The Winter Fuel Payment and why you must have the Vote

The justifiable fuss over the Winter Fuel Payment arises because the British Citizen in EUROPE has no vote!  Yes? or No?
[By no 'vote' is indicated no adequate democratic voice- The needs of the British Citizens  in Europe - nor anywhere in the world - are not considered by the British Government. It is the worst failing of democracy in Europe! And not commendable world-wide]

Yes it has.  Imagine if the citizen in Europe had some form of Representation in the House of Commons.  Pause and consider.   Would the Conservatives – Iain Duncan Smith - have put forward this absurd  plan of removing it from those of us living in his definition of ‘hot’ countries?  No of course not. 

Thanks to the European Court of Justice upholding the EU Law to which Britain has agreed by treaty,  Britain was forced to pay this Old Age Benefit to all elderly Britons within the EU.  If Britain seceded from the EU, the British pensioners and many more British Citizens would be drifting without the protection of the EU -- or any law.  In the last few decades, since 1973, it is EU law which protects us - NOT British law.  And, in whichever European State you live, are you confident that the local State laws will give you enough protection of your income, savings, residency? Whether that be French, Spanish, Cypriot, Italian, Portuguese (or wherever) law? Do you trust them without the umbrella of EU Law?  British Law does not protect you.

The petition on the Government site to retain the WFP is gaining signatures more rapidly than the petition to have Representation (the VOTE) [See below at end >]- But the petition on Representation is way out far more important! It is fundamental.

If the British Citizen in Europe had some form of Representation at Westminster, the Conservatives would not have proposed cutting this benefit, having only just a few months before granted it!  They would not, because they would know that at the next election we would all vote against them.  But then, the Labour Party is equally uninterested.  If we had that Representation they would be making overtures to us. Wouldn’t they?

Do you imagine that the matter of the WFP is an isolated instance?  You must know of the hike in passport fees. Would they have done do this if they got a glimmer that we might vote against them?  If Britain separated from the EU, is your pension safe? Laws and Regulations are not chiselled in stone. They can be changed.  Our friends and compatriots in other lands have their State pensions frozen.  It could happen in Europe.

Consider the economic scene.  The Sterling and Euro currencies are different economic systems. Lord Lipsey was eager to observe to me in a radio interview** that the European British pensioner does not contribute to the economy of Britain and therefore should not be represented in Westminster. It is a simplification and not entirely true. The Civil Servants in the British Treasury perceive the pensioner expat as a drain on the economy.   That is a blinkered viewpoint.  We are most decidedly ambassadors for Britishness. All expatriates are ambassadors.

But if Britain & the EU split apart, the negative view in Britain towards us could cause our pensions to be hit. 

[**The Lipsey interview on Expats Radio can be heard via the following link. (It can take a while to download)   The Exchange on Radio.]

Take another example - Under EU law the British Financial institutions should treat Citizens in Europe as equally as those resident in the UK. They do not!  Has anyone, as a non-resident, opened a new account in a British Bank within the UK?  It would be interesting to hear that someone has.  Will they accept your investments as easily as if you lived in Britain? No.  But EU law says that there should be freedom of movement of financial services and capital. It is a fight that needs to be fought.  British expatriates want to invest in Britain. It is mighty strange that Britain makes it difficult!

The fall in the value of the £ against the Euro is related to the same economic scenario.

The British Citizen has been encouraged to get integrated in Europe by the development of the EU but now is blown by whatever economic blast without any real shield.  Their finances have  no real protection.

The issue of the relationship between the British Citizen and his/her National Government is worldwide.

The Protection that the British Citizen should have is the protection that the British Government should achieve through treaty arrangements and reaction to the needs of the British Citizen abroad – everywhere. It should nurture the British Citizen abroad not ignore him.

The British Citizen abroad is ….

• The Businessman trying to win trade for Britain. 
• The Citizen who lives abroad for his/her welfare or/and that of their children, hoping for freedom from strife.
• The Pensioner who wants wider horizons and more living space.

All of us are fostering Britishness beyond the shores of Britain.

In Europe we need to be represented for the sake of Britain in Europe- not just for ourselves. 

We need to be listened to.  We need to be heard.  We need to be understood. We need to be Represented in the seat of our Government. So that we work together for the good of Britain and ourselves.

We demand the vote!

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Please forward the above  to your colleagues/family/friends  and to some MP you know –

Grant Shapps MP – Chairman of the Conservative Party - He has said it is important that people affected by the Referendum have a say in it.  Will you have a say in it?

shappsg@parliament.uk

James Wharton MP – who tabled the motion on the Referendum

james.wharton.mp@parliament.uk

for the rest…. Visit…

http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

> petitions And if you have not done so …. Sign up to the petitions here – we need 10,000 signatures. - another 8,000 plus! Circulate to Accumulate!

