The head of the UK’s largest union, Unite, has issued a gushing statement praising Ed Miliband’s recent ‘worklessness’ diatribe in which he announced mass workfare should the Labour Party ever claw their way back into power.
According to Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite: “Ed Miliband’s speech offers hope that there is an alternative to George Osborne’s punishing experiment with the national economy.”
During the speech Miliband announced the party will bring in a “a compulsory jobs guarantee, young people will have an obligation to take a job after a year or lose their benefits”.
Those over 25 who have been unemployed over one year will also be subject to the same rules. These jobs will temporary and paid at the minimum wage, which will be funded by the tax payer. Employers will be required to provide an additional ten hours training – although whether those on the scheme will be paid for that training is unclear.
The scheme seems almost identical to the current Wage Incentive programme, the Tory scheme which is currently being rinsed by the private sector who are laughing all the way to the bank as the tax payer funds their wage bill. Under this scheme companies are paid by the government to employ young people on shit wages for six months before sacking them in favour of another government subsidised employee.
It appears that Len McCluskey supports one million workfare-style jobs being created with little or no job security and which are pegged at the minimum wage. This according to McCluskey is Milliband’s ‘alternative’ – a near carbon copy of a Tory scheme already in existence which will drive down wages for everybody and remove the right of young or long term unemployed people to choose where they work.
It also seems that McCluskey supports single parents being hounded by DWP busy-bodies to prevent ‘worklessness being passed down from one generation to another’. Miliband announced in his speech that even those with toddlers should be bullied by Jobcentres to carry out work related activity or training whilst their kids are at play school.
Presumably McCluskey is also in favour of the brutal Atos regime which has led to hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled people having benefits slashed. Whilst Miliband claims the Work Capability Assessments that his government introduced needs some reform, he is adamant in his support for the tests and claims they are the ‘right thing to do’.
It is the right thing to do, according to Miliband, to find the people who ‘need help to get into work’ or ‘who can work without support’. In other words Miliband and McCluskey share the rhetoric that significant numbers of people on Incapacity Benefit are faking their conditions – or need some kind of Work Programme – no doubt involving workfare – to bully them into work.
Miliband didn’t stop there. He is also in favour of the introduction of the Personal Independence Payments – the replacement for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) which has been designed to slash benefits from 20% of disabled people. All Miliband has to say about this Tory policy is that it is important to have the ‘right’ tests in this area, as if the Tory’s are proposing to have the ‘wrong’ kind of test. There is barely a cigarette paper between Miliband’s attitude to sickness and disability benefits and Iain Duncan Smith’s current vile agenda. And McCluskey is backing him all the way.
What Miliband didn’t say in last week’s speech is also significant. Whilst 600,000 people currently face losing their homes due to the bedroom tax, and another 50,000 at least due to the benefit cap, Miliband chose not to even mention it. And why would he, Labour support not just a cap on benefits for individuals but also a cap on social security spending overall. And whilst some in the Labour Party have shamelessly exploited those facing poverty and homelessness by pretending to be opposed to the bedroom tax, behind the scenes Labour were plotting a near exact same move themselves – something else that McCluskey is happy to get behind.
Miliband’s proposals will be a disaster for claimants and low paid workers alike, yet the head of the UK’s largest trade union is singing his praises from the rooftops. What is perhaps most contemptible of all is that Unite also run a Community Membership scheme for benefit claimants.
Unite have been only too happy to take money from claimants to subscribe to this branch of the union by pretending they are on the side of those on benefits. Yet as soon as their pampered pet in the Labour Party launches an attack on claimants they are the loudest voices in support. Unite Community members who choose to tear up their membership papers up after McCluskey’s shameful support of Miliband’s benefit bashing should also consider asking for their fucking money back.
Follow me on twitter @johnnyvoid
the void 
Ed Miliband – the stop-motion Tory sock-puppet.
forgive me but i have a rather old fashioned notion, and having been an active member of the t&g…that it is the unions role to PROTECT the rights of members…and not protect the rights of employers nor governments..
ps is the peoples assembly, a front for the labour party, looks like it to me.. am sick of this economy that is led by the clinging on to the shirt tails of global capital investments….and the portfolios of the rich…british people have much more to offer the world and ourselves, than a top heavied wealth led, low wage economy!
Glad it’s not just me then. Ken’s call to discuss the formation of a new party for the left looks to be failing it’s core principle before it’s started. This business over unite though is a bloodboiler, my subs will be ceasing very quickly if the leadership don’t distance themselves from “workfare 2.0”. Treachery of the highest order.
