You want obscene, Mr Smith?

‘It’s absurd and offensive that tax-payers are funding these payments (Winter Fuel Allowance) for people who have retired to the Mediterranean and enjoy warmer weather… we’re able to satisfy EU rules as well as prevent this obscene waste of taxpayers’ money.’ – Ian Duncan Smith

An open letter - please feel free to copy and distribute as you see fit...

Dear Mr Ian Duncan Smith

Even though I am an ex-pat resident in Spain, I’m still paying UK taxes. And as a tax-payer, I find your comments offensive.

It is obscene that there should even be a need for a Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners. If the state pension was adequate, then this payment would not be needed. In the European pension payment stakes, Britain was 21^st out of 27 countries; Spain was in the top ten.

It is obscene that your so-called ‘temperature based eligibility’ is blatantly manipulating statistics to obtain a vote-catching result.

It is obscene that tax-payers’ money is squandered on MPs’ dubious expenses and heating bills.

It is obscene that tax-payers’ money finances fact-finding jollies abroad for MPs.

It is obscene that the right to vote in our home country is removed after residing abroad for over fifteen years; if we still pay British taxes, then we should have the right to vote: taxation without representation is unjust (and lost us certain colonies on the other side of the Atlantic).

It is obscene that taxpayers’ money is sent abroad to India, where their poverty is ignored while they spend millions on space exploration.

It is obscene that tax-payers’ money is sent abroad to finance warlords and despots.

It is obscene that the government makes a profit on passport applications from British citizens abroad.

My earlier blogs on the subject

http://nik-writealot.blogspot.com.es/2013/11/fiddling-with-figures-while-winter-fuel.html

 
http://nik-writealot.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/lets-get-political-winter-fuel-payments.html

Petitions are being completed as I write, but do we really believe that the mandarins in Whitehall will take note or even care a jot? They've got their gold-plated pensions, after all, and won't need to be concerned about getting cold in winter evenings.