Britons Snap Up Wood-Burning Stoves As Energy Bills Rise

Demand for wood-burning stoves has surged as Brits opt to warm their dwellings the old-fashioned way amid skyrocketing energy bills.

Retailers are reporting a lack of stoves, as manufacturers struggle to keep up with demand following supply chain and manufacturing problems during the pandemic and a shortage of materials like cast iron and steel.

Some dealers have reported people purchasing several log burners at a time as temperatures plunge.

Consumers are snapping up burners as they battle increasing bills, with the Russian aggression on Ukraine continuing to push up gas prices.

Wood-burning stove sales jumped by 40 per cent between April to June to over 35,000, compared to 25,000 for the same period last year.

Cornish company Anevay stoves said it’s seen a 10 to 20 per cent growth in sales month to month since the start of the year.

CEO Dawie Cronje said that while they’re delighted to be supporting customers who’ve been squeezed by energy bills, the company is struggling to keep on top of the rising demands.

Dawie Cronje said that the company’s lead times had increased from a week to a month due to waiting times for laser cutting and materials.

He said that steel in general had been an issue price-wise, the price of everything. Welding was power intensive, so that also went on energy bills.

Choice Stoves, an online dealer in Lancashire, posted on its website that it had suspended online orders due to the UK stove shortage.

According to a newspaper outlet, Backwoodsman, a retailer in the Highlands, has reported a 165 per cent boost in sales in the last year.

The seller posted a notice on its website saying they’re extremely busy due to the effects of the energy crisis, with surveys taking up to six weeks.

Lancashire stove fitting company Bowland Stoves also announced that they’re completely booked for installations until next year, and that if you’re still thinking of having a stove installed to beat the Gas and Electric prices, why not book your survey and installation for next year now?

In September, DIY store Toolstation revealed that its sales of chainsaws had also increased by a third in a matter of weeks.

A representative for the company said at the time that they suspected the demand was being driven by customers firing up their chainsaws to cut logs and lumber for wood burners as many try to ease the impact of energy hikes.

Some people already have burners, but have not put their central heating on, and have just been closing doors in rooms. Now let’s see if the Government introduce some form of tax at some point, and of course, burning stuff releases carcinogens, where’s the Green in that?

It definitely generates pollution as well as CO2 emissions, but what choice have people got with the rising prices? And whatever you do you will be made to pay through the roof, and if these wood burners take over you will definitely see more rules because you can’t defeat a satanic government.

And once you factor in the cost of purchase and installation which is rather costly and the fact that wood isn’t cheap anymore unless you know a guy, then it will take years to make your money back. Having said that they’re really nice things to have and they look and smell great.

However, if your house is pre-70s, when we all burnt coal in open fires, then it won’t cost that much to fit. All you’ll have to do is get a chimney sweep (do they even exist anymore?). And you should only burn seasoned wood, left to dry out and not green.

A Family Brunch Will Be Held At The White House On Sunday To Celebrate Joe Biden’s 80th Birthday

President Joe Biden is about to become the first-ever octogenarian US president.

On Sunday, the president is expected to mark his 80th birthday shrouded by his family at a brunch in the White House.

Since first launching his campaign for the presidency in April 2019, pundits have been asking Joe Biden, who was already known for his blunders, if he was mentally fit enough for the position of commander in chief, and as the 2024 election looms, those questions are back again, especially in the light of Rep Nancy Pelosi, 82, vowing not to run for minority leader in the new Republican congress, in order to make way for new blood.

That’s on top of ex-President Donald Trump, 76, declaring his third run for the White House.

Among the questions Pelosi’s move raises, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, an authority on political communications at the University of Pennsylvania and said that even if one was highly competent and successful, was there a moment at which one should step aside to give others the chance to lead just as others stepped aside to make it possible to do this.

She said Pelosi’s decision makes such questions more salient in the context of Joe Biden’s statement that he was the bridge to a new generation of leaders.

Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy was forced to admit to a newspaper outlet that the Republicans were victorious in making age a problem in the forthcoming presidential election.

He said that Republicans should be congratulated for continuing to raise an issue that he believed had no grounding in reality but might have a political advantage for Republicans.

However, Murphy added that he still felt that Joe Biden was the guy for right now and he thought generational power shifts were indeed essential, but to him, this was an existential moment for their democracy, and they were literally fighting for democracy’s survival.

In October, Senator Ted Cruz responded to a Joe Biden address that began: ‘Let me start with two words: “Made in America”. The Texas Republican wrote: ‘Two words: dementia’, and last week after arriving in Cambodia, the President committed a gaff within the first seconds of his opening remarks by thanking the Prime Minister of Columbia instead of Cambodia.

Joe Biden is far too old to be a Prime Minister, and you can see that he’s ageing rapidly now, and he walks like a character from the ‘Thunderbirds’.

He was too old the first time he ran and he’s even more geriatric now. But if Joe Biden is too old, then so are Pelosi and Trump, and now experts are saying that even the most mindless Democrat is realising that a semi-vegetable like Joe Biden who confuses Cambodia with Colombia is way past his sell-by date, and anybody who believes that Joe Biden is running the country needs to also check to see if they have dementia as well, and it now seems that the White House is the most costly Assisted Living facility in the world!

Joe Biden is the most senior President to occupy office. Nancy Pelosi will soon turn 83, Mitch McConnel, soon to turn 83, Diane Feinstein, 89 and they all need to go. There also needs to be an age limitation added to the Constitution.

Every enterprise, company or work model around the world respects retirement for logical reasons. However, the most important position with the highest risk of accountable decision-making was vested in an old man who is undoubtedly in rapid cognitive decline.

The Rift Won’t Be Healed By That!

Robert F Kenndy’s daughter has revealed she’ll honour Prince Harry and Meghan for their heroic stance against the structural racism of the Royal Family at an NYC gala in her father’s honour.

Kerry Kennedy, one of RFK and Ethel Kennedy’s 11 children and the president of the foundation, said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have challenged the Royal Family’s power structure.

She now plans to hand the couple a gong acknowledging their accomplishments at the Ripple of Hope Gala in New York on December 6, with spots at their table going for up to $1 million. The couple is expected to attend the event.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be given an accolade.

Kennedy, the ex-wife of disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, told a newspaper outlet that they went to the oldest institution in UK history and told them what they were doing wrong, and that they couldn’t have structural racism within the institution, and that they couldn’t maintain a misconception about mental health.

She talked about her late father’s visit to apartheid South Africa in 1966 and said that Harry and Meghan had the moral bravery that numerous people didn’t to discuss racial fairness.

Kennedy said that few would have the courage to question their colleagues, family and community about the power system they maintained and that this was what Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have done.

Her comments, and Harry and Meghan’s decision to receive the award, could drive a fresh wedge between the Sussexes and King Charles.

King Charles ascended to the throne in September after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II. No decision has been made on whether to confer royal titles on the Sussexes children Archie and Lilibet until after an upcoming Netflix documentary and Harry’s autobiography ‘Spare’ are released.

Harry and Meghan are also said to enjoy cool relations with Harry’s brother Prince William, now second in line to the throne, and his wife Kate Middleton. They saw their titles upgraded to Prince and Princes of Wales in the wake of the Queen’s demise.

Both Harry and Meghan, who now live in a $14 million Californian mansion with their children, are expected to attend. The award will also be given to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kennedy added that the Sussexes knew that if they did this there would be consequences and that people would condemn them for it, but they have done it anyway because they believed they couldn’t live with themselves if they didn’t question this authority.

And this seems like a stitch-up between Harry and Meghan’s Netflix director, Liz Garbus, and her good friend, Kerry Kennedy, in an endeavour to give Harry and Meghan the credibility they don’t have, and now people will say that two phoneys will get a phoney award over a phoney issue.

