#maladministration

It was Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke in 1993 who first announced plans to raise the pension age of women from 60 to 65 years of age.  The Tories 1995 Pension Act enshrined this in law but the changes were to be phased in between 2010 and 2020. So far so good – lots of warning, giving women plenty of time to financially prepared for the fact the OAP would not be available until they were 65.

Enter David Cameron, George Osborne, Nick Clegg and the Coalition Government of Austerity. In 2011 they decided to accelerate the changes and bring forward the state pension age for women to 65  by November 2018 and then to 66 by 2020.

Displaying typical Tory disregard for the detrimental financial effects this might have on ordinary working women, and displaying a total lack of common decency, some women claimed “they only received 12 months notice of the six-year delay to their pensions." (Guardian: 21/03/24), giving them no time to prepare for their unexpected loss of pension.

What is more The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found the Department of Work and Pensions “guilty of misadministration in its handling of the changes.”

Meanwhile Jeremy Hunt, in his latest budget has given millions away to the wealthy in pension tax breaks.

“Financial firms have said the changes to pension allowances could let high earners who can afford it build up pension pots worth as much as £9m while enjoying the full tax benefits.”  (Guardian: 16/03/24)

On Saturday, CNN’s Jim Acosta excoriated GOP office holders who prolong the pandemic for political advantage...

“People should not have to die so some politicians can ‘own the libs’. They’re not owning anybody, but they may end up owning the pandemic – because they're prolonging it.

Perhaps it's time to start naming these new variants that may be coming out after them. Instead of the Delta variant, why not call it the DeSantis variant?”

Yep, why not? 🤔

There will be a parade in my town

On the 4th of July

Boy Scouts and Shriners and realtors

Throwing candy to the kids lining the street

And I can’t help but wonder if some guy

Is going to drive his shiny muscle car into a group of brown people.

There’ll be a community picnic in my town

On the 4th of July

Bounce houses, hot dogs, popcorn

Churros

Because we celebrate ethnic food when it suits our tastes

Just not the rights of those that shared it with us.

There’ll be a fireworks show in my town

On the 4th of July

My dogs used to cower and whimper

They’re old now, and mostly deaf, so they won’t even notice

I used to kennel them because it made them feel more secure

Now we kennel children because it makes us feel more secure.

There will be so much color in my town

On the 4th of July

The bunting on floats

Red white and blue sno-cones

And berry flag cakes

And sparks from the fireworks filling the night sky.

And I will wear black.

And think about what has happened to this nation

And those that made it happen

And those that wanted it to happen

And those that were okay with it happening

And those that don’t believe that it’s happening

And those that know exactly what is happening and doing their best to stop it.

There won’t be any parades in my town

On the 5th of July

Or picnics

Or fireworks

Or bunting

But there will still be me and my voter registration card.

It fits pretty nicely in the pocket of my blue shirt

Right next to my driver’s license

Which I need to vote in my state

And which I will also need

To drive people to the polls

Because November is coming.

I’m volunteering for the first time

Revealed: The Ombudsman’s much delayed justice train for 50swomen lost pensions

Sir Robert Behrens: A late Friday afternoon announcement Parliamentary Ombudsman slips out progress report on 50s and 60s born women pensions complaint It is commonly known in Whitehall that if want to bury bad news, choose a late Friday afternoon to announce it. Yesterday Sir Robert Behrens, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, did just that. His announcement on the latest progress of his four year…

@maladmin Exclusive: Amber Rudd faces new challenge over maladministration of the raising of pension age from 50s Women

Amber Rudd- the new work and pensions secretary and MP for Hastings

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

Two supporters of the BackTo60 campaign have got professional legal support to challenge the government for maladministration over the failure to notify them over the raising of the pension age.

The fresh challenge is in addition to the hearing next Friday at the High court to decide whether BackTo60…

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/B7CakJ

BRUSSELS | Watchdog lambasts European Commission over top job choice

BRUSSELS  — The European Union’s official transparency watchdog says the European Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of a protege of its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, to a top job.

Martin Selmayr, Juncker’s former head of Cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes.

Accusing the European Commission of “maladministration,” European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly said Tuesday that the move “risked jeopardizing the hard won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust.”

Selmayr now runs the European Commission — which has around 33,000 employees and whose commissioners are appointed, not elected — and so wields strong influence over the EU’s agenda and policy priorities.

O’Reilly says it’s “extraordinary” that no commissioner seemed to question the appointment procedure.