Quote ="Bigpev"Scanners from your reply you don't actually know what the Tories did, I will take a few of your points, The utilities, now making massive profits due to overcharging, if still in government hands there could be an OAP rate instead of giving a cold weather payment which goes straight into the shareholders pockets. Two years ago Norway gifted British Gas 6 months supply free of charge because they couldn't store it, this saving was never past on, if there is a raise in the wholesale price of gas the raise comes in normally 3 months after because we are told thats how far in advance the gas is purchased, when there is a cut in WP the cuts can take upto a year to be given to the consumer again the gas people say they buy a year in advance.
Inflation 1982 under thatcher 22%
My Mortgage was affordable but I signed for it at 7.5%
The Buses I have First Bus weekly pass £15.50
Manchester East and South have a couple of companies weekly pass £8.00
I worked for the Employment Service under the Tories, the Back to work teams were introduced then, only they were actually the back to bed teams with hundreds of thousands of claimants moved off unemployment benefit to sickness and other benefits, and the Tories used the claimant count, Labour don't use that because it generally produces a figure about 30% less than actual unemployed, isn't the current scheme to move people of sickness/incapacity benefit?
Direct payment meant that the landlord did not have to go round to collect the rent a real hassle as I know to my cost, so if the money is paid direct to the landlord they don't care who they have in, remember all the housing adverts DHSS welcome because it meant the landlord got paid for little effort and once you get the problem family in the whole street starts to lose value, ask the people of Seedley and Langworthy about it, and the landlords can pick up other properties below market value and stick another family in, money for old rope. Labour have now introduced the Landlord Licence Scheme as well to ensure that properties are properly maintained.
I am now bored Scanners you vote Tory'"
Inflation under Thatcher never hit 22%. If you know your stats you will see that in the four years 1974 to 1977 inflation was higher in that period than at any time since WW1, peaking as it did at 24%.
In 1979 as Thatcher took over it was at 13%. It stood at 3% in 1997.
If you believe that Labour hasn't shifted millions off the headline unemployment figure and changed which benefits are included in unemployment calculations, then you are in denial.
You seem to be forgetting that the majority of housing in Salford is social housing provided by the state, how are private landlords responsible for the social housing slums in Salford or elsewhere in the country?
If payment wasn't pai direct, the tenants would spend the money themselves and end up in arrears then be out on the street..............I see adverts for private rented housing all the time and an awful lot say no DSS.
