Tag: politics

A Mallorca Solution For The Winter Fuel Allowance

I have never voted in the UK elections as I’ve been away for so long. Whilst here in Mallorca, we can vote in the local elections, but not in the national elections. Which to me doesn’t make sense, as I’m a resident and taxpayer. Now I’m not one to talk politics but this week I’m going to attempt, well in a roundabout way. I know I need to have a good long word with myself, and believe me I will after this.

The good thing about a democracy is that everyone can have an opinion, you will either agree with it or disagree with it, but at least it leads to a healthy debate.

Every now and again, Governments will release a policy or a decision that really riles up the electorate. Remember the poll tax, the Iraqi war or here in Mallorca the Tourist Tax? The current Labour government has come up with a policy that has caused a lot of controversy. I am of course talking about the winter fuel allowance. Introduced in 1997 by the then-chancellor, Gordon Brown, the winter fuel payment was intended to help older people with their heating costs during the colder months. Paid annually in autumn, it is £200 or £300, depending on age, and had always been universal, paid to everyone, irrespective of income or wealth.

But in a speech in the House of Commons in July, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced that from now on the payment would be given only to older people who received pension credit, meaning only the very poorest pensioners. This is expected to reduce the number who get the money from more than 11 million to about 1.5 million.

I remember my Mum used to receive it and was grateful for the extra money during the winter and enabled her to heat her property for longer than she would normally do. 

I arrived in Mallorca in 1990 and back then the winters were just as busy as the summers. One of the main reasons for this was that pensioners would come away for months on end during the winter to get away from the cold weather in the UK. I worked winters here in Mallorca, The Algarve and Gran Canaria, and you’d get rooming lists of pensioner couples and singles, and it was very popular at the time. They had dedicated brochures in those days such as Golden Circle, Golden Days and Leisurely Days and whilst the tour operators still offer this, it doesn’t seem to be something that they push as much as they used to. 

Saga is the one of the main dedicated companies in this market and having done my research I’ve discovered I am actually eligible to go on one of their holidays! 

It got me thinking that why doesn’t the UK government approach the Tour Operators and ask if they would be willing to look at providing cheaper holidays for pensioners? Are you mad? I hear you ask. Well, maybe, but they do have a system like that here in Spain. 

The Imserso scheme is a social scheme that’s primary objective is to offer affordable holidays to the elderly residents of Spain. It is hoped that by subsidising trips for pensioners, their health and quality of life will improve whilst their dependence on others will decrease. As well as benefiting pensioners, the scheme will also benefit the wider community by incentivising economic activity and increasing employment within the tourism sector during the quieter winter months. Something Mallorca is crying out for. 

The Imserso scheme is only intended for Spanish residents, but here’s something I didn’t know. If you are an ex-pat who permanently resides in Spain, then you can take part in the programme provided you meet any of the following criteria:

  • A person who is retired and part of the Spanish public pension system.
  • A person who receives a widow’s or widower’s pension and is aged 55 or older.
  • A person who receives unemployment benefits or subsidies and is aged 60 or older.
  • A holder or beneficiary of Spain’s Social Security System, aged 65 or older 

Mallorca would in my opinion be a perfect destination as it’s only 2 hours from the UK and although the winter temperatures aren’t like the summer. They are certainly warmer than the UK. I’m sure it would be popular amongst pensioners and as I said above it would create employment here. Benidorm does it, so why can’t we? 

Maybe it’s something that could be discussed at the World Travel Market in London in November? Just a thought, now I’m off to have that word with myself and study that Saga brochure. 

Brexit, Was It Worth It?

The 23rd of June 2016 was a day when the older generation in the UK totally changed the landscape for the younger generation. It was the day that Brexit became a reality and unfortunately, just over half of the population believed the spin of vote leave campaign more than vote remain. One of the driving forces for vote leave was immigration, and by taking away the freedom of movement they said the UK would get their borders back. Well that went well didn’t it!

On the one hand, all it has done is to drive the people to take much riskier ways of getting to the UK. And on the other hand, it has denied the younger generation in the UK, the freedom to travel and work abroad. 

I can take this back even further, when the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition took away the opportunity for parents to take their children out of school during term time for a holiday. A subject I’ve talked about before. Seeing new countries, experiencing new cultures, hearing new languages and tasting different cuisines should be part of their education in my opinion. And it should be in the hands of the parents and teachers to decide if a child could take some time away, not a Government Minister.

Why is the UK Government so obsessed with denying people the freedom to travel? It seems they and those who voted for Brexit forgot they were young once and decided it is best that they deny the same opportunities to younger people.

In the last few weeks I’ve highlighted the slowness at passport controls now and   that employing people from the UK is virtually impossible here in Mallorca. So imagine my surprise and anger when I heard this. Rishi Sunak has rejected an EU offer to strike a post-Brexit deal to allow young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for up to four years.

The prime minister declined the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for people aged between 18 and 30.

The current UK Government are on borrowed time, but even the Labour Party who are tipped to get into power have rejected this. Saying, “Labour has no plans for a youth mobility scheme. We have already suggested some tangible ways that we would look to improve the relationship and deliver for British businesses and consumers.”

In fact the only ones who support this are the Liberal Democrats, their leader Ed Davey says “Expanding our existing youth mobility visas to cover European countries on a reciprocal basis would be a win-win. 

“It would be a much-needed boost to our economy, especially hospitality and tourism; it would offer great new opportunities to young British people to work abroad; and it would be a crucial step towards fixing our broken relationship with Europe.” Unfortunately, the Lib/Dems have as much chance of winning the election as Tottenham Hotspur do of winning a trophy. 

Anand Menon, a professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London and director of UK in a Changing Europe, said: “Clearly there is a debate to be had about the costs and the benefits of a youth mobility scheme, but I find it utterly depressing that both of the major political parties, one of which will form a government after the next election, do not know the difference between free movement and a limited youth mobility scheme which involves visas.”

It is true that a youth mobility scheme would not be a return to freedom of movement and would, if agreed, require a YMS visa, evidence of sufficient funds to sustain a living and health insurance. There is speculation that the UK will try and do individual deals with certain countries rather than the whole Bloc. If that is the case, then I sincerely hope that Spain is top of that list. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com