2.5% More Expensive Next Year

by **D and E** » 26 Jun 2010, 15:16

The ConDem government :twisted: have made it 2.5% more expensive for all us regular visitors to visit our beloved Symi next year and if, like us, you work in the public service there will no pay rise to help offset this.

Of course "we are all in this together" says Cameron with his alledged �80m personal fortune :o and these measures are "fair" :P - yes Mr C 2.5% onto the cost of living for someone on �15,000 per annum is felt just the same as someone on �150,000 !!! they must teach a different school of economics at Eton and Oxford :evil: :evil: :evil:

by **Sunshine** » 26 Jun 2010, 19:19

...Apparently (according to the Telegraph) MPs won't be affected by the pay/pension cuts...

by **snoopy2** » 26 Jun 2010, 20:18

No point in gripes now - we have the government we voted (or didn't) for. It is now put up and shut up time and hope they fall out so much there will have to be an election. Recession is world wide so i don't know it makes a lot of difference who is in right now. :evil:

by **Kojak** » 26 Jun 2010, 23:05

Don't blame this government. There are 15 years of mistakes by the previous one who, by the way, swanned out of office leaving a note saying there was no money left in the kitty. Oh, and by the way, that government was the one who sold off most of our gold reserves at rock bottom prices.

by **MacDuff** » 27 Jun 2010, 08:12

Remember the comments I made prior to the election and the quotes I gave from The Economist. Brown left behind as a legacy, the biggest debt in British history. In addition, the pound is at it's lowest level in history. Brown's profligate behaviour in trying to buy votes by providing "goodies" for the innocent and gullible electorate with ever increasing levels of national debt brought upon the U.K. electorate inevitable consequences. Sadly, the history of Labour Governments is one of spend, spend, spend, in turn resulting in devaluation of the pound sterling by Wilson, and the arrival of the IMF when Callaghan screwed up the economy. However, just think, two years ago the "wealth" figure quoted for Mr. Cameron, would have purchased $224,000,00 Canadian. Today it would purchase only $120,000,000 Canadian. So I guess that a loss of $104,00,000 is greater than that suffered by most British taxpayers. Blair has how many houses and gets paid how much for his Middle East work? Has anybody seen Brown, I'm told he actually eventually was sworn in and that he actually spent six minutes in the House! So he must still be getting his salary. The economic Ghengis Khan who ravaged the U.Ks finances.

by **peterv** » 27 Jun 2010, 12:37

While I agree with some of the comments made by Macduff, part of the problem was created by those who kept spending on the credit cards or taking out loans or remortgageing their homes. typicla examples of "keeping up with the Jones's"

The other problem was greed on the part of many bankers....

More economics lessons available on my occasional visits to Pachos from November.

by **D and E** » 27 Jun 2010, 16:08

Good to see that there are enlightened Canadians protesting at the G20 in Toronto on today's BBC Online and that the simpleton economics of MrC are being seen for what they are - a recipe for double-dip resession which will not impact on the very rich - it never does.

As for Blair - he was simply a Tory in disguise - carring forward the disastorous legacy of the evil Thatcher which was the foundations of the disasterous position we are now having to pay for (I agree with Kojak that this was aggrevated by Brown following Blair's dictat and selling off the gold).

On the voting front it must be that the demographic of the electorate and those who are not old enough to have experienced the Thatcher years that has given us the ConDem(ed) bunch that we have now.

Back to Germany .v. England................

by **Kojak** » 27 Jun 2010, 16:33

Sadly, I'm old enough to remember the MacMillan years... :cry:

by **Sunshine** » 27 Jun 2010, 17:27

...Is that you, 'Arold??...

by **Kojak** » 28 Jun 2010, 09:07

"The pound in your pocket" etc.

by **snapperjon** » 29 Jun 2010, 08:33

2.5% rise brings the UK pretty much into line with the other European rates for VAT (Greek rate is about to go up to 23% on most items). Also the pound has risen against the Euro by far more than 2.5% in the last 12 months, so a trip to Symi will be quite a bit cheaper this year.

Swings and roundabouts...

by **bill** » 29 Jun 2010, 18:18

GBP - and gt; EUR up to the realms of 1.24. That should negate any increase in VAT.
Conservatives policy saving the day again, just as Maggie did.

by **Allan** » 29 Jun 2010, 21:46

I think you'll find Bill that the improved GBP and gt; Euro exchange rate is as a result of the Euro weakening by 10% against the Dollar since early May.

