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Cruel Universal Credit Sanction Rates Continue To Increase


It’s no surprise that the DWP (Department Of Work And Pensions) is continuing to punish universal credit (UC) claimants with their harsh sanction regime afterall it’s their favorite and easiest method of punishment that they use.



The latest official figures show that sanctions rate had remained to above 7% from August through to November of 2023 which are the most recent months of which figures are available.

However in in March 2020, just before the pandemic began, UC sanctions rates were at just 2.5% having fallen steadily since January 2017.

The DWP have unsurprisingly given no explanation for this almost threefold increase in sanctions.

I mean how on earth could this happen?

Sanctions are imposed for various reasons but the most common are for failing to attend or take part in mandatory interviews, indeed 95% are given for this reason.

What we do know from past experience is that sanctions are given for wrongful reasons.

These reasons vary but are often and not excluding others claimant not receiving notification of having to attend a meeting,  being ill and notifying the DWP that they were not able to attend or already working at the time given and their employer won’t allow them to leave for their DWP appointment.

We know that sanctions can and should be appealed however many aren’t aware that they can do so and have the energy to fight it.

Sanctions are particularly cruel because not only does the claimant get sanctioned it also affects any dependants that live with them.

Combine this with the cruel benefit caps and this with the three child limit which directly impacts a child’s health and well being.

Are incentives being given for Job Coaches to refer people for sanctions?

I can’t say for sure but we do know that they’ve been using these methods for years now and it’d be very out of character to stop doing this.

I do know that sanctioning people like this is cruel, inhumane and needs to be stopped now before more people fall victim to the DWPs cruel regime of punishment and blame.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

DWP Wrongly Forces Universal Credit Claimants To Repay Entire Payments


According to a recent report from Child Poverty Action Group CPAG) claimants are being forced to repay their full Universal Credit (UC) award despite being entitled to it.

Why Are The DWP doing this?

During the pandemic the DWP temporarily changed some of the evidence rules to complete UC claims.

As detailed in the report by CPAG in January 2021 the DWP started to look into the claims that were made during the pandemic.

Whilst doing this the DWP have been changing the entitlement decisions given to claimants declaring that many claims have been wrongfully awarded.

Why This Shouldn’t Be Happening

CPAG have expressed their concerns that the process of retrospectively deciding claimants were not entitled to UC and beginning recovery is unlawful.



In addition, the DWP is asking for evidence of entitlement via the online journal, even from claimants that are no longer getting UC and would have no reason to check their journal.



Some claimants only find out about the alleged overpayment when they receive a letter from DWP Debt Management.

They therefore miss the one month deadline for challenging a decision and often don’t know that they could make a late challenge if they have good cause.


Shockingly, this process is set to be ramped up dramatically.

The DWPs Reaction

The DWP are employing a team of 2,000 staff to look again at 2 million claims over the next five years including, but not limited to, claims made during the pandemic.



The thought that a government department that tramples on claimants’ rights in this way is to be given powers of search, seizure and arrest, as revealed in our last newsletter, is truly frightening.


Conclusion.

It’s very concerning that the government gives the DWP the authority to stamp on a person’s legal rights in this manner.

Not only are they able to stop a claimants payments without any notice they are also set to be given powers of search, seizure and arrest, as detailed in an earlier blog post.

DWP decisions such as these are life changing and literally leave people without the ability to eat, pay their rent and to keep warm.

Combined with this is the mental toll that this puts upon claimants leaving them in a state of distress not knowing where to get help.

Claimants deserve to be treated with respect and should be given the right to reply before any permanent decisions are made by the DWP.

Not only is it morally wrong to change decisions retrospectively, moving the goalposts when it suits the DWP is despicable and should be challenged at all times.

You can find the full copy of the report here https://cpag.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/briefing/demands-repay-impact-and-legality-dwp-reverification-uc-claims

Please read, share and tweet this article. Doing so raises awareness of the real issues that affect the working class of this country.

I don’t receive any payment for the work that I do and to say it’s a struggle is an understatement. I’d really like to be able to continue writing and campaigning.

If you are able to and would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Every penny makes a massive difference.

Thank you!

A huge thank you to everyone that reads, shares and supports my blog. I really appreciate it and I couldn’t have got through the last two years without you.

