“Colombians lose out, & so will the U.S. vis-a-vis China.”

The judge said that states stood to lose out on federal funding and that residents within the states could be deprived of their rights.

But the standard's committee's proposals have been criticised by an election reform group, which said voters could lose out and would be unable to choose who replaces the misbehaving MS.

The CCN said rural areas were set to lose out, and argued that deprivation is not a "key indicator of which councils are under the most financial distress".

Gary Jameson in Oxford applied for Pension Credit in early September, well in advance of his 66th birthday, so he wouldn't lose out when his disability benefits stopped.