Tag: government reform

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

Merry Christmas one and all.

Dear readers I write this blog on Christmas Day, a day when people are expected to celebrate and be happy.

Sadly because of the government’s cruel Universal Credit system and the torturous PIP and ESA DWP ‘medical’ assessments thousands of people won’t be able to celebrate, cook a Christmas dinner and exchange gifts.

This year is tougher than normal because we are still in the middle of a pandemic that the government is trying it’s best to ignore.

Today the UK’s official Covid death toll has surpassed 70,000 on as 570 more people died today.

Let that sink in 570 people have died from Covid 19 on Christmas day. Also a total of 70,000 people have died as a result of Covid 19.

Meanwhile the government continues to ignore this, they just don’t want to know and they certainly don’t want to help.

70,000 families will be grieving as will their friends. But hey let’s ignore them and continue to put the public at risk.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the government actually tool some positive action, set an example to the rest of the world and protected people. This won’t happen though.

It appears that the government is in some sick competition with America about how many people will die from Covid 19.

Then we have the thousands of people now unemployed as a result of the pandemic. Now facing the inhumane universal Credit system, many can’t understand how they’re expected to survive on so little money.

Thousands of people won’t be able to give anyone presents this year, heat their home and have a Christmas dinner.

This year the queues for food banks and suchlike places have more than doubled. Families are queuing for hot meals in city centres and children and their parents are hungry because they don’t have the money to survive on.

How sickening it is that I have to use the world surviving… People shouldn’t be surviving they should be able to live, be happy and have enough money to be able to feed themselves and their children.

I want to be positive I really do but it’s extremely hard to find the good in all of this. We shouldn’t be celebrating the fact that food banks are opening and organisations and charities are working extremely hard to find food to give to hungry people.

Theres a reason why the government likes foodbanks. If given the opportunity one of their Tory MPs will see this as a photo opportunity.

Foodbanks save the government thousands of pounds every year. They also take the responsibility of feeding people away from them and moves it to the foodbanks and organisations to do this.

No wonder Tories smile so much at the thought of another foodbank opening.

Basically what I’m saying is yes please support your local foodbank but please remind the government of their duty of care towards the people of this country.

Normally we would see the government’s opposition making a speech or statement about the terrible neglect of the poorest and most vulnerable of this country. This year it’s virtually silent.

Sir Kier Starmer quite rightly made a speech about Brexit, but he failed to address the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable of this country.

As a result thousands of people are feeling neglected and unimportant and totally pissed off with the political system in general.

So what do we do now? We support each other in whatever way that we are able to.

A friendly word, a smile can sometimes be enough.

We have to be there for each other because this damned government will never never care.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and supports my campaign and blog. Your kind words and support have kept me going throughout my own covid 19 nightmare.

Sadly I’ve got pleurisy again, thanks to long covid. Hopefully I’ll be better soon.

For anyone that would like to donate towards my campaign and blog there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Thank you!

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog.

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, 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

I’m struggling…

Dear readers this week’s blog is going to be rather short and I apologize for this.

The other week my daughter brought a virus home from school. This in itself wouldn’t be problematic but combine this with my long covid and respitory problems because of this it’s been a nightmare.

I was prescribed some meds which have worked to an extent but I still feel terrible. As a result it’s impacted my life dramatically this week and all that I’ve been able to do is nothing. A flat nothing except essential tasks.

I know that I should probably go back to the hospital but I’m putting it off because they’ve got much sicker people than me to deal with.

The reality is that long covid sufferers like myself are left to it with very little or no support. If you haven’t been admitted to hospital then it’s extremely hard to get someone to listen and to help you.

Unluckily I was admitted to hospital so I have been able to access some very basic tests and have been allocated a respiratory specialist that I’m still waiting to see.

I’ve tried all of the alternative remedies out there and none of them work. Some slightly ease the symptoms but the only things that really work are time, antibiotics for any infection lurking and a nebuliser on bad days.

To access any of these you either have to have access to a decent doctor and a local hospital. By decent I mean a doctor that actually recognises that long covid and related problems are an actual thing.

This sadly isn’t as easy as you might think. Often when you get covid 19 you also can get some really strange symptoms that there’s no explanation for.

My strange symptoms have been high temperature but not skyrocketing high, hallucinations in the early stages, really strange aches and pains, fatigue, breathlessness and a crappy immune system that can be set off by the slightest thing.

When the decision to have another so called lockdown not once were people with illnesses, disabilities and long covid taken into account.

