UK Cold weather payments

[mary62]

My electric bills from Dec-Mar were between 275-350TL per month. My water bills were around 45-50TL every 2 months.
My view on Winter Fuel Payments is that ex-pats should get it as they have paid their contributions during their working life. Paul McCartney with all his millions is entitled to it, because he paid in to the system. I know a few folk living in Fethiye that do get it as they are maintaining an address in the UK.

[stoop]

We have friends who have lived in Southern Spain for the last 8 years. They tell me that it's the damp that gets to them in the winter as the homes there have very little insulation and tiled floors/ concrete walls etc.

I remember when they moved how much they were looking forward to the mild winters. They have now decided its not for them.

[stoop]

We would not have been able to afford to retire early had we stayed in the UK so to be able to do this helps both us and the unemployed.

Re-phrase 'Polish unemployed'  ;-)

[peter16]

Why be so racist as to bring the Polish into this discussion , why not say the Irish, the Spanish, the Indians from East Africa all these people came here and took the jobs etc. that the British workers/shirkers didn't want/couldn't do. Good topic spoilt by your last entry .

[quackers]

Well said and a lot of these workers are more highly qualified than the jobs they do that some brits would not do because they get more money on benefit. Funny but I do not see race, colour, religion, ect ect. I just see people.

[Highlander]

I think the ";-)" at the end of stoop's post means that it was very much a tongue in cheek comment.

Not sure why stoop used an abbreviation rather than the smilie.

[Scunner]

I applaud the cold weather payments system here in the UK. I've just submitted my claims for May & June.

[quackers]

Love ıt.

[jo b]

I should hang on....and include July judging by the cold and rain this morning!!

[stoop]

That abbreviation is a smiley John - a wink ;-) .. and yes it was tongue in cheek.

Not racist at all - totally true. The Poles and many others have entered our country and have taken jobs that could have gone to UK workers. Some of them are far more qualified and some not so. Some of our own people lost jobs to them and others didn't even bother applying. The Polish tended to be the first ones to come in under Labour's 'flood the market with cheap labour' policy under Tony Blair though. That's why I mentioned them.

The last three people that have got jobs where I work have been Hungarian and Spanish. All lovely people and all working in two or more other jobs at the same time that could have been filled with Brits. However they were not for whatever reason. I have no problem with that at all! Does that make my stand on racism clear?

So please take a chill pill guys!