A foolish motion
It only takes a look upon footage of the miners struggle to work out that Unions in this country morphed in to parasitic entities.
The occasional bone is thrown to workers in dispute to maintain an illusion, but it only takes a cursory glance over their historical stance and effectiveness on bigger struggles
Just like the national lottery, Unions are just another example of organisations of the monied pick pocketing the poor, and fool the poor to hand over cash willingly. Tantalus.
Wetherspoons pull out of workfare
overburdenthedonkey
They are all in it together, it’s the same with legal representatives they are supposed to defend you if your fighting the government but they don’t, insurance companies are supposed to cough up for claims but by the time they take off the excess and quibble about what is left to pay you, you end up worse off than if you had no insurance.
Milibands work programme will be different because it will be work done for the state as opposed to private companies i.e. roads, house building etc. bloody hard graft on the cheap using the unemployed as labourers, while those who never get their hands dirty like politicians want something for nothing in the form of high salaries with annual increments, expense accounts and now funding for their parties, while they are robbing the unemployed,sick and disabled and now pensioners.
fawkes…this looking more and more like an economy based entirely in the south east of england, and the rest fight for table scraps…same slaves new masters…all done to drive wages and humanity into dust…fcuking parasites….god help the young…
The young had better learn how to tell em to Fuck off, I ain’t standing for this. I ain’t doing it for nowt
Our generation have turned in to abject failures on both score
‘Cos our generation (I take it you’re over 40) were bought off by consumerism and traded-in their interest in politics for the all credit you could eat! What chance of our generation’s children having a rebellious (or political) bone in their body?
Almost none.
The number of OBC affected seems to be a moving target…
(quote)
The original DWP estimate was 56,000 families yet two weeks ago the DWP and coalition spin machine was working overtime with a claim that it will now only affect 40,000. Yet when you consider that DWP has sent out letters to 88,840 households saying they will be affected this doesn’t ring true…
(endquote)
From http://speye.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/the-benefit-cap-100000-social-tenants-evicted-this-year/
So the question is… just how many are affected when the dwp is issuing all sorts of differing amounts… it might be much worse than expected or might not be as bad… but hey IDS “knows its for the best” what a tosser.
jonathan…all i see in overview..is rich and poor zoning…of britain? of just england?..on a much bigger and more easily, defined therefore not hidden, nor disguised, overt, scale than ever before..
whatever happened to the Labour party and the concept of fighting for basic rights? this sort of nonsense gurantees a triumphant post-Cameron Tory majority in 2015 😦
How disgusting DWP are hounding single parents with toddlers to do the disgusting low wage, workfare shit, and the rest of it. What the fucking hell does Mccluckingclustsi know about single parents and passing down worklessness. WOT A FUCKING LIBERTY!!!!! BEING A SINGLE PARENT IS NOT FUCKING WORKLESSNESS!!! believe me. I am livid and fuming. By the way Mccluski and Miliband you swines, Jonn Bowlby Phd. said the mother infant attachment bond is very very important. THEY NEED THEIR MOTHERS OK!!!! not good for toddlers to be left in their critical stage for forming a good SECURE ATTACHMENT to their mother. You capitalists greedy swines make me sick. What happens to the disabled or sick single parent then???? omg what a stinking mess the Tory party have put this country in. All this child poverty. I dread to think of all in Insecure Attachments they are creating in children. Toddlers need thier mothers. Sorry this is not WORKLESSNESS. I am seething here. These rich politicians do not have a clue.
Totally Agree. Whilst children are still CHILDREN, no Mother is ‘workless’. Yet the government/taxpayer will pay £200 – £300 per week in childcare costs to someone else to do the job you were doing in the first place! .
Yeah I’d say the politicians should become single parents for a practice with other people’s kids on welfare budgets – except nobody sane wants to endanger a child.
PS if you get childcare from the free and informal via the subsidised or paid-by-you forms, up to the top-end upper-class care: How can you guarantee it’s okay or that your child will be safe and won’t be abused? You can’t.
PPS: If a married woman has kids she is ‘normal’ but suddenly her husband dies of accident, illness, IED’s in Afghanistan, or whatever… then suddenly she is a Single Mother and a PROBLEM.!
PPS To a lot of those slimes, children of partnered lesbians, including ones where the birth mother used the eggs of the egg mother, are ‘growing up in single parent families’, as only the birth mother really exists!
