Tag: Discrimination… Cruelty

Discrimination,cruelty, sanctions, government, tameside council, Jobcentre, poverty, disabled, starvation

Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland budget 2024, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, republic Ireland Budget, Republic Ireland budget 2023, republic Ireland Budget 2024, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, 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

Unpaid Carers Forced To Pay Back Thousands

And so the DWP cruelty continues and we shouldn’t be surprised.

Unpaid carers have been told by the DWP (Department Of Work And Pensions) to repay thousands of pounds of benefits after unknowingly earning too much money years ago.

Not only is this cruel it was entirely preventable if the DWP had done their jobs correctly. But forcing unpaid to pay back thousands is unbelievable especially when they save the government millions every year.

The DWP system shows when carers have gone over the earnings limit but they failed to inform claimants instead allowing their claims to continue for months or even years before recovering the full amount owed.

This has also been highlighted in a series of articles by Patrick Butler in The Guardian which shows exposing the cruelty in how they treat unpaid carers

Along with this the folks over at Benefits And Work have raised the reasons why the DWP should never get the police powers they desperately want.

This also proves why the DWP should never be given police powers.

This has resulted in the DWP given free reign to threaten  carers with jail terms.
They have also used laws that were  designed to strip drug dealers of their property to take  money from carers.


The DEP have unlawfully ignored judges legal directions in order to increase the amount they can take back from carers.


The DWP have been shown to misleed MPs for years by promising that new technology meant large overpayments would no longer happen.


Alongside this they are refusing to publish a report on the effects of overpayment recovery on carers which was completed years ago.


Take for example the heart breaking  case of Vivienne Groom who cared for her elderly mother who had dementia and suffered from a stroke is a disturbing example of how the DWP treat carers.

Vivienne was given incorrect advice from a  social worker that she didn’t need to declare her part-time minimum wage at the  Co-Op job to the DWP whilst still receiving carers allowance.

When her hours increased she did inform the DWP, who said they would get back to her.

Unsurprisingly they never did reply to her.

Years later she was threatened with prosecution and began repaying the overpayment at £30 a month.

This is a large amount of money for her to replay each month but she did so.

Her mother sadly died and left her a £16,000 inheritance. The DWP went on to  prosecute  Vivienne using the Proceeds of Crime Act.

This was created to take expensive cars and large houses from drug dealers, not people who have cared for loved ones

They also threatened her with up to seven years in prison in order to steal her inheritance.

Vivienne decided to take legal action and was refused legal aid because she had £16,000 in capital even though she couldn’t access it because the DWP had her account frozen the day the money went into her bank account.

The case ended with the DWP legal team ignoring judges directions on three separate occasions to make calculations that may have reduced the amount Vivienne owed and, instead, getting the whole of her inheritance.

It’s extremely disturbing that the possibility that  a vengeful organisation as is the DWP could be given the power to search claimants homes, seize their possessions and prosecute them or impose fines upon them must be challenged whenever it is raised.

As proven time after time the DWP will ignore a judges ruling and will appeal any decisions made in a court of law.

It’s wrong, beyond cruel . The government should be thanking unpaid carers for the work that they do because ultimately they save the government millions of pounds each year.

It’s our job to challenge this whenever possible and share articles to raise awareness because believe it or not there are people that aren’t aware that this does and will continue to happen.

A huge thank you to Patrick Butler for his hard work in producing these interviews

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/07/unpaid-carers-allowance-payment-prosecution-earnings-rules

Also thanks to the folk over at Benefit And Work for the hard work that they do to help people.

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

Thanks to my partner for sending me the article as soon as it was published.

This time of the year is especially hard for me because of the anniversary of my son’s passing and everything that went along with that.

This is why I’ve been absent from social media because it’s tough for me to handle but I will be back to normal soon

Thank you for your patience

Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, republic Ireland Budget, Republic Ireland budget 2023, republic Ireland Budget 2024, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, 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, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Cruel Severe Disability Group Assessment System Exposed

At last the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) has revealed the details of their appalling new system that assess claimants that are in the severe disability group.

