[ulnanVti]

Multiple wives will mean multiple benefits

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones
Last Updated: 1:52am GMT 04/02/2008

Husbands with multiple wives have been given the go-ahead to claim extra welfare benefits following a year-long Government review, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Even though bigamy is a crime in Britain, the decision by ministers means that polygamous marriages can now be recognised formally by the state, so long as the weddings took place in countries where the arrangement is legal.

The outcome will chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife, as is permitted under Islamic law. Ministers estimate that up to a thousand polygamous partnerships exist in Britain, although they admit there is no exact record.

The decision has been condemned by the Tories, who accused the Government of offering preferential treatment to a particular group, and of setting a precedent that would lead to demands for further changes in British law.

New guidelines on income support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) state: "Where there is a valid polygamous marriage the claimant and one spouse will be paid the couple rate ... The amount payable for each additional spouse is presently £33.65."

Income support for all of the wives may be paid directly into the husband's bank account, if the family so choose. Under the deal agreed by ministers, a husband with multiple wives may also be eligible for additional housing benefit and council tax benefit to reflect the larger property needed for his family.

The ruling could cost taxpayers millions of pounds. Ministers launched a review of the benefit rules for polygamous marriages in November 2006, after it emerged that some families had benefited financially.

The review concluded in December last year with agreement that the extra benefits should continue to be paid, the Government admitted. The decision was not publicly announced

[avaissema]

society unravels slowly but surely ...

[FYvWldC0]

The outcome will chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife, as is permitted under Islamic law.

Another example of the slow but sure Islamification of the UK. Frightening.

[Thunderzee]

What do you expect? Polygamous goat-fuc#ers are a small but solid constituency for Labour.

The Scum and a few other tabloids will scream, but the mainstream media protrays any attempt by, say, the Tories to nix such a project as inherently racist.

I think Britain could be the first European country to become politically/legislatively islamified.

[Dreqsqse]

This seems to be a good as reason as any to outlaw marriage for everyone -- once and for all.

[Nfvzjvcl]

I think Britain could be the first European country to become politically/legislatively islamified.

I fear you may be right, but to say that in public would result in hysterical accusations of Islamophobia. People will realise when its too late - in fact it may already be too late.

[GetsTan]

Could someone please explain why, other than this one law, the UK has apparently become an Islamic state?

[Qdkczrdi]

^because its now law for everyone to wear a hijab. Mine is a soft blue colour with purple trim.

[patuvammnogoo]

I dont think so. Could I have a real answer please.

[vTLWqa1l]

Alonzo - where's your sense of humour? I was joking.

I don't think anyone has said it HAS become an Islamic state, but it certainly feels that we are slowly heading that way. Go to this http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8626 thread. I added a number of posts voicing my concerns - rather than re-writing it all again here.

[PymnImmen]

I do have a sense of humour, i apologise but my patience is pretty thin on the whole Capn Birdseye/ Gregory Tenenbaum constant whining about britain, posting every negative story they find concerning it and completely ignoring everything good about the Uk which vastly outweighs the bad. It is getting extremely old.

[valiumnopresc]

^ yes i agree, but if i say anything negative its directed at the government, not the country. Captain Birdseye, i think i secretly quite patriotic, although he'd never admit that . The other one, well, i'm as perplexed as you.

Remember when people find fault in others, its usually because they are unhappy with themselves.

[FelikTen]

The government makes mistakes as does every other government in the world. The country is in a great state because the government for the most part is doing well. Id hate to see this board if it existed before 1997.

Yes I believe CB and GT have alot of issues with themselves.

[MortgFinsJohnQ]

Yo Alonzo, you know very well from my posts that I'm far from a Tenenbaum-Birdseye 'Jeremiah', least of all about Britain. I think the same can be said of Meerkat (despite his/her silly net moniker )

I do think that the mix of large, concentrated, newly self-aware, ethnically-conscious Islamic population centers on one hand and an entitlement-rich, stridency-rewarding, politically-correct political system on the other will produce situations, over the next 5-15 years, where laws that would not otherwise have been considered will hit the UK statute books.

