"Benefit cuts: Monday will be the day that defines this government..."

You are aware these cuts have been made across the board? It's not just the welfare budget that's being reduced. If you want to get angry, can you get angry at the people who have ring fenced Health spending and the International aid budget.

Personally I find it atrocious the way they are pretending to have ring fenced Health whilst at the same time imposing massive backdoor cuts on the NHS via impossibly demanding 'efficiency savings' - newspeak for reductions in budget.

Personally I find it atrocious the way they are pretending to have ring fenced Health whilst at the same time imposing massive backdoor cuts on the NHS via impossibly demanding 'efficiency savings' - newspeak for reductions in budget.

International 'aid' is mainly spent with UK companies, a lot of it is tied to British contracts and procurement.

Personally I find it atrocious the way they are pretending to have ring fenced Health whilst at the same time imposing massive backdoor cuts on the NHS via impossibly demanding 'efficiency savings' - newspeak for reductions in budget.

International 'aid' is mainly spent with UK companies, a lot of it is tied to British contracts and procurement.

Heaven's forbid the taxpayer gets some more value for it's money!
The NHS is getting the same amount of money as it's always had. It will simply have to provide more service with that money. It's not really that hard of a concept to comprehend.

Lowering the price of fuel significantly will lower the price of most goods- as they all have the price of the fuel used to transport them in their price

Reducing NI for employers would help stop an increase in unemployment/reduction in jobs

You do realise the main obstacle to raising the NMW is that it would lead to less people being hired/ people being hired for less hours both of which would increase the welfare bill

Both my parents work quite high up in the NHS so they know what's really going on. Although you are correct in saying they are trying to make these backdoor cuts, the reason they deny it is because the government would love to cut loads to the NHS but they can't because it would be absolute political suicide due to our 'often' misplaced romanticism of the institution. The short term spending is ringfenced that's a fact, however they are paving the way for longer-term savings through the backdoor privatisation.

EDIT: And btw, the NHS is a complete and utter mess if you were able to see it from the inside not how its made to seem through the political propaganda. Its in no parties interest to criticise the NHS but the inefficiences are huge and the quality of nurses etc.. decreasing because they are paid awful salaries so are increasingly coming through with worse qualifications and worse standards many of them from outside the EU. The ones who do work really hard get no benefit from it as performance targets were chucked out the window by Labour and there really is no incentive to improve quality of care.

The issue with all major countries is that medical bills continue to rise inexorably with new treatments, modern drugs, discovery of ever more conditions and much greater longevity. There should be an open public debate about the best way to handle all that and (perhaps) medical committees to triage the care (and for this to be acknowledged - it happens semi-clandestinely at present via various methods), but the government prefers to strike a pose of ring-fencing, that's my beef. They should man up and admit that there are big cuts needed against demand and that the demands are infeasible through the current tax system, which permits corporations and the wealthy to pay zero effective tax rates.

That's pretty impessive how you've managed to somehow try and spin efficiency drives in a ringfenced budget into backdoor cuts and attacking the rich.
What's your take on the pesonal allowance being raised to £10k? Let me guess, more proof that the Tories are planning on a mass cull of working class children to fund an invasion of Iran?

Not "attacking the rich", attacking the laissez-faire tax system that gives corporations and very rich people the right to make paying tax optional.

You realise the system has been that way for ages? Even during Labour? And that the Coalition is directing more resources than ever to tackling tax evasion?

You realise the system has been that way for ages? Even during Labour?

So, can we not afford to pay people benefits; but can give higher earners a tax cut?

And now it's been announced that £10m - yes £10m of our money - will be spent on some woman's funeral.

This is quite simply not happening on my watch. **** the government make me want to tear myself limb from limb.

And now it's been announced that £10m - yes £10m of our money - will be spent on some woman's funeral.

This is quite simply not happening on my watch. **** the government make me want to tear myself limb from limb.

There will be protests in London, apparently Trafalgar square shall be the focal point. Go along if you feel so strongly.

Ironically the bigger the protests the more it will cost.

Quite. Which is why I might as well just curl up, die and then get my family to get the government to pay for my funeral. Because I've no less right to that money being spent than her.

Both my parents work quite high up in the NHS so they know what's really going on. Although you are correct in saying they are trying to make these backdoor cuts, the reason they deny it is because the government would love to cut loads to the NHS but they can't because it would be absolute political suicide due to our 'often' misplaced romanticism of the institution. The short term spending is ringfenced that's a fact, however they are paving the way for longer-term savings through the backdoor privatisation.

EDIT: And btw, the NHS is a complete and utter mess if you were able to see it from the inside not how its made to seem through the political propaganda. Its in no parties interest to criticise the NHS but the inefficiences are huge and the quality of nurses etc.. decreasing because they are paid awful salaries so are increasingly coming through with worse qualifications and worse standards many of them from outside the EU. The ones who do work really hard get no benefit from it as performance targets were chucked out the window by Labour and there really is no incentive to improve quality of care.