Nick Clegg's plan to strip well-off pensioners of universal benefits such as the winter fuel allowance, worth up to £300 a year, has been branded a wealth tax on the elderly, which analysts insist would raise virtually nothing.
Nick Clegg's plan to strip well-off pensioners of universal benefits such as the winter fuel allowance, worth up to £300 a year, has been branded a wealth tax on the elderly, which analysts insist would raise virtually nothing.
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MICHAEL SETTLE UK POLITICAL EDITOR
Lord Sugar, the billionaire tycoon, called the Deputy Prime Minister an "idiot" for suggesting he should give up his free bus pass, and made it clear he did not have one.
The Liberal Democrat leader said scrapping free bus passes and TV licences, as well as the winter fuel allowance for wealthy pensioners, was not possible before the 2015 General Election – the Coalition Agreement rules it out – but suggested his party would propose it for the next parliament.
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