As we know every person’s circumstances are different depending upon their diagnosis and entry to this group may be based on and is not exclusively

Having medically precise definitions that are not connected with the benefits system :

Having information that only a claimant or carer will know however a specialist will still have to provide details:

Having availability of specialist services and access to said services  where the claimant lives

And unbelievably no clear criteria given  at all.

    There is also great concern that their distinct lack of clarity on the overlap between the Severe Disability Group and the light-touch review system for PIP will cause claimants to be wrongly assessed and treated.

    We can only imagine how disastrous this will be for severely disabled people which gives me great concern for their well-being.

    God help us they certainly have no regard for the lives and well-being of extremely vulnerable people.

    Many claimants and disability charities are sharing their concerns that the creation of their planned separate group of severely disabled claimants will be directed purely at reducing future payments for those that they allege are not as severely disabled.

    And there lies the real reason for the creation of this new group. It’s all about the money and how to take away as much as they can take away from vulnerable people to line their own greedy pockets.

    It’s vile and inhumane.

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
    Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland budget 2024, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, loose women, love island, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, republic Ireland Budget, Republic Ireland budget 2023, republic Ireland Budget 2024, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, 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, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

    DWP DENIES BONUSES TO FRAUD STAFF WHILST STILL ALLOWING REWARDS OR BONUSES FOR DETECTING FRAUD

    How can you tell if the DWP lying? When they deny something but then also allow it at the same time….Here we have an example of their hypocrisy and they never fail to disappoint do they.

    The team over at Benefits and Work submitted a freedom of information request asking the DWP if they are paying bonuses for detecting benefit fraud and if staff have to reach targets for criminal prosecutions. Rather predictably they denied both in a statement given in response to the FOI;

    “The DWP does not operate any bonus or incentive schemes aimed specifically at staff who are involved in detecting and investigating benefit fraud and overpayment cases. There are also no targets for Investigators to achieve a prescribed number of criminal outcomes.”

    Adding:

    “I can confirm that DWP operates an in-year reward and recognition scheme for all DWP teams and Individuals to be recognised for displaying exemplary behaviours or making a significant contribution to team performance. This applies to all colleagues across DWP.”

    Their response does appear to rule out that there is a formal bonus system for detecting fraud or recovering money.
    But it does not rule out the possibility that teams or individuals can receive rewards for recovering large amounts of money for the DWP or prosecuting large numbers of claimants.

    We await further details of this.

    However we are wise to their lying ways, knowing that if they can get away with doing something by simply changing the wording they will.

    It is not acceptable in any way shape or form to issue bonuses or rewards for targets such as these. They create a system when a bonus or reward becomes more important than the wellbeing of already vulnerable claimants. They lead to false accusations, sanctions based upon lies knowing at the same time that many are unable to challenge their decision because they’re not strong enough to do so.

    Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

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    Thank you

    anti social behaviour,, Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, Ireland budget 2024, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, republic Ireland Budget, Republic Ireland budget 2023, republic Ireland Budget 2024, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, 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, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

    Seasons Greetings To All…. Except The Tories.

    I hope you all enjoy the festive period even though I know it’s tough for so many of us.

    Here over at The Poor Side Of Life HQ it’s going to be a quiet one, to be honest I’m not really celebrating it.

    Of course I’ll make sure that my daughter enjoys Christmas but as a single parent and having no family etc to celebrate with it’ll be quiet.

    I’m going to take the time to reflect and maybe get some rest, it’ll be a welcome change.

    Don’t feel pressured into celebrating Christmas if you don’t want to. Christmas is a tough time for so many of us, remembering times past and people long gone.

    I’m here if you’re on your own and want to chat.

    A huge thanks to everyone that reads and shares my blog posts it really does mean the world to me.

    And as for the Tories they can get to feck. I have zero time for them.

