LIB DEMS PASS MOTION AND AMENDMENT ON ESA!!

Wow!! With elation, relief and astonishment I can tell you that the LibDems just passed motion F6 (P17) and the Glasgow North amendment on ESA, Work Capability Assessments and the proposed one year time limit.

Oh what a torturous story this is!!! One that I couldn't share with you all, one I was DESPERATE to blog about so many times. A story of bravery, a "few good men" and a whole lot of agony!

A few months ago, a nice young guy called George Potter left a comment on my blog :

"Great blog post - as always you have a way of making the situation hit home.
I've got a motion trying to change the assessment process and scrap the time limit of ESA which is going forward to the Lib Dem autumn conference to be debated and voted on and I was wondering if it would be alright if I were to borrow your words from this blogpost and use them verbatim to make the case for fixing the glaring problems with the system as it currently stands?

Before you make up your mind, the text of the motion can be found here:

http://thepotterblogger.blogspot.com/2011/06/where-ive-been.html

I really hope you'll say yes as your words are really powerful and I'm sure they would sway a lot of minds were they to be used in the debate."

Of course, I contacted George straight away and we discussed his ideas. He was a fully paid-up, card-carrying human being who had seen a terrible injustice and wanted to make it right - the very essence of political success surely? 

We worked together for a few weeks, hoping against hope that the motion would be accepted only to receive a totally re-written version, (P17) seemingly endorsed by the offices of Steve Webb and Jenny Willott, which was simply lifted from the recent Work and Pensions Committee report into ESA and Work Capability Assessments (WCAs). Of course they could endorse it, because, as you can see, it bore no relation to the original sentiments of the motion George had written. It simply parrots the coalition line on ESA. 

There was one, vital flicker of hope. One line had been left in that we need to win very much indeed :  "Opposition to an arbitrary time limit on how long claimants can claim contributory ESA"

What was to be done? Get cross? cause a fuss over a blatant attempt to silence the voices of grassroots members? Or sell our souls for that precious line? I hope you will agree in retrospect that we sold our souls. It was too important to miss with the other option being "nothing" and the few people who quietly worked on this - Me, George, Kaliya Franklin, and **Judy decided to keep very quiet and hope against all hope that whatever happened the time limiting line stayed in and was voted through. 

Not to be outdone however, George worked on an amendment to the motion, with Judy's help that strengthened the re-written wording, stating that "sanctions were inappropriate for the genuinely sick and disabled" and calling for the right to legal representation at tribunal. We felt that of all the injustices, these were moderate yet vital demands.  

A while later, Lib Dem Youth adopted the motion and asked George if they cld take it forward. With astonishing grace, George agreed, agreeing that Tom Wood, Lib Dem Youth Chair would sum up the debate. 

Just a few days before the motion was to be debated at Lib Dem Conference, we already faced the fairly bleak situation of a "Coalitionized" motion when even George's amendment was rejected. On "inaccuracies". Based on information supplied by me. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions on that excuse. 

All our work, all our hope, gone. We had a few last cards to play, but basically, they'd silenced us all. Again. 

*Sigh* It wasn't the first time. We were beat and we knew it.

Despite all of this provocation, George stayed loyal to both sides at once, with a maturity and wisdom that WAY outshone his years. Truly, time and again he astonished me. I don't meet many people like George in this weird crusade - possibly none - and no matter what was thrown at him - and believe me every possible last goody or threat was thrown at him - he did the right thing. Every time. Whether it was for his own party or our cause, he just managed to do the right thing every time. At 21!! Wow. (Incidentally he was only 21 yesterday and WHAT a birthday present he just got!!!!)

At the final hour, a mysterious saviour named James Sandbach rode in and saved the day!! I don't know who that man is, but millions of sick and disabled people really ought to suddenly love him. He proposed this amendment through Glasgow North Lib Dems and strengthened up the coalitionized motion. 

I believe that Dr Evan Harris also worked on the amendments and if so, yet again he proves himself the rarest of politicians. 

Now, we had a motion that opposed the time limit and a really good amendment opposing the rest. I have to say the line of the amendment I loved was " A presumption that ESA claimants with serious and uncontrollable life-threatening conditions should be allocated to the support group rather than the work related activity group." I could barely believe that it might pass. It's all good though.

I'd pitched an article for the Guardian about it all which thankfully they took and published on the day I wanted, yesterday, so that I could appeal to Liberal Democrats before the vote. Of course, I didn't know what I was going to write til the day of the deadline!

Today, I actually had butterflies!! George rang me before 9am and he was already at conference!! Drooling over merchandise as we fretted over details. "I BET they call a fire alarm or something George" "I just daren't believe this will go through" George had threatened to shave his head if it didn't so had an added element of anxiety. 

4.15 seemed to take forever, then just as our debate was due, they "lost the sound connection" Judy rang me - "Ahhhh, you said they'd cause a diversion all along, I don't believe it!!!!"