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43238

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/52121
If these petition sites fail to accept your foreign post-code, then use the last one you had in Britain or that of a close relative.

and leave a comment here…

www.votes-for-expat-brits.com

Referendum (European Union) Bill

To go to the INDEX and start cllick here

What if?           [This article can be freely copied or quoted with reference:- Brian Cave]

It is not too early to plan and think

In Parliament a private member’s Bill to empower a Referendum could soon be entering  “The Committee Stage” of debate.  This may be before August or in the Autumn. MPs will consider the bill paragraph by paragraph.

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Will the interests of the 1.4 million Britons  in mainland Europe be considered? Not unless a fuss is generated! … It is quite unacceptable and undemocratic that a decision to pull out of the EU could be even envisaged without listening to those most intimately affected [See at the end what you can do!.]

IF BRITAIN WITHDRAWS from the EU  the lives of many of the 1.4 million Britons residing in Europe beyond the shores of Britain, could become uncomfortable -unless some sort of bargaining occurs.
Do you feel safe?

• You will no longer be a European Citizen.  Does that matter?
• You will no longer have an automatic right to reside anywhere in the EU/EEA.
• The principal of four freedoms of movement within the EU would not apply -- of people, goods, financial services and capital

·        You would not necessarily be able to buy goods from Britain without some form of import tax or other control being imposed.

·        You might not be able to transmit money easily. Exchange controls could be re- introduced.

·        Restrictions on your own residence might arise – see below.

·        You would not be protected by EU law.

HISTORY!  This writer is over eighty. Memory extends to before 1973, before the UK joined the EU.  THEN  one could not take more than a very small quantity of  sterling abroad to Continental and other countries.  The sum had to be entered in the back of one’s passport by the bank issuing the foreign currency.  It was Margaret Thatcher who did away with this requirement (1979). 

The Treasury UK and the expatriate pensioner.

Understand that the Euro and the Pound are separate economic communities.  That means the movement of £s to €s is a transference of financial blood from one to the other. Payment of pensions (or Winter Fuel payments!) is a ‘letting of blood’ from the economy of Britain. One can see why The Treasury does not like it.    Note:- They freeze British Pensions in many parts of the world. 

UNCOMFORTABLE THOUGHT!

·        If Britain left the EU.  Would pensions be frozen? The WFP would certainly cease. Other benefits would stop.
Back in 1973, there were very few British pensioners in the EU.  Now there are over 450,000.  [see Reference 2 at end]
The expenditure on their pensions is considerable!  About £3 thousand million pounds - i.e £3 billion per year

ANOTHER UNEASY THOUGHT OR TWO!

·   [to clarify - in view of a comment received - this section on residence is updated 17tyh July 2013]

RESIDENCE --Before the EU, you could not reside in France nor perhaps in any continental country unless you could demonstrate that you had enough funds to not be a burden on the State. 
Most often  you would have to demonstrate that you had health insurance. NEW would-be residents coming from the UK could find the difficulties too great.

·        EXISTING British Residents would have the status of full foreigners.  They would need Residence cards, and possibly or probably other financial/tax restrictions, getting jobs, social support, training ?…..

 

·        If Britain left the EU, pensioners would lose State health cover.

·        Young entrepreneurs would probably not get support/guidance from the State of Residence, to set up a business.

AND REMEMBER
All those hundreds of thousands of French, Italians, German (and the rest of EU citizens)  enhancing the economy of Britain will be worried about their future if Britain pulls out of the EU,  They also will have no voice in this matter.

WHAT YOU – WE – THEY? – can do.

DEMAND A VOICE - The Britons Abroad must be heard - listened to!  The decision affects us more than anyone else. And are Britons far away from Europe not affected? 
They may desire to return to Britain one day!
This matter is wider than the VOTE.  Many of course will not have a vote in any Referendum.  Many have not registered to vote – many can’t (including the author). 
But the politicians must listen – so tell them!

The bill was introduced by Mr. James Wharton, the Conservative MP for Stockton South, as a private members Bill.james.wharton.mp@parliament.uk

In the debate (5^th July) [Reference 1 at end]  only one MP, Martin Horwood,  MP for  Cheltenham drew attention to this enormous issue of the Britons Abroad in the EU. martin.horwood.mp@parliament.uk

 Be prepared to lobby your MP – Here is the list  http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

Find the MP for the place where you last lived in the UK – claim your right to contact that MP on that basis. 

