Winter of discontent

A fast run by a rather misty and autumnal loch.

As Britain prepares for another long cold winter, and as fuel costs continue to rise, Cameron’s government demonstrates again its grasp of social need by cutting the winter fuel allowance. The WFA is something of an anachronism, like many of the benefits for older people in the UK, because it is awarded (and cut) regardless of individual need for it. There seems to be an unwillingness to means-test people – maybe because such intimate questioning is just too un-British. All old people receive state benefits whether they are rich or poor. Probably even the Queen is entitled to free bus travel. As a predictable result there isn’t enough money to go round so the allowances have to be cut even for the people that actually rely on them to keep warm.