PARLIAMENT AND STATE PENSION

The British State Pension is far too low, we all know that. It needs to increase and be put back to anyone aged 60.

If the Government put pensions up to £380 a week, it should lift thousands out of deprivation and give our senior folk more spending power and help boost the economy. However, parliament said that lowering the pension age back to 60 years old was neither affordable nor fair to taxpayers and forthcoming generations.

As far as our Government are concerned, on average, people are living longer and they will raise the pension age in line with that life expectancy. However, not everyone lives as long as other people, this is just an expectancy, not a guarantee.

All these people worked and paid their National Insurance, yet are now having their pension delayed.

These people put their hard-earned money into a pension reserve, which I might add incurs interest – not your interest, but the government’s. What! You didn’t think it went under the floorboards of No 10, did you? No, it went into some kind of financial appropriation that incurred their interest, not you! But nobody does something for nothing.

In other words, our Government are fleecing (defrauding) you of your hard-earned money. Think about it! How many people paid their National Insurance but died before they even had an opportunity to appreciate it? Now add all that money up and see how much went into the coffers of the Government and MPs’ pockets.

Where was the media coverage for all of this? There was barely any media coverage, it was like a media blackout.

The UK State Pension is one of the lowest in the developed world and the Government needs to seriously consider how it would support those who rely upon it, especially those on Universal Credit!

They pay out millions to those on Universal Credit, which they will now carry on paying until they reach pension age. Wouldn’t it just make more sense to allow them to have their pension at 60, instead of forking out taxpayers’ money? Wouldn’t it make more sense?

And wouldn’t it make more sense to pay them more pension because numerous people end up having to claim Pension Credit, which is paid by the DWP? And it also means that people on Pension Credit get other things for free, which people on standard pensions don’t get, and are trying to survive on State Pension alone.

And what is a healthy life expectancy? We all know that as we reach a certain age our bodies don’t work as well as when we were younger. Things start to go awry with our bodies. It’s okay for people in Government, they have the best of the best where health care is concerned, although that doesn’t mean they won’t die before this healthy life expectancy. We are all human and we die, and what is a healthy life expectancy for some, certainly isn’t for others.

Poverty and inequality among pensioners are rising and existing financial aid doesn’t go far enough as the cost of living increases further, and our Government need to explore alternative ways to finance the pension scheme, and they need to look at methods other countries use to develop a more effective funding mechanism.

Prince Harry’s 24-Hour Flying Visit For Coronation

Prince Harry has reportedly scheduled a whistlestop visit for his father’s Coronation next weekend, planning to fly back to the US within two hours of the ceremony’s end.

The Duke of Sussex will see his father, King Charles III, crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday but will be jetting straight back to his LA home.

It’s understood the Duke will only be in the United Kingdom for about 24 hours as he plans to be back home for his son Archie’s fourth birthday, which overlaps with Saturday’s Coronation.

The ceremony to formally crown the King is set to start at 11 am and will last for about two hours. Harry will then be in the air two hours later at 3 pm.

The historic ceremony will be the first time Harry will be pictured with the Windsors since the funeral of his grandmother the late Queen, and the first time since berating the royals in his memoirs.

Regarding his short visit for the Coronation, a source told a newspaper outlet that Harry would be in and out of the United Kingdom in 24 hours.

Evidently, he will only be doing the Coronation service, and then he will be departing.

It was already reported earlier this month that the Prince would be going it alone at the Coronation, leaving his wife Megha with their children Archie and Lilibet.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the news some weeks ago in a statement, saying it was pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex would be at Westminster Abbey on May 6, but will go home to spend time with his son Archie for his birthday.

Following the earlier announcement over the royal couple’s attendance, a royal observer told a newspaper outlet that Charles would be pleased, but that the rest of the family would be relieved that Meghan wouldn’t be there as it would have been particularly uncomfortable for Kate.

There had been much tension within the palace over the Sussexes’ attendance. It was thought to have left royal officials unable to sign off arrangements for seating plans, transportation, and security, as the announcement came after the official RSVP date.

