Pensioner Poverty | Winter payment cuts | Britain in winter | TV Eye | 1985

[@raymondmcdonald355]

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[@ivecommentedonyoutube7604]

UK is not a place that cares about its population. Its care is for the interests of shareholders

[@ktsmells]

And the shares that politicians and their families hold in particular.

[@willismichaels9037]

Lol - young people are tax slaves for the old and lazy.

[@chrism1102]

@@ivecommentedonyoutube7604 US too. As evidenced by the United Healthcare incident. It's tragic but people don't even seem to care because they all have horror stories with that company.

[@stephenspence-d9q]

Absolutely true.

[@roppa789]

You talk bollocks mate.

[@Bewareofthedog69]

More of the same nearly 40 years on.. ..shame on the UK government

[@michaelwhite8031]

What this country offers the old is shameful 😢

[@stephenspence-d9q]

It is not a good country to grow old in.

[@frothe42]

What the UK does to help the poor is criminal! Having a coin meter for electric is absolutely criminal!

[@jasonayres]

Government: We know you're old and cold, but we do need that 'TV license' payment, you know. Bizarre.

[@Mkbshg8]

It's only bizarre when you don't think about it. What I mean is that the whole system is designed to shave off bits and bobs to create the best profits for the ones up top and keep the hamsters running on the wheel. At least the wheel will keep me warm, the poor, downtrodden hamsters think.

[@trytellingthetruth.2068]

Fast forward to winter 2024, and the rolls are reversed. Scotland ensures all pensioners recieve winter fuel payments whilst those in the rest of the country have there's removed. Labour are simply following on from Thatcher's Tories.

[@po12chris]

It doesn’t matter who’s in power, the civil service sets the agenda and the politicians we vote in are there to sell it to us. Absolutely none of them Tory, Labour, Reform or anyone in parliament are capable of what they claim to do. They divide us, fill us with hate for each other because it makes the job easier for them

[@andybray9791]

Relevant to today.

[@mia56]

It is true people living up north of England and Scotland is much colder when the labour get voted out and they will in few years , I hope the new government will then give at least £100 more to those living up north on top of cold weather payment .

[@SeenThisDoneThat]

According to the 'This is Money' inflation calculator - £15 in 1985 is the equivalent of £62.97 today and Mrs Wallace's bill was PER WEEK. According to Ofgem the average electricity bill IN 2024 is approx £73 per MONTH. 40 years on and those on the lowest incomes are still being fleeced by dodgy meters/pay as you go money burners.

[@myoldvhstapes]

AND she was renting a television for 210 pounds a year!

[@Mkbshg8]

Ahh the old 50p in the metre (meter?) days! I remember our's was always on the fiddle as a kid in Thatcher's Britain.

[@myoldvhstapes]

In British English, metre is the unit of measurement and meter is the device. As an American, I thought I had learned all of the spelling differences, but I was unaware of this one until recently when I saw it explained in the comments of a similar video. (I previously thought "metre" was used for both meanings.)

[@cyberGEK]

@@myoldvhstapesMe too, and I’m an American who lived in England for 4 years as a teenager and went to a local secondary school! 😄

[@chrism1102]

15 quid a week is ridiculous! I paid about $20 a month back in 85.

[@phubblewubbphubblewubb]

what was the sterling/dollar exchange rate then?

[@chrism1102]

@phubblewubbphubblewubb $1.30=1 GBP

[@Nick-io9uk]

@@phubblewubbphubblewubb Not much more than a dollar to the pound. 1985 was the year the pound was weaker than now, even. I think a lot of millennials & zoomers get pissed off about how the boomers got 'cheap housing' in the 70s 80s and 90s, but that is why housing was cheap...all the other costs swallowed up peoples income. Food more expensive, clothes, durable goods...many had to rent TV & white goods, so not much left to spend on housing...ergo, housing was cheap. Swings & roundabouts, i guess. I think in the future as the cost of energy & food rises once more, so housing costs will naturally fall to accommodate that.

[@JJONNYREPP]

Pensioner Poverty | Winter payment cuts | Britain in winter | TV Eye | 1985 0810am 7.12.24 i recall 50p meters. and rushing to news agents to get some change from a lady godiver to feed the meter... and i think it a bloody liberty that these utility guys tell you to wear a coat and sweater etc in your own home - to keep warm.