However, it takes a tremendous amount of bravery to pit yourself and fight against the Royal Family and Palace officials. Princess Diana did this to her detriment – how long before something happens to these two?

Bravery is daring to stand up to a massively powerful institution, which operates in complete secrecy, with no consequence for its activities.

Prince Harry is his mother’s sleeper cell, resuming what his mother started and which is what he wanted.

People are saying that Harry and Meghan should be stripped of their titles. However, the Royal Family are not foolproof. What about Charles the adulterer and his adulteress? And I’m sure Harry has some serious knowledge of all of them. Let’s face it, the King isn’t exactly a popular figure and he’s certainly not his mother!

What Will King Charles Do To Save The Magical Gas Lamps From Council Numbskulls?

Aran Osman is perched 12 feet up a ladder on a dim and drizzly evening in Central London, tinkering about with a 100-year-old gas lamp in the gloom.

Most of us would be moaning or cursing, or grumbling under our breath, but not Aran Osman as he swings the small glass door open on its antique hinges, gives the mechanism a brief once over, checks the gas covers, and begins winding with a big shiny key, he’s aglow with satisfaction.

He chirps as the four delicate mantles made of silk spark into life, that when he gets up there, it’s beautiful, and that when the lamps are out and he puts them back up, there’s a feeling of satisfaction and his spirit lifts.

The soft, golden gleam lights up his happy face. The rain descends gently in the misty night air. The aroma of mulching autumn leaves rises, and behind, Westminster’s Victoria Tower looms and Big Ben chimes, and if it wasn’t for Aran’s smart, modern British Gas anorak, you could almost be back in Dickensian London with its smoggy air and brooding sense of mystery.

Instead, it’s a stone’s throw from the busy A3212 and Aran, one of the tiny but extremely dedicated team, who each spend up to 60 hours a week caring for the city’s 1,500 odd gas lamps, is doing his rounds as he cleans and winds and mends and fettles his exquisite cast iron charges.

He said as he describes the difference between the electronically managed gas lamps, with a digital mechanism to turn them on and off, and the mechanical ones that need winding every fortnight that you become extremely connected to them, like friends, almost, but that you love them all.

And he’s not alone. Though there are only five London lamplighters left, all evangelical about both their job and these beautiful beacons. They refer to themselves as guardians and custodians of the lamps, and they’d do the job for nothing if they had to. No one leaves this team, except to retire, and even then they’d prefer to work on, were it not for the pension.

They talk frequently about the lamps to each other, to members of the public, to their long-suffering wives, and to former coworkers who’ve retired but can’t say goodbye after 40-odd years up ladders.

These lamps are part of our past and must never be erased.

Next, they’ll be replacing Big Ben with a smark clock and of course, tourists love quaint old London, and the majority of our own British people are proud of our historic past, too…

Gas lamps are a nod to the past and they’re beautiful, they’re our legacy, but small-minded people want to totally obliterate Britain’s history, and people who make judgments like this know the cost of everything but don’t know the value of anything, and unfortunately vandals are in charge of councils throughout the country.

I’m absolutely sick to death of officialdom ruining our heritage, it’s disgraceful, and these lamps should be kept because it’s nice to have some reminder of how London used to be.

Anything to do with our history should be considered a national or cultural treasure and should be fiercely protected by laws and the people, but gradually our cultural heritage is being erased before our very eyes.

A few historic gas-lit lamps are scarcely a threat to global warming and CO2 emissions, let them be!

These lamps are beautiful and we should be entitled to have some lovely things in our historic country, or doesn’t it suit the woke, cancel-all lefties, or the newcomers?

Elon Musk Asks Twitter Users To VOTE On Whether He Should Reinstate Donald Trump To The Social Networking Site

Elon Musk started a Twitter poll inviting supporters to vote on whether to reinstate ex-US President Donald Trump’s account on the platform, with early results demonstrating around 55 per cent voting yes.