Contact any peer through the following address – Indicate to whom your message should go.   contactholmember@parliament.uk

Baroness Shirley Williams said something on  this matter on the BBC radio (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036kxth) – unfortunately unavailable via a non-UK server, but interesting if you can hear it. 

Baroness Williams is a politician of great influence.  Her opinion is, if Britain leaves the EU, Britain will decline into a country of little significance.  Its future lies in being an important State within Europe.

Britain should be among the leaders of Europe. 

If Britain pulls out of the EU many Britons abroad in the EU may be so discomforted that they may be forced to return to Britain. What would happen if say 500,000 Brits of the 1.4 million now residing in the EU beyond the UK, decided to return to the UK at the same time; e.g to the Housing Market?; Social Care for the elderly?

REFERENCES

1.   The Hansard reference to the Referendum Bill debate is below – Mr. Horwood’s words are 7 paragraphs beyond the entry ‘column 1227’, just after Mr. Redwood asks Mr. Horwood to give way.

Hansard.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130705/debtext/130705-0002.htm

2. A graphical representation of the Emigration of British Pensioners to most countries of Europe, and comments on such emigration to the rest of the world – all with numbers can be read here.

http://pensionersdebout.blogspot.com/2013/04/british-old-age-pensioners-and-their.html

Remember:- It is unacceptable and undemocratic that a decision to pull out of the EU could be envisaged without listening to those most intimately affected.

Distribute this to your friends and ask them to demand that their MPs also listen.

view campaign  www.votes-for-expat-brits.com

Winter Fuel Payment - part two

To go to the Index click here

I and my colleagues involved in the campaign to achieve representation  of the British Expatriates in parliament have been heavily occupied answering emails, telephone calls, and interviews with the press on the matter of the Winter Fuel Payment.

Fine! O.K!  But does George Osborne know how mad, angry, people are?  No – I guess he doesn’'t. And I do not suppose he cares that much.  You, the expatriate Briton, either do not have a vote or perhaps like the majority of those who could vote, you do not bother to exercise it.

At the end of this piece I give you two contact addresses.  But let me highlight two  aspects of what has been said or reported.

1.  Above all is the interaction between British Governmental/Ministerial intentions and EU law.  Where relevant, the EU law is superior and must be observed. The WFP is only paid within the EU/EEA, by the British Government. Not further afield.

The winter fuel payment is defined within EU Law as an old-age benefit.  Such benefits have to be administered without discrimination across the European Union/EEA.

Mr. Osborne says ' ‘EU law now says’'.  Not true.  EU law has said it all along!  It is just that that the situation has been brought to the Government’s attention through a judgement in the European Court of Justice.

2. To avoid paying the WFP to every State pensioner, the Government is trying to impose a temperature gauge.  They are attempting to show that pensioners who are resident in countries (please note!) which are claimed to be warmer in the winter months than the region of the SW of England in the same months shall not receive it.

There is an error of logic here -  The statistics are (apparently) averaging a full country and comparing this with a English district.  So though a pensioner may live in the Auvergne or the Rhône-Alps, or the Alsace districts of France, or the Sierra Nevada in Spain, all places that in winter are certainly less mild – and even severe compared to–  the Scilly Isles or Cornwall, they will be discriminated against.

So, surely it should follow that if you live in a region comparable in administrative size with the SW of England, then if this temperature threshold is adopted, then that threshold should apply to that of  the administrative region where you reside?  So using France (with which I am more familiar), the comparison should be with administrative regions like Alsace (to the east of France which includes Strasbourg!).  But more than that, if a threshold is so defined, then if you, in your location can demonstrate that your temperatures do not reach that threshold, and are refused the WFP then you would rightfully have a case against the UK Government.  The benefit cannot depend on just where you live. That is discrimination!  We are inquiring as to the Statutory legal background to the possible introduction of this regulation, through our MPs.

I doubt if this temperature threshold concept would pass the scrutiny of EU law.

3. Many have noted the anomaly of Italy - No comment.

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I have had correspondence from pensioners surviving harsh conditions in France.   My article of March 2012 details a few!

http://pensionersdebout.blogspot.fr/2012/03/how-do-british-pensioners-live-in.html
The answer (as I have said before) to my mind, is to incorporate the WFP in some manner into the State Pension and thus make it taxable.  In that way the better-–off whether they live in the Scilly Isles or Scarborough will lose some in tax. 

You can make your feelings known by telling the truth as you see it by writing to George Osborne at the following address

For the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer,

Mr. George Osborne,

robertsonbj@parliament.uk

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The PEN (the WORD) is MIGHTIER than the SWORD  - Wield it!

