Ask well-informed questions of candidates while government bodies still gather the statistics!

Richard Osley of Camden New Journal and Islington Tribune writes in the Islington Tribune:

No mistakes: Justice Secretary Liz Truss can’t think of a single error made by Tory government (1)

JUSTICE Secretary Liz Truss was stumped today when the New Journal asked her if the Conservatives had made any mistakes at all in government since the last general election.

With cabinet members arriving in the target constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn at a rate of one every four days since Theresa May called a snap election, Ms Truss was in West Hampstead this afternoon (Thursday) to help with the local Conservative campaign aiming to unseat Labour’s Tulip Siddiq.

After rolling off a list of achievements and insisting that, despite her role in the Remain campaign, that her party had been right to call a national referendum on EU membership, the New Journal asked the simple question as to whether she could think of any mistake the government had made over the last two years.

She paused, looked surprised by the question, and then replied: “Well, I think given where we were as a country, given what we inherited in 2010, which was a country with serious financial problems, I think we’ve done a very good job in getting us back into a better position. We have record levels of employment, we’ve got more children in good and outstanding schools, we are putting more money into the NHS and that’s what people want to see....”

Perhaps that phrase ".... and that's what people want to see...." is the most telling piece of her speel, given the new policy of the Department for Work & Pensions closing jobcentres without a consultation of service users, and saying that closing jobcentres will 'improve the service'?(2) Her Party does not want the people who are not in regular 'nine-to-five' employment to be seen to expose the lies and statistical manipulations involved in her 'record levels of employment' vision that masks the misery of zero hours contracts and sanctions.

As William Davies writes of Tory leader yet to be mandated as Prime Minister, Theresa May: Theresa May's Vapid Vision for a One-Party State: (3)

.... The prime minister’s rhetoric since calling the general election has implied that the best outcome for “the national interest” would be to eradicate opposition altogether, whether that be in the news media, Parliament or the judiciary....

Elsewhere, the non-party-political Revd Paul Nicolson of Taxpayers Against Poverty writes:

Question Candidate MPs! More deaths More in hospital with malnutrition It will get worse What will you do about it? (4)

Questions for all Parliamentary Candidates;
Each question should be prefaced with

IS IT FAIR…

The NHS has reported that over 7300 people were admitted to hospital with malnutrition in 2014/15. Up 50% in the four years since 2010? http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/news/food-bank-britain-amid

That the Office for National Statistics has revealed an unprecedented increase in deaths in 2015 after decades of improvement? http://www.theactuary.com/news/2017/03/an-unprecedented-rise-in-uk-deaths-will-see-life-expectancy-fall/

That the regressive impact of the market and austerity has damaged the health and wellbeing of millions of citizens since 1979 and in particular since 2010?http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/news/tap-health-equality-campaign-of-9-blogs-against-a-national-disgrace-we-publ

That because rents are rising faster than incomes The Resolution Foundation has forecast ​ever ​lower incomes after housing costs reducing by 16% for the poorest citizens over the next four years while the highest incomes rise 4%? http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2017/01/Audit-2017.pdf

That Income Support, Employment Support Allowance and Jobseekers Allowance all at £73.10pw and Universal Credit of £317pm are too low live on AND have to pay rent due to the bedroom tax and council tax http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/news/the-great-injustice-in-cutting-esa-by-30-a-wee

That given what we know about the physical and emotional costs of moving house, the vulnerability of children’s education to frequent moves and the disruption to schooling and social networks, that councils are demolishing council estates rather than maintaining them?  http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/25331/412554-Housing-as-a-Platform-for-Improving-Education-Outcomes-among-Low-Income-Children.PDF

​To allow the UK to sleepwalk into a proliferation of insecure work which is short sighted, damages health and costs the taxpayers? http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/news/allowing-uk-to-sleepwalk

In 2010 it was estimated that inequalities in health accounted for productivity losses of £31-£33 billion per year, and £20-£32 billion a year in lost taxes and higher welfare payments.  Additional NHS healthcare costs associated with inequality were estimated to be in excess of £5.5 billion a year?  http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/news/health-inequalities-004
Rev Paul Nicolson

Those questions are based on official statistics that no doubt Justice Secretary Theresa May, Prime Minister Theresa May etc would rather have the public not see. So I would say, grab every opportunity you can! Ask those questions of candidates and highlight those statistical realities.

Otherwise, those who have landed Britain in such a mess in the name of 'austerity' and the reality of making economically vulnerable people subject to the bankers' debt, will abolish the requirement and budgeting for official bodies to gather the relevant statistics.

