Me, I shoot, I score. I mean like everytime. It’s uncanny

Like trump you must be tired of winning 😉

So, after all the “unelected Prime Minister” waffle, now that she’s called an election she’s anti-democratic?

Ah…I see. She expects to win. So that’s anti-democratic. Right.

Be a better opposition. Try and win.

“May held a Parliamentary vote on calling a General Election”

…and she’s a remainer implementing Brexit when the the Referendum went against her. That’s quite different democratic. Some would say a little too democratic given the narrowness of the vote.

outofbreath – Member
What’s the alternative? Benign dictatorships are thin on the ground.

Me.
I was born benign.
And apart from brown saddles and bar tape, I see no reason not to remain so.

Vote Spanner, for a brighter tomorrow.

🙂

Looks good for 67 – which benefit was stopped and why?

Photo of some of the letter here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mother-told-she-was-too-healthy-for-sick-benefits-on-the-day-she-died-a6800921.html

Attendance allowance: https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/overview

“Me.
I was born benign.
And apart from brown saddles and bar tape, I see no reason not to remain so.”

I was born benign, but put me in charge of a country and I’d have a hareem of slave women and exclusive access the the nations ale output withing about 6 weeks.

…and I’d gradually start to refer to my Civil Servants as ‘henchmen’.

its far worse than that. Pretty much our entire countries press is owned by foreign tax-avoiders who hold an unhealthy grip over those in power, or in the case of the Tory Right very much share their self-interested agenda. As this cartel have what is almost a monopoly, and independent news organisations like the BBC have effectively been neutered, what they’re publishing at the moment is little short of propaganda.

The fact that the present Labour leadership, or the pathetic, spineless PLP seems to have singularly failed to grasp this, while they squabble with each other, is a gross dereliction of duty that will lead their descent into irrelevance at the exact point when they’ve never been needed more

Interesting you write the above Binners. You’ve spent the past year choosing to attack Corbyn instead of opposing the Tories. As I see it, you are one of the people the Tories love since you have helped them attack the opposition.

When the Tories are re-elected you have been a part of helping them make that happen.

FWIW – I do not overly support Corbyn but I would never, ever, choose to attack him over the Tories. I’d rather Corbyn in power than the Tories.

I have to say, I know of at least 4,873,749 people who were going to vote Labour until they read some of the things Binners posted. Completely changed their mind.

@captainflasheart..Cheers. You confirm my point exactly (but not in the way, I’m going to guess, that you think I mean). 😀

Yeah c’mon Binners, haven’t you read the script.

My position is simple.
I’ve voted Labour for 32yrs, I could never bring myself to vote for a Tory govt – especially one this insane.
However, Corbyn & Labour support the utter insanity of Brexit.
No matter what other policies Labour propose, they all pale before the single greatest political disaster of our times.
Which is why I cannot vote for my current MP as she voted for article 50, so that leaves me with the only political party that opposes the madness.

Labour deserve their coming oblivion.

I feel the same, but I’m in a swing seat and our current MP (Alison McGowen) had the guts to vote against triggering A50 so she’ll get my vote

Muddy – vote tactically for the party most likely to beat a tory

Unfortunately my area, Sussex, is 97% likely to vote in the Tories, again, so we’re stuffed. I’m almost certain to vote Lib Dem, though.

It’s going to be an interesting election night.

Hold my nose & vote for a Brexiteer?
Tories stand next to no chance here, yet a LibDem candidate may just take the seat.
I’ll vote with my principles.

Labour deserve their coming oblivion

You mean you’ll be voting to send a message to those at the top regardless of the undesirable consequences?

Sounds familiar.

The thousands of younger new members, the people we were begging to get involved in politics for years don’t deserve that Si.
Brexit wasn’t their fault.

And neither do those who are going to suffer most from an increased Tory majority.
Don’t take your understandable anger out on those who don’t deserve it.

I had a bit of a ‘bollocks to it all’ phase, disgusted by my party and those who fell for the lies.

But what are you going to do, give up or fight?

Look at Rochdale.
How many vulnerable people do you see on the streets?
The only places that are full are the medical centres and the charity shops.

As a historian, your spider senses must be tingling at the mo?
We’re descending into a shitstorm of victim blaming and division.

We’re **** and its down to Obi Wan Corbyn to save us from Darth May.

Pete, you don’t need to be a historian to see what may be coming down the tracks!
My MP is Heywood & Middleton, despite living a mile from the Town Hall, Danczuk is a terrible MP & Rochdale a trad Liberal seat anyway.
I simply cannot vote for a Party that will not stand up against the crazy farce that is Brexit, it is THE single defining issue of our age. Let it go through & it doesn’t matter WHAT Labour promise, as we won’t be able to afford any of it.

When the Tories decided to become the electable face of UKIP Labour had a chance to become the voice of the 48%, most of the PLP are anti Brexit anyway yet the leadership pushed a 3-line whip & the PLP supinely rolled over.
Those aren’t the people I want representing me.
Corbyn is a Brexit supporter, ergo he is not a man i want in Downing St.

Yeah, i wouldnt vote for Dirty Danczuk either, to be fair, at least here David Crausby is kind of reasonable

No matter what other policies Labour propose, they all pale before the single greatest political disaster of our times.

That was allowing ourselves to be dragged into what is now the EU by Heath, so you can still blame the Tories.

