By Isle of Wight Observer
April’s council tax hike is coming – 5 per cent – again! Add to that rising costs for water, telephone bills, electric, gas, food and practically everything else and it’s hardly a shock that inflation has decided to make a dramatic comeback. And as if that weren’t enough punishment, Labour’s spiteful National Insurance hike is set to squeeze small businesses until the pips squeak.
It’s hard to see how people will manage – but at least we don’t have to worry about our MPs – who’ll get an extra £2,500 this year (on top of a pay rise of £4,700 in 2023). I’m sure they’ll manage to scrape by on £94,000 plus all their travel, accommodation and other expenses.
But life isn’t all gloom and doom; there’s a glimmer of good news with the IW Council’s ‘Three Oaks project’. When it’s ready, there will be 145 new ‘affordable’ homes – 87 for rent and 57 for shared ownership. There’s nothing more important than having a secure roof over your head, and the lucky few families on the waiting list, of over 2,600 households, who get one of those homes, will be elated. But, as always, there’s an elephant in the room, and this one’s tap dancing in the corner. What exactly does ‘affordable’ mean? We don’t know what the rents will be yet – but we can be sure they won’t be ‘affordable’ for those most in need of help – not if they’re law-abiding British citizens who pay their taxes.
Deciding how taxpayers’ money is spent must be tough. Choosing between health, education, council funding or defending our nation can’t be easy. Perhaps MPs earn their money. But President Trump thinks it’s high time Britain and Europe stepped up on defence, and he’s got a point. Why should America subsidise Europe’s peace?
Since the end of WWII, those generous yanks have paid out billions of dollars defending us. Uncle Sam doesn’t just spend more on defence than all other NATO partners combined, the USA spends twice as much as the rest of us combined – and then some. That means Liberal Europe has been able to spend more on welfare and health – our NHS provides healthcare ‘free for all’, while Americans pay through the nose for theirs. And Americans don’t get anything like the same welfare benefits that Europeans take for granted. No wonder Trump’s ‘MAGA’ slogan has touched a nerve.
Meanwhile, the Isle of Wight Council is in serious financial trouble, much of it stemming from how central government funds adult social care – or, more accurately, – doesn’t fund it. The Island is essentially a magnet for pensioners. Unless they can find a way to prevent people retiring to the Island, the council is stuck with funding end-of-life care.
Most of us know older people who’ve lost everything to care home fees. When the money’s all gone, the taxpayer has no choice but to cough up. I have a mainland relative who was paying over £5,000 a month. Thanks to dementia, she doesn’t understand that her home and savings are all gone now. She has four children; none will see a penny from what was a substantial estate. Her local authority is now responsible for the bills until she dies.
Understandably, countless millions living in poverty overseas would rather live here, but we can’t give all of them a passport; we need control. Partly, that’s why Trump won the American election so convincingly.
Labour is struggling on every front, and guilty of double-speak on immigration. It’s evident planned growth lurks behind their 1 + 1/2 million new homes target. Twenty-five thousand people have arrived by boat since July’s election. If, as they claim, those who come legally are truly adding value to British life, we must find homes for them. Let’s hope those highly paid MPs don’t have Three Oaks in their sights.