    Lots of love

    Charlotte xx

    Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, Ireland budget 2024, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, republic Ireland Budget, Republic Ireland budget 2023, republic Ireland Budget 2024, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

    DWP Threatens Powers Of Arrest Also Wanting To Monitor Claimant Spending

    Well it appears that the DWP have been busy conducting a survey about the concerning list of proposed new powers they’re wanting to implement.

    These include:

    Trained DWP investigators having arrest powers


    Trained DWP investigators having search and seizure powers


    Collecting information about where claimants are spending money


    Apparently the DWP research findings reveal that a majority of the public questioned were in favour of every one of these measures being introduced.

    Combine this with the constant failing of the DWP system, it’s dire incompetence, lack of any unaccountability and data leaks the very suggestion that staff could arrest claimants and seize their possessions is likely to worry and cause distress for thousands of people.



    The draconian suggestion that the DWP could start looking at how claimants spend their money is also going to cause distress.

    George Orwell wasn’t wrong was he.

    This week the first King’s Speech promised proposals to “reform welfare and support more people into work” whilst giving no details of how they’re going to do this.

    It makes me wonder if the above are included in these supposed reforms but I hope they aren’t.

    I’d like to question the legality of their proposed plans, is it within the law for the DWP to access claimants bank accounts without permission? Would that in itself be a serious data leak?

    If this is allowed will people be sanctioned for spending their money on what the DWP could regard as being ‘wrong’, will they have a list of items that claimants won’t be allowed to purchase?

    I’d like to see these proposals being challenged by those that can do this.

    It’s hard enough having to live whilst claiming social security, the cost of living and rising energy costs have made everyday living much harder.

    Every day more people are forced to access foodbanks for help because they can’t afford to eat.

    Winter is also on it’s way and it’s pretty cold where I live, this will result in more people forced to live in cold damp homes

    Having a decent quality of life has become a long forgotten thing, a dream of the past and we deserve so much more than this.

    The sooner this corrupt government is out of power the better because the public can’t take much more.

    Thanks to Benefit And Work for their original reporting of this.

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Thanks to everyone that reads, shares and has supported my blog and campaign throughout the years.

    Unfortunately I might have to finish blogging because I can’t afford to pay my website fees this year.

    I need to use the web host and plan that I use because it includes everything that my readers and subscribers like.

    It’s simple to use and is stress free for myself and of course you.

    Any help towards keeping my blog going will be very welcome, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having sleepless nights worrying about this.

    Thank you.

    https://gofund.me/abea8764

    Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, 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, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

    Proposed Stricter Work Capability Plans Set To Cause Distress And Harm To Disabled People

    Rather unsurprisingly the government has recently announced their proposed plans to reform work capability assessments. Using the guise of their new so called “mission to “support people into work”.

    Why will these changes cause distress and harm?

    Putting even more pressure upon already vulnerable disabled people causes an anxiety like no other. Imagine having the fear that you could be sanctioned for being physically or mentally unable to comply to job search requirements constantly hanging over you.

    It’s already hard enough trying to cope with day to day life when disabled and putting more pressure upon them will, I fear push many into illness or worse.

    Disability charities and campaigners have been calling for reforms to work capability assessments for a long time now. These assessments cause huge distress for disabled people as a whole and those with mental health conditions.

    The DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) announced earlier this year that they planned to scrap said health assessments by 2028. Instead they’ve pushed forward these changes with gusto.

    According to prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “Work transforms lives – providing not just greater financial security, but also providing purpose that has the power to benefit individuals, their families and their communities.

    He went on to say “That’s why we’re doing everything we can to help more people thrive in work – by reflecting the complexity of people’s health needs, helping them take advantage of modern working environments, and connecting them to the best support available.

    He also forgot to mention the truth that work does not transform lives for disabled people, it’s not a cure for disabilities and these plans will make life as a whole worse because of the added pressure that will be put upon them to comply.

    Despite what Sunak claims minimum wage and zero hour employment do not give people financial security. They barely earn enough money for able bodied people to live on let alone disabled people who need more financial support to survive from day to day.