I doubt even Maggie could have influenced the Eurozone currency!

by **bill** » 30 Jun 2010, 08:17

Allan, yes partly the Euro weakening, but also the minutes of the BoE stated that one of the board voted for an interest rate rise. Plus our borrowing figures were less than expected. This was further backed up by the IMF who have approved the approach taken by the new Government. The Government has stopped, for the time being, of being de-rated, which would have been catastrophic.

She was a goddess, don't you remember the glorious Labour Government of the 1970's, power cuts and strikes, 3 day weeks?

by **Andy W** » 30 Jun 2010, 17:49

Of course, the increase is only 2.5% if the regular visitor travels from the UK and buys an all-inclusive package from a UK tour operator. I'm not sure these actually exist for Symi as Olympic Holidays etc don't throw in all meals and drinks. Most visitors to Symi these days travel independently (and of course the majority don't start from the UK either) and so various tax rates apply according to which countries (or parts of countries) the different parts of the holiday are bought in. I think Symi still enjoys a lower tax rate on some items than most of Greece, for instance. The UK doesn't charge VAT on air flights, so that part of an independent holiday isn't going to go up.

Bill - I'm sure the power cuts and 3 day weeks were down to the glorious Conservative government of the 1970s, led by Edward Heath. The strikes - well they happened pretty much continuously no matter who was in power, up to the early 1980s. Mrs T can certainly take credit for bringing them under control eventually.

by **joyce** » 30 Jun 2010, 18:28

[quote="Kojak"]

Don't blame this government. There are 15 years of mistakes by the previous one who, by the way, swanned out of office leaving a note saying there was no money left in the kitty. Oh, and by the way, that government was the one who sold off most of our gold reserves at rock bottom prices.
[/quote]

by **joyce** » 30 Jun 2010, 18:31

[quote]Originally posted by Kojak

Don't blame this government. There are 15 years of mistakes by the previous one who, by the way, swanned out of office leaving a note saying there was no money left in the kitty. Oh, and by the way, that government was the one who sold off most of our gold reserves at rock bottom prices.

I don't think there's much to choose between any of them - we lost our house in the last recession under a conservative government, we have friends who are still paying for houses they no longer live in! I worked in the NHS when it was being run down by a conservative government with a view to possibly being sold off cheaply, and I think British Rail was also sold off for a song. The last lot weren't much better but they were no worse - memories just get shorter that's all!]

by **bill** » 01 Jul 2010, 09:35

Hi Andy_W,
sorry you are of course correct, I was confused by the 'Old' Labour in power and the power of the unions

It was the 'Winter of Discontent'...

by **MacDuff** » 03 Jul 2010, 04:49

"Enlightened Canadians". Translates into a bunch of thugs destroying both private and public property. Even the senior trade union leaders appeared on Canadian TV to condemn the rioters and to admit that they themselves did not manage to get their message over although they had applied for and been granted a licence to hold a protest. I think that both Oxfam and Green Peace can anticipate a drop in donations from Canadians as a consequence of the publicity they received as participants. Why did these "enlightened people" oppose increased aid for deprived mothers and children in third world countries - a priority which was introduced by the Canadian Prime Minister at bothg G8 and G20 meetings as host? One of the female detained rioters declare to the media: "it goes to prove that we live in a fascist police state". This about the country in which she is privileged to live. Best advice I can give her, is to emigrate to a country of her choice. Any takers in any country in Europe.? Speak up now before you miss the opportunity. As one who has a personal interest - a British pension holder, the Pound stg. has dropped from $2.91 to $1.49 in two and one half years. In the same time, the Euro has dropped from $1.65 to $1.20.
This is the measure of the competence of Mr. Brown's Government and of southern Europe expecting to have the same living standards as northern Europe not as a consequence of working harder but as a consequence of entry into the E.C. Anyone like the U.K. Government to continue the proven to be disasterous policies of Messrs Brown and Blair? However, I have to say that I was amused by the idea that Blair was a Conservative. That is enough to make a cat laugh! Any more sightings of wee Gordie? Maybe he too has become a Conservative! Maybe the pair of them can be best described as "Enlightened Britishers".

by **D and E** » 04 Jul 2010, 11:41

I am certain Wee Gordie will pop up in a role in the World Bank / IMF or the likes :cry:

. Despite his shortcomings it is generally believed that his interventions, when the banks of the "evil empire" (USA) almost caused global economic meltdown, did much to avoid disaster.

Thankfully influential global organisations did not see fit to look to "the godess" Thatcher [thank for that one Bill

] to take up a post on the world stage.

I will always be astounded at Blair :twisted:

becoming a Middle east envoy or whatever his position is now - but then he had to get some payback for being the poodle of the "evil empire".

As for protestors - is it only when Governments sanction violence that it becomes OK :?:

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