The bedroom tax will work when you talk about revenue
It will work because Councils will be able to pay less in housing benefit to those who have a spare bedroom and fall under the rules for example it is a Council House.
Of course the greater part of it working will come from the extra revenue the Government will get when people have to pay more of the rent themselves.
The new law WILL NOT work if everyone moves into smaller accommodation, ie give the Government what they say the want not what they really want.
If they all apply to move into smaller houses the councils will spend a fortune in administering the applications, finding suitable smaller properties, obtaining more suitable properties, moving families into the bigger accommodation they need whilst they are moving the others into the smaller properties.
Paying more to social services to pay for the increase in their costs finding foster homes as those who currently foster or are considering it as they will no longer have the spare rooms to give to foster children.
The cost of bringing recently vacated properties back up to Council rulings (not necessarily because they are in poor condition but because a property vacated cannot keep the fitted kitchen the tennants had fitted it has to be a council kitchen/bedroom/windows/beige walls etc, it cannot have the lovely wallpaper left in place or the nice new doors that the tennants bought as so many have improved their council properties over the years)
It is at the end of the day simply a stealth tax like so many others.
They do star.
Only the arrogant Brits who demand the French speak English to them get treated badly here...
Your not a Brit in France, France is just a state within the European Community, you are a resident of the state of France just like all the others in that state are, just as those residing in the State of the United Kingdom are residents of that state, we are no longer English, Welsh, Scottish, Indian, Pakistani, Lithuanian, Polish, French, German or anything else as a Nation we here are Europeans from the state of the United Kindom with different ancesteral heritages.
Not what I want to be but what I have to accept I am. The French gave up their rights to class you as anything but a member of the EU state of France just as we here gave up our right to class any EU state member as anything but a member of our state on arrival.
The sooner EU members realise that the better it will be.
You do not have to learn or speak French in the same way nobody living in this Country has to learn English, true it may make it easier to find employment and get on with life but it is not a requirement of EU law.
I believe it respectfull when living in another EU state to learn that language and for all states to try to speak to others in their own states language, so yes everyone residing in France should try to speak to people in their own language just as those living in the EU state of the United Kingdom should, but in the real world it would be difficult to learn so many languages.
That is so true Jed.
There is, however, one more thing to add about France that doesn't exist in the UK. It's the Constitution of the 5th Republic, penned by CdG.
The second article of the 5th Republic of France states, amongst other things, 'the language of France is French'.
So, if you want to visit any of the (many) Government departments in any of the regions, you can expect to be met with blank faces if you insist on speaking anything other than French (and that includes the French trying it on with Breton, langue d'oc or any of the other previously used regional dialects). Try telling that to the Welsh!
And that, despite the fact that the functionary might speak perfect Oxford English!
It's the principle. When in Rome (or Paris) etc.....
However, that said, a disgruntled French farmer has a unique way of making his patois understood. He backs his muck spreader up to the steps of the fontionaire's office and dumps the smelliest load of shit imaginable half way up the door. That tends to be noticed trés bien!
Yes, you are quite right flower.
We had occasion to go to the local tax office last week to settle a bill for friends of ours in the UK who had forgotten to pay it.
We, like you, started off in French but very quickly he continued in perfect English. It's the principle of the thing. You demand to be understood in English and they don't want to know. You make a good attempt at conducting yourself in French and they will be more helpful than you can imagine.
Don't forget though it's also the party that hates immigrants too. :giggle:
They do say, that in order to make your point, you should say it once, then say it again and just to be clear say it a third time to make sure it sinks in.
Seems minx subscribes to that theory.
Don't shout it too loud though eh? 
There is always my pm box if anything needs to really answered. 