[@mogznwaz]

A coat no but a jumper yes. The idea you should be able to whack the heating up and parade about in shorts and tshirt in the winter - and taxpayers subsidise it - is sheer entitlement. But an old lady having to sit round a one bar heater in coat and blankets is pretty obscene. If that were my nan I’d be paying her bill for her!!!

[@SedriqMiers]

Labour bailed out the banks in 2008 and ushered in an era of ruinous austerity that has gone from strength to strength ruining the middle classes and relegating them to the working poor. To add insult to injury they compounded our miseries and privations by their collective reaction to the conflict in Eastern Europe. EU states and others must be held accountable for crimes against humanity for the widespread famine and poverty as a direct consequence of their reckless and irresponsible decisions to namely that fait accompli our engagement in Ukraine has exacerbated the 'austerity era policies' evolved into the 'credit crunch' then it metastasized into the present day 'cost of living crisis' in the UK and Europe. No amount of foodbanks can remedy. Ukraine conflict and these a 'net zero' 'carbon neutral' state approved dogma incorporated into policies of every consecutive government has impoverished western living standards bringing us below that of a bumpkin living in the most remotest part of modern day communist China. Meanwhile people living in their respective politburo EU member states are in-work poverty and experiencing fuel and food insecurity our elected representatives response is to send more tax payer's money and arms to Ukraine. Greater EU membership and expansionism has resulted in a reboot of the cold war, profiteering arms manufacturers, oil industry, exorbitant rise in the cost of living, increasing poverty, destitution and crime with animosity amongst all groups in society with the most vulnerable the elderly being adversely affected.

[@JJONNYREPP]

@@mogznwaz Comments on ‘Pensioner Poverty | Winter payment cuts | Britain in winter | TV Eye | 1985’ 1237pm 7.12.24 hypothetically speaking i could be your nan, say... and feel my bills are being taken care of. this month at least i'm up to speed.. and ahahah LoL.. but.. no, sorry....cobblers!! if you have a home it should be a given that you can sit within it without having to budget for a certain period when you have said heating on.... people freezing to death in their own homes? c'mon.. i am having to budget for a certain period when i can switch radiators on... otherwise come end of the month i am going several days without. in their ideal little world everyone is sat at home due to a few ingrates demanding they be as themselves - house bound freaks without stimulation whatsoever...

[@AD-mh4zy]

It's the government that's saying that yourself and companies that are going without! Tory's are not really to bright

[@JJONNYREPP]

@@AD-mh4zy Comments on ‘Pensioner Poverty | Winter payment cuts | Britain in winter | TV Eye | 1985’ 1847pm 7.12.24 ?????? companies going without....without what?

[@wmr9019]

40 years later nothing changes😢

[@globaltraveller]

Thatcher did really represent the worst of us. Scottish hydrocarbon revenues kept her government afloat in the 1980s and the UK from outright bankruptcy. The way these pensioners were treated is deplorable.

[@tedoneilclark4710]

That bill of £128.29 would now be £388.37 in todays money 😮

[@safirahmed]

The weekly electricity bill in the 1985 video would cost around £2,361 per year in November 2024.

[@rachel.mcgowan]

Probably about right if you're electric-only and in poorly insulated housing. But brutal to pay £15 per week on the much lower pensions of the time this was made.

[@Sweetie8387]

Wow that’s nuts!

[@safirahmed]

The Bank of England inflation calculator online was used to get the information.

[@roppa789]

The elderly had a 2 or 3% cut when the £200/300 winter fuel payment was stopped. For the majority of pensioners it’s no big deal - they are living comfortably anyway. The very poorest can claim lots of benefits and if they’re missing out by not claiming then it’s their or their families faults as there has always been information out there on how to claim those benefits and if they have chosen not to claim for some reason then that’s on them. However there are some pensioners that exist just above the cut off mark that the cutting will effect and if it’s a harsh winter lives may be at risk but again they have all year to sort their finances and living conditions to mitigate the few weeks of really low temperatures. Could the government do more? Yes, but only if we, society, stop carping on about how much tax we pay and start accepting we need to give more. The NHS,the elderly and their care, transport, councils etc etc are all in need after 14 years of Tory cuts. Start being honest and face the reality of the situation.