The government shuts pubs, restaurants, gyms etc but they refuse to shut the schools, colleges and universities.

It’s a total misconception that children are being adequately socially distanced. The covid 19 and other viruses are running through these establishments at a high rate. This then returns home with the pupils, teachers, teaching staff and school staff and is passed onto any person living with them.

It’s extremely dangerous but so many people are failing to see this. We aren’t even an afterthought we aren’t thought of at all.

It’s also extremely frustrating to see that so many people in my area at least don’t believe that this virus exists or if it does it’s not harmful.

It’s all a conspiracy they say, wearing a mask takes away our freedom! They fail to see that wearing a mask actually does help to give them the freedom that they crave.

Then we have the news of a vaccine that’s on the way. It’s supposedly around 90% effective and it should be welcomed. But it isn’t by many.

Like anything new it’s ok to be suspicious but this vaccination has been tested adequately. I can’t however comment on any side effects but to be honest I’d give anything to feel well again.

Whilst the schools etc are still open the virus will still be spread amongst our communities. Add into this the people that refuse to wear a mask etc and so many more people are going to become ill or much worse die.

This week saw the death total for UK hit 50 thousand. Yes these people died from Covid 19 related illnesses but people still insult the dead and their families by saying that its all a lie.

It isn’t a lie, people are dying and they need to take this seriously.

I’m sorry for repeating myself again but people do need to hear this. It’s extremely important.

As for me, I’ve not been able to go out anywhere except for my local post office which isn’t far.

I struggle walking there and back, breathing isn’t easy when your mobile but it is what it is.

I wear a mask whenever I do go to the post office and I’m very strict about using anti bacterial hand creams etc.

I stay away from any crowds of people because I realize the risk of catching something else.

I’m not contagious anymore but so many people are vulnerable and we all need to look after each other.

What I do want is a proper lockdown with the full support of the government for workers and self employed people.

I want people to realise that long covid is a serious thing as is having a weakened immune system thanks to covid 19.

I want people to realise that we don’t get well overnight. It takes a long time and its a struggle to do so.

For some catching covid 19 is the only way that they’ll start to realise how awful it is.

As for the vaccine. It’s going to take quite a while for it to be rolled out to the general public. It’s being offered to vulnerable groups of people first and quiet rightly so.

Please don’t become complacent because a vaccine is on the way.

Please keep safe. I know that as a single parent it’s doubly hard to do so but it’s so important.

Continue to look out for each other, help and support each other.

I’m going to end this blog here but please know that you’re all in my thoughts.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

A huge thank you to all of you that do this already.

There’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I receive no funding for anything that I do. Every penny helps me to continue with my blog and campaign.

A massive thank you to everyone that has and does support my blog and campaign. Your support means the world to me.

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

Laughed at for wearing a face mask.

Dear readers it’s Thursday once again. I hope that you are all as safe as you can be.

Good news! So far I haven’t rebounded again and I’m praying that I’ve seen the end of my Covid 19 battle. However I am aware that I can potentially catch it again.

My daughter came home from school last Friday with a virus. Thankfully it wasn’t Covid-19 but it quite easily could have been.

Viruses are free to travel around the school corridors and classrooms. There’s no way that schools can contain it.

Yesterday I spoke to one of my daughters teachers and she was very worried about working in this environment. It’s hard getting the balance right.

Children need to be educated, they need that contact with their friends at school but they shouldn’t be at risk of catching covid 19 and passing it on to family members and friends.

There’s no ideal solution, I wish that there was. So many people are at risk of catching covid 19 and I’m sure that I’m not the only person to be concerned about this.

Yesterday I had to go to my local town to do some errands. It exhausts me, but needs must so off I went.

I would do online shops but I can’t afford to do this.

I was happy to see more people wearing masks, but so many wernt. It’s so frustrating.

A friend of mine said that it’s good manners to wear a mask and it also shows consideration for others.

I have to agree, it is and more need to wear them.

As I was walking towards a shop that I had to go into a man looked at me, laughed and said that I was an idiot for wearing a mask because they do nothing.

I didn’t get the chance to reply because he walked off pretty quickly and I’m not exactly going to go chasing him down the street. I don’t have the energy.

This persons attitude isn’t unusual though. So many people are saying that covid 19 is a conspiracy, that masks don’t work etc.

I’m sure that you’ve all heard and seen comments like this.

I wear a mask because I’m bloody petrified of catching covid 19 again. It’s taken me months of struggling to get over it and my long covid battle isn’t over yet.