Oh also what if you have twins or more, or what if your child is disabled and needs specialist care, or is seriously ill, or has behavioural problems, learning difficulties, is excluded from school, etc?
Why are rich people allowed to home-school their kids and poor people are not?
If you have a special diet how do you ensure the care provider will follow this when looking after your child?
Who to vote for I wonder? I’d vote TUSC if they run a candidate in my area.
In July when the DWP has to go to the Supreme Courts of Justice over the unlawful work programme work placements (Workfare) and they lose, this will spell the end of the Coalition and Labours plans for benefit claimants, I wouldn’t worry about Labour there at best 2 years away from Number 10.
Not necessarily. It depends on what exactly the Supreme Court finds; if it finds that claimants’ human rights were infringed by not paying them the minimum wage (and therefore discriminating against them and denying them access to law), Labour’s scheme is safe, because that’s exactly what it seeks to do; if, however, it finds that the principle of coerced labour itself is a violation of our human rights, no matter what the compensation offered or excuses served up, then the whole political class will rise up as one… and demand that we abandon the ECHR forthwith. Because these are the only people left in the game, after everyone who believes in anything has long since given up in frustration (or been sidelined into political oblivion *nods to John McDonnell etc*).
(For the avoidance of doubt, my position is that forced labour compensated at a million pounds an hour is still forced labour, and a violation of my human rights. However, the ECtHR has been clear in the past that signatories are not required to provide a welfare system – merely that if they do so, it must be as respectful of human rights as any other government endeavour – so it’s possible that the ECHR only permits the finding to be one of insufficient compensation and/or discriminatory application.)
Perhaps a propaganda campaign associating the notion of forced labour with the Todt Organisation of Nazi Germany? I don’t think that our government’s, of whatever colour, are quite as bad as the Nazi’s were, (not quite yet anyway) but the principle is exactly the same – and indeed, does the final decision actually rest with the UK Supreme Court, or can it then proceed to the European Court of Human Rights?
I have to disagree with your assumption that ‘our governments are not quite as bad as the Nazis were’. The current government is behaving in similar ways to the Nazis, but at least the Nazis defined the law before they enacted it. This government just does just what it wants to then redefines the law afterwards. It’s very difficult to fight a shape shifting monster: just watch “The Thing”
This government has no moral compass, no compassion and no regard for human dignity. This makes them worse than even the WWII Nazis.
Locate its original shape (= slime) and destroy it while it is in that shape.
Jasmine
Being a single parent is doing the nurturing of two people mother and father, without being told to go and be the breadwinner also. The rich and ruthless have no qualms about leaving their young children to be reared by others while they pursue their careers or pastimes, but working class morals and principles are “don’t have children if you don’t want to rear them”. If being a childminder or a nanny is classed as a job, then being a parent who cares for their child is also, so Cameron and Miliband stop harassing single parents into forcing their kids to be latch key kids.
Guyfaukes thanks and hi,
perhaps Cameron, Miliband, IDS were all reared by nannies, then shipped off to boarding schools. They missed out on having mummy hugs when they were young. Have abandonment issues perhaps. Now they want to pick on single parents and make their toddlers suffer, just like they did. Leave the mums with their toddlers you rotton greedy money snatching snakes in the suits.
jasmine…well that explains their love of money…and hatred of humanity!
Hello overburdenddonkey
well, yes of course. They are Narcissists. They bear all the traits. it originates right from the beginning you know. The bonding with mother. Or not. Narcissists are not into people unless they are making them huge amounts of money. Then they are your best false friend. Narcissists have zero empathy. Hate weak people. Detest them in fact. Severe disability denial will be the case, if you fall ill around one or become disabled. They will turn on you. Kick you in the gutter, they think you belong there. power money , adulation, is the name of the game with these people.
jasmine..
they’ll never change..they are well insulated from our world…one can always tell a culture by how it treats those in need…a mother who protects/defends child until child can protect/defend it’s self, is to be revered, as one has to defend against these evil people, using tongue and jawbone,(voice) and not be dominated by them…we are all born lovable sociable and non-violent and cooperative…i admire the work of dr bob truth…and kids company…
Jasmine
Never mind “narcissists”. Isn’t “psychopaths” more like it? A brilliant letter in The Guardian recently was from someone who works with high-risk offenders. She said that she sees in the current cabinet people with identical deficiencies of empathy and a total disregard for the consequences of their actions as her work clients and that appealing to their civic values or their better nature was a waste of time!