I did not say the UK is islamified, just that it is more likely to become islamified than countries that either have a less self-assured Islamic presence or ones (take France) which tended to be governed more top-down.

If we regard the term 'phobia' as an irrational fear or dislike of something, then I'm not an islamophobe. I am against all theocratic movements and I am strongly against the imposition of any legal of customary restraints on the liberties of civilized peoples due to religious superstition, be it Islamic, Judaic, Christian or Jedi.

[brandiweb]

Why are we assuming all polygamous relationships in Britain are among Muslims? I would conjecture you'd get at least some libertarians among the mix of people who would be bigamists.

Sounds like this is just a badly written law that parlaiment should fix.

[immewaycypef]

Yes I believe CB and GT have alot of issues with themselves.

And you dont?

Seriously, what are you?

My mother?

QFT.

[sesIgnose]

And you dont?

Seriously, what are you?

My mother?

QFT.

If he was your mother he would not be as bothered by your incesant ranting against the UK.

It is not the best place for solutions, but you make it sound like hell on earth and more than a few would like you to temper your comments with a bit of reserve. Hell, even lighten up a bit, say something about somethnig you LIKE that is not something that is bad for the UK!




As for poligamy, WHO CARES!!!!

Get religion the hell (pun) out of this! They say it is freedom of religion, but that is bunk. This is societal. Poligamy was coming from a time when we were still an Alpha-Male DOMINATED society where the men were the moneymakers. The more money you made, the more you could support, the more you spread your genes into the world. We had it her in the states with the Mormons not too long ago!

Monogamy is another religious belief brought on by other factions supported by societal leanings. I am not 100% sure of ITS roots, but it did not just magically appear!

Maybe there should be less regulation imposed by the government on religious pairings? That only the thnigs that have direct social impact (such as inheritance, visitation rights, custody of children) should be considered and regulated by the government. Otherwise, have one, have ten, have 100 wives, or HUSBANDS for that matter.

Putting it up to the government on how you should live your life in ways that really would not effect those around you is very invasive and maybe this is a sign that we should stop getting into every detail of an individuals life in the name of the state and of the nation.

[fashikn]

The government makes mistakes as does every other government in the world.

...its just that the Labour government makes more mistakes than most!

^ yes i agree, but if i say anything negative its directed at the government, not the country. Captain Birdseye, i think i secretly quite patriotic, although he'd never admit that .

... no not secretly patriotic, but I am very proud to be British and to live in Britain, but that doesn't stop me from pointing out that our wonderful country, that has given so much to the world, also has another, darker side.

"Patriotism" is a word I'm very careful about - to quote Samuel Johnson, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

[M_Marked]

"Patriotism" is a word I'm very careful about - to quote Samuel Johnson, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

Anyone can say anything they want and subsequently be quoted, It doesnt make it true.

Your obsession with this issue and incessant posting of negative stories borders on an unhealthy obsession. Had you been also posting positive stories and saying how proud your were of the acheivements of the UK.

The country has gone downhill in your opinion because of loss of freedom? Well I felt totally free and that I could acheive anything I wanted. I went to one of the worst schools in the coutry and still recieved an education good enough to go to University and recieve an excellent education. The country prepared me so well in fact I easily got a job at an excellent architecture firm in New York. The economy is booming, people have more money and there are more people working. pre-labour interest rates and inflation rates were astounding.

Yes labour makes mistakes but the country was a s***hole under John Major's leadership. Do you watch PMQs? David Cameroon has nothing to say except recycle stupid quotes and jokes because there is nothing he can truely attack the Labour party about except when someone makes a slip up because Labour policy has transformed the country.

[Dyslermergerb]

The country prepared me so well in fact I easily got a job at an excellent architecture firm in New York.