Happily, our conspiracies came to nothing and Sarah Harding proposed the motion with an opening speech. If you'd like to see my live commentary, just search @suey2y on twitter and read from about 4.15pm today. 

They did us proud. With passion and conviction, Sarah Harding, Greg Judge, James Sandbach, Cllr Wendy Taylor and Shala Pessard gave moving speeches of personal experience and painted vivid pictures of how ludicrous a one year time limit would be, how inappropriate WCAs can be for fluctuating conditions such as MS (Shala Pessard) and Parkinson's. Greg Judge talked about how disability is different for every individual, how conditions fluctuate and pointed out that sickness or disability was a discussion we all could engage in. Greg and Sarah both paid tribute to George in their speeches which I think was absolutely the right thing to do. "Thank you" from me, he deserved your words.

Two people got up and tried to oppose the motion but no-one really quite understood why. Something about giving private companies a break and not giving sick people too much legal aid. They were never going to be crowd pleasers. 

Then George stood up to speak. I was live-tweeting, yet desperately wanting to watch the face of the guy I'd been hoping and praying with for 3 months. There he was! George Potter! Speaking in front of his party, with passion and confidence. I was so proud. I know, pathetic, and probably patronising but I was. 

As I tweeted furiously, he started to talk about me!! He told my story, there, up on that stage and I swear, I had no idea that he was going to.

Before he graciously agreed to let LDY open the debate, he had suggested a speech about my situation, but then his speech was cut and he only had three minutes. We agreed he would focus on time limiting or something, I can't remember. We didn't even know if George, the man who had made all of this happen would be speaking at all! We had to wait and see if he was randomly called as the debate progressed. 

He was finally called last and he was amazing!! I can't wait to post the link to his speech here and hope to be able to tomorrow. Look out for it and imagine my face as he started to speak!! Everything he'd read from us all, every important point I'd discussed with him, every last vital injustice laid bare for that conference room. Go George!!!! I was having a little cry and trying to tweet at the same time. It was a bizarre (how bizarre???) moment but I don't suppose I'll ever forget it. 

Tom Wood summed up (which, may I say, he did beautifully and eloquently) and suddenly, they were voting. "All those in favour of motion F6 please raise your hands." Every hand in the room went up. The Chair beamed. "Motion F6 is clearly passed"

"All those voting in favour of amendment 1" Most hands went up!!!!!!! "Against?" I suppose I would guess that 10% of the hands went up. *Chair beams again* "Amendment one is clearly passed"

SAY WHAT??? Say What again? We actually won something?? Oh my God, we actually WON SOMETHING!!!!!  The amendment too?? No WAAAY!!

I think there was dancing, there were almost certainly smothering cuddles from my boys, waiting with me with baited breath. The phone rang, it was Judy. We cried a bit, we screamed quite a lot, we gasped. 

I'm really tired and still a little disbelieving so I will get back to you with the technicalities of what this all actually MEANS soon, but I do know that it means Liberal Democrat Lords enter the committee stage of the Welfare Reform Bill with a much stronger hand to bargain with.

In ways that I will explain, their conference is more democratic than the other parties and has more weight to carry through conference decisions (hence the ability of LibDems to negotiate fairly hard once the Health and Social Care Bill got a hefty vote at their previous conference)

This was all I really knew, but the only way we are ever going to get any amendments to this bill is by working with LibDems, like it, hate it "meh" about it - gotta be done. 

So far I've found the one's I dealt with sterling. Caron Lindsay over at Caron's Musings burrowed away here and there, blogging to other LibDems why they should support a robust amendment LINK. 

Steve Webb? Who knows. People I liked and trusted swore with passion that he was a good guy. Did he pull the motion, put in his own and pull George's speech? Or did he engineer a rather smooth and quiet little coup that ensured no splutters too huge to be heard? Why DID the time limiting line - the one line the Tories want to stay OUT at all costs -  stay in the watered down motion? 

Every single person who spoke today - even those who opposed the amendment - opposed the one year time limit. Every one. I wonder where the amendment suddenly sprang from? Sadly, the answers to these and other questions, I do not know. 

From this point, Lib Dem Youth will be the face and impetus behind this motion and I'm convinced that they will work tirelessly to ensure that the spirit and demands of both the motion and amendment are upheld.

I'm toddling off with a BIG glass of wine and maybe I'll actually grin a bit ;)

Judy, Kaliya Franklin, Caron Lindsay & MargoJMilne in particular, worked to make this happen. 

**Judy is terrified of openly opposing the DWP as she fears sanctions. This is not her real name.

*** I realise this is all very complicated, but yes, it means we have quite a big chunk of hope to work with. If it makes things clearer, this is how the NHS bill got changed. Because Lib Dems voted for a motion AND amendment at their previous conference that opposed it, and the Lib coalition partners had to respond.

We just have to make sure ours isn't a fudge. Mostly it means there may no longer be an automatic majority in the Lords on ESA.