timfrom…i’d like to read that letter is there a link to it?….i agree p/paths…but they are insane will do for me…camilla @ kids co…says that kids in her area, are suffering,extremely..”this government hates us!”..they know who to blame…
Hi timform
Psychopaths and high level malignant narcissists are very similar. Your right tho Psychopaths does come to mind here. All have no empathy, and use control, power and intimidations. They love to abuse with the double bind, no win situation. They are stealth abusers. Brain is wired wrong. No mirror neurons work at all. Glad you guys are all on to this. People need to be. Hitler was a narcissist by the way. I guess everyone knew that. He was abused in childhood, but did not reflect on this and took it out on the jews on an unconscious level. Read some of Alice Miller Phd. work.
jasmine…the late great dr alice miller….but the brain is NOT hard wired..corpus callosome et al it all reverts back to nature after PROPER psychotherapy…see work of kis co and correspondent to dr alice dr bob truth..and curing psychopaths…karl et al..they ALL heal 100% of the time…as dr bob..camilla and alice, put it is a software problem,never a hardware problem…all caused by frozen terrors…and cured by releasing those frozen terrors..the physiological process…in how the body convulses and releases pent up rage is profound…and then calm…mind unclamped, free to think clearly….
I got my unite membership as a xmas present last year and i did not vote for this idiot in this year vote unfortunely others did. I will be complaning to the union yes him. I am unemployed and for fuck sake who else do we have to take on to get a paying job or real training? It goes on and on idiots and fools who have no idea what it is like to have to exist on very little and yet expect us to be pleased that a rich pratt is in charge of the Labour Party and a rich idiot being paid for by people like me and still wants to treat me as the underclass.I paid him and through my ‘Present ‘i also pay the labour party as they give money to them to repersent ME!!! The longer you live the more disapointed you become with politics!
I saw that Unite were encouraging unemployed people to join, but I did wonder what that now apparently cynical ploy was about – to make it seem that they care, (but in effect you are a second class member whose concerns will be ignored). I wasn’t interested as membership was very expensive compared to the £1 a month that membership of the I.W.W costs for an unemployed person – where you are regarded as a worker, unemployed or not.
Mind you, the I.W.W is different from other unions, as you have to get up off your backside and actually do something for yourself, but there is always help and support available, (and crucially training). I’d urge those Unite community members to jump ship if they want to be in a real union – join the already numerous Unite members who are dual-carders as they have become so pissed-off with mainstream trade unionism which just seems to brown nose big business or the Labour Party leadership.
Perhaps it’s time to reconsider involvement in mainstream type politics, it doesn’t consider our needs, so why should we consider it’s need, our votes? Perhaps it’s time to start to get involved locally with the issues that are close to us, they do eventually feed through to the mainstream, as most of us have remarkably similar concerns… now I wonder what they are?
If the “Peoples Assembly” is a front for the labour party then it is not a front for “NEW Labour”at least they seem to want to re-nationalise the utility companies,and stop government subsidies to private companies that show profit year on year. Which has been happening since the big sell off of public companies,from all adminastrations.
murray
as i understand it britain would have to leave the eu to be able to renationalize, said industries…will this be the case for independent scotland…and indeed by de-fault independent england….i do not know! see lucy reynolds vid…
Ummm, an independent Scotland does not mean an independent England by default. Both Wales and Northern Ireland would remain as part of the Union.
I doubt that the UK would have to leave the EU in order to renationalise industries, as quite a few have been renationalised in very recent years in many EU countries… The banks. Germany also renationalised its Federal Print Office in 2008, and don’t forget the UK’s Directly Operated Railways Ltd, a state owned company that runs the East Coast railway franchise.
It would also be a bit difficult for the EU if presented by a majority government in the UK that seriously wanted to renationalise large parts of the economy, as the UK is one of the EU big three, and it’s doubtful that either Germany or France would wish to lose an important ally. (Plus the fact that the EU isn’t the all-powerful institution it’s detractors try and make it out to be, but it is often used by national governments as a ruse when imposing unpopular laws on their populace – and EU laws are often interpreted very differently in different countries anyway, but just remind yourself, when the Tories complain that they can’t impose a policy because of EU law, heave a huge sigh of relief!