So, lets summarise alonzo, you got your free education courtesy of the British taxpayer then, because you love your country so much and were deeply grateful for the free eduaction it gave you, you dashed off to NYC at the first opportunity - very patriotic if I may say so, we need more people like you, (like we need a hole in the head).

The economy is booming, people have more money and there are more people working. Wake up and take a reality check! You've been living in NYC too long already! This was 2006, its much worse now.

Britain becomes 'never, never land' as personal debt runs out of control

UK borrowers account for one third of unsecured debt in western Europe
On average, a Briton has twice the debt of a European
Total consumer debt in the UK is at a record £1.3 trillion
New debt last year came to an unprecedented £215bn
Citizens Advice faced 1.25 million new debt cases last year - the figure is rising
Related Articles

• A precarious situation - especially if house prices crash
• Hamish McRae: Till debt us do part? Rate rises will test our ability to live with credit

By David Prosser, Personal Finance Editor The Independent
Thursday, 28 September 2006

Britain's "buy now, pay later" consumer culture has led to unprecedented levels of personal debt. The average Briton now has more than twice as much unsecured borrowing - including overdrafts, personal loans and credit card debt - as the typical European, according to a report published by Datamonitor.

The market research analysts said yesterday that even before mortgage borrowing was considered, the average Briton owes £3,175, compared to the average debt in Europe of £1,588. Datamonitor said Britons had "an insatiable appetite for credit", taking on new unsecured loans of £215bn last year alone.

Borrowers from the UK now account for a third of all unsecured debt in western Europe, Datamonitor added. Paul Marsh, author of the report, said: "While the UK enjoys a buy-now pay-later culture ... many major European countries have a culture of saving and frugality. Countries such as France and Germany are particularly debt adverse."

The boom in unsecured lending has boosted total consumer debt, including mortgages, to almost £1.3trn, close to three times the level of borrowing in 1997, when Labour came to power.

The consumer borrowing crisis is set to become the most pressing concern for Gordon Brown's successor as Chancellor of the Exchequer. George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, said: "Gordon Brown is presiding over an economy increasingly built on debt. This has left many families vulnerable to the triple blow of rising mortgage rates, taxes and energy bills."

The debt crisis is even hitting young borrowers, according to separate research published yesterday by One Advice, the debt advisers. The company said the average 18 to 24-year-old now owes £2,860 in unsecured borrowing. One Advice said the average figures obscured worrying individual cases. It said 108,000 18 to 24-year-olds had credit card debts of more than £5,000.

There are increasingly worrying signs that many borrowers are struggling to stay on top of repayments. The average person has debts that total 150 per cent of their annual income, according to the Bank of England, half as much again as in 1997.

The Bank believes around one million households face problems coping with debt repayments - around 10 per cent of the four in 10 households that have unsecured borrowing.

A report from Citizens Advice earlier this month said 770,000 mortgage borrowers had missed at least one mortgage repayment over the past year, while two million homeowners said they were concerned their finances would not stretch to cover their debts.

The charity said younger people were particularly vulnerable, with mortgage-holders aged 21 to 24 the most likely to default.

The latest figures from the Government's Insolvency Service, published last month, have also unnerved debt campaigners. The numbers becoming insolvent in the second quarter of the year reached 26,000, a 66 per cent rise on the same period in 2005.

Borrowing difficulties have already begun to affect the housing market. Britain's housing boom has saddled newer homeowners with far larger mortgages. Figures from the Hay Group consultancy , published yesterday, showed the typical borrower now spends 51 per cent of monthly pay on mortgage repayments.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said the number of homes repossessed in the first half of the year was 8,140, the most for more than five years.
At the same time, there is evidence that Britain's biggest banks, which have all reported a rise in bad debt in recent months, are cracking down on consumer credit. Two weeks ago, for example, HSBC said it would introduce annual reviews of all its customers' overdrafts, with cuts to many borrowers' overdraft limits likely to follow.