I also wear a mask because I don’t want anyone else to catch any viruses that might be walking around with me. I want to be responsible and help as much as I can.

I also wear a mask because Tameside is now in the double red zone and is heading for another lockdown.

Now going back and to the man that laughed at me for wearing a mask. I’m certain that he will change his mind about wearing one of he catches it.

It’s impossible to get a covid 19 test at the moment. The government has completely failed everyone. The testing process is a shambles and don’t get me started on their rubbish track and trace scheme.

We have all been failed by the government, I and others expected this though.

In other news, my local hospital Tameside Hospital has been in the news again.

Sadly its a hotbed for covid 19 and patients on non covid wards have died from it.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/16/tameside-hospital-covid-deaths-are-canary-in-the-mine

Maybe this was caused by people not adhering by the government guidance for wearing masks and keeping hands clean. Who knows but I’m sure that they’ve played a part in this.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has died from covid 19 and their families. It’s heartbreaking especially when so much of this was completely preventable.

Yesterday I cut my hand on a tin in my rubbish bin. It was totally my own fault, I wasn’t paying attention.

It looks like it could do with a couple of stitches but there’s no way that I was going to go to the hospital after this weeks covid 19 news.

I cleaned it and have bandaged it and I’m sure that it’ll be ok.

This did get me thinking though.

How many people are choosing to stay at home rather than seeing a doctor when they need to?

It’s a scary thought.

How many people have absolutely no support and are trying their best to get through this nightmare which is covid 19?

The government has been extremely negligent in providing support for people. They don’t care and it appears that they’re quite proud of their attitude regarding covid 19.

This leaves us living in some kind of limbo waiting for covid 19 to catch us.

All I can suggest is to keep yourself as safe as you can do. You know yourself better than anyone else.

Don’t let anyone else judge you for the decisions that you have been forced to make to keep yourself safe.

I really hope that you all manage to keep safe and as well as you can be.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

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

I couldn’t do this without you. Your support means the world to me.

I receive no funding for anything that I do and it’s a struggle to say the least.

This week I helped four families.

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

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, 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

DWP nudging claimants into looking for non existent jobs. We need to see an end to expensive school uniform policies.

Dear readers its Thursday once again and once again I’m unwell.
After my last admission to hospital I’ve now got another dose of pleurisy thanks to long covid.
I really want to be well again I hate feeling like this.

In other news fellow blogger  Frank Zola has published his blog stating that the DWP have been nudging claimants into finding none existent jobs.
Read it here

https://mrfrankzola.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/millionsofdigitalnudges/amp/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email_subscription&__twitter_impression=true

If this link doesn’t work I’ll try and sort it out.


It’s absolutely ridiculous to be putting such pressure upon claimants whilst we are in the middle of a pandemic.

There’s hardly any jobs out there at the moment.
It’s also extremely worrying that many of these people will be recovering from covid 19.

Where are people going to find these none existent jobs? Zero hour contracts? Self employment?

Believe me when I say that the demand for employment is far higher than the actual jobs available.

You can also bet that the DWP will sanction people for not finding non existent work even though they claim to be using a ‘light touch’ admin at the moment.

I predict thousands more people becoming homeless in the near future.
The government isn’t offering and substantial help either. They just don’t care.

It’s extremely worrying. You’d think that the DWP would understand this but it appears that they don’t.


The demand upon food banks and outside help is going to become much higher and independent food banks and organisations are really going to struggle to survive.

If you can please support your local independent organisations. They usually receive no funding and they rely upon donations.


School uniforms once again.

I can guess that you’re fed up with me talking about school uniforms now but I have an update.
This morning I was interviewed by ITV about the cost of expensive school uniforms.

Having to pay for these expensive uniforms puts immense pressure upon parents and children.
All parents want the best for their children but they just can’t keep up with the ever increasing cost of school uniforms.

I’m in the fortunate position to be able to campaign against the need for these expensive school uniforms.
As I’ve said before they don’t make a child learn more, it’s just an added burden upon parents and children.

Whilst I think that it’s brilliant that charities are doing their best to support parents with school uniform costs, I want to challenge the need for them in the first place.

Charities and organisations are already under immense pressure to help people.
I prefer to end the need for expensive uniform in the first place which will in turn help the charities and organisations.

That said if you know of any charities that are helping parents with the cost of uniforms and uniform pieces please comment below. I want every parent that are struggling to get the help that they need.