sib…the uk would no longer be the uk…and yes they pick and choose the eu laws that they adhere to…the competitions laws(or some such laws, that allow the suing of the state, if they fail to award the contract or contracts to the “best”, bidder) are the ones i refer to…as does lucy reynolds and alex salmond he in relationship to atos mentoring services to scottish councils…when a business goes bust that has fixed assets…then the state can renationalize them although this is not called renationalization….they get away with what they do coz the wounded party is powerless to respond…having been wounded by the deception(s)…and now also having to fight against it’s affects carring the affects of it….it is a childish learned trick to gain power over the weak…
Aparently when we are independent we will have to renegotiate with the EU anyway so re-nationalisation could take place first,
What were the grounds on which Network Rail and Northern Rock were nationalised (re- in the case of Network Rail), and could those grounds not encompass a newly-independent Scotland seeking to ensure continued supplies for its citizens whilst its newly self-sufficient economy stabilises? I’m sure creative ways could be found around these things.
(If you weren’t talking about Scotland, I apologise for the misunderstanding.)
gwen..i guess they had no incentive to sue, coz they had gone bust
I joined Unite a while ago because of their campaign against the Bedroom Tax. I am seriously thinking about doing exactly as you suggest johhnyvoid. Labour should condemn outright all forms of workfare and all sanctions and should have a policy aim of creating jobs and full employment and introducing a citizens income. Have reblogged this on my blog
http://www.cantpaywontpay.org/publish/?p=6746
Give Johnny a credit next time. At the bottom of the page it says “Author: admin”. Hmm…
The almighty cock-up of political parties trying to fix the economy by subsidising companies … what a mentality ! … you fix the economy by forcing better compliance with the tax laws, dickheads !
Pingback: Unite For Workfare, Atos and the Bedroom Tax | ...
So it’s offical then – we are all fucked. There is no-one willing to speak up for or defend claimaints, not labour, not even the unions, even though workfare has a detrimental effect on their own members hours & wage rates. The cozy pic of Milliepede & McClusky has echoes of Harold Wilson’s “beer & sandwiches” with the union leaders except in the case of the two afore-mentioned plonkers it’s more likely to have been champagne & canapes so far removed are they from their roots.
I almost took out a Unite community membership – what a waste of money & time that would have been.
You speak up for yourself – join a local group, or if there isn’t one, start one up. You don’t need to do this on your own, or need to feel at all isolated. There are plenty of local unemployed groups around the UK who would be more than happy to help our – just because they have the name of the locality in their name doesn’t mean that they won’t help anyone outside their area – they would be more than happy to see people in other areas following their example.
Find your local anarchist group and ask them to help, join the I.W.W. as that would help in finding common cause with those in work too, (and finding out how much disillusion there is with mainstream trade unionism there is too)
To be blunt, we have to be prepared to get up off our arses and do the job ourselves. Be imaginative, and non violent. Humour is good, think about making a laughing stock of your local MP, have a go at local councillors who approve the implementation of the Bedroom Tax etc.
Make connections with other groups, have a look on the web for other groups in other areas to see what they are doing, look on Indymedia as often there are reports published there.
We are only fucked if you want to believe that kind of tripe, which is exactly what Cameron, Clegg, Milliband & Co want us to believe. We need to persuade them otherwise.
Take a look at the current Private Eye for details of Unite’s dodgy ballot which, strangely, favoured Len McCluskey. Nice to know there’s one well paid job he’d like to preserve
The words show that Ed Milliband is nothing but a Tory puppet and it seems that McClusky has shown his true blue colours at last. Unite? How dare they use a name like that when he shown that he will join the ranks that divide!
And now you have seen his true colours, share that knowledge
I do find some of the articles and comments on this site confusing. Let’s say I follow the advice being given and tear up my Unite membership. And as some are also saying the Peoples Assembly is a front for the Labour party and supposedly should not supported, presumably I should give up involvement with our local anti cuts group as it is fully behind the PA. So where does that leave me. I no longer would be a Union member and have no say in that. I would no longer be involved in my local anti cuts group and so pretty much be left on my own. Is this some kind of New Solidarity where people should not involve themselves with any movement that does not fit into the confines of anarchist ideology so are left to fight their corner on their own. Wierd?
kevinlsmith64….if it does what it says on the tin then support it…i want the peoples assembly to work…but it must not be just another talking shop….i want to see forthright actions from it…the pa is already constituted, on what true platform i yet do not know…caution is what i am saying…i have not yet heard it’s voice, it’s lions roar…i cannot speak for unite…i am an old socialist…you must judge where it is best to put your energies…i pray for a mass movement against austerity, i hope this is the one that will start this change….