    Sunak talks about ‘modern work environments’ whatever they may be as if they’re the answer to everything but in reality it’s very different.

    I doubt he knows what these ‘modern work environments’ are after all he’s never had a real minimum wage job himself. He hasn’t got a clue.

    I suspect that once in operation the DWP will ram up the pressure for job search requirements for disabled people to a level unseen before.

    What support will the government supply for disabled people?

    From experience not much if any at all. The government and DWP like to spin proposals like these round using fancy words and language which is meaningless and nothing but word salad.

    To be honest I don’t know anyone that has a minimum wage or zero hour contract that can positively say that their work has provided them more financial security.

    Thousands of people that are forced to claim Universal Credit (UC) are dependent upon food banks and the kindness of family and friends to survive.

    The UK now has more children living in poverty than we have seen in modern times. We also have more disabled people having to go without meals or care that they desperately need.

    NHS hospitals and services are being run to the ground, we have schools at risk of collapsing because the government failed to fix the concrete problem years ago and they expect us to believe that they care about disabled people.

    Truth is as I’ve said many times before they don’t care. All the government cares about is saving money and not spending any on disabled people.

    The government also likes to throw around ‘benefit fraud’ especially when related to disabled people. It’s extremely hard to qualify for disability benefits in the first place and even more so trying to ‘fool’ the system.

    They need to concentrate on their tax dodging pals instead.

    Not all disabilities are visible and everyone with a disability should be treated with kindness and support both emotionally and financially.

    I know that this will never happen but I can dream can’t I.

    Anela Anwar, chief executive of the anti-poverty charity Z2K told the Big Issue “Disabled people are already disproportionately likely to be in poverty, and these proposals will only make this worse. The Health and Disability White Paper recognised that the work capability assessment is not fit for purpose – yet DWP is now consulting on plans to make it even stricter.

    “This will inevitably lead to seriously ill and disabled people losing vital income, and being forced to look for work they can’t do or be sanctioned. Government must think again and provide financial stability and support to seriously ill and disabled people on low incomes, not yet more cuts and threats.”

    The consultation’s proposals include reflecting “improved employer support in recent years for flexible and home working” – meaning a person with a disability is more likely to be approved as ‘fit to work’ during a work capability assessment.

    These proposed changes are due to come into force in 2025. Soon after the government will proceed with their plans to scrap the work capability assessments. People will instead be assessed for a new health element of universal credit during personal independence payment (PIP) assessments.

    Thanks to the Big Issue and DPAC and DNS for previously reporting upon this.

    If you don’t follow them I highly recommend it.

    If you like my work and would like to be updated every time I upload a new post I recommend that you subscribe to it it’s free.

    covid 19, Decision maker, disability, DLA, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, food poverty, Free, government, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Hygiene Poverty,, Ireland,, Ken Loach, liz truss, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, PIP claim, poverty, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, wilkos, womens rights

    Life in a northern town.

    Hi there I hope you are all ok and are trying to cope in these godforsaken awful times. Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can be the government comes up with something else to torment us.

    I’ve decided to write a blog similar to the ones that I used to do when I started out all those years ago. Back in the day things were bad but it’s a whole lot worse now.

    Life has certainly changed beyond recognition, services that we had to support people and communities are long gone, working class labour controlled local  authorities have had their funding stripped and it’s now virtually impossible to heat and eat.

    I often find myself walking around my local town remembering how lovely it used to look compared to now.

    It’s run down in parts mainly because the funding that used to be available isn’t available any longer. The government has provided some funding but it can only be spent on designated projects and not urgently needed ones. 

    It’s the same in most working class towns. Shops are shutting because people no longer have any spare money and have to concentrate on essential things.

    A good economy can’t be created by not investing in communities something the government fails to realise

    It’s easy to be quick to blame local authorities for the decline of our town centres whilst forgetting that it’s essentially the governments fault for denying much needed funding. If they don’t have the money it can’t be done can it.