Elon Musk tweeted ‘Vox Populi’, Vox Dei’, a Latin phrase that roughly means ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’, and the poll, which had about six million votes as of 2 am EST Saturday, was open for 24 hours.

It’s unclear if Elon Must intends to abide by its result, with the billionaire well known for his pranks and subversive behaviour on the social media site and which he just purchased for $44 billion.

Elon Musk, Twitter’s latest owner, said he would reverse Twitter’s prohibition on Donald Trump, whose account was suspended after the January 2020 invasion of the US Capitol, which he was accused of stoking.

Elon Musk said that a decision to bring back Donald Trump’s account was yet to be made but his decision to ask Twitter users for direction on who should be on the platform was part of a monumental restructuring of the business, including enormous dismissals but also seems to be characteristic of his own having fun with his recent $44 billion investment.

On Friday he stated that no decision had been made on welcoming back ex-US President Donald Trump, but Twitter watchers have been following closely to see whether Elon Musk will reinstate Donald Trump.

The reinstatement of accounts expelled for breaking Twitter’s content restraint powers has been seen as a forerunner of where Elon Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist, wants to take the site.

Donald Trump was removed from Twitter on January 8th, 2021, two days following January 6th riot at the Capitol.

The platform first suspended him for 12 hours and for the first time deleted his tweets after he applauded the assembly who stormed Congress after he said he loved them.

He had 80 million supporters at the time, and was a massive fan of the site, using it to remove White House staff and issue broadsides at enemies and other international figures including Kim Jong Un, as well as Greta Thunberg.

One of the deleted tweets read that these were the things and events that occur when a sacred landslide election success was so unceremoniously and maliciously stripped away from great patriots who’ve been poorly and unfairly treated for so long.

Some people would love to see Donald Trump reinstated, but others have said, why would someone who’s being investigated for instigating violence, and who they believe is an unhinged egomaniac.

But then why not let Donald Trump back on the platform – we could do with the entertainment because that’s all it is, entertainment, and he likes to be seen and if he’s not, then he chucks his toys out of his pram, but then Twitter is all about advertising and brainwashing people into buying garbage from Amazon and China.

Donald Trump is an oversized orange messiah, who just lies and makes up stuff, and the mega moron minions eat it all up as God’s truth, and of course, Elon Musk will get more users and eyeballs with Donald Trump, it’s a clever move, and I know that I will have the popcorn ready as people explode on their keyboards. I would only want Donald Trump back for entertainment value though, and in all fairness, I’m particularly looking forward to laughing at Donald Trump’s stupidity again, even if it is short-lived before Twitter tumbles.

Apologies Are Not Enough!

A housing association boss has refused to resign from his £185,000 position despite a tremendous backlash after the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in a mould-infested home.

The two-year-old died in December 2020 from a respiratory illness induced by mould in the one-bedroom flat where he lived with his parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin, in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

His mother and father previously made complaints about the black mould in their kitchen and bathroom and asked to be rehoused.

The Chief Executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), Gareth Swarbrick, has come under fire and has been advised to resign from his position by figures including Michael Gove. However, Gareth Swarbrick, who was paid £170,000 the year of Awaab’s death, has now confirmed in a statement that he will not be quitting.

He said that he wanted to start by saying how sorry he was to Awaab’s family for their loss and that no apology would ever be enough, and he said that the discussion around his position had started to surpass the most important part of all this, which was that a family had lost their child, but having spoken to the Board, he could confirm he wouldn’t be leaving.

He said that they’d given him their full support and confidence to continue to manage the improvements and changes required within RBH.

The chief executive also added that after the tragic death of the two-year-old, the RBH had made a number of changes and this included compulsory training for all staff on mould and damp.

Alison Tumilty, RBH Board Chair, said that as an organisation, they would again like to extend their deepest sympathies and say sorry to Faisal and Aisha and that they let them down.

She said that this was a tragedy of the highest order, and they were devastated that it occurred in one of their homes, and she added that they make mistakes and that they were trying to fix them.

