Blog piece by Mr Peter Perrin
“One of the most oft repeated phrases by the coalition Government has been “We are all in this together”, an “incantation” which they thought if they chanted it often enough, we would all believe it so.
Unfortunately the reality has been less than enchanting and there are many people who are “more in it” than others” whose lives have been adversely affected, even devastated, by the impact of the Government’s fiscal policies.
These politicians and their ilk then have the effrontery to expect us to acknowledge that they are making the same sacrifices and suffering the same hardships we, the ordinary men/women have to make and endure. They claim they are just like us and feel the same pain as we do “when you scratch us, do we not bleed the same as you”?
They may feel a little pain from “scratches” but the majority of us are suffering a great deal of pain from the savage “cuts” inflicted upon us in the cause of economic recovery.
It is adding insult to injury to imply that we are all in the same” boat” when some are in a “luxury yacht” sailing away from the rest of us sitting in a leaky row boat.
The Government’s cynical “demonising” of the unemployed, the latest example being that benefits are rising at twice the rate of the salaries of those in work, implying that people on benefits are getting twice the amount of increase than the worker, is disingenuous and wilfully misleading.
If my benefit is £100 per week and I get a 2% increase that is £2 per week extra income, if I am in work and earn £400 per week and get a1% increase that amounts to £4 extra income, a complete reversal of what the Government would have us believe.
This Government, together with their Lib/Dem allies, delight in alienating those in work from those out of work by referring to the unemployed as “lying abed with curtains still drawn, living a comfortable life on benefits at the expense of hardworking, tax paying others “.
It is unlikely these “arrogant posh boys” have ever done a “hard” day’s work in their lives and have no understanding, and probably don’t give a damn, of the hardships the unemployed and their families have to endure.
They persecute and humiliate those receiving benefits accusing them of being workshy scroungers, parasites living off the state at a cost the country cannot afford. It seems to me that these politicians need reminding it is the state that pays their, way above average, wages, along with generous expense allowances, which enables them to live very comfortably at the expense of the hardworking relatively low paid taxpayer.
Perhaps we should inform these “arrogant posh boys” that the country cannot afford to continue to pay their high salaries and outrageous expenses and we require them to take a substantial cut to both. This Government has and continues to indulge itself in a strategy that sets one section of society against the other and then exploits the resentment felt by those in work by a perceived imbalance and unfairness in the benefits system.
The odium of the Government’s declared “war” on the benefits system is only surpassed by the wickedness of their blatant perpetuation of the myth that most people on benefits are fraudsters, claiming benefits too which they are not entitled. There will always be fraudsters but for every benefit fraudster there are hundreds of thousands of genuine claimants.
MPs would do well to remember their own expenses scandal and the outrage they felt when they perceived they were all being “tarred with the same brush. Having squealed like stuck pigs at the unfairness of accusing all MPs of abusing expense allowances, they now seek to brand the unemployed, the disabled, the mentally ill and those on housing benefits as cheats. What a miserable bunch of bullies they are.
I believe most people in Thurrock abhor the Government’s persecution of the poor and vulnerable members of society.
I believe most people in Thurrock care about and are sympathetic to the unemployed and the hardships they and their families endure.
Another really interesting blog.
I think the main problem is we now have a divided working class. We have a group of working class people who actually work in many low paid jobs, who want to get on in life and we have another group, an underclass, who have been allowed to believe that a life on benefits is owed to them. A welfare system is a safety net should any of us need it not a tool which millions (disproportionally financing many in Scotland and parts of Northern England) can continuously live on for ever more.
I do think one way to soften the blow would be to crack down on benefit fraud to deter people from doing it in the first place and another way would be to exclude all migrant workers from having any access to social security as well as healthcare and exclude 16-18 year olds being able to claim welfare. If this age group cannot find work then they should be in education, not sitting at home getting into a habit of doing nothing. Continuing the system as it is will eventually lead to higher taxes or an empty pot – neither of which I want to see.
p.s – I cannot stand the phrase “We’re all in it together”
The day any MP of any political colour is in it with the “ordinary” people of this country is the day world poverty and wars will end. Unemployment benefits form a small part of the entire benefits system. More is paid out in working and family tax credits. Unfortunately this country now spends one third of all tax receipts on benefits of one kind or another which is not sustainable. Even if we had not a single person on the unemployment register it would save only around £9 billion in direct unemployment benefits out of a total bill of over £120 billion. The system was originally designed as a safety net for those not able to support themselves through work. This has now been extended to include those that can’t support themselves in work which is a direct result of Labour party policy past and future. I don’t see any harm in limiting benefits like housing benefits and tax credits as it appears that some people choose to live in certain areas rather than the cheapest areas and choose not to work additional hours. This is not a lifestyle choice decision the rest of us have.