It is pretty confusing, and whilst I personally favour anarchism, I realise that this isn’t everyone’s choice. I don’t know anything about the People’s Assembly, but from the individuals involved I suspect it could well be a maverick Labour/Trotskyite front, which would be something to watch, as you could well end up with a similar situation to that which is the case with Unite. There is a lot less to be worried about if the PA formulates itself as a horizontally organised movement, but if it’s hierarchical, beware.
Only you will be able to make a judgement about your local anti-cuts movement, and whilst it may be aligned with the PA that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s dominated by it.
As far as tearing up your Unite card is concerned, only you can judge, but I do know that quite a few people who are members of Unite, Unison and other mainstream unions are also joining the I.W.W. whilst remaining in the mainstream union, thus becoming ‘dual-carders’ which is common in the I.W.W. This includes a significant number of Unite trade union organisers and shop stewards!
One final point, there is no overarching ‘anarchist ideology’. Anarchism simply means to be without a leader, and committed to the principles of liberty and equality. There are ideologies within anarchism, but it isn’t an ideology in itself. Sorry to be pendantic, but many people do not understand what anarchy is – no surprises when even a dictionary gets it wrong, citing anarchy=chaos, which it most definitely is not. Look at Johnny’s logo – an A inside an O representing Anarchy is Order.
sib…individual personal freedom a socially cooperative society…all energies 1st devoted to ensuing the full provision of all human vitals…and the rest of the day is one’s to enjoy…
Sib, if you favour Anarchy then you MUST explain the ethos.
As you state, there is much confusion.
I rememeber about 20 odd years back an English Language teacher trying to explain, the encircled A to a room of thirty clueless kids whos only idea was Vivian from The Young Ones, and i carried the scars of that bungled attempt at an explanation for many years before i found out for myself.
I’ll try and write the guts as best i remember – Assume mocking tone-
” Anarchy cant work, look at what it means – no rules, chaos, disorder.
You picture a group of people tossing wood on to the bonfire talking of overthrowing the government, even the that has rules, talking, putting wood on the fire are ordered, there are rules.
anarchy can not work”
I’ll bet my arse that most people out there make the same mistake as this clown did, thinking “Without Rules” rather than the distinction of “Without Rulers”
ulysses…anarchy..is a swear word for natural order, anarchy is freedom without unnatural, ties, bonds, chains of the master…synarchy is the scary one….
Kevinlsmith, sometimes you have to get in to bed with groups that compromise your ideals to get what you want.
How much you bend your rules to achieve your goals is entirely down to you and your moral stance, but expecting to join a pressure group of what ever flavour without compromising your stance in any way is probably impossible.
Unless of course, you start your own group
that can only go so far though. Miliband’s speech was toxic for claimants, what he’s basically saying is the argument is over on workfare, Atos, PIP, the bedroom tax – labour will do all the same things just a bit nicer. McClusky endorsing this, particularly in respect of UNITE running a community section, is that Ed’s right, we need to move on, fight for a fairer Atos test, nicer workfare, a proper test for PIP (the only purpose of which is to cut people’s benefits) – its a deliberate move to anchor the argument away from what claimants have been fighting for and towards support for what Labour plan to do with benefits, which is pretty much exactly the same as the Tories.
People’s assembly had one purpose. To give Len McCluskey leverage with the Labour party for the negotiations that preceded this. NO more value than that. Cunts
As for the Supreme Court Judges been in favour of human rights has already been decided as we post due to T May has told these judges if they should go against the Government they will be looking for new jobs? President Cameron wants all our human rights taken from us hence we are under a Dictatorship ruler ? this my opinion and therefore without prejudice
Capitalism will eat itself – http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/12/low-wages-not-benefits-holding-britain-down
kittycat58…she is right economic growth is saturated, almost…we in their estimation are a drain on it…oh, well back to the land i suppose..but it is now all “owned” and tied up in land use planning law…no more clearances, nowhere to clear to….wealth will never be redistributed…their plan is to continue to hoover it all up…i was 4yrs old when my mission to fight for my rights began…61 now i’ll fight them until i drop…and come back in 200yrs and see how i got on!