But Harry, who laid bare his troubled relationship with the Royal Family in his Netflix documentary and autobiography Spare, will now be witness to his father Charles and stepmother the Queen Consort’s crowning next month, and Harry’s attendance comes as coronation organisers admitted that they were stressed about the Prince’s plans on Saturday and that it was like trying to communicate with Mars.

Meghan clearly is remaining at home because it’s Archie’s birthday, and as a family, they wouldn’t want to miss that. It’s irrelevant that the public doesn’t want to see her there and of course, many of the Royal Family, but it is relevant that Harry and Meghan want to do what’s best for their children, and of course, being there for their child’s birthday is good parenting.

Of course, there are numerous people who miss their child’s birthday because of work duties. That doesn’t make them a bad parent, but Harry lost out on a lot when his mother Diana died and I don’t suppose he wants his children to lose out either, although I guess not seeing their Grandfather Charles, I suppose they are missing out, but Charles has the means to just hop on an aeroplane to go and see them if he actually wanted to.

The thing is, Harry is going to be at his father’s coronation even though he has no public responsibility in the United Kingdom, so evidently, he’s coming over to support his father as a good son should, and he’s also juggled to get back home to his sons birthday party, and well done Harry for prioritising.

An Official ‘Nuclear Submarine’ Royal Navy Document Was Found In A Wetherspoon’s Toilet Cubicle

Official documents about a £1.3 billion Royal Navy ‘nuclear submarine’ were reportedly discovered on the floor of a Wetherspoons toilet cubicle.

It’s understood that the files holding data about HMS Anson, dubbed by the Government as one of the most sophisticated underwater vessels ever built, were left in the toilets of The Furness Railway in Barrow, Cumbria.

A newspaper outlet claimed that the documents showed the inner workings of the submarine and were used by submariners learning how to isolate and depressurise elements of its system.

However, the Royal Navy has said the papers were generic resources and didn’t include any classified information.

A source told a newspaper outlet the documents didn’t contain data detailed about the submarine.

According to a newspaper outlet, the pub was packed when the files, marked ‘official sensitive’, were found on the floor of a cubicle.

A source told the outlet that it was quite a lively night. The pub was full of people from the docks, military and civilians. That they went to the toilet and the plans were laying on the floor of the cubicle with a lanyard, and anyone could have found them.

The Furness Railway is a short distance from a BAE systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, where the submarine has previously been pictured.

Named after Admiral George Anson, HMS Anson is the fifth of the new Astute-class attack submarines to join the Royal Navy fleet.

The vessels are capable of firing tomahawk missiles and are described as the ‘largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarine’ ever employed in the navy on its website.

Powered by a Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor, the boat can also operate for 25 years without refuelling.

When the submarine left Barrow-in-Furness for sea trials in Clyde in February, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that HMS Anson would play a vital role in defending the United Kingdom, providing a competitive edge for decades to come, and he was proud to see her make her journey up to her permanent home on the Clyde.

And that supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the United Kingdom, our Astute-Class submarines were a leading example of their commitment to defence manufacturing, continuing to boost British industry for decades to come.

A naval source said that these documents enable submariners and contractors to understand how systems interact. They don’t detail how they work, just that they exist.

But it’s no surprise to learn that Government officials have been handing around top secret papers in the toilets of Wetherspoons – probably trying to flog them for a pint of Stella. Or even more alarming, if something like that was left behind, was it left behind for a reason?

This Government have been the greatest menace to national security since WWII and you couldn’t make this up if you tried, it’s unbelievable that classified documents of this importance are allowed to be taken off base or out of a Ministry of Defence office.

This must have been a classified document and should have been graded as ‘restricted’, but what’s even more worrying is that it could have been some kind of espionage exchange gone bad, although it does note that they were generic documents, but who knows because the Royal Navy is clearly going to play down their importance.

People that operate in and around defence work all come under the Official Secrets Act no matter what – this could generate some humiliation, but then there’s an abundance of that within our Government anyhow.

