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GBP Sinking.

Discussion in 'Money Matters' started by Jim, Sep 28, 2022.

  1. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Actually I will, 1945-50 and 1950-51 the Attlee Labour administration which gave us proper state pensions, the welfare state and the NHS.
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  2. aposhark
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    aposhark Well-Known Member Lifetime Member

    This is why it should be in the politics section, Jim.
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  3. aposhark
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    aposhark Well-Known Member Lifetime Member

    Jim @oss

    The electorate voted for Brexit and the electorate have not voted for a labour government since 2005.

    It is democracy.

    I no longer like the conservatives since the "parties" but Labour are still without good leadership.
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2022
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  4. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    Indeed, I looked for Steve last week outside Parliament, asked a few coppers his whereabouts but he is long gone, I wonder his job now after all that wasted time?
  5. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I knew you were upset about me drawing a connection to BREXIT Mike, yeah the UK voted for it and yeah it was a democratic vote.

    But six years after that vote everyone is entitled to analyse and speak on the outcome, the world does not stop the moment the voting is over, if I vote for the lib dems and they don't win it does not mean I have to zip my mouth for the next 5 years or until the next election, I've said this before, people need to continue to speak out for what they believe, brexit voters got what they wanted the rest of us didn't.

    I'm still trashing Thatcher for the way she ruined this country for gods sake.

    The point I was making is that the real motive behind the whole brexit movement, the thing that attracted the more extreme tory politicians and their backers was deregulation, deregulation from the imagined stifling stranglehold of EU regulation.

    Regulations like the working time directive, the right to equal pay, paid annual leave, maternity leave rights.

    And what do you see last week naked right there right out in front, you have Truss and Kwartang openly attacking the welfare state saying it is too big and needs to be cut down, one tory was openly saying people get too much time off that there is no natural right to holidays, one of their spokespeople stating that a new age of austerity was needed, all this at the exact same time they are handing huge amounts of money to the rich on top of the huge amounts of money Johnson already handed to the rich.

    The tories see absolutely no problem with corporate welfare, they are perfectly happy to bail out the banks and the money men but they are never happy to bail out you or me. Oddly while Johnson made a total hash of Covid I'll grant that they did the right thing with the furlough scheme for once, the way they magically created the money for that was far less damaging than what just happened last week because everyone round the world was having to do the same, last week they came within moments of decimating the UK pensions industry and actually forced the hand of the Bank of England to step in directly buying up government bonds.

    So right now the Sterling crisis has calmed down a bit after all we haven't actually got the tax cuts yet, but for me yeah my pension lost £23,000 in the last 14 days, I saved £2500 into it this month last Monday that was completely gone by Wednesday :D down more than £11,000 last week alone indeed £6000 down just on Friday :D

    And I'm not the only one, this is happening to all the pension funds, when certain indices move pension funds are obliged to sell off assests the rules say they have to, that's why the BoE had to step in, so you see the rich get their dramatic tax cuts, their businesses get tax cuts and we the voters landed with the bill, and they will do that by taking an axe to your rights and your benefits and the NHS, inflation is barely noticed by the rich their £500 restaurant meal will still get paid for even if it costs £550 they hardly notice the impact of inflation.

    The government we have now is the one that really wanted brexit the one that openly wants the power that brexit gave them to grind you and me and every ordinary decent working person in this country into the dirt, they are the elite, they are the actual elite and they used faux populism to achieve their ends.

    On a personal note I actually wanted pension unit prices lower just now I felt they were overvalued, in March 2020 sixty grand was wiped off my pension but all of that came back as the pandemic progressed, this time it's different it could take a decade for valuations to come back and they have not hit bottom yet, that means actual loss of value and an actual material impact on my retirement when it eventually comes, I think I will have to work at least an extra year now maybe two and I will be less fit to enjoy it when I finally get to rest.

    And if this lot are still in power for the next two years then fear for the value of your state pension and your NHS entitlements.

    Sterling crisis on hold till Monday lets see what happens next.
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2022
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  6. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    Stirling has bounced back but needs to go higher, at least it never affected my pension last month :like:
    1.00 British Pound =

    65.592078 Philippine Pesos
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  7. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    It's at 66.12 just now, I converted £1000 the other month at 67.3 ish for spending money at Christmas it's in my wise account but I still have one more months support for the kids plus a couple of weeks so still exposed to FX rates for a short while.
  8. aposhark
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    aposhark Well-Known Member Lifetime Member

    My money is disappearing.
    I wish I was working again.
    No income until the DVLA say I can drive HGV's again. :(
  9. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    no sick pay--or incapacity benefit ?
  10. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I feel for you Mike, your health has put you in a terrible position financially, it's something that scares me even now, the idea of a prolonged sickness.
  11. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I think Mike is effectively a self employed contractor, not sure.
  12. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    And Jim this is going to affect you State pension triple lock may be scrapped for ‘new system’ as Truss treads ‘tightrope’ | Personal Finance | Finance | Express.co.uk AND Fury at threat to axe state pension triple lock to fund tax cuts for rich - ‘Disgusting’ | Personal Finance | Finance | Express.co.uk

    In post #7 on this thread I said they would use the government borrowing costs to break the triple lock for pensions and here we have them talking openly about suspending the triple lock for another year, they already suspended it this year when actual inflation ended up way more than the amount they increased pensions, and April's increase should be related to the inflation rate around now, I bet it doesn't happen, 10% increase in April nae chance.

