http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31580520
Quote:
Universal benefits for pensioners will once again be protected if the Conservatives win May's general election, David Cameron will say later.
Mr Cameron promised at the 2010 election not to introduce means testing for benefits such as bus passes, TV licences and the winter fuel allowance. In a speech, he will repeat that pledge for the next Parliament.
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Just a week after announcing that young people (18 to 25) will have to work to get their Job Seekers Allowance it highlights the inequality over who is paying for austerity. There is one section of society that has been entirely ring-fenced from the cuts from triple-locked pensions, to not means-testing the benefits as above, to privileged savings rates under-writing from the Government. Meanwhile equivalent benefits have been either completely taken away from the young or subjected to many conditions.
I think it's hard to take the Tories seriously when they talk about the need for austerity when they're protecting their biggest consistency from it's affects. How much moral authority do they have to make the case for it when they're put into power on the back of voters who are immune from it? It's not that I think these benefits should be taken away from the elderly either, they shouldn't, but they need to at least stop being so aggressive in cutting it for the young. Bring back EMA and travel passes for the under-20s. They too rarely earn enough to make these benefits trivial, means-test it if you have too.