Well, we spent two years or so warning what the Welfare Reform Bill 2010-11 would do. We were accused of scaremongering, of hyperbole. But we knew what was coming. We knew what this so dreadful piece of legislation was going to do. Though the Government refused to conduct an overall impact assessment, we knew what the overall impact would be. Why? Because the bill, now an act, was referring to our lives.
Our lives. Every aspect of them. How much care we are entitled to in our communities, how much income they judge we can live on, whether we would work or not, whether we socialise or not. We didn't need to read white papers or committee reports or research papers to know, though we read them and reported on them endlessly. We understood in a heartbeat. We've spent years filling in the forms, sweating with terror before an assessor (oh yes, there were always assessments, a fact the Government love to deny) juggling the last £1.50, occasionally needing crisis loans - this is how we live.
And now the act is a bill. It is law. The un-informed and ignorant love it, the even-slightly-informed are watching the slowest car crash of all time through their fingers. All of the warnings, all of the cautious, reasonable arguments we made are coming true right before our eyes. A daily procession of astonished horror as millions of sick and disabled people up and down the country realise with shock, that the Government "did mean them" after all.
The following blog post was sent to me earlier. I have no idea who this woman is, what help they've already managed to arrange, what they might have been rejected for or accepted for. I think her bewilderment and obvious confusion shows how the system fails better than I ever could with fancy research.
I would just beg ANYONE who thinks welfare reform is going well to read her story and ask yourselves if this is what you thought would happen? Please. All the John Redwoods and Ken Clarkes and Boris Johnsons who believe passionately that welfare reform must happen but surely, never in a million years intended it to do this? Please, imagine you are in her shoes. Imagine the shock and bewilderment, the overwhelming workload of looking after 4 children under 8 and a now brain damaged husband.
And PLEASE believe me when I say this is not a one off. I am now sent stories like this all day, every day.
Finally, would John Howell MP please contact this woman TODAY. He is her MP and it is his duty to help her. Not just a phone call and promises of help in the future. Would he please ask his secretary to phone this woman, talk through the whole situation with her and actively find solutions for her? He must find her a good welfare advocate today, make an appointment for her with the CAB today, phone the council housing department HE is elected to represent and insist they find her suitable, accessible housing today.
It is his government that are so adamant these things can be dealt with locally. No more crisis loans. As her MP, John Howell can no longer fob her off as a constituent - almost all of her problems have been devolved to local government and it is up to him to help her access the services and support her family so desperately needs.
Please, if you can help this woman and live in the Thame area, would you get in touch with her? If you're just reading this post in horror, please share it far and wide. The more people that read it, the more chance that we can find her the help she so desperately needs.
"S.O.S...
The battle of my life…
http://manic-mums.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bbc-newswowsers-peeps.html#disqus_thread
This following statement I am writing in the hope that it may fall upon the person out there I need to help me in this dire situation…I am writing it for anyone to use, re-post (if you would? Thanks) and to anyone out there who might listen and help…
We live in a country where we thankfully have the NHS, the benefit system, thank goodness that IS in place to help-but as they have cut off my benefits till some kind of proof of something or other is provided, I am now in a dire situation and unable to feed my children…The system is NOT working for me, but against me…Surely we’re the ones they are put in place for???
After my husband Alex Wood, suffered a severe brain injury on the 4th October 2011, my life, now nearly a year on becomes not easier, but ever more fearful and stressful.
After a few weeks now of insane trials, fighting against the benefits system, fighting for funding for Alex and my head spinning with where to go next, I am now writing this as I have to take this a step higher…
Yes, Alex is making progress, and yes, we do have some kind of future, yes, I am 100% behind him and on the frontline battling for him to continue making this progress, but for Alex to continue making progress, caught up, now in the dependent position of being a ‘single mum’ of four, aged 8, 7, 6 and 4, in order for me as their mother to feed, clothe them, keep a roof over their heads, I am fully dependent on the benefits system, and reliant on the council finding us a council house adapted to Alex’s needs, now blind and severely disabled and cognitively impaired…
The council tell me ‘there are no properties suitable’…Will there ever be?? Alex can visit for extremely short periods only as he is restricted by the lack of access and is, in effect homeless, as he cannot be housed in the temporary house we are in…
The situation is, that I alone am now responsible for providing for our four young children, for fighting to get the right and sustained funds for Alex’s rehabilitation and re-education. I have to be everywhere, and have to be everything for everyone, whilst running a house and making sure the kids have clean clothes amongst a myriad other chores…Whilst living with indescribable grief at the loss of the husband that Alex used to be...
Surely the system is there to help people in difficult situations, that’s why it exists doesn’t it? But my experience is that it is there to hinder and after receiving a letter telling Alex he has a job interview on the 28th September which if he doesn’t attend could effect his benefit (Employment Support Allowance) is just more than ridiculous…They tell me when I ring the job centre they’ll do it over the phone instead…??? Do they not get it? He is utterly and completely incapable of this…!
I fight daily battles, not just on an emotional level facing the fact that my soul mate, my whirlwind romance, my everything, is not the man he was, and all the grief that leaves me to deal with, but surmounting this, then further battles with the benefits system, a car which is on its last legs and not having any idea how I would ever replace it…
The system clearly does not work for people who genuinely need it. And I genuinely do!
I am not sat about all day on my bum wondering what I can do today with peace and quiet…I am out there making calls, thinking of and organising fundraisers for my husband, planning things for the kids we can do for free to give them a good childhood. Counselling them as they need it, their dad is not the dad he once was, and they grieve this terribly, as do I.
So who can help me? Who will share this? Who will help me get this to the right people who can make a difference and take my story on board and care enough to do something about it?
I have written to Boris Johnson, he might help?
The local MP, John Howell, in Thame was not interested, one of his secretaries emailed me weeks after I sent a desperate plea saying they did not deal with cases like mine, to go to the council…This does effect him actually, he is a government MP, under the noses of the government I am (as the child tax credits have been put on hold till I provide a particular piece of evidence) a mother of four under eights with no access to funds to feed my children…
I am going to approach the Labour Thame MP with what he might be able to do in light of this.
If you can share this post, spread the word, that will be doing me a massive service…
I am turning my fear for not being able to provide for my kids into rage and action…in the frontline now as I need help to get Alex the right rehabilitation, not at the mercy of the NHS and the fear that the indefinite funds will one day run out, and he will not have the chance he needs.
I have to fight for him, I have to fight