She said that having spoken to the Board, she could confirm that they have complete confidence in Gareth’s leadership, and that he has the trust of the Board, and that he has a vast understanding of the sector and the communities of Rochdale.

She said that together, they would work to repair the trust of the people of Rochdale and show that they’re a mutual landlord that cares and cares greatly about their tenants.

Gareth Swarbrick makes £185,000 in his council job, no surprise this country’s in the state it’s in, and those on this type of salary tend to have a gold-plated pension as well, and it’s utterly infuriating that the revolving door of failures get so much money when someone just as capable could be doing the very same job for half that wage.

How does this guy make all that money and still not have any knowledge of mould? He should have had implemented training years ago, so there should be no failings, especially on that salary.

Gareth Swarbrick is an overpaid jobsworth, and how on earth is that type of salary justified?

So, this is where our council tax rises go, not on housing for people but on paying inflated salaries and their gold-plated pensions. This man should resign! And if he won’t resign, then sack him, and not just him but everybody at RBH who failed this family.

Just like our MPs, Gareth Swarbrick expects rewards for failure, but then they all seem to have their snouts in the trough.

This man is now responsible for a child’s death, and he should be prosecuted and sacked, and it’s obscene that he makes that much money and gets away with murder.

The Manager Of A Cafe Gave A Woman A Dustpan And Brush So She Could Clean Up After Her Baby

A mother has sparked a frenzied debate by asking if cafe staff were reasonable to ask her to clean up after her baby.

The woman said on the British parenting platform Mumsnet she’d taken her child to a family-friendly cafe, but as she was leaving, one member of staff bought her a dustpan and brush and asked her to clean under her child’s high chair.

The post split views on the site, with some saying of course she should clean up the mess and others insisting the cafe employee was rude.

In her post, the woman said she and a bunch of friends go to a cafe each week, and she wrote that the previous week one of her friends had been told off by the manager for not cleaning up her baby’s mess under its high chair, and she said that, on a more recent occasion, when she was packing up to leave, she got given a dustpan and brush to clean up food that her child had dropped.

She added that if it had been an excessive amount of mess she would have of course cleaned up automatically, but she clarified that it was a few bits on the floor.

She then relayed the story to her mother, who was disgusted by the cafe and urged her to leave a negative review, but she was so torn over the situation and so sought counsel from Mumsnet users. However, her post didn’t garner much sympathy.

Most mums were extremely critical of her for not cleaning up the baby’s mess.

One wrote that they were shocked at how often they see people strolling out and leaving a mess all over the floor, and she added that if an adult dropped food they’d pick it up and that you should do that for your baby too.

Another wrote that many parents, unfortunately, don’t clean up after children when out or let them run riot because the place is child friendly.

A third wrote that if she stepped into a cafe and there was food on the floor, they would walk out, and said that if the staff were busy and they’d caused a mess, they believed that it was only right that they cleaned it up.

Others implied that the cafe was probably trying to prevent the gathering of mothers from coming.

It’s not just children though. Adults leave tables in a complete mess these days, and the same goes for cinemas et cetera, and it seems that people have no manners and no thought for the waiting staff.

If you don’t do it at home, then perhaps people shouldn’t do it when they’re out, and it’s discourteous. After all, who wants to sit next to people that are acting like pigs?

Restaurants and cafes typically have staff that clean when people have left the building, and that is the job they’re paid to do, although it’s always nice when someone offers to clean up after themselves.

What happened to good manners? Sadly, they’ve gone.

You Won’t Have To Worry About Heating Bills With This TikTok-Viral Wearable Blanket

A wearable blanket that’s gone viral on TikTok, garnering more than 329 million views on the app, is on sale for Black Friday, and it’s bound to sell out.

The Oodie, which has TikTok obsessed, is an oversized hoodie with a push, flannel fleece exterior and a soft cruelty-free vegan sherpa fleece interior, and it’s marked down by up to £35 in the brand’s sitewide Black Friday sale.