    Anger should be directed towards the government for their part in the destruction of local communities.

    It’s a class war for sure.

    Back in the day myself and fellow campaigners DPAC and Black Triangle predicted that things would get bad and we weren’t kidding. I remember being called an extremist and I was making it up.

    We weren’t wrong were we.

    One thing I do know is that we’re all struggling at the moment and with autumn quickly approaching the worry of keeping warm is upon us.

    How will we manage? God knows but I predict there’ll be many casualties this year. It’s soul destroying but I fear that this too is becoming normalised just like foodbank usage has been.

    Despite all of the above I like the town that I live in, I can escape to the countryside by walking up the road and I appreciate it now that I’m able to do this.

    Keep strong everyone we can get through this because we’ve got each other and they can’t take that away from us.

    My photo
    anti social behaviour,, Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

    Life in a northern town.

    Hi there I hope you are all ok and are trying to cope in these godforsaken awful times. Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can be the government comes up with something else to torment us.

    I’ve decided to write a blog similar to the ones that I used to do when I started out all those years ago. Back in the day things were bad but it’s a whole lot worse now.

    Life has certainly changed beyond recognition, services that we had to support people and communities are long gone, working class labour controlled local  authorities have had their funding stripped and it’s now virtually impossible to heat and eat.

    I often find myself walking around my local town remembering how lovely it used to look compared to now.

    It’s run down in parts mainly because the funding that used to be available isn’t available any longer. The government has provided some funding but it can only be spent on designated projects and not urgently needed ones. 

    It’s the same in most working class towns. Shops are shutting because people no longer have any spare money and have to concentrate on essential things.

    A good economy can’t be created by not investing in communities something the government fails to realise

    It’s easy to be quick to blame local authorities for the decline of our town centres whilst forgetting that it’s essentially the governments fault for denying much needed funding. If they don’t have the money it can’t be done can it.

    Anger should be directed towards the government for their part in the destruction of local communities.

    It’s a class war for sure.

    Back in the day myself and fellow campaigners DPAC and Black Triangle predicted that things would get bad and we weren’t kidding. I remember being called an extremist and I was making it up.

    We weren’t wrong were we.

    One thing I do know is that we’re all struggling at the moment and with autumn quickly approaching the worry of keeping warm is upon us.

    How will we manage? God knows but I predict there’ll be many casualties this year. It’s soul destroying but I fear that this too is becoming normalised just like foodbank usage has been.

    Despite all of the above I like the town that I live in, I can escape to the countryside by walking up the road and I appreciate it now that I’m able to do this.

    Keep strong everyone we can get through this because we’ve got each other and they can’t take that away from us.

    My photo
    Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, loose women, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, 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

    Telegraph Leads Hate Campaign Against Disabled People

    Rather unsurprisingly a new media hate campaign against disabled people has begun and it’s one of the worst that I’ve seen for a while.

    It comes as no coincidence that this started alongside government plans  to abolish the WCA (Work Capability Assessment).

    These plans will allow unqualified jobcentre work coaches to decide whether claimants are capable of work.

    The government’s answer to this sadly is text book for them, demonizing vulnerable disabled people portraying them as the enemy and the usual scrounger rhetoric.

    The Telegraph however was the first to start this campaign of hatred stating in an article

    “Millions are claiming benefits without ever having to look for work, helping to push the tax burden to hit its highest point since the Second World War . . . It raises the question, just how much of our hard-won salaries are spent on the benefits of those who do not work? With the calculator below, Telegraph Money can now reveal how much of your salary goes towards bankrolling the welfare state.”

    However this hasn’t gone unnoticed though with many commentators on Twitter comparing the language of this campaign with a  poster issued in 1938 supporting Nazi eugenics.

    This read  “This person who suffers a hereditary disease has a lifelong cost of 60.000 Reichsmarks to the National Community. Comrade, that is your money too.”