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EHRC Breaks Promise To Investigate DWP Role In Deaths



As reported by Benefits And Work the EHRC (Equality And Human Rights Commission) has broken its promise to investigate the role that the DWP (Department of Work And Pensions)have played in the deaths of vulnerable claimants. This has left the DWP not needing to answer any questions as to the role that they played in their deaths

Instead the EHRC are now asking the DWP to create new policies in relation to claimants with mental health issues and learning difficulties. This will replace the promised investigation.

This is despite promises made by the EHRC in 2019 that they would start an   investigation into the deaths of vulnerable claimants.

The EHRC used the pandemic as an excuse to not start the investigation.



The Commission has now declared that it  only intends to enter into a Section 23 agreement under the Equality Act 2006. This will oblige the DWP “to commit to an action plan to meet the needs of customers with mental health impairments and learning disabilities.”

Keep in mind that the DWP are a much larger organisation that receive more funding  than the EHRC. 
This will no doubt result in the DWP will dragging their heels in creating so called policies that will be nothing more than good intentions that probably won’t be actioned upon.

Whilst I don’t have any details as to why the EHRC have changed their minds I can say that at best they’re very niave putting far too much trust in the DWP to do the right thing.

The DWP has an appalling track record of discrimination against vulnerable claimants, ignoring their basic human rights and making life extremely hard for them.

Despite my disappointment with the EHRC’s decision I’m not surprised. The DWP will do anything to avoid any actions taken against them making promises that they’ve got no intention of keeping whilst doing the bare minimum to comply.

Once again thanks go to Benefits And Work for their hard work and inspiring this article.

A huge thanks to everyone that likes, shares, reads and supports both my blog and campaign.

I don’t receive any payment for the work that I do and it’s a struggle to say the least.

If you can afford to and would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

Thank you!

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Ian Brady, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, moors Murders, Myra Hindley, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare

DWP agrees to waive hardship payment debts.

Please click on the below link from the Public Law Project.

If you are told to repay back hardship payment debts make sure that you challenge this.

It is your legal right to do so. If needed quote the below article and insist that the DWP use their discretion regarding payment of hardship payment debt.

Insist that these payments are causing distress and suffering, which they do for thousands of people.

This is also essential because the majority of claimants already have monies garnished from their payments for council tax debt and suchlike.

No one should be forced to live in extreme hardship such as this.

I expect that the DWP won’t like this so don’t expect them to suggest it to you.

https://publiclawproject.org.uk/latest/dwp-agrees-to-waive-hardship-payment-debts-after-successful-judicial-review/

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A huge thank you to everyone that and has supported my blog and campaign. This makes such a big difference.

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Remembering all women. International Women’s Day.

“Happy International Women’s day!
Today I’m thinking about all the women who are suffering as a result of the government’s austerity measures.

Women unable to leave abusive relationships because there isn’t a women’s refuge that they can escape to.

Remembering all the women that have died as a result of domestic violence and the governments austerity measures, we’ll never forget you.

We love you.

Women struggling to survive the discrimitory universal credit system.

Disabled women who are struggling to survive because their ESA and/ or PIP has been taken away from them.

To all the 1950s women unable to claim their rightful pensions.

Homeless women stuck in flea ridden, unsafe temporary accommodation, one day things will get better for you.

Please have them in your thoughts, the battle for equality is far from over.”

Please read, share and tweet my blog. This makes a huge difference and it helps to get the truth out there.

I don’t receive any funding for both my campaign and blog. If you would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

A huge thank you to everyone that has and does support my blog and campaign. It really means the worl to me and your help makes a massive difference.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

People are dying as a result of the government’s actions. Remember them.

Dear readers I need to apologize because I’m late publishing my blog this week.

There’s no real excuse for this but I’ve had a stressful week and I haven’t been sleeping well. I find it hard to write when I’m over tired.

This week I was reminded of one cold Thursday morning outside Ashton Jobcentre.

The demo started as usual, we were helping or something and handing out food parcels.

Whilst we were doing this I noticed a woman with three children walk out of the Jobcentre, walk past us and she then approached me.

I asked her if she was ok. Her story was particularly heart wrenching. She was a victim of domestic violence and she was struggling to get help from the DWP because she had to leave in a rush.

As usual the DWP failed to recognise and appreciate her situation. They suggested to her that she should have gone back to her abuser to collect her ID.

Theres no excuse for their lack of caring. There’s no way that she should have to return to her abuser.

I advised her on what to do and I put her in touch with all of the relevant agencies that could help her.