There is a lesson we could learn here as there seem to be a lot of disgruntled people who, having put their faith in Unions, Political Parties, Local MPs etc., find there is no support or defence when there is injustice against certain members of our society. Money is power, all the major Political Parties are driven by both and court the former telling us will benefit the country to have such ‘investment’. They then proceed to tell us our economy is in such a bad state there have to be deep cuts to public services, benefit payments and the like. Yet still the MP’s get their “well earned” pay rise, the banker’s their bonuses and foreign aid payments whizz out. But we see the terrible effect the cuts are having on the sick, disabled, poor and most vulnerable of society, our health service, Armed Forces and such like. The Labour Party and its Union backers haven’t taken up the gauntlet against the Tory Party policies as we would have expected, which has left us disillusioned. The truth is, they all sing from the same Hymn Sheet in order to present a ‘face’ to the rest of the world and garner more investment and backing which serves their own interests. Let’s face it some members of both Political Parties, their family members or close friends have connections to big companies or organisations from which they make money. What can be done if Labour and the Unions aren’t stepping up to the mark? Be proactive, make your voices heard. Write to your MP, the Press, Social Media telling them enough is enough. We are supposed to protect the most vulnerable of our society not label them as indolent scroungers, cheats and con-artists, If I break the law I expect to be punished, Yet there are large companies and banks, Politicians too who have got away with criminal acts; false accounting, expenses fraud, tax evasion, perjury – the list is endless – apart from a couple of fall guys, they’ve got away with it and probably continue to do so. There are choices available to us, you can sit back and take it, actively go and do something about it now, or wait until the next election and vote the Tories out. With the latter, can you be sure there will be a fair change to the old policies currently bringing suffering to many? I doubt it. Probably another Coalition with the usual infighting and back biting. Another 5 years of the same only maybe wearing different colours. The choice is yours – and mine too. What’s it to be?
P.s. Sorry to go on, but the current divisional tactics used by this Government are immoral and we can’t just stand by and let them get away with it.
Overburdendonkey
In the comment about the letter I quoted in The Guardian, there was no “reply” to click on for some reason, so my reply will have to go down here. The letter was in the issue dated 1st April, though I don’t think it was an April Fool! You can find it in their archive or try the quoted shortcode:
http://gu.com/p/3ezjn. Let me know if it doesn’t work…
timform….thanks…the letter from 50 profs, is correct also!
Just tried it myself and it links fine. I’m still a bit new to this computer lark. Self-taught, y’see. Still, now I know how to do a new thing on it. Coo, aren’t I clever!
I understand some of anarchism. Some I agree with, some I dont. For instance, I am a strong believer in the NHS being entirely run within the public sector. When discussing this with local ‘anarchists’ I have to say the anarchist alternative to a centrally run NHS sounded very similar to the govt’s reforms in that everything is devolved down to local decisions but obviously not involving the private sector. To me that is what the govts reforms are doing with CCGs (but massively with private sector involvement). Either way I struggle to see how either option can work with a natiomal health service without creating a very lopsided post code lottery service. I struggle with the concept of having only one union such as the IWW, To me that is where the Trade Union movement started and has evolved over a couple of centuries to where it is today. For me, this is one of my problems with anarchism. Trying to fit old ideology into a modern world and very few explain to me how that can work practically without reverting to the verbose of ideology. I dont really care too much about ideology. I dont care too much for partizan allegiance to a particular ideology or group. I have my core values and support anything I see that would help things move towards these. I struggle with people who stand on the touchlines criticising without trying to get involved. As for Unite Community, how many of those slagging it have actually got involved with a local group or tried to set one up? As for the Peoples Assembly, why knock it before it has even got going? If those who dont agree with such things gave me viable alternative movement that I could get behind perhaps I would be less confused. And if suggestions didnt involve constant referals saying cant do that as it appeasing capitalist values and thus reformist perhaps I could get more excited about things. I am sorry but ‘overnight change’ and revolution just aint gonna happen in the short term so I need things to support that oppose this govt now. That is my compromise to my core beliefs. I need to fight things now, not discuss centurys old ideology, and within reason will do this under any banner that I believe has a chance of building a mass movement
to me the aim is to ensure that all have access to life’s vitals….the k.i.s.s. principle is the best way..for everything in life..