And in Today’s mainstream press, more reports of corporate manslaughter via WCA and disability benefits sanctions.

How much longer can Freud, Duncan Smith, McVey, Patel, Crabb and Green avoid prosecution.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-dad-died-after-being-10322668#ICID=sharebar_facebook

Great anecdotal link there about something that happened 4 years ago. My understanding of a complex issue is so much better informed now.

How much longer can Freud, Duncan Smith, McVey, Patel, Crabb and Green avoid prosecution.

The answer is they never will be. I can’t see how death of a person refused a particular type of benefit can ever be criminaly linked to the minister in charge the department. Whatever anyone thinks of the rights or wrongs its just not going to happen, so why keep going on about it.

My point is, from the 2012 welfare reform act that has been the direct and sometimes indirect causes of up to 8000 similar deaths, up until very recently to find reports of these deaths, you had to be a member of Black Triangle, DPAC or follow independent blogs.
Now the red tops deem it fit for reporting.

As for why have I posted this report in this thread, this is the reason for me turning my back on my party membership in this general election and ill be voting for an MP that could possibly put Jeremy Corbyn in to number 10 despite my misgivings about some more right wing elements of the Labour Party.

Taxi, IDS was confronted many many times by disability rights pressure groups about the unintended consequences of his policies. On one particular occasion I remember him turning up for a parliamentary consultation meeting with a group of disabled activists under armed Police guard.
Priti Patel once referred to a group of wheelchair users protesting outside a Job centre as “Terrorists”
Ministers know full well and choose to ignore the consequences of thier edicts to branch management at DWP departments.
Does this not make them culpable?

And I’ll keep going on about this issue until Tory voters realise, either through design or crass ignorance, have enabled these deaths.

That might all be very true ulysse. I’ve had first hand experience of the assessment process people with disabilities have to go through and it’s sh@t.
But the idea of ministers being prosecuted for manslaughter is fantasy. Put your energy into campaigning for the changes needed, and actually having a hands on approach to helping people who need it. Perhaps you already are and thats a good thing.

Great anecdotal link there about something that happened 4 years ago. My understanding of a complex issue is so much better informed now.

Be all facetious about it if you want but this government’s treatment of disabled and vulnerable people has been nothing short of disgraceful. If you support it or don’t care then that says a lot about you. And if you think this some sort of tribal political issue:

The Government’s welfare reforms and austerity policies have led to “grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s rights, an inquiry by the United Nations found.

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities dispatched investigators to London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast in October last year.

They found that a string of legislation introduced since 2010 as part of welfare reforms and austerity policies had had a negative impact, including the Welfare Reform Act 2012, Care Act 2014, and Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/un-report-disability-disabled-rights-violating-austerity-welfare-reform-esa-pip-a7404956.html

We are still one of the richest countries in the world – we can do better than this.

I think he has a point

the reality is the stringent DwP changes enforced on many of our most vulnerable citizens resulted in deaths

Whether one wants to be tough on benefit claimers or not [ and even if one accepts this was an unintended consequence*] then we should all be rightly embarrassed that a country this rich did this to some of its most vulnerable disabled and seriously ill citizens

The worst case i heard was a man waiting for a triple bypass having to have an ambulance called during his Jobcentre interview – he was in w wheelchair and on oxygen – and being sanctioned as he did not sign on that day . this man taken from the JC by emergency medical crews was “fit for work”

* not even i think IDS wanted folk to die but he sure did not care if they suffered extreme hardship in his quest to be a complete bastard to the vulnerable

were we to have more stories like ulysse poster up there and much less of the benefit scrounger meme then I think the public would actualy GAS

Hands up, who’s OK, with this?
IDS and Armed Bodyguards: No-One Trusts the Man who Trusts No-One

And for the record, i was just a vocal (and typey) when New Labour with Frank Field and David Freud engineered the beginnings of what we see today with Sanctions and the WCA (dont get me started on LHA, that’s initially what sent me down the activist route )

Simon, you have some very good points.
I’m afraid I can’t argue against any of them with any genuine conviction.

Ulysse, thank you for your contributions.

No one involved in the consequences of this has a voice.
It is utterly **** shameful.

It’s been brought up on here countless times, by people genuinely affected and those who have the choice to work in this sector.

I cannot remember one genuine instance of defense or justification from our right wing forum friends.
Not one of those who so eloquently pleads for equality appears to care about those most in need.
Utter silence, every time.

Shameful that people vote for the Tories whilst being fully aware of the damage these policies do.

If the right wing can use the the media to lie, the least we can do is use them to tell the truth.

Shameful that people vote for the Tories whilst being fully aware of the damage these policies do.

Are they aware though? Are me and thousands of others perceived as shouty ill informed fringe lunatics with an anti tory tub to thump?

If so… Try opening your mind, take a look about. These are not just anecdotal, they’re real – The DWP have admitted 61 deaths were directly caused by benefit cuts. The other seven thousand and odd are a bit harder to prove, hypothermia, starvation related organ failures, stress induced suicides, but all can be pointed to a source and cited.

However, if you ARE fully aware of these deaths, and still continue to cheerlead Tory policy and enable them by voting, donating or any other conservative party activism, then the blood is on your hands as much as any Minister, DWP Line manager or decision maker.