I’ll have to sign off now because I feel awful but I will be back again next week.

Please keep safe and wear a mask etc when going out.

For everyone struggling, I hear you, I’m in the same position as you. We can get through this.


Thank you so much to everyone that reads, shares, tweets and supports my blog.
It’s been a tough year and I really appreciate your support.


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

Too soon to re open schools? I have concerns.

It’s Thursday yet again, it appears to creep up on me far too quickly. I really hope that you are OK, well and safe.

This week has been a mixed bag for me, some good days mixed with some awful ones. I bet that you can relate to this.

Being poor and recovering from Covid 19 is no joke. Suffering from long covid is no joke either, especially when the highlight of the day is beans on toast when you can muster up the strength to make it.

We struggle on though. There are some fantastic Long Covid groups on Facebook and we support each other. It’s a good job that we do because not many other organisations do.

I am worried about a second wave coming in September when we have been told that we have to send our children back to school.

So many people still believe that children can’t catch Covid 19. They can and they do. Many unknowingly will be symptom free and will be at risk of passing the virus onto their loved ones.

Are our children going to be used as some type of sick experiment by the government?

My daughter attends a secondary school, her school has decided to keep lesson time to the very basics therfore her hours at school will now be from 10 until 2.40pm.

This won’t stop the spread of covid 19 though. Her school is a new school but they don’t turn the air conditioning on and many of the teachers don’t open the windows either.

Children will be stuck in this hot, sweaty environment at a very close proximity to their friends.

The school hasn’t suggested that children should wear a mask, but I’d challenge anyone to get all of the pupils to wear a mask all day. It’d be a challenge to say the least.

I am very concerned though. I don’t think that the government has thought this through, just like they didn’t put enough thought into pubs reopening.

As we’ve seen in the news lots of people have contracted Covid 19 from a visit to a pub. I’ve no doubt that it’ll be the same when our schools reopen.

I, like most parents want the best for my daughter. I want her to be able to have all of her lessons, to he educated and to do well in life.

Sadly, it looks like she doesn’t stand a chance of that the way that things are planned at the moment.

Educating children online isn’t the answer either. Thousands of families don’t have the Internet or don’t have a device to watch the online lessons on.

So what’s the solution then?

I do think that having a dedicated television channel for lessons would be beneficial. Children can often learn more visualy and some good results could come from this.

We could also learn alot from the parents of home educated children. They’ve been doing it for years, and so many home educated children go to college and university.

They rock this!

But I’m aware that I’m missing one important point.

I’m sure that my daughters school isn’t the only one that will be reducing their teaching hours and lessons.

What will the parents of these children do when they have to go to work? You can’t just leave children to their own devices, to rely on them to go to school without prompting.

I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have gone into school if my parents weren’t there to make sure that I did.

This puts parents in a very difficult situation. Childcare is expensive and not everyone has family members that they can ask to help.

People are desperately trying to hold onto their jobs if they’re lucky enough to still be employed. They can’t rely upon their employers to be sympathetic either.

What I do know is that if their children are absent from school, their school will soon be chasing them up and threatening them with legal action.

This isn’t at all fair though. Those making these decisions have absolutely no idea about what life is really like.

Then we have school uniforms to buy.

School uniforms are very expensive,

I know that I can’t afford to buy my daughter a new uniform this year. Thousands of parents will be in the same position as me.

My daughter has sensory issues so buying her school uniform is difficult at best.

To say that it’s humiliating and depressing to not being able to provide necessities for our children is an understatement.

Hopefully my daughter will never experience this when she has children.

When you’re left with no choice but to have beans on toast once a day how on earth can they demand that you buy a school uniform as well?

In my area there are no school uniform grants available which is shocking.

My daughters school, and most secondary schools send home pupils that aren’t wearing the correct uniform.

Once again discriminating against children living in poverty.

We will try but it’s not going to be easy.

So whilst it’s easy to congratulate the fact that schools are re opening on September, please consider the above.

I don’t want my daughter to catch Covid 19, I don’t want her friends to either. I also don’t want to catch it again.

I want my daughter to have a good education, but the very idea of that is seemingly impossible at the moment.

Will the government give out children time to catch up with what they’ve missed? I doubt it. Working class children aren’t high on their priority list, if at all.

Will the government give parents free access to online and in print learning materials?

Will the government push to dedicate a TV channel in the daytime for the visual education of children?

I doubt this very much.

Once again it’s left to us, as parents and carers to do the best that we can under very tough circumstances.

