YP Letters: Tories and Theresa May shoot themselves in the foot over social care shambles

SO now we know, the Conservatives will withdraw the winter fuel allowance from wealthy pensioners. But who are the wealthy? Well, since its introduction in 2003 by Gordon Brown, pension credit divided pensioners into just two groups – the poor, who qualified for it, and the rich who did not.

At present the pension credit limit is set at £159 per week (£8,268 pa) for a single person, and £243 per week (£12,636 pa) for a couple. Incomes above these figures do not qualify. It worries me that this crude dividing line will be used by an incoming Conservative government to define rich and poor pensioners.

If they do it will place all those pensioners whose income is just above the pension credit limit in the same group as those billionaire pensioners on the Sunday Times ‘rich’ list. Could this turn out to be a case of a political party ‘shooting itself in the foot’?

From: Tom Howley, Wetherby.

AT public meetings, on the doorstep, by email, letter or telephone call, ask your Tory candidates if, given a choice, would they prefer to suffer from cancer or from dementia.

Both are dreadful diseases which bring terrible pressures on sufferers and family, but are treated differently by governments. Cancer patients receive state-of-the-art treatment with loving and dedicated support from highly skilled and dedicated professional staff. Treatment is free.

Dementia sufferers are left struggling in care homes, attended by well-intentioned staff, overworked and often poorly trained.

The costs to the ‘customer’ can be up to £1,000 a week. The Conservative manifesto threatens to recover dementia care from the sale of homes. Mrs May’s election victory on June 8 is confidently predicted by the polls, but her cruel aims for the treatment of dementia sufferers and their families can be stopped.

Tory candidates must be deluged with protests against the manifesto proposals.

From: BJ Cussons, Curly Hill, Ilkley.

I SUSPECT I am not alone at feeling impatience and anger at how the NHS is being used as a political pawn.

Having enjoyed its services for much of my life, I have no wish to see it privatised, but know that there is a need to make it more effective and less costly at management level.

From: Mike Padgham, Managing Director, Saint Cecilia’s Care Services, Scarborough.

FROM the publication on Thursday of the manifesto from the party most likely to form the next government, it appears that once again an opportunity has been lost to properly address the social care crisis blighting this country.

Despite being told from all sectors that social care needs root-and-branch reform to end the plight of more than 1.2m going without the care they need, social care is still viewed as a Cinderella service.

As Sir Andrew Dilnot commented, the latest proposals will not address the dire need for long-term better funding and ironically might put people off seeking care in their own home because they will now fear 
having to sell their home to 
pay for it.

People needing care will still face the prospect of losing a huge proportion of their estate, even if it is now after they have died. Older people deserve better.

From: Karl Sheridan, Selby Road, Holme on Spalding Moor.

NOW, as the Conservatives promote their manifesto, we can see their true colours revealed. Instead of taking money from the upper classes as promised, they are determined to take from those who are least able to afford it – pensioners!

It appears not to matter to Theresa May that our generation have worked hard all our lives, have contributed National Insurance all our lives and, through our labours, have made this country what it is today.

Now it appears that the new Conservative policy is one of picking on that group of society that is least able to defend itself by taking away hard-earned benefits.

Sorry, but we deserve better and frankly it’s not our fault the country is in such poor financial state – it all comes down to successive governments, their total lack of coherent management and woeful negligence in handling our country’s finances! Yes, the younger ones might think that we pensioners have it all laid out on a plate, but then the majority of us have fixed incomes.

We cannot increase our incomes by changing jobs – 
we have to endure the higher costs of petrol or diesel and 
food and commodity prices, as wells as community council charges – all eating away at 
the paltry state pension increases, and the miniscule guaranteed triple-lock increases which disappear at each hike in price from the energy companies.

No longer can we offer our children our homes later in life – those too will be taken if we fall ill.

So far I haven’t seen any of the political parties offer a sensible and fair manifesto that would make me vote for them. Even Ukip have disappeared, and at least they offered some semblance of credibility unlike the Lib Dems.

I hate to admit it, I might even consider voting Labour once again. God help us!

From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley.

MORE elderly people, the vulnerable, will have to pay for their own social care in the 
home and lose universal benefits under a new Conservative policy which, Theresa May says, is difficult but necessary to tackle the crisis in funding. The ‘nasty party’ are obviously still here.

From: Dave Croucher, Pinfold Gardens, Doncaster.

I AM sick to the teeth of hearing politicians blaming the elderly for the mess previous governments have got the country into. I worked 50 years to feed my family and put a roof over their heads. Along the way, I worked hard to buy our own property thinking that it would be a little nest egg for my children once I have gone.