little bit of housing legislation kicks in, meaning this guy is supposed to live in shared accomodation, he's not allowed to have his own flat despite being actually disabled. He's currently filing a claim for discretionary housing payments and praying he will not be in effect be made homeless, as no landlord is going to want someone who's stuck at home.

That's the actual evils of Tory legislation, their flagship policy is always great in principle, and I support a lot of the things being done like universal credit, but you always need to look at the details.

Fergus Pickering

Hepworth, did Simon Hughes say that? Has he not considered what would happen to him. Burned to death, I believe, if you are a REALLY good muslim. I knew the man was a fool and a hypocrite, but such a fool. Oh well, the Lib Dems constantly surprise us.

Chris

Ok, Trapped, when Labour get in they'll pass a law that says nothing bad must ever happen to anybody, anywhere, ever. Simples. (Or rather, simpletons - you and that woman who blasphemes against the name of Orwell, the last Socialist who said anything worth hearing.)

Graham Booth

David Ossett: 'he used this true fact as a weapon'

Is there such a thing as a false fact then?

Trapped

Chris, considering the measure in question affects 80,000 people nationwide, and hits them disproportionately hard, I don't think it would have been hard to have put a clause in saying "Those on ESA or IB are exempt from this measure". I mean, if you're going to target the workshy, then pick the right bloody target to go after.

Keith

"he's not allowed to have his own flat despite being actually disabled."

Trapped - you don't make much sense. By what process of logic does the fact of being disabled entitle a man to his own flat? The disabled are no more deserving than anyone else.

Fergus Pickering

Keith, I would have thought yes, that it did. It is part of a government's duty to mitigate the misfortunes of its citizens. Trapped, have you told us everything germane in the case of your friend? There isn't anything you have left out? On the face of it, it seems most unfair.

Barbara

WE also have the question of child benefit, which I approve of. However, I do think mothers should still have it, with reservations. It should be paid to British citizens only, and paid to three children maximum. Those that are foreigners and clamining here should reclaim in their own country. We cannot afford to fund all and sundry, and making choices for our own is important. Some women have children to get more money, others don't, but are well off, limiting the numbers would make a level playing field for all taxpayers. It has to come, the country cannot aford universal payments any longer, half a loaf is better than none.

Trapped

The disabled and vulnerable are unable to improve their lot in life, or at least the vast bulk of them are, and many have conditions that would render putting them in shared accomodation at best highly inconvenient and at worst an impossibility. What would YOUR solution be?

Trapped

No. Nothing omitted. I've reviewed his case as a favour, this is one of those situations where a loophole of the worst kind has managed to sneak it's way into legislation and the consequences were not thought out. His only recourse is DHP as he's not, nor does he consider himself so ill as to require an overnight carer. His MP, GP and Landlord (who has made a point of charging significantly below the LHA rate as he's not the bad sort) have all come together to support him but ultimately it will rely on the good will of the council, if they turn around and say no, he's screwed, and the shared room rate they're asking him to survive on is laughable. Even where he lives, £40 a week for a room is optimistic to say the least.

Erica Blair

Thanks to all the Tory scum who have proved my point for me.

Trapped

Just to be clear Erica, there's a lot the Conservatives are doing in the big picture sense that should be applauded. Universal credit is - if it goes through as intended and no nasties are slipped in the back door - long overdue. I even agree with Barbara on the point of limiting child benefit to three children. Personally I'd limit it to two at full rate, with 50% being paid on the third. There's a lot of policy, like or not, that the so called 'right wing' is correct on.

However, being correct is not an excuse to look for ways to pull the rug out from under those who genuinely don't deserve that, and there's unfairness usually tucked away in what is called secondary legislation. That's where both chancellors, left AND right wing tend to drop their lovely little presents for the poor sods at the bottom of the ladder.

Fergus Pickering

Tory scum, Labour louts, ah, back to reasoned debate, sweet Erica.

Major Plonquer 1

I am one of the people whom Simon Hughes is supporting and I have to say I stand behind him 100%. In fact, I was so furious when I heard about the benefits cap that I threw my Martini across the lawn.

Hexhamgeezer

Erica Blair 15th, 11:55pm

Less of the Tory if you dont mind.