I do think that schools are re opening too early.

It’s easier to distance primary school age children from each other than it is a group of teenagers.

This is also going to be very tough and challenging for teachers.

Teachers in America have been advised to make a will just incase they catch covid 19 and die.

I’m certain that many teachers here in the uk will be doing the same thing.

I can’t imagine what could be worse than stuck in a hot, sweaty classroom with children for hours knowing that viruses, germs and bacteria thrive in environments like this.

How many teachers and children will become ill or worse because of the government’s decision to re open schools?

Will the government make the decision to shut the schools again if mortality rates from Covid 19 increase?

I doubt it, once that open they’ll be expected to stay open.

We have a government incapable of putting any positive plans into action. They blatently show their hatred of the working classes by the actions that they’ve taken and not taken.

The government has blood on its hands for more than one reason. They’re up to their necks in it.

It’s up to us to keep reminding them that we are important, that our life’s do matter and our children are valuable.

Don’t get me started on this idea. Covid 19 tests are very unreliable and weekly tests are just not doable. No doubt they’ll expect already hugely burdoned teachers to do this as well.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. I really do appreciate everyone that does this for me.

I don’t get paid for anything that I do and it is a struggle. For anyone wanting to donate there is a donate button at the side and top of this blog.

Thank you so much to everyone that does support my work and campaign. I really can’t thank you enough xx.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, 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, 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

Had throat cancer? Can’t speak? We expect you to look for work.

Dear readers and supporters I hope that you are all well and surving the best that you can. I know that lots of you are suffering, but remember I’m here for you to talk to as we are all there for each other.

Yesterday was a rather busy morning but once again I had to finish early again. We ran out of leaflets, I’ll hopefully have this rectified for next week.

We spoke to lots of people and helped lots also. We were also thanked by members of the public both for the help that we had given them previously or for advice that we gave them yesterday.

The most common sentences that we heard yesterday were ‘They never told me that I could do that’ ‘Thank you’ It’s crap and a pile of shite’.

As usual we handed out our food parcels and gave everyone that we spoke to help, advice and signposting if needed. Of course the DWP should be doing this but they aren’t so we have to do it.

We do all this because we can’t stand injustice, we also hate the fact that so many of you are suffering and if we can alleviate this a little its the right thing to do.

As I arrived outside the Jobcentre I spotted a woman walking in and out of the Jobcentre and council offices which are next door.

I approached her and asked her if everything was OK and could I help her.

Her story is this. She’s a single parent and works part time because it’s the only work that she can find that fits around her children. She is claiming universal credit and is struggling to survive.

Whilst she was waiting for her universal credit to be processed she accumulated rent arrears that she’s offered to pay off by paying a bit extra rent every month. Her landlord refused and has started the process of evicting her and her children.

When I say that she’s doing everything to rectify her situation I mean it, she’s really trying but to no avail.

As a direct result of universal credit she’s going to loose her home, and you can bet that our local housing options will tell her that she’s made herself intentionally homeless.

No person in this situation wants to make themselves homeless but universal credit ensures that almost everyone finds themselves in rent arrears.

Does the government care? Not one bit. But many people in the same position as her voted for the Tory party in the general election. Shame on them

I had a conversation with a 65yr old man who was told to attend Ashton Jobcentre to see an advisor. Upon seeing his advisor he was then told that he had to travel to Hyde Jobcentre for another appointment.

He asked them if he could see someone at Ashton Jobcentre instead but they refused. So he had to travel to Hyde which isn’t exactly near Ashton.

This happened twice yesterday, also with a younger man that had been told that he had to attend Hyde Jobcentre at 2pm making him late to pick up his kids from school. He asked if he could have an earlier appointment but they refused saying that he had to attend.

The DWP were responsible for him being late collecting his kids from school. The DWP doesn’t regard children and childcare as being important, nor do they care a bit about a child’s safety.

It wasn’t much later when I had a conversation with an older woman who asked for a leaflet. She told me about her experience with the DWP when they phoned her up recently.

The whole experience was awful for her, she told me that they were literally shouting to her and they made her cry. She’s disabled and already suffered from anxiety. This experience made her ill with worry.

I then was stopped by a woman that gestured towards me, she wanted to ask what we were doing. She couldn’t speak because she has had throat cancer and lost her ability to speak.

Luckily I lip read myself quite a lot so it could understand what she was saying. Her story is this.