Overburdendonkey and Timform
Go up a bit I replied back to you guys from yesterdays little talk we had on psychopathy and high level malignant narcissists in government. I am so glad I have come across Johnny voids website. What a great writer, this site is so lively, I love it. There are some great conversations and commentry going on all across the joint. I fucking love this ma!! Good we can speak our minds and swear n let of steam. I need to I tell thee. Thanks Johnny void you are a star.
wow Overburdendonkey,thats heavy psychology you wrote up there dude. Do you have a degree in psychology? You sound like you no your stuff. I am all for nurture, but yes I can see the points here with nature argument. I will check out those psychologists you mentioned. Psychopaths are scary non the less. They are not to be crossed. Apparently Richard Hare phd. has written some good books on them? Do you think IDS bears the hallmarks ? Do you like the work of Alice Miller? was her work proper psychotherapy in your books?
jasmine…i’ll answer point by point…i have an intense passion for truth…yes i do have psychology quals..and biology…and loads of other stuff, in quals dept…nature v nurture..nature does it all for me..
p/paths..need to be told NO! GET LOST..and mean it…shouted at if ness….to treat p/path one first needs to gain their trust…and this is a difficulty…but as bob clearly demonstrates, not impossible..i understand hare’s work to be bunk…although the hare scale is said to be useful in the hands of true p/therapist, ie one who intends to heal pain, rather than thicken their own wall of denial…ids is a buffoon, he goes along with his chums, so make of that what you will…the rest are nuts…i love the work of alice…but often others misrepresent her work as she has often pointed out…some writers use her, in the worst sense of the word, there is no mix and match with true p/therapy, it is always to get the rage out, always, unbottle the trapped anger and rage….she was very pissed off about being used…yes, she is a real psychotherapist…as is dr bob…and camilla…kids co…the clearest imho, is dr bob…and his wife sue..
Yes P/paths are best to avoid I should think. Have not read Hare;’s book myself yet. Think I will. Your right some psychotherapist thicken their wall of denial. Only good ones help clients release their trapped pain. Help them to grieve something that was missing right from the start in life. I will check out Dr bobs work. Perhaps you could be right in the fact IDS is just a rich spoilt baffoon of man just appeasing to his chums. No internal locus of control what so ever. I myself believe he has some narcissistic disorders in there however. Although I have never met the man in person to make this analysis on his mind. Yes Alice Miller was great, I know she left psychotherapy practice to do her Art. She was fed up with all the denial and parent justifications. Alice Miller supported the abused child. Good on her. I too am a TRUTH seeker. This is why I must find out what is running this country at the moment, and why people are dying. Thanks O donkey. I love a good psychology chat.
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All other Unions should withdraw funding from the Labour party immediately as it is clear that the party has been taken over by right wing activists who wish to continue the present agenda of the Con-Dems which will result in further increases in poverty for the most vulnerable ,the continuance of the Eugenic and Murderous policies illegal and Criminal under International Law. Union Members please raise this with your stewards and insist action is taken .Many Thanks.
Fraid I don’t have the energy to read all of your posts (am disabled).
Have one thing to say:
It’s Plaid Cymru for me then. Thank gawd I live in Wales.
Reblogged this on HUMAN RIGHTS & POLITICAL JOURNAL and commented:
In Solidarity!
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Doesn’t even surprise me – after years of shamelessly funding Blairites while they shafted what’s left of the working class – but pretending to care about the unemployed – no way! Trade Unions HATE Benefit Claimants… full stop!
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Reblogged this on defytheeconomy and commented:
I didn’t find out about this from Jonny Void, it’s the thing I have been watching for ages. Since this appeared I have seen which groups are operating for Unite and who are interested in fighting austerity. I am watching the smears and the pattern of behaviour I experienced carried out with others, because what I experienced was the culture who’s job it is to prevent change and squash any chance of it. Jonny Void(who I am not a fan of personally, but whose blog is very good) is now being smeared by Unite. Boycott Workfare are beginning to experience it. And we ALL think it’s brilliant. It’s always good when someone bares their teeth, because only then are you clear on the situation and who your problem is. The biggest problem we have right now is not the system but those preventing any challenge to it. That is definitely the first thing that needs to be addressed.
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A ‘Blue’ Labour unreal outlook on real life. Does nobody honestly realise that with more advance mechanisation there are less ‘real’ jobs for people because machines do it quicker, more efficiently and better than human beings. So any work created is ‘make work’ which is false and temporary at best. In the long run people will still be unemployed and probably labled as ‘shirkers’ or ‘shiftless’ for being in a situation they don’t want or wish but have no choice. Like it or not this is a ‘consumer society’ so don’t make them feel ‘You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t’. Where are the champions of the lower classes. It seems like they have been deserted at times by those who should care for them, The Labour Party (Ha) and now the unions (have they also turned Tory Blue)?
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