I asked her if she needed a food parcel, she said that she did and that she hadn’t ate for days. She had just managed to feed her kids with the very basics, bread and some biscuits.

I gave her a good parcel, she was so thankful because so far no one had been understanding of her situation.

She then took her kids to the steps outside the old cinema. They all sat down and started to eat some food directly out of the tins.

I’m not lying when I say that this broke my heart. How have we managed to elect a government that is extremely aggressive towards people who are struggling, disabled people and unemployed people.

Let’s move forward to 2020.

Nothing has improved, the hostile environment created by the government is even worse than ever.

People are still dying as a direct result of this uncaring governments actions.

There is no excuse for the government to behave in this manner but they do because they can.

It’s certainly not going to get any better. We are in the midst of a pandemic, more and more people are loosing their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

This week I’ve had quite a few newly unemployed people email me to ask me about how they’re supposed to manage on the meagre payments that they receive via Universal Credit.

It’s horrible that anyone is in this situation. Universal Credit doesn’t benefit anyone except the government.

To say that it’s a huge shock to newly unemployed people is an understatement. So many more people are now struggling to eat properly, pay their rent and survive.

It’s a reality check that they certainly didn’t expect. So many of these newly unemployed people had previously believed the government’s lies about how wonderful Universal Credit is.

Add into the mix the thousands of people that are ill with Covid 19 that are so scared of loosing their jobs that are forced to return to work when they’re unwell.

We’ve also got Long Covid to contend with. I doubt that the DWP will recognise this though. This is another battle that we have to now fight.

We also have thousands of people that have died and will die from Covid 19.

I’m extremely worried that their deaths are being ignored and normalised by society. This is extremely cruel and callous.

Please, let’s not forget about their deaths, most of which could have been prevented if the government had responded correctly when the virus had arrived in the UK.

It’s all wrong, none of the above would have happened if we had a caring goverment, but that’s not likely not happen in the near future.

As the Christmas period looms on the horizon, please spare a thought for all of us that can’t celebrate Christmas because of the expense. Also remember that so many people won’t be celebrating Christmas because they’ve lost a loved one due to Covid 19.

The Christmas period is such a hard time for so many of us. Let’s not forget about them.

The above statistic is horrific but true. This is exactly why the government hasn’t reacted responsibly and stopped the spread of covid 19.

Each and every death is saving them money and they don’t care what people think about this.

Let’s continue to fight for the living and dead. We cannot allow the government to treat people like this.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my blog and campaign. You all mean the world to me.

For anyone that would like to donate to my campaign and blog there is a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

Ashton Under lyne, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

I’m still here. My continued battle with Long Covid and good memories.

Dear readers an extra blog post from me, I hope that you don’t mind.

I’ve been a tad quiet recently because my recovery has been set right back.

My daughter unknowingly brought home a nasty virus with her when she returned home from school about two weeks ago.

What would normally would have been a slight cold etc completely floored me. I was forced to retreat back to bed.

I really hated having to retreat to bed because I wanted to be out and about and I had plans to do ‘stuff’.

I’m now out of bed but I’m coughing a lot and I can’t get my stats above 94 to 96. I’m also experiencing the return of the stabbing pains.

Yes I know that I should go back to the hospital and I will do when I’m financially able to do so. Shite happens and I’ve got to learn to deal with it.

I was looking at my Facebook memories today and I was reminded of the email that I wrote to The Scum (Sun) after the requested my help for them.

I’ll paste the letter below, it really made me chuckle.

How dare they have the nerve to request help from me after I had just published a petition against them that went viral.

I was advised to take it down, but hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it. I should have kept it up and fought them. I’m quite sure that I could have found legal advice.

I will not make the same mistake again.

Anyway here it is.

My reply to The Sun On Sundays request yesterday.

Hi Gareth,
Thank you for your email.
Primarily I need to correct you on your referral to Universal Credit as being Universal Credits. These are different things, and although I don’t want to argue about semantics, it is about conveying the correct message across. Therefore using the correct benefit title is very important isn’t it.

I’m sure that you will agree with me.
As you can tell, I’m rather fussy about the getting the correct message out to the public. After all the public deserve to be correctly and reliably informed about important issues, especially in newspapers and the media. However this is something that The Sun Newspaper has regretfully been doing a terrible job of.

Headlines such as ‘Benefit scrounger mum of 8 says £500 a week handouts aren’t enough for her four bed council house’ Dan Sales 18th February 2017.