Because she can’t speak she can’t make phone calls, she also finds the whole process of being forced to look for work very stressful. She had been told that not being able to talk shouldn’t stop her from applying for work.

Her advisor had also told her that she had done something wrong but she denies this.and is trying to fight it.

Even though she found it hard to explain what she had done wrong it was very obvious that she shouldn’t be forced to go through this rigmarole. But she is. The DWP don’t give a toss about anyone or anything.

It’s blatantly obvious that no one should be suffering like these people are. It’s such a cruel, horrible system that is determined to make everyone suffer regardless of age, sex and disability. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.

Needless to say we will be back next week to help people.

Thank you so much for all your support, when I say that it means the world to me it really does.

Please read, share, tweet, email my blog. The more people that reads it the better. Unbelievably there are still people out there that are denying that this is happening.

For anyone wanting to donate theres a PayPal button at the top and side of my blog. Thank you so much xx.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, 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, 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

Suspended payments for 6 months because they were seen carrying a food parcel.

Dear readers it’s Thursday and blog day. Please may I start by thanking you all for your support for my blog and my campaign.

I’m still here writing and it’s all thanks to you all.

Today was freezing cold and the crowd was gathered awaiting out food parcels.

This week we had a very kind donation of four extra food parcels from a friend.

It’s a good job that we had these extra food parcels because they were all taken.

I’m going to list today’s conversations. Please note that everyone was given appropriate help, advice, signposting etc. I even went to Wilkinsons to buy some dog food for a dog who’s owner needed a food parcel.

Many people either forget that people struggling have pets and they need to eat. Others reckon that we shouldn’t have any pets, we aren’t deserving of anything.

A much loved pet can be a lifeline for their owner and no one should be criticised for owning one.

The first conversation that I had was with a man who told me that his payments have been suspended for six months. He is claiming the ESA element of Universal credit.

I asked why and he told me that he had been reported to the DWP because he was seen carrying one of our food parcels.

I advised him to appeal this decision and he told me that he’d been advised that he can’t.

Luckily I have contacts that will be able to help him, but regardless of that he shouldn’t be expected to go without any payments for 6 months.

It’s absolutely ridiculous and is so punishing. It’s hellish and shouldn’t be happening at all.

I spoke to a young man that had to walk miles from his home to get to the Jobcentre. He told me that if he’s lucky a bus driver will let him get on a bus for nothing, if they won’t he walks.

I signposted him and bought him some dog food for his dog.

I had a conversation with a woman regarding self employment and universal credit.

Gordon spoke to two people that were making new universal credit claims and needed documentation to do so.

I spoke to a man that’s in the process of being evicted from his home. We advised him to the best of our abilities and I signposted him as well.

I overheard a man shouting ‘B####d sanctions.

I then had a long conversation with a young 18yr old woman that was crying when she was leaving the Jobcentre.

Her advisor had told her that she’s not trying hard enough to find a job, her efforts are rubbish etc. You get the idea.

The truth is that she is trying her hardest to do everything properly but it is a struggle.

No one has shown her how to find a job, how to apply for one and no one has given her any decent career advice.

Her advisor hasn’t told her about further education nor have they told her about apprenticeships etc. They refuse to help whilst criticising her to the point of tears.

Luckili we were there and I sat down with her and gave her some advice, but equally as important compassion.

For heavens sake she’s only 18 years of age, she needs guidance and hasn’t got a good family network to support her.

I gave her a copy of our survival guide and asked her to phone me if she needed my help or even just a cuppa and a conversation.

The advisor that upset her to the point of tears should be ashamed of themselves, but they won’t be. An 18yr old claimant is an easy target for them isn’t it.

I spoke to a chap that had just failed his universal credit esa element medical assessment. He is appealing this but as usual the DWP have zero compassion.

He’s been told that he has to agree to look for work whilst his appeal is being processed. If he doesn’t agree to this they’ll stop his claim.

The DWP don’t recognise that having a disability can and does prevent a person from working. Persecuting them for this won’t cure their disability it’ll make things much worse for them. Many die, some take their own life.

It’s sickening that people are being treated in this manner, it’s not getting any better it’s becoming much worse.

I honestly don’t know how we’re going to survive another five years of this.

Please read, share, tweet, blog, email my blog. It’s so important that we get the truth out there.

We will be returning to Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre next week from 10am to 12 noon. Please come and say hello.

For anyone wanting to donate there’s a PayPal button at the top and side of my blog.

Thank you!

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, 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, 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’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

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

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, 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, 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’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

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

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.