Even on their own terms the Tories are now exposed to assault on several grounds. Cameron threw down the gauntlet by asking: Who do you trust? Labour should pick it up. Large majorities in the electorate think the Tories are the party of the rich, not for them; witness the tax cuts for millionaires and […]
Posts under ‘Benefits’
Tories now wide open to attack: when is Labour going to exocet them?
Oct 5th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.
Labour HQ censors 91-year old veteran’s reference to welfare cuts and austerity
Sep 30th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Yesterday, I received an email appearing to come from Andy Burnham about what I’m sure he did describe as “one of the most moving speeches I’ve ever heard“. It deserved strong praise — that’s why we featured 91-year old Harry Leslie Smith’s demand for David Cameron to “keep his mitts off my NHS” on Left Futures last week. It received […]
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Iain Duncan Smith and the race to the bottom
Aug 14th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Here we go again. In the topsy turvy Tory world of our beloved Department for Work and Pensions secretary, joblessness is not caused by a lack of jobs but instead “cultures of worklessness“. To his mind, there are millions living it up on the taxpayer dollar – skivers being kept in e-cigs, iPads and Jeremy Kyle appearances. They do […]
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Next DWP scam coming: lose your job, wait 5 weeks before any benefit paid
Jul 28th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.It is being kept under close wraps by this Tory government that under Universal Credit people who lose their jobs will be made to wait 5 weeks before they get any benefit payment. Very few people realise this – a poll found this latest ‘welfare reform’ deeply unpopular, with almost 4 to 1 opposed. […]
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Detoxifying the Liberal Democrats
Jul 25th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.What are we to make of the LibDem’s about-turn on the bedroom tax? Whole-hearted penance or are more cynical motives at work? I’m sure readers won’t be shocked if the truth lies closer to the latter pole than the former, but it begs the question. With up to two-thirds of the Parliamentary party looking to have an […]
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The mentally ill are neglected in the NHS, but tormented by the DWP
Jul 23rd, 2014 by Michael Meacher.As happens in all authoritarian organisations, the truth is so dreadful that it begins to seep out through leaks, secret briefings, off-the-record briefings that turn out to be recorded, and by other risky but well-intentioned means. It has long happened in the case of disabled resisters determined to fight back against grotesque misjudgements by Atos […]
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Government figures show bedroom tax is not working
Jul 20th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.As Jo Moore infamously emailed at the time of the 9/11 catastrophe in the US, “now is a good time to release bad news”. The Tory government has clearly taken this to heart. Having built up an enormous fanfare to the elevation of women in the reshuffle which captivated the headlines, the Tories then used […]
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Punishing young people financially is the Tory way
Jun 21st, 2014 by Michael Meacher.The idea of giving young people aged 18-21 guaranteed access to education or training or help to find work is obviously a good one, but why spoil it by proposing that such persons should receive a means-tested ‘youth allowance’ at a rate perhaps even lower that the current job seeker’s allowance (JSA)? JSA is already paid […]
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How did the disgraced Atos get a £184m disability assessment contract?
Jun 13th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.It is bizarre that the hated Atos, whose reputation was destroyed by its punitive mishandling of work capability assessments of the disabled, should be awarded a multi-million contract for the new personal independence payments across London and the south of England. In one sense it is not surprising because the Tories, having privatised major public […]
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The Tories bring in workfare though they’ve proved it doesn’t even work
Apr 22nd, 2014 by Michael Meacher.As from this week, if you’ve been out of work for a year, you’re put through the Work Programme for 2 years and then if you emerge with no job, as many do, you’re into workfare disguised by the deceitful title of Help to Work. What this means was spelt out by Osborne at last year’s […]