Other headlines such as ‘Takers dozen. Sponging mum of 13 who rakes in £30,00 a year in benefits is branded a scrounger by her own daughter’ Alex West 30th December 2016. ‘Family planning. Scrounging mum of 12 Cheryl Prudham who pockets £40,00 a year in benefits flashes her tummy outside medical centre days before announcing shes expecting baby 13.’
I could continue sharing these headlines with you, however you get the gist don’t you.

Not only were these headlines not based on fact, not researched correctly they were damaging to the people concerned and to the most vulnerable people of this country and were created specifically to cause prejudice and division towards the poorest of this country, the very people that your newspaper is now reaching out to.

These headlines were so hard hitting, a phrase that you like to use, that as a result of the ongoing campaign of hatred against the poor, led by The Sun newspaper, other newspapers and television channels, I, myself have been shouted at, called a scrounger, told to get a job, and spat at. Luckily it didn’t touch me, but you can see how this works out right?

The people that I help have also experienced prejudice as a result of this ongoing campaign and do so on a daily basis.
I can never forget the “Scrounger Awards’ that The Sun newspaper published, also ‘The Welfies’ and the ‘Job Dodger’ awards.

Sympathetic also isn’t something that I associate with The Sun newspaper, after all we can never forget Hillsborough can we.

A point to note, lying has 5 letters, but so does truth. Hurt has 4 letters but so does heal. Everyday I try and rectify the harmful and malicious lies set about by The Sun newspaper.

Maybe the newspaper could do the same.
You also might like to read this, because if you had researched my name correctly you would have found this article about myself.

https://thetab.com/uk/manchester/2017/05/26/spoke-woman-petitioning-manchester-boycott-sun-28665

I therefore would like to decline your offer of a chat, nor will I be referring any vulnerable people to your newspaper to talk. You see, I simply cannot trust the newspaper not to twist their words and to turn them into figures of hatred.

However, we would like an apology from The Sun newspaper for all the hurt, damage and discrimination caused by the words printed in your newspaper.

Wouldn’t it be nice if that was a front page headline instead of a Benefit Scrounger headline.

Respectfully
Charlotte Hughes.

I’d really like to thank all of my friends and readers for all the support that you are giving me at this moment in time.

Knowing that I can speak to a friend on the phone whenever I need to is and will continue to be a massive help to me.

Also a massive thanks to my friend Alex Tiffin, you know why.

Also huge thanks to Keith also.

How am I doing otherwise?

Trying to cope is an adequate description atm. It’s the same old fed up of being ill and sick to death of being skint. I’m sure that you can relate to this.

I’d love to be able to do a good supermarket shop instead of having to buy essentials online because it’s so expensive.

I just want to be normal again.

It’s so bloody depressing but it is what it is. But I have got good memories to look back on and I’m grateful for that.

One thing to look forward to is Halloween, my favourite time of the year.

My daughter has found the Halloween decorations so when I’m up to it I’ll be able to transform the front garden.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

Thank you to everyone that supports my campaign and blog.

For anyone that would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

I’m sorry.

I’m so sorry that I didn’t publish this blog yesterday.
I’ve relapsed again and have become progressively worse as the week went on.
Yesterday I had to see a doctor, finally giving into the fact that I’ve relapsed once again. I really did think that I’d beaten it this time but I was wrong.

Anyway, armed with more meds I hope to get better soon. I’ve been on the struggle train all week for several reasons but I know that being ill hasn’t helped one bit.

I’ll sign off now for this week, I’m hoping that I start to feel better soon.

A massive thank you to everyone that reads and shares my blog, and everyone that supports my campaign and blog.

I will be back asap.

Thank you xx.


For anyone who would like to donate to my campaign and blog there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.
A massive thank you to everyone that supports my campaign and blog.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

DWP increases its spending on fighting PIP and ESA appeals.

Dear readers I hope you are OK and keeping safe.

Let’s talk about my week.

It’s been a tough week for me but it is what it is.

I’ve finally finished my latest lot of antibiotics and at the time of writing this blog I am feeling a bit brighter.

Long covid is awful, but yesterday I walked the furthest that I’ve been able to for a long time.

I walked to the bottom of my street and back. Its a fairly long street and I’m proud of myself for doing it.

In other news I still feel like a failure for not being able to be a better parent for my daughter.

I do my best but health and finance prevents me from being able to take her out like I used to.