Similarly, you may wish to ask candidates questions around how Conservative Government has sought to so 'transform justice' that injustices are made invisible by removing people's right to challenge, say, dodgy benefits assessment challenges, etc.(5) 

Successful legal challenges embarrass the abusers of vulnerable people in a very unequal and divided Britain, and so do the statistics resulting from a legal system designed and equipped to challenge injustice rather than perpetuate injustice.

Link References

1. http://islingtontribune.com/article/no-mistakes-justice-secretary-liz-truss-cant-think-of-a-single-error-made-by-tory-government
2. http://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/terra-firma-benefits-services-closures-leave-the-economically-vulnerable-in-the-lurch.html 
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/opinion/theresa-mays-vapid-vision-for-a-one-party-state.html
4. http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/news/question-candidate-mps-more-deaths
5. http://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Ministry+of+Justice

Let us not help Theresa May bury the bad news about Universal Credit rollout, suicides and homelessness under a Brexit General Election

Yesterday's Kwug Blog carried a 'guest blog post' from Revd Paul Nicolson of Taxpayers Against Poverty.(1) Even in his mid-80's, Revd Paul is extremely prolific with his offerings and far quicker to respond than this disabled person. The best I can do to 'catch up with him' is generally to forward e-mail notifications of the Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) website on to the Kilburn Unemployed e-list, but even then be selective so as not to give vulnerable list members a sense of melt-down and information overload.(2)

The Kwug Blog 'guest contribution' posted yesterday, — A Universal Credit case study — however, included tabulated data that proved difficult to transmit by e-mail and provided valuable information about Universal Credit that the general public are largely ignorant about, and corporate mass media generally keeps buried while Universal Credit-related rent arrears can catapult the number of evictions from social housing.(3) It can take up to 12 weeks for a Universal Credit claim to be processed and thus for the claimant to get any Universal Credit income; yet under English Law, eviction proceedings can begin after just eight weeks or rent arrears.(4)

Revd Paul Nicolson does not keep his incisive light buried under a bushel, and though his latest offering by e-mail has not yet made it to the TAP website, I can help here to get the message out as soon as possible even while I was hoping to prioritise other things just now.

Referenda and General Elections are too often based not on real knowledge of issues, and the results are mangled in an unrepresentative 'first past the post' electoral system that is too influenced by the wealthy. Whatever the result of an 8 June General Election, it will not really be a mandate for what the people have heard too litlle of. I should add that while the KUWG focus is mainly on the benefits system while housing law is too complex for us to handle, TAP has a more extensive overview of things, and more specific to LB Haringey where Revd Paul lives.

With that, I shall just bring in Revd Paul's latest offering.

During election TAP will do what we do

Highlight depth of income poverty!!  

YELL "HOUSING CRISIS!!"

​

--

HARINGEY COUNCIL TAXES BENEFIT INCOMES OF ITS POOREST RESIDENTS OF UK'S MOST DEPRIVED WARDS WITH 

LOW LIFE EXPECTANCY AND HIGH RISK OF LOW BIRTH-WEIGHT.

from the Reverend Paul Nicolson

Taxpayers Against Poverty

No citizen without an affordable home and an 

adequate income in work or unemployment. 

93 Campbell Road, Tottenham, London N17 0BF, 0208 3765455, 07961 177889, 

https://www.facebook.com/Taxpayers-Against-Poverty-299911526728884/

https://twitter.com/taxpayers_a_p www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk, 

www.z2k.org, www.prohousingalliance.com

Link references

http://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/a-universal-credit-case-study-by-revd-paul-nicolson.html
http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/
http://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/a-universal-credit-case-study-by-revd-paul-nicolson.html 
https://scottishunemployedworkers.net/2016/07/15/sharing-knowledge-in-the-face-of-further-attacks/

European Commissioners, social inequality and climate change

From the Media Office of Jean Lambert, London's Green Party Member of the European Parliament*

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

October 22, 2014

UK Green MEPs reject new European Commission

The new European Commission has today been accepted by the European
Parliament but was voted against by many MEPs, including the UK’s three
Green MEPs.

The Greens/EFA political group in the Parliament opposed the appointment of
the entire Commission. Two of the appointments causing concern for the UK’s
Green MEPs is that of Miguel Arias Canete, a former Spanish minister who
has family ties to the oil industry. Canete was dubbed “senor petrol head”
[1] by The Sunday Times and was today appointed Commissioner for the
position of Climate and Energy. Another is the appointment of Lord Hill of
Oareford, but the Greens’ criticism go beyond individual Commissioners.

Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, said:

‘We have seen the cost of growing inequality across the EU and we are
beginning to appreciate the true cost of ignoring climate change. With a
global climate deal due in 2015, I am not convinced that this new
Commission can face the challenges before us. I cannot see the joined-up
thinking needed to lead the EU on a more just and sustainable path, so I
voted “no”.’