    And all to pay for tax cuts, the only good thing about this is they are digging their own graves, they would not exist were it not for the gray vote in the UK.
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  13. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    I won't be voting for the Tories next time that's for sure. I can't afford to live here in the Philippines on my state pension as it is. Inflation is getting worse here, my wife thinks my moneys grown on trees. That's why I'm worried
    about health care only needs an emergency for the wife and I and the savings would disappear.
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  14. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Yeah I know about the inflation over there, I need to revise my own immediate plans as I know I need to increase what I send to the kids, last year I increased what I send by 1000 peso a week from 7000 a week to 8000 peso but I know it is not enough, I pay all the major monthly bills separately from that, rent is 10,000, Meralco about 8000, cable is 550 and PLDT 1850, they need to buy gas from the main allowance/support money, they are also using my Netflix account which is paid for in the UK but I don't use it here anymore.

    Kids are probably going to need me to increase what I send to about 10,000 a week, they have more and more expenses as they get older especially for school and now for James for transport as school is far away.

    And like you I am constantly worried about healthcare emergencies over there, although given that the kids are citizens things are a bit better for them now in terms of healthcare.

    I can see me having to work an extra two years to acheive all my plans, my landlord wants me out of where I am in the UK as he wants to renovate the last 3 flats in the building, he's started on one downstairs and mine is next, 15 years I've been in this flat, 13 of them in my own name, always paid the rent a fortnight early never missed it once. The net result is that all my pension plans are up in the air and I'm probably going to have to switch from saving into my pension to doing direct cash savings but that will cost me two years of my life two years of my retirement, I'll be 68 when I retire.

    Pensions in the UK need to rise by inflation next year the triple lock needs to be stay, all of us who have a life in the Philippines are exposed to exchange rate risk and the recent actions of this government have simulataneously screwed the exchange rate, investment returns and basic income for pensioners, none of which had to happen and all of which is down to the hubris of a new party leader.
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  15. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

  16. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    Your rent is very low, but the electric bill is high. My electric bill is around 2500 depends how many visitors stay but we don't have air-con we keep the windows open all the time.
    At the moment we have to upgrade our water from the deep well, it's got iron sediment and It is staining our toilets and sinks.
    Hope Truss does the right thing and give us back the triple lock, not holding my breath.
  17. John Surrey
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    John Surrey Well-Known Member

    Wish you were!

    I thought I was only here for a few years, I really wonder whether I can afford to take us all back now.

    My answer would be to set a ceiling for wealth... £5million say. Then forget all that bollox they teach you about THE BOSS should be paid 1000's x more because he's a "risk taker" or "entrepreneur" and set a fixed wage ratio that is fair to all - wage ratio in UK is disgusting.

    Finally, prepare the guillotine for the scumbags who refuse to share their wealth with the masses or comply with the wage ratio :D
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  18. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    If my Philippine rent was higher I would not be able to cope, the condition of the house does not warrant a higher rent, it's aging and needs a lot of work, I really like the place but if offered the chance I would never buy it at least not at the price that the owner would probably want.

    Electric is high because the kids use aircon a lot at night and when they are doing their school from home, just a month away from them being back at school full time so that might save a bit of money.

    When I was over back in May I got a small .5hp aircon for Janna's room before that electric had been creeping up as a cost to about 7000 last year at this time It was occasionally as low as 4300.

    I think Truss and the tories are going to continue to make really bad decisions, and I can see a general election in the near future.
  19. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    i agree about a general election. My theory is whichever party is in power--when they see the writing on the wall--they try to engineer an election--to LOSE--so the incoming part get to be blamed for all the bad news coming. A prime example was labour--under Blair--who was a hugely popular figure with the voters. Poor old Gordon stood no chance. Same with Kinnock.
  20. walesrob
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    walesrob Administrator Staff Member

    Labour still need that wow factor, they haven’t got it. Politics in this country is stuck in a quagmire and it’s all rather depressing. None of them can be relied upon.

    But let’s pause for a moment: the amount of crap we’ve endured in the last few years is unprecedented. Any governing party will probably have got it wrong along the way. Decisions were made in reaction to events that have probably never been made in history. The country muddled through considering the amount of brown stuff hitting the fan.

    At the grand old age of 54, I’ve come to realise you’ll never get a competent government. The best I’ve seen so far is the Labour administration 97 - 10. What we are seeing now is a Tory party in meltdown but trying to act like a government. It’s a shambles and why isn’t there a new political force out there? The time is ripe. There’s gotta be an alternative to blue or red.

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