I’m alive though and I survived Covid 19. I’m very proud of this. My body was strong enough to fight this horrible virus, and I daily think about everyone that has died from covid 19 and their families.

Lets talk about the DWP

For years we have been saying that the DWP and government has created the ES and PIP system to punish people for being disabled and ill.

So many people have called us liars and suchlike, but thanks to Works And Pensions we now have the evidence.

The DWP has an endless pot of money to fight ESA and PIP appeals. They’re pretty blatent about this now, hell they don’t even deny it anymore.

They are spending this money even though they loosing an increasing amount of cases.

They don’t care if they loose, its all about punishment, making people feel like giving up and worse.

It’s obvious they see us as surplus to requirements. If they can’t profit from us then they will continue to persecute us to our very last breath.

No one should have to live like this. The government doesn’t have a heart, they don’t care and they don’t want us to fight back.

Luckily we are a savvy group of people and we have formed our own support groups via Facebook, Twitter and via local communities.

We care for each other and this is something that government officials haven’t got a clue about. They’re selfish morons. I could say more but I’m being polite.

Despite their appeal loses the DWP have increased its spending on fighting PIP and ESA appeals.

Remember it’s all about punishment and there’s an endless pot of money for that.

Figures obtained by the Independent, show the DWP spent £121m between 2017-19, with £58m spent on mandatory reconsiderations and £63m spent on tribunal appeals.

When broken down annually over three years, it shows that the amount spent on mandatory reconsiderations increased by 19% between 2016-17 and 2018-19, and the cost of tribunals surged by an extraordinary 64%.

The DWP is actually losing more and more appeals, with the success rate for PIP claimants now at 76%.

The DWP can’t just buy off tribunals with cash incentives.

Tribunals trust claimants and their evidence rather than the DWP and their obvious lies. They can’t be bought off like other organisations have been.

Thanks to Benefits and Work for your hard work and for keeping us informed. Check them out if you can.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/4273-9-september-update?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=benefits-and-work&utm_content=9+September+2020+newsletter

More about covid 19.

As children go back to school, the infection rates are dramatically increasing.

Combine this with the re opening of pubs etc it’s not going to get better any time soon.

As usual the government are failing to give any direction and proper leadership.

The public are confused and I’m sure that this is why so many people are ignoring the rules.

How can you abide to the rules if you don’t know what they are?

Anyway yesterday Johnson informed the public about his latest lockdown rules.

It’s farcical saying that people can only mix with six people whilst schools are back in and they have more than six pupils.

Yesterday I read that arough estimate shows that teachers can have on average contact with about 200 households.

Does the government think that teachers and pupils can’t catch Covid 19?

It’s unbelievable isn’t it. Johnson and his ilk are liars, but I don’t need to tell you that.

This week has certainly been eventful. The town that I live in is now in double red alert and I’m expecting a local lockdown like Bolton.

It’s awful but if everyone took it seriously and wore masks etc it really would help.

I’m scared of catching it again and I know that thousands of people are as well.

Please keep safe, wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance from people if you can.

Lots of love to you all. I do think about you.

Please read, share, tweet, email my blog.

I really appreciate everyone that already does this.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my campaign and my blog.

It’s been touch and go as to if I can continue writing my blog. Financially its a massive struggle because I don’t receive any funding from anyone.

For anyone who would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

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Thank you!

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Eat Out To Help Out. Another way to discriminate against the poor and disabled.

Dear readers I’m so sorry that this blog is so late. I’m still battling the Covid 19 fatigue and this combined with the ongoing kitchen refit and insomnia has been a recipe for disaster.

My social housing provider should have started work on this in March but because of Covid 19 it was delayed.

Thankfully I’m no longer infectious and the work could continue. It’s been no fun living out of one room and having strangers in my house, but it’s finished now and I’m very grateful for it.

I’m also very grateful that I have a home when so many people don’t have one. I’ve come very close to loosing this one a few times and I’ve been homeless before.

I know exactly how you are feeling because I’ve been there.

I had a few disasters this week though, my cooker broke and was unfixable. It was around 30yrs old and I loved that cooker. No frills, it did what it set off to do and I love simplicity, it makes life much easier.

Secondly as a result of the covid 19 virus my hair has started to fall out, not loads but it’s happening. Thanks for that.

Insomnia has also hit me hard this week, and yesterday I was so exhausted that I couldn’t do much.