Loni Willison, 39, Is Seen Looking For Food In A Dumpster In Los Angeles

Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson’s ex-wife Loni Willison has been spotted in Los Angeles foraging around in a dumpster in a quest for food.

The former glamorous swimsuit model has been living in homeless encampments in California for almost seven years.

She was recently spotted in Santa Monica looking dishevelled as she pushed along a shopping cart through the back streets.

Willison is best known for her role as Kira Michaels on the hit TV series Expose.

She was married to Baywatch actor Jeremy Jackson, but their stormy relationship ended in 2014 after Jackson allegedly tried to strangle Willison during a drunken brawl.

Since their parting, Willison has reportedly struggled with addiction and mental health problems. She took something of a downward turn and can frequently be seen roaming the streets, pushing an overflowing shopping cart, and searching through dumpsters in search of food.

The images, acquired exclusively by a newspaper outlet, are a stark difference from Willison’s once glamorous life.

Only eight years ago, she was living the Hollywood dream, modelling and appearing on the red carpet at glittering occasions alongside TV hunk Jeremy Jackson, whom she married in 2012, but after developing a drug habit, she’s fallen on tough times and has been sleeping rough for the last six years in Venice, where the homelessness problem has reached a crisis point in current years.

Willison was seen on the streets for the first time in two years in October 2020, having been homeless since about 2016.

She’s reportedly suffered from an addiction to crystal meth and various mental health problems.

Soon after she was discovered she told a newspaper outlet that she was doing just fine and had not had any contact with Jackson in recent years.

She said that she hadn’t spoken to Jeremy and that she didn’t want to speak to her friends and that she was just doing fine and that she didn’t want anyone to help her.

Loni was married to Jeremy from 2012 until their tumultuous divorce in 2014. She once accused the actor of attempting to strangle her in a fierce rage.

She insisted that she could live on her own and that she had everything she needed right there in Venice due to the area’s affluent nature.

She said that she hasn’t got a cell phone, but that she does have food and a place to sleep and that she gets money here and there and there’s food in the bins and near the stores.

However, we shouldn’t be shaming this woman, we should just let her be because you just never know what’s around the corner, and some homeless people do manage to crawl out of the abyss, and one thing is extremely transparent, she’s a survivor.

But it looks like the paparazzi are making money and newspaper outlets are buying the pictures to humiliate her. Did they at least buy her a meal and a drink after exploiting her without her consent?

Remember every homeless person had a normal life at one point! And in reality, every person is just one paycheck away from being homeless, and people should remember that.

Tons of people battle addiction for years and it’s heartache all around, but they will get clean either when they’ve had enough or die, and there’s nothing anyone can do about that, but hopefully she will have the strength to pull herself out of her situation.

It’s Meghan’s Time To Shine!

Meghan Markle has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME), the talent agency that boasts clients like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, tennis superstar Serena Williams, and a litany of other A-Listers.

According to a recent report from Variety, three years after she and her husband Prince Harry took to step back from their duties as British senior royals, the mother to Archie and Lilibet is diving headfirst back into the entertainment industry.

Acting won’t be an area of focus, Variety reports, despite her history on screen. Prior to her marriage, Meghan Markle starred as Rachel Zane on the popular USA Network series ‘Suits’ and appeared in several Hallmark movies.

According to the outlet, Meghan Markle will work with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel agent Brad Slater, and agent Jill Smoller.

WME will represent Archewell, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s content creation label, and work with the Duchess on film and television production, brand and partnerships, and overall business building.

A newspaper outlet reached out to WME to independently corroborate the news but didn’t obtain a reply by the time of publication.

In her Variety cover shoot in 2022, Meghan Markle said she wasn’t considering a return to acting in the near future.

Meghan Markle said that she was done, but that she would never say never, but that her intention is to absolutely not.

The Duchess did signal that she was interested in doubling down on Archewell and the stories and productions the company takes on.