According to wearers, it has a large fit that falls below the knee and is said to be so comfortable and warm, you won’t need to worry about heating bills amid the cost of living crisis.

Plus, it comes in more than 20 colours and designs, from slate grey and dusty pink to a delightfully fun avocado toast pattern for brunch enthusiasts, which Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi wore in a recent TikTok video.

Slipped over the head, the wearable blanket from the Oodie is ideal for Sunday lounging and chucking on when you’re indoors and it’s super cold. You can style it with leggings and slippers to keep you warm from head to toe.

It also features a hood and a roomy pocket for storage and keeping your hands toasty.

One five-star reviewer described the Oodie as the most comfortable blanket hoodie ever, and another customer agreed, describing how they feel like they’re next to a warm fire whenever they wear it.

A third five-star reviewer gushed that they absolutely loved their Oodie, and they reported that they never spend a night without it on and that it keeps them warm throughout the winter days, and said that they were 5ft 4 and that it covered them up to the middle of their calf, which they loved, and they would recommend it 1000 per cent.

In one video on TikTok with almost 1.5 million views, user @thereakljohnpaul showed off their friend’s collection showing a collection of patterned Oodies hanging on the back of the door claiming she has 12.

And if you’re unsure about the quality, despite more affordable options elsewhere, critics agree that Oodies are designed to last and 10000 per cent worth the additional money compared to knockoffs as its high quality and the fabric doesn’t shed.

A foolproof way to keep warm this winter, shop the Oodie while it’s on sale for Black Friday with up to £35 off.

These Oodies are a fantastic Christmas gift for friends or family, and once you get one on you would have to surgically remove them because they’re so warm, they’re awesome.

They really do have that feel-good feeling, and these are a fantastic addition to your wardrobe, and it beats wearing in the winter thick robes with loads of layers to keep warm – just pop an Oodie over your head and you’re done – heating in a blanket, that looks good and is super stylish.

Of course, the Oodie is slightly pricey, but at the end of the day much better quality than any of the other alternatives around, and you get what you pay for.

The cheap alternatives are great in the short term, but once you’ve worn them and washed them, then you start to see the difference, but of course, affordable alternatives are fantastic if you can’t afford the real thing.

However, some people don’t seem to like them, they think they’re awful and look unsightly, yet people will happily answer the door in their pyjamas, but wouldn’t be seen dead in an Oodie.

There’s No Mention Of Abortion In Donald Trump’s Manifesto: Death Penalty For Drug Dealers, Rehiring Unvaccinated Military Members, Voter Identification, And Banning Trans Women From Female Sports

Donald Trump stood before a gathering of supporters at his Mar a Lago retreat where he outlined a string of controversial policy goals for his recently announced 2024 presidential crusade.

Speaking for a little more than an hour in the ballroom of his Florida mansion, Donald Trump touched on hot-button social issues like drug crime, COVID-19 directives and transgender participation in school sports, but was notably muted on abortion, an issue that’s proved challenging for Republicans to navigate in the midterm elections.

Seeming to take a lesson from the recent races that saw his top followers rescinded in favour of more reasonable contenders, the former president held back from wading too far into his claims that the 2020 election was robbed from him.

Nonetheless, he did grumble about the length of time it’s taken to count all the votes in some states and pledged that voting would be much different next time around.

Donald Trump said that they will do whatever it takes to bring back honesty and trust in their elections, and to eradicate cheating, he would immediately demand voter ID, same-day voting, and only paper votes.

Trotting out a story he’s told numerous past demonstrations, Donald Trump also promised to impose the death penalty against clearly all people charged with dealing drugs and compared it to authoritarian China’s policies for cracking down on criminality.

Donald Trump said that when he was in China and he was with President Xi, he asked the President if they had a drug problem, in which the President said that they didn’t have a drug problem and that they have a speedy trial.