The VOTE is the most valuable weapon of all. It sharpens the force of your words.   Democracy depends on it.

Demand the VOTE and for heaven’s sake USE it – but of course most of us have no vote and far too many others lamely say ‘why should I vote?’  Here then, most clearly is a reason why.  Without Democracy you will be trodden on. Without the Vote in the background, your sword has no edge, and is but a toy.

If Britain pulls from the EU you will undoubtedly lose the WFP anyway!  And other benefits of belonging to this great enterprise.

Politicians fear the weapon of the vote.  It is more like a cupid’s arrow. It gives power to those whom you respect.

You need the Vote.  You can give your opinion on that subject by contacting the parliamentary committee on overseas representation, which has its  next meeting on July 3^rd, at jonathan.r.blades@gmail.com

 [Author Brian Cave)***************

To receive updates on all related matters – mail to

lefourquet@orange.fr  or graham.richards@orange.fr

The Winter Fuel Payment and YOU - June 2013

To go to the index click here

Here is a piece from the BBC web site:       

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23065510
---- This is a report of George Osborne’s Financial statement of Wednesday 26^th June.

“Expats who live in seven warm European countries will lose their winter fuel payments under a "temperature test" announced by the chancellor.

George Osborne said that the payment would be withdrawn from people living in warmer countries from autumn 2015.  This will affect those living in a European country with an average winter temperature higher than the UK.

The move would save the Treasury about £30m, the Spending Review documents revealed.

Expats in seven countries will lose the payment. They are: Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain.”   [Odd- Where is Italy?]

George Osborne actual spoken words were.

“EU law now says that people living in the European Economic Area can claim Winter Fuel Payments from us even if they didn’t get it before they left the UK. Paying out even more money to people from all nationalities who may have worked in this country years ago but no longer live here is not a fair use of the nation’s cash. So from the autumn of 2015, we will link the Winter Fuel Payment to a temperature test. People in hot countries will no longer get it.“

The misinformed, misleading, nature of Osborne’s phrases are disgraceful.  He has chosen loaded words which are meant to colour the thoughts of the listener so that the listener is made to understand something other than the truth. The most famous propagandist of the last century said “The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think is right.”  This is not truth, the whole truth, but it is ‘propaganda’.

Read and note…..

‘people from all nationalities’.  The overwhelming majority of recipients of the Winter Fuel Payment in Europe, are like myself, British people descended from generations of British, indeed in my case, English people. This phrase is used to suggest that the money is not going to British people. Would he have dared say ‘British Citizens’

‘who may have worked in this country’  They receive a State pension, thus they most certainly worked in Britain.  The word ‘may’ is used to imply a sense of idleness. Would he have dared  omit the word ‘may’?

‘Is not a fair use of the nation’s cash’  Why is it not? 

‘In hot countries’.  The word ‘hot’ suggests what? Searing temperatures all the year round?   It is an exaggeration and suggests to the listener exceedingly warm all the year round. Which of course is George Osborne’s intention. Would he have dared say ‘the southern countries of the EU?’

He desires the resident population of Britain, especially those who are readers of The Mail and The Sun to believe that what he says is the truth.

The BBC web site says that the Climatological Unit at Norwich compiled figures to show that the 7 countries are warmer in winter than SW England.  Tell that to the expatriates in  Brittany, or in The Auvergne, and the towns of the Spanish hinterland or of Italy. OK! The Azores, and Majorca are warmer.  But there is not a scrap of difference between Lille (France) and Tournai (Belgium), just 20 km to the east.

The continental climate is characterised by hot summers and cold winters.

True - the Winter Fuel payment is a stupid payment - but it should be administered equably everywhere. My opinion is that it should be incorporated into the State Pension but paid as an increase to the regular monthly payments in December (incorporating the equally bizarre £10 Christmas bonus!) and also making the whole taxable.  In that manner the better-off would lose some of it.

You may find an item written one year ago stimulating! It concerns the neglect of the citizens in France in the 19^th century, but it still resonates today.

http://pensionersdebout.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-accuse.html

FINALLY – Is it not apparent that a certain dictatorial element lies in the thoughts of the party-body-politic in Britain.  The expatriate has no vote. Antipathy is raised against the expatriate  in Parliament, and in the press. 

We have no effective vote. Is it not time that we had a political voice?

If you have not already done so, send a Statement of Evidence to the Parliamentary Committee which one sincerely hopes is seriously considering the Representation of  Overseas electorate………….

Send to Jonathan Blades at the Palace of Westminster

 jonathan.r.blades@gmail.com

Jon Danzig's World: Can’t vote or don’t vote?

Jon Danzig's World: Can’t vote or don’t vote?