Meghan Markle said that so much of how her husband sees things is through their love story, and that was what she thought people around the world connected to, especially with their wedding, and that people love love, and that she was not excluded in that sentiment.

She continued that for scripted, they want to think about how they can evolve from that same space and do something fun, and that it doesn’t always have to be so serious, like a good rom-com, and that don’t we miss them. She said that she misses them so much.

Since starting the company, Archewell has produced two docuseries, one of which is Netflix’s ‘Harry & Meghan.’

The Sussexes are presently engaged in a deal with Netflix still.

The news of Meghan Markle signing with WME comes just days after the pair was spotted in public at the Los Angeles Lakers game versus the Sacramento Kings.

Harry and Meghan just wanted privacy, a normal life to raise their children, yet they moved near Hollywood and got an agent. Mind you, I guess that’s as normal as it gets for these two, and privacy means being in control of your private life, not necessarily in seclusion.

However, had Meghan Markle not married into the Royal Family, very few would have even realised who she was.

From Today, Households Will Receive £301 As Part Of The Cost Of Living Payment For 2023

More than eight million households across the UK will welcome the latest £301 cost of living support payment from the Government from today.

It’s the first of three payments, totalling up to £900 for people who are on certain means-tested benefits.

Households eligible for the cost of living payments include people receiving Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit.

The amount of benefits you receive won’t count against you, even if you only receive £1, you will receive this payment.

These payments won’t be taxed, won’t count towards the benefit cap, and won’t have any impact on existing benefit awards.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said that this latest additional payment would be welcomed by millions of families, as would further payments expected over the next year.

He said that they have always supported the most vulnerable to growing costs, including through record benefits and national living wage increases as well as those exceptional Cost of Living Payments responding to the global pressures they’re facing.

He said that they would continue to deliver on their five priorities, including halving inflation, as this would relieve pressure on households presently struggling with household bills and growing costs.

This is the first of up to three payments for those eligible on means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit and tax credits, totalling £900 through 2023/24.

In a similar fashion to how payments were made in 2022, those claiming Tax Credits will receive their cost of living payment slightly later than those claiming Universal Credi or other benefits.

According to a newspaper outlet, households receiving Tax Credits will receive their first payment between 2 and 9 May.

The payment will be made automatically by HMRC to those households who received a payment of Tax Credits between 26 January to 25 February 2023.

These will be accompanied by a £150 payment for people on eligible disability benefits this summer, and a £300 payment on top of Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners at the end of 2023.

The second of three instalments for the cost of living payments is due in the autumn of 2023.

The DWP will send payments automatically and directly to recipients’ bank accounts, with a reference to their National Insurance number followed by ‘DWP COL’.

For example, if your National Insurance number is JT 83 42 97 B your payment will be observable under the reference ‘DWP COLP JT 83 42 97 B on your statement.

But what about those working people who are struggling on low wages, but just fell short to qualify for benefits, they get nothing?

And why is it that people believe that people on Universal Credit aren’t working? There are numerous people on Universal Credit that work, some of them are working 25 hours a week, but that’s all they can work because they have children at school or are on an extremely humble salary but still want to work.

Some would even say that having children is a choice and if you have them then you deserve nothing.

And some nurses work extremely hard in hospital wards, caring for the suffering, and it’s back-breaking work, and extremely intense at times, for which they are really not paid enough, but thankfully to this payment, they get enough to put a roof over their head, put food on the table and clothes on their backs, but most people still begrudge them having this extra money.

But tough cheese for those pensioners who have very little savings and aren’t eligible for pension credit. They have probably worked all their lives for a meagre pension, yet some of them have to pay something towards their rent if renting and going to the dentist et cetera, and now you’ve got the rise in food costs, council tax, electricity, gas and water prices.

People who work hard all their lives, save hard and suffer get nothing, so it does make you wonder if it actually pays to sit on your behind.

Diane Abbott Loses Labour Whip After Making ‘Deeply Offensive’ Remarks About Jews Not Suffering Racism

Veteran MP Diane Abbott was this morning stripped of the Labour whip amid a backlash at her disgraceful suggestion that Jewish people don’t suffer racism.

