Naturally Unnatural Issue #6 20th May 2017

This issue includes: The serious case of voter apathy plagues the UK political system Rising cost of electricity is a major factor in the rise of infla- tion Plus more... A weekly political newsletter for pragmatic progressives Issue #2, 22 nd April 2017 This week in Naturally Unnatural, we cover the well- publicised Conservative social care policy. Hopefully, shedding some light on the issue and why most people are against it. We also have a look at voter apathy ahead of the general election, because the UK does have one of the lowest turnout percentages for young voters. Ex- plored briefly is the relationship between the rise of inflation and the cost of electricity. Conservatives unveil manifesto with a nasty surprise for pensioners By Matthew Clifton Late Wednesday night, a manifesto pledge from the Conservatives was revealed by the press prior the mani- festo launch on Thursday. It was their policy on pensioners and care. Firstly, they are to remove the winter fuel al- lowance from rich pensioners and sec- ondly, remove the upper limit on what people can be expected to pay for their care. At first glance these policies seem like token gestures, especially the former. However, if you look at it in more detail, it shows something that is a concern. The rhetoric being repeated daily by the Conservative Party is exhausting, that’s why I have penned a couple articles about political rhetoric and what society should aspire to, to inspire those to think further on the sub- jects. There will be no Naturally Unnatural newsletter next Saturday. Instead there will be a general election special released the following Saturday 3 rd June, this will be a slightly longer edition than normal. Labour have mentioned heavily about protecting pensioners but how do their policies on care stack up to the Con- servatives? What do the details of the pol- icies show each party are offering? This will allow implementation of the Ethi- cal Care Charter adopted by 28 councils, end 15-minute visits and provide carers with paid travel time, access to training and an option to choose regular hours. They have also said they would increase the Carer’s Allowance for unpaid full- The Labour Party have said that in their first term, they would lay the foundations time carers to align with the benefit rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance. Labour’s mani- of a National Care Service. Firstly, they festo says the National Care Service is to would address the funding crisis by im- mediately increasing social care budgets be built alongside the NHS “with a shared by £8 billion over the lifetime of the next requirement for single commissioning, parliament, with £1 billion being invested partnership arrangements, pooled budg- in the first year. They have stated that this ets and joint working arrangements.” would be enough to pay carers a real liv- Continued on page 3... ing wage without cutting the quality of care provided. 1