[@princebuster93]

@roppa, The Government is not god, that is the problem in a nutshell. To many trusting in social engineering programs and deceptive men, instead of trusting in Jesus Christ who will meet all their needs, physically, mentally and spiritually, I know, God is amazing. 🙏🇬🇧🙂

[@caravanstuff2827]

2024..in my country everyone gets a winter energy payment , even the middle class (it's not means tested).. woo betide the government that tries to take it away , they'll be out on their ass at the next election!!.❤️🇳🇿

[@rachel.mcgowan]

The same threat is being made here in the UK : give us our free money we don't need or we'll kick you out of office! Meanwhile there's people in genuine poverty who aren't getting by. Many of whom are working. I wonder why I still bother to vote, in this selfish country. But I will anyway.

[@kona702]

Imagine having to put money in a meter to turn on your heat every time 😢

[@davidmathews4524]

A NIGHTMARE

[@CharleneMathews-jd8wt]

Nothing changes in this world

[@ThomasBoyd-t7g]

Awesome. They forgot to mention it Rachel Reeves Labour government England London October 2024. UK population does care about it population. They had 209 Labour MP's England London Britain politically in 1985. 397 conservative party MP's. Get North sea oil revenues. SNP 2 seats in 1985.

[@embroidnurse]

TV 😮

[@ThomasBoyd-r6c]

Electricity and gas be cheaper since state run 1985 England London by British government yes Thomas. Awesome thanks. Nothing changes yet even 2024 Labour government. It worse politically for England London and Scotland.

[@JJONNYREPP]

Pensioner Poverty | Winter payment cuts | Britain in winter | TV Eye | 1985 0807am 7.12.24 and why isn't it deemed a bunch of crud if young adults are poor?

[@DistinguishedMenofCulture]

😂😂 keep voting labour 😂😂

[@ThomasBoyd-t7g]

Better off Scotland under Margaret Thatcher conservative government in1985 Politically Thomas. Awesome fond memories.

[@frothe42]

The elderly keep voting Tory, so I have no empathy for them. They need to vote third-party, for progressive parties.

[@MichaelGrylsk-sd5ow]

we got t o help our elderly then and now! does a meter guy c ollect the coins

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

Why not just un-meter your home?? Isn't there a common law entitlement to electricity which is infinite in its production from the æther?? Paying continuously for a completely free resource is possibly one of the biggest swindles ever effected upon people - particularly those in a difficult place in their lives.

[@AlexHitchins]

No

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

@AlexHitchins Well how *_can't_* there be...? Rods can be planted in earth to generate the power can't they?? They act as batteries which can then be converted into electricity which can be wired in to the mains supply. What's preventing this from being able to happen?

[@user-os7pm7fj7d]

​@@letsdiscussitoversometea8479 you are absolutely delusional, and you have no idea how energy is generated.

[@Fathervinyard]

@@AlexHitchinsshut up mug

[@cyberGEK]

@@letsdiscussitoversometea8479Sorry, this is not how electricity is generated, nor would it work. This is some pseudoscience perpetual motion kind of nonsense you are spewing! I really hope you’re just being a jester!

[@WillScarlet1991]

1:48 - £15 a week on food?? In today's money (2024), that'd be approx. £45. No offense, but why does she (and her husband) need to spend that amount? Even today that's a lot for 2 people.

[@jeannemillsom9300]

Really? what on earth do you eat for that?

[@ktsmells]

Budget stores weren't really a thing back then. There were budget items, but nothing like what is offered by Aldi or Lidl today.

[@WillScarlet1991]

@@ktsmells Good point.

[@WillScarlet1991]

@@jeannemillsom9300 I think £45 a week on food is more than enough for 2 people.

[@AD-mh4zy]

That'll be toiletries and maybe a treat. More than likely a whole shop

[@illegalsmirf]

See? It’s always been a cold miserable horrible country

[@davidmathews4524]

I totally agree with that It's cheaper to leave for a warmer country like Spain 🇪🇸