The state pension is not a random government favour, it’s the back end of a 35–40 year compulsory “contract” where people are forced to hand over National Insurance on the clear promise of a basic pension at the end.
Politicians and think tanks helped design an unfunded, pay‑as‑you‑go system where today’s workers pay today’s pensioners, then have the gall to call it “unsustainable” as if the public dreamt it up.
If a private firm sold you a retirement product on fixed terms, took your money for four decades, then announced at 66 that you “didn’t really need it” and would henceforth be means‑tested or frozen, they would be in court for mis‑selling and fraud.
The crisis here is not pensioners “leeching off the young”, it’s a political class that built a Ponzi‑style NI system, diverted the proceeds for other spending, and now wants to default on the people who kept their side of the bargain.
You do not blame the victims of a defective product for believing the brochure; you go after the people who wrote it.
@martinplaut He was chosen because you send a sleazeball to deal with sleazeballs - He knew them, they knew him, they're in the same world. A practical choice.
To the people complaining these sex abuse cases have created a world where men now have to think 10 times before they touch a woman.
Yes, that's the point.
It's called consent. Welcome to human decency.
@ratales very disappointed in you. Think your most recent promotional attempt is backfiring on you from what I'm seeing on SM. The Daily Mail. Really ??
In 2014, I was annoyed standing in front of magazine racks at train stations that there was nothing that appealed to me. The usual ‘women’s magazines’ didn’t speak to me and were too centred on beach bodies, white trousers and which fruit my body resembled.
Add to this that I love women. Ever since I worked for WHSmith and then the Jobcentre, I’ve been surrounded with women at work. When I got into comedy, those numbers dropped dramatically (they’re better now hoo-fucking-ray). So I started setting up small work places full of women. My TV series, my new material gig, writers’ rooms, my radio shows. Women, women, women.
I decided to do something about the lack of magazines for women like me (whatever that means) and thus create another all-women work space, a healthy, more interesting and feminist alternative to the magazines that were out there.
And thus began Standard Issue Magazine, edited by the fantastic Mickey Noonan. We were lucky enough to have some incredible women write wonderful articles for us. And the whole thing was run by 12 awesome women.
In 2017, I decided it was time to move with the times and we became a podcast @StandardIssueUK. The team: Mickey Noonan, Hannah Dunleavy and Jen Offord have since created over a thousand brilliant episodes of a podcast that treats women like they have brains, because we do, and are interested in the world. We are for women, by women, about everything. And we shine a light on some incredible sports women, journalists, playwrights, entrepreneurs, heck, all sorts of women from all walks of life who have something to say.
Standard Issue is a podcast championing women's voices, and packed with interviews, news, film, opinion and humour.
And on this International Women’s Day, I’d love you to give it a listen. Or comment on this post if you have listened. Or share it with your followers. It all helps. We hope you enjoy it. We’re super proud of it.
I feel this way about this project every day but today feels like a good day to shout about excellent women and their work.
Miriam Margolyes is a voice of truth.
You haven't lost anyone of any value Miriam, only people who don't value life at all, if it isn't 'their' people.
@ValKelly59@Serena_Partrick @MartinMonmouth1 Napo pet insurance do - they just paid for my dog's 2 x tooth extraction £600. They were quick & efficient
🍁🦊Competition time! To celebrate the coming of autumn, a cornucopia of delights! A signed copy of my book, 'Reynard the Fox' and accompanying gold-tipped notebook, 'A Fox for All Seasons,' a bar of fine Apple and Blackberry chocolate, a box of powdery cinnamon knots, a packet of Caramelised biscuit tea and a charming & very fluffy fox companion. Simply follow, like and retweet to win! 🦊🍂