    Next to join the hate campaign was The Spectator magazine writing  “When will the Tories face up to Britain’s benefits scandal?” They were quick to spout their venom against disabled people claiming that whilst UC (Universal Credit) is an improvement “the problem now is people, often citing mental health issues, claiming sickness and disability benefit.”

    It went on to say:  “The UK system seems to have been thrown into crisis by such claims and has no idea how to properly process a mental health claim. So we end up with 5,000 claims a day – a day! – for sickness benefit . . . The waste of lives is one thing, but then there’s the waste of money.”

    This strongly implies that all disabled people with depression are making it up and they should be working.


    Last to the hate campaign was Jeremy Vine asking in a tweet viewed by thousands asking;

    “Is it time to crack down on jobless benefits?

    “Nearly four million people in the UK are being supported by the state without ever having to look for a job.

    “That’s because they’ve been deemed too sick to work.

    “Is it wrong for taxpayers to fund them indefinitely?”

    However Vines team wasn’t prepared for the outrage that it caused on Twitter which resulted in them deleting their tweet but their scheduled programme still going ahead.

    None of this is a coincidence it’s the typical Tory tactic to demonize vulnerable people before they commence with their plans, this time being to abolish the WCA.

    They know that this won’t be popular and they will be of considerable resistance to their nefarious plans.

    They counteract this by feeding lies to the public which will continue the scrounger rhetoric which we have seen many times previously.

    Disabled people already face enough judgement from the public. People with mental health issues should never be judged in this manner.

    Pitching disabled people as being scroungers is not only awful it’s also dangerous. Making a claim for a disability is far from easy, it causes great distress and judgement from others.

    No one should be judged for their disability, people can’t just ‘get over it’ and being forced to find work will be extremely distressing to say the least

    Let’s make it clear, no one chooses to be disabled like Vine and The Telegraph suggests and we need to campaign hard against the government’s proposed plans.

    Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

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    More On State Pension And Pension Credit.

    Excellent blog from long time reader and supporter of my blog. You can find his blog over at thephisophicalmusehttp://thephisophicalmuse Thanks Mike!


    I was started receiving Pension Credit at age 60 after having been on JSA for 18 months (sanctioned for the last 2 months). When I applied I was asked how I had learned about Pension Credit and I replied that DWP had told me 6 months previously that I would have a choice of staying on JSA or switching to Pension Credit – I would have been foolish to continue looking for work and receive half as much money even if I hadn’t been sanctioned!

    I still receive some Pension Credit to top up my State Pension, but Independent Age https://www.independentage.org/ is campaigning to ensure more people are advised of their entitlement

    I used to work for the Department of Social Security in Australia. If someone over 55 had been unemployed for 6 months they’ld receive Mature Age Allowance, which basically acknowledged that they were unlikely to find a job so were not expected to continue looking for one to continue receiving the same benefits.

    Seems similar to what I found in U.K., except that I had to wait 5 years longer to qualify but got twice as much as on JSA.

    As part of my last job I was required to attend a training session on pensions and was told that one needed to be paying National Insurance for most of our lives to qualify for state pension. I piped up and said, “Where does that leave me, I’ve been out of the country for 27 years?”

    I got some attention as I was quite evidently closer to retirement age than anyone in the room, but I didn’t get an answer!

    No chance of me building up a pension fund, I had to wait until after I retired to find that I would be entitled to State Pension because of a reciprocal agreement with the Australian government – not the full amount, but Pension Credit makes up the difference.

    WASPI women should be complaining that their pension age was to be increased to 65, not that they didn’t have sufficient notification of the increase.

    What does it matter if they tell you they’re gonna raise your pension age in 10 years time, unless you’re within 10 years of pension age?

    We need to stop of thinking of ourselves and ask why anyone should be required to work beyond 60 years of age unless they choose to!

    Those of us already retired can ask these questions because we’ve got nothing to lose, do we?

    The triple lock on our pensions cannot be assured under a Tory government. Everyone should join a union, I joined Unite Community after I retired ✊