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, said:

‘The appointment of an oil baron with past and present links to the fossil
fuel industry as Climate Commissioner makes a mockery of European politics.
Europe’s response to climate change is of global importance, but this
appointment inspires no confidence.’

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West, said:

‘The withdrawal of responsibility for bankers' bonuses from Lord Hill's
portfolio demonstrates why he is entirely inappropriate for this role. The
only way that he could be acceptable as European Commissioner for Financial
Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union is if everything
that the UK Government opposes in terms of financial regulation were
removed from his brief, which would leave him nothing to do.’


ENDS

Notes to Editors

[1]
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Europe/article1464563.ece

* Swheatie of the KUWG is a Green Party member, while KUWG is non-party-politically aligned. But what does the alignment of the European Commission members say about where this trading block is heading?

Press and policing priorities only protecting wealthier areas?

By Swheatie of the KUWG

I notice that the main headline story of Friday's Evening Standard print edition says that the police are going to punish smash and grab robbers on mopeds very severely. It just so happens that that is linked to such robbers hitting Mayfair jewellers.

By coincidence I seem to recall a recent Ham & High headline placard about an increase in muggings by moped riders on Hampstead Heath.

And I also recall speaking with a Webheath, NW6 resident some months ago, discussing pavement hazards on Webheath Estate with what I experience in leafly Highgate Ward of LB Camden that estate agents deem a more 'desirable' area. I told my Webheath resident friend that we get more pavement cyclists on weekends who are the children of parents who are cycling in the side streets than we get teenage pavement cyclists. We also get 'boy racers' in their latter years using mobility vehicles.

And thus she told me, "We muggers on mopeds on Webheath Estate"

Since I mentioned all this, another Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group member has reported, 

"Recently while sitting on street furniture (a bench) in Greencroft Gardens, NW6 using my laptop a resident came out of his home to warn me of youths riding bicycles in the area who grab phones and tablets out the hands of the unwary."

I wonder if it's only because the more wealthy areas are now being targeted that the profile of such crimes has escalated? What do others here think?

Workfare, demolition of the welfare state, and whether perpetrators or their charges should have more sleepless nights

Workfare, demolition of the welfare state, and whether perpetrators or their charges should have more sleepless nights 

By Swheatie

Knock! Knock! Q: "Who's there?"

A: "Insomniacs"

Q: "Insomniacs who?"

— From Spike Milligan, in 'An Adult Entertainment' live concert with Jeremy Taylor

Do Ingeus run insomniac zoos?

The flyer pictured above is for a 'Good Sleep Guide workshop' run by workfare profiteer Ingeus that was founded by the enterprising wife of former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. It reads:

Good Sleep Guide workshop

• Do you want to improve your sleep?
• Do you want to find out about common sleep problems and what to do about them?
• Do you want to learn techniques to get a better night's rest?

If the answer is YES to any of the above & you receive ESA then the Good Sleep Guide is for you

---

Monday 31/3/14

10:00-12:30

Speak to your case manager who can book you onto the workshop

It almost sounds like Ingeus are being responsive and responsible to the people allegedly in their care but — hang on a minute! — should they and their staff be getting millions of pounds of profit from a system that a European Committee of Social Rights report has adjudged 'woefully inadequate'?

I am reminded of a tale that  in the 1980's and 1990's when a rampant Peter Lilley was putting his 'little list' into action, social security managers in the UK who had a conscience were turning to alcohol to help them sleep more easily, and the statement from Jean-Paul Sartre's adaptation of Euripides' tragedy 'The Trojan Women': "Those who give the order seldom see the mess it makes."

We have an increasingly right wing media conducting censorship by omission and witch-hunts of those who dare to speak out these days. An increasingly mercenary educational, children and families outlook with Michael Gove at its head implies that poverty is the fault of the people who are poor and that social workers and social work students who dare to think otherwise are full of left-wing dogma that is too much for their tiny little minds. Something that has helped prevent me from suicide even in the days when I was constantly in debt as a jobseeker is the realisation that education should really be about how to be more win-win powerful in and of oneself, rather than someone who can read sufficiently to 'make the grade' and 'follow orders'.

While I do sometime experience insomnia, I am sure that I have fewer sleepless nights as a white and literate — however slow — person than I would have if I was targeted for extra bullying at the hands of 'Mandatory Work Activity' purveyors with their love of applying sanctions especially to people they see as isolated and ill-informed of their rights.

Being a part of the Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group and well-networked helps me sleep at night. Meanwhile, we are determined to help people know their rights whatever the purveyors of witch-hunts want to do with us. And maybe the perpetrators of 'welfare reform' would improve their performance as humans if they did have more sleepless nights? In Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', Ebeneezer Scrooge became a transformed character.