Anyway, enough about me. I hope that you are OK and as well and safe as you can be.

The Covid 19 virus continues to spread leaving many victims strewn behind it.

It’s a misconception that it’s only elderly people that become seriously ill and die, lots of fairly fit young people do also.

The elderly have been treated terribly though, left in nursing homes to die like their life’s don’t matter at all.

In my eyes out elders are very important, they paved the way for us to live like we do, albeit most of this has been taken away by the Tory government.

I was taught to respect and care for my elders but it appears the Tories have no regard for them.

Their cruelty appears to be never ending and whilst they’re away on holidays or spending time in their second homes, more people will continue to die and suffer.

There’s nothing more insulting than for these people to attempt to try and advise us on how to live and what to do when they come from a place of great privilege.

Talking about privilege here’s another example.

Recently the government unveiled its latest plan to benefit society and small business owners. They titled it Eat Out To Help Out, they even gave it its own hashtag.

Whilst on the surface it looks like a good idea, it’s still out of reach to so many of us. The idea is that it gives people £10 to spend at specific eateries throughout the UK.

Some businesses such as coffee shops are giving a 50% discount on some orders. This is good, however you have to have the other 50% to pay for it though.

To put it bluntly, so many of us don’t have the money to contribute towards this and we are excluded from benefiting from this by default.

I do have questions though.

Why didn’t they extend this further? Why, knowing that the majority of people living in the UK are living in poverty wasn’t it extended to them?

Why weren’t fruit and veg shops and retailers included in this? Why weren’t local shops that serve their communities by providing the means to cook their own food?

Why aren’t these small businesses included? They’ve suffered as well, but like us they’ve been swept to the side like yesterdays newspaper.

It all comes down to the government’s priorities, their priority being to keep their friends in business happy, keep the wheels of commerce going at whatever the cost to many.

The whole winding down of the social distancing rules was rushed, not because they put the safety of the public first. Public safety wasn’t even thought about.

My guess is that the government was leaned upon by their business pals and party donars. Big money won the day, sod the public.

I’m certainly not saying don’t support your local small businesses, if you can afford to you should, however you need to remember that so many people are excluded from this scheme and the very basics of what constituents a decent and happy life.

The government also unveiled their latest obesity discrimination campaign, whilst their party leader and prime minister is indeed himself overweight.

We already know that being overweight puts you at risk of contracting Covid 19, but they didn’t look into the reasons as to why so many of us are overweight.

A lot of it comes down to the lack of access to decent food and the ability to cook it.

Cooking food costs money and if you are living in a hotel room or one room with your family in homeless accommodation, you arent allowed to cook in your room.

This has been happening for years now, I’ve advised people how to cook kettle food whilst they are stuck in this position.

Kettle food has hardly any nutritious value though, it’s mostly starchy, gluteny and devoid of any vitamins. This food settles in your body for a long time.

Then we have people like myself who are dependent upon food parcels. Mostly you get tinned food which isn’t very good for you.

I know that some tinned food isn’t that bad for you, but its still very hard to cook a nutritious meal out of it. It even harder when you don’t have any cooking equipment to help you.

Then we have medication, the lack of ability to exercise in any way possible. Combined with food parcel food etc, it’s a disaster nutritionally.

How on earth can the government expect people with life changing disabilities to suddenly loose weight is beyond me. Staying alive and having a productive enjoyable life is a priority for them.

For years the government has abused disabled people in the worst way possible. They’ve taken their means of support away, their carers, their very means of support away.

Meanwhile the Tory government will continue to persecute them whilst they’re enjoying themselves in their second homes.

I don’t choose to live like I do, people don’t choose to live in poverty but the government does choose to persecute the most vulnerable on a daily basis. The government are the cause of our poverty.

So what do we do now? We try to survive in the way that’s best for us.

We need to continue to campaign against their disgusting ideals and attitudes.

Remember there’s more of us than there is of them.

Keep strong, support each other and continue to challenge the narrative.

Please keep safe and practice social distancing if you can.

I want to thank all my friends, followers and readers for all of the support that you have given me throughout my own Covid 19 battle.

I really couldn’t have got through this without you all. I’m so thankful and grateful for you all.

Lots of love and solidarity with all of you.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Poverty and DWP cruelty hasn’t gone away, it’s become a whole lot worse.

For anyone wanting to donate I’ve got a donate button at the top and bottom of this blog.