He said China make the fentanyl that comes into their country and that every drug dealer during his life or her life, on average kills 500 people with the drugs that they sell, not to mention the ruin of families. Then Donald Trump said that they were going to be asking everyone who sells drugs, gets caught selling drugs, to receive the death penalty for their pain.

It’s not actually clear if Donald Trump can unilaterally act to alter the criminal code without Congress’ permission.

He also pledged to reinstate the thousands of service members who’ve been forced out of duty for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine and suggested they would be reimbursed for time lost.

So, nothing to support the economy or regular Americans, he’s a fool, although I’d love to know what a regular American is.

Americans are passionate but extremely naive and so divided as a country, mind you, in the United Kingdom, it’s becoming the same, but if Donald Trump continues to go down this path, he’s going to kill the majority of his disciples with his death penalty.

This isn’t a manifesto, just a checklist of dopey ideas that will appeal to his tiny Trumpist looney bin base, yet those ideas will probably get him elected again, and there are numerous people who can’t wait for him to be elected again so that he can apparently make America great again, although I’m not actually sure when America was great, when they had segregation, when they had slaves and when women’s rights were non-existent.

And how will any of these things tackle inflation or better the American economy? And people need to learn something about the politics of authoritarianism – it’s an extremely bad thing.

So, Donald Trump’s policy is to put a flag on Mars. That should do wonders for improving the standard of living for the majority of Americans!

Hard-up Britons Get A Boost From Rishi Sunak’s Cost Of Living Increase

It was claimed that Rishi Sunak will announce a significant rise in the national living wage and also give eight million households cost of living payments worth up to £1,100.

The new Prime Minister is set to prioritise support for the most impoverished people as he also signalled that he will keep the triple lock on pensions as part of Thursday’s Budget.

A newspaper outlet reported that Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plan to raise the living wage from £9.50 an hour to about £10.40 an hour, or more, boosting wages for 2.5 million people.

The Prime Minister is also now expected to increase benefits, such as universal credit, as well as up to three cost of living payments for households worth £650, including £150 for the disabled and £300 for some of the most impoverished pensioners. It means some homes could get payments of £1,100 this winter.

These will be a continuance of the payments that numerous households will have already received since September to cover the cost of rising food and energy prices.

The Prime Minister said at the G20 in Bali that he understands the particular challenge of pensioners and they will always be at the forefront of his mind.

The triple lock, introduced in 2010, ensures that the state pension will increase in line with their inflation, wages or 2.5 per cent, whichever is the most elevated, but with inflation around 10 per cent, the Treasury could save about £4.5 billion a year if it raised pensions in line with wages, not around 5.5 per cent, instead.

Asked whether he would ditch the triple lock, Rishi Sunak, who was attending the G20 summit, said that his track record as Chancellor demonstrated he cared very much about pensioners.

He said that he couldn’t comment on any decisions, days before a financial statement. But that they would put fairness and compassion at the heart of all the decisions they made, and he added that he was confident people would see that.

Senior Conservatives warned that ditching the triple lock would be seen by pensioners as a betrayal and could be political suicide given that many older people vote Conservative.

The 2019 Tory manifesto promised to keep the protection in place for the duration of this Parliament.

Rishi Sunak suspended it this year because of a freak peak in average wages linked to the end of lockdown after the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning pensioners received an increase of only 3.1 per cent.

So, let’s translate this. What Rishi Sunak actually means is that he will be taking more money off the workers who have really invested and put the hours into their progress in life and that he’ll be handing it out to people who simply can’t be bothered to work, and let’s not overlook the illegals.

Benefits are historically low, and they’re worth much less now due to the cost of living crisis, but then so are workers’ wages, and most people wouldn’t be able to own their own property, get a loan, choose where they live, go on holiday, invest, set up a trust fund, buy a comfortable reliable car or choose which school their children go to, and that’s not just people on benefits, that’s people that are working as well.

People from England, that were born here don’t just get a council house, they have to prove they’re British first whilst watching newcomers with large families get on the waiting lists and get a home quickly because they have four or more children, it’s truly despicable.

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