I actually didnt know many of the facts/figures that NoVoice has mentioned so thanks for that.
I find the point of tax credits baffling. I would phase out the whole thing along with child benefit for more than two children.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/voters-brainwashed-by-tory-welfare-myths-shows-new-poll-8437872.html
Another good blog Peter, there is no way that this present government Tories/Libs can ever understand the so called working class people of this country, if there isnt any work for the so called future generation, placing them in education and further training wont help.because there still wont be any work for them, and if there were to be some form of work, it will be underpaid and not worth going for, as the meager allowances they are receiving go leaving them in even more poorer, it is true that some of the young do try and get more from the system, even having a baby to get onto the Housing list and a flat, and then have other children to get a bigger place, they are not bothered about the price of the flats, as their rents are paid for by the welfare, and the job centre, Thurrock college had a regular class of unemployed youth, where they had to attend the classes, where they taught them how ro read and write properly and basic maths, this was so that they could fill in application forms for work, and to sign there names etc, so its not only the employment problem but basic education, how can a person leave school after many years without being able to read and write and do basic maths properly, what type of country is this, that is why there will always be, Them and Us, a working class and a upper class mentality in this country.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/jan/08/uk-benefit-welfare-spending?INTCMP=SRCH
Data – Benefit Budgets 2010 / 12 SOURCE: DWP Annual Report
Data summary
UK benefit spending by the Department for Work & Pensions
AREA Type 2010-11, £bn 2011-12, £bn % change, inc infla.
DWP Total Total 160.08 166.98 1.9
Benefit spending in Great Britain Total 153.6 159 1.1
State Pension Benefit 69.88 74.22 3.7
Housing Benefit Benefit 15.74 16.94 5.2
Disability Living Allowance Benefit 11.88 12.57 3.3
Pension Credit and Minimum Income Guarantee Benefit 8.32 8.11 -4.8
Income Support Benefit 7.79 6.92 -13.2
Rent Rebates Benefit 5.28 5.45 0.8
Attendance Allowance Benefit 5.23 5.34 -0.3
Incapacity Benefit Benefit 5.56 4.94 -13.3
Jobseekers Allowance Benefit 4.46 4.91 7.6
Council Tax Benefit Benefit 4.79 4.83 -1.7
Employment and Support Allowance Benefit 2.25 3.58 55.8
Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay Benefit 2.46 2.55 1.2
Expenditure incurred by the Social Fund Benefit 3.81 2.37 -39.2
Carers Allowance Benefit 1.57 1.73 7.7
Financial Assistance Scheme Benefit -1.44 1.24 184.6
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Benefit 0.89 0.89 -2.3
Severe Disablement Allowance Benefit 0.89 0.88 -3.1
National Insurance Fund Benefit 1.09 0.82 -26.6
Bereavement Benefits Benefit 0.61 0.59 -5.5
TV Licences for the over 75s Benefit 0.58 0.59 -0.8
Other Benefits Benefit 0.5 0.4 -22.7
Maternity Allowance Benefit 0.34 0.37 4.2
Other Programmes Benefit 0.2 0.18 -9.3
Departmental Operating Costs Total 2.84 1.45 -49.9
Operational Delivery Dept 1.29 2.49 87.7
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Administration Dept 0.58 0.55 -8.8
Health and Safety Executive Dept 0.2 0.18 -15.8
Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies (Net) Dept 0.39 0.38 -6.3
Employment Programmes Dept 1.81 0.88 -52.8
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Dept 0.39 0.48 20.9
I think you guys are missing something
the real scroungers are not the people on benefits or tax credits
but are those companies that get away without paying their full share of tax according to http://falseeconomy.org.uk/cure/myths
the Government could pull in 95 Billion from corporations and the rich that would more than pay for the benefits and tax credit bill
they can get another 3 Billion from a Tobin tax or Robin Hood tax http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/
http://www.stampoutpoverty.org/