The former shadow home secretary has been suspended as a Labour MP by the party’s chief whip Alan Campbell while an investigation is carried out.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls to take action against Ms Abbott following her comments in a Sunday newspaper.

The 69-year-old, who has been an MP for more than 35 years, suggested that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people encountered prejudice but were not all their lives subject to racism.

Amid the outrage at her comments, Cabinet minister Grant Shapps accused Ms Abbott, a close supporter of ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, of ‘spouting hateful anti-Semitism.

She later gave a statement to wholly and unreservedly withdraw remarks and disassociated herself from them as she blamed drafting errors, but Labour pushed ahead with action against the ex-shadow minister.

A spokesperson said that the Labour Party completely condemns the comments which were deeply offensive and wrong and that the chief whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending investigation.

The row was sparked by Ms Abbott’s letter to the Observer newspaper, in which she responded to a recent comment article that said Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from racism.

Ms Abbott wrote that they undoubtedly experience prejudice and that this was similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they’re interchangeable.

She said that it was true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice but that they were not all their lives subject to racism, and that in pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus.

She said apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote and that at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.

In response to Ms Abbott’s comments, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps posted on Twitter that once again, Jewish people have to wake up and see a Labour MP casually spouting hateful anti-Semitism.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick tweeted that minimising anti-Jewish racism as mere prejudice was ignorant, offensive and shameful.

Oliver Cooper, the chair of Watford Conservative Association, called for Sir Keir Starmer to strip Ms Abbott of the Labour whip.

The biggest question of our time – who keeps voting this fool in? Clearly, people who agree with her views, but also have a right to their views.

Sir Keir Starmer reacted decisively and removed the whip from her, and hopefully, she won’t represent Labour at the next General Election and rightly so – hopefully her constituents will do the right thing and vote her out, and you have to give Sir Keir Starmer his due – he doesn’t dither or delay like Boris Johnson or Rishi Sunak, he took the whip from her immediately, and I imagine she’ll be out the door very soon.

It’s taken far too long for this thoroughly unpleasant woman to be called to account, and over the years she’s made numerous absurd comments, and this would have made numerous people extremely angry.

Whatever university Ms Abbott went to, she must have got a degree in idiocy with honours, and I can’t believe she’s survived for so long.

What’s even more alarming is that she obviously believes it, but then backtracked on herself. She should own her opinion, even if it was misguided because she looked more stupid backtracking.

Before The Outbreak Officially Began In Mid-November 2019, China Began Developing COVID-19 Vaccines

A new report claims that China started developing COVID-19 vaccines before the official start of the outbreak.

A 300-page document, compiled by the US Senate, suggests Chinese researchers started to work on a vaccine programme in mid-November of 2019.

It adds to evidence that the country tried to cover up early infections before the World Health Organisation (WHO) was informed on December 31.

The report also concludes that the pandemic most probably came from a lab leak and was the result of a research-related incident in Wuhan, and it even suggests there may have been two unintentional spillover events just weeks apart.

The document, which was released to the US news website Axios, is the full version of a 35-page summary published in October by the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee.

It said that the COVID-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident and that new data, made publicly known and independently checkable, could alter this assessment.

However, the idea of a natural zoonotic origin no longer deserved the benefit of the doubt or the presumption of accuracy.

One section of the report concentrates on China’s vaccine development.

Investigations by the committee showed a team led by Professor Yusen Zhou, from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, filed a patent for a COVID-19 vaccine on February 24, 2020.

Experts interviewed by the investigators said it would have taken at least two or three months to reach this stage, suggesting work must have begun in November 2019, one month before China publicly released details on the virus.

The report reads that the investigation uncovered proof that China began SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine development no later than November 2019, and that to begin building a vaccine construct, developers had to have a full genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, and that the full genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 wasn’t publicly released until January 11, 2020.

Normally, a sample from an infected patient is used to generate the sequence. Alternatively, a sample from an infected animal could be used.

