Simon Collyer, ABC Founder Appears On talkRADIO

RADIO APPEARANCE - Simon Collyer ABC founder has appeared on talkRADIO with the Weekend Breakfast Show host, presenter Penny Smith. 

Our remit was to talk about the eviction moratorium changes and the Renters Reform Bill, but also at short notice, potential changes to the state pension.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson have conflicting views about what to do to repay the record borrowing caused in part by the Covid-19 pandemic.

PM Boris knows that much of his support comes from senior citizens and these are the people who showed so much support for Brexit as opposed to the younger voters who in the main wanted the UK to stay part of the EU.

According to the Times, The Chancellor has publicly raised concerns about the “anomaly” caused by the “triple lock”, which is used to calculate rises in state pensions, and wants to tackle the issue in his autumn budget. He is considering temporarily suspending the mechanism to help to bolster the public finances, in breach of the Conservative manifesto.

 Mr Johnson has pushed back. “The prime minister hates it [pausing the triple lock] because it was a manifesto pledge,” a government source said. “He really doesn’t want to do it. The optics are terrible for older voters.”

 Tory strategists are concerned that Labour could accuse them of betraying pensioners. A YouGov poll published this week found that the Conservatives retained a 24-point lead over Labour among people aged above 65.

The problem is this - the government pledged in their manifesto to raise the state pension in-line with whichever was higher: wages, inflation or 2.5 per cent. Because the furlough scheme has depressed wages along with the current recession, average wages are set to jump next year. According to an analysis by the Resolution Foundation that could see pensioners  getting an increase of 7.4 per cent over the next two years and give taxpayers a bill for £2 billion annually.

Image: talkRADIO Presenter Penny Smith with comedian, Ricky Gervais.

'Dishy Rishi' as he is being called is very popular with the public. We may even see him in a bid for the top job one day.

Construction is riding high and the cheap meals scheme has proved immensely popular, though not necessarily with regular customers who find that their local eatery is getting fully booked out. Boris knows that he is not someone seen as entirely reliable and going back on a key manifesto pledge to a major cohort of supporters will be a public relations disaster and an own goal. With the Labour Party being ably led by Keir Starmer these days, handing Labour a stick to bash the PM with...Boris knows he will be in for a lot of humiliation. 

Pensions are far from generous in the UK compared to Europe. Senior citizens, growing in number as former baby boomers retire are not going to be happy if this manifesto pledge goes in the bin. Many retirees started work at age sixteen and fifteen in some cases. They have paid in for many years in their eyes. 

At the ABC we are concerned that too many changes are being made simultaneously. The Brexit negotiations are not going well, the full effects of the recession are yet to be felt and furloughed worked do not count as unemployed. All that could change in October. To us, it seems better to wait and let things settle before making dramatic changes.

We may see a second wave of Covid-19 and we live in a joined-up world...the speed we come out of recession will depend on the global situation. 

Special thanks to producer Cass Hoe, whom we had a wonderful conversation with as Cass really knows her history and current affairs. It looks as if we will be asked back and in this first interview we certainly aimed to avoid controversy. 

Being interviewed on TV or radio is like a game of Tennis – you know a ball is coming at you, but not from where, or at what speed and with how much imparted spin. Avoiding being made to look a fool is a good strategy. 

Sticking to sensible answers that do not require long complex development of arguments works. As we get better known we can present more detailed and complex responses, but as a piece of advice to our readers who may appear on TV or radio, you have to stick to the knitting and avoid wandering off-topic. Donald Trump, to use a golfing analogy, ends up in the weeds all the time. 

As one expert presenter said...'Tell people what you are going to say, say it and then tell them what you have said'. Keep it simple and succinct (KISS). 

ABC Comment, have your say below:

Simon on talkRADIO, with presenter Penny Smith.