Thus, to start vaccine development, the People’s Republic of China had to have found a human or animal infected with SARS-CoV-2 prior to mid-November 2019 in order to have time to decide to create a vaccine development programme.

The report adds that analysis of early circulating Wuhan COVID strains also supports the possibility of two spillover events just weeks apart.

It’s taken time, but finally, now the truth is coming out. People had COVID well before it came out in the news.

People were getting sick, yet doctors had no idea what they were coming down with, just saying that there was a nasty virus going about and it would go. It took people weeks to get over it, it was crazy.

It was almost like a bioweapon which ended up destroying loads of small businesses, and freedom, yet China raked in billions in profits selling masks and COVID tests, and let’s not forget how China allowed their citizens to travel all over the world except they weren’t allowed to go anywhere in China.

To be fair, the United Kingdom is a fairly small island, yet we continued to let anyone and everyone into our country, even when COVID was at its most destructive. In Italy and Spain, it was bad, yet we kept our borders open.

There were loads of people reporting how sick they were before 2020, yet they were called conspiracy theorists, not so much a conspiracy now, is it?

Funeral For Paul O’Grady

Paul O’Grady’s husband was pictured clutching dog Conchita on arrival as a horse-drawn carriage slowing made its way through his home village of Aldington to St Rumwold’s Church in nearby Bonnington, Kent.

Paul O’Grady’s husband Andre Portasio was emotional as he rode in the carriage pulled by two black horses and adorned with a wreath of their dog Buster, with one of the other dogs, Conchita, on his lap.

Nine limousines followed with an entourage including motorbikes behind them.

After they arrived at the church, Mr Portasio was seen clutching Conchita to him as he headed inside the building.

Paul O’Grady was laid to rest next to his former partner Brendan Murphy, who passed away in 2005 from an inoperable brain tumour.

Brendan Murphy was also Paul O’Grady’s manager and died just days before the star’s 50th birthday.

Fans of the late TV star and drag entertainer Paul O’Grady were sharing pictures of their pet dogs on social media as they paid tribute to Paul.

The presenter and performer, 67, who was also known as his drag alter ego Lily Savage, died of cardiac arrhythmia following a cardiac arrest at his home earlier this month.

Fans of Paul O’Grady posted photos of their dogs as they remembered the animal lover fondly, adding personal messages thanking him for his support of the canine community.

One said that he was a good person and loved his doggies and that was good enough for them.

At the church, pallbearers carried the wooden coffin decorated with a wreath of lilies, while Paul O’Grady’s daughter Sharyn Mousley entered with a young man carrying the wig of Lily Savage, her father’s drag alter ego.

Reverend Canon Roger Martin received family and friends including comedian Julian Clary, actress Dame Sheila Hancock, and the late Dame Barbara Windors’s widower Scott Mitchell.

As celebrity friends of Paul O’Grady started to arrive for the TV star’s funeral, it became apparent just how close-knit the intimate ceremony was to be.

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and comedian Alan Carr were welcomed to St Rumwold’s Parish Church in the Kent village of Bonnington by sombre music from the Salvation Army Band.

Comedian and TV presenter Jo Brand arrived with soap star Cheryl Fergison, followed by actress Linda Henry, who plays Shirley Carter in Eastenders.

Celebrity chef Andi Oliver and Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay were also in attendance.

It was lovely that his beloved dogs and Battersea Dogs Home were honouring him like this. It was all extremely sad. Sharp wit along with his passion for rescue dogs. A very kind person who always helped animals and he made people laugh so much, and he will be missed by many people. He was a national treasure. I can imagine him saying when he gets to heaven, “Can I have four poofs and a piano”.

Paul O’Grady was sent off in style, and one which he richly deserved.

He was an extraordinarily beautiful person who gave so much happiness to thousands of people, and he left an incredible gift behind.

Paul O’Grady is irreplaceable, but no doubt one of the current yield of celebrity deadbeats is already being lined up to take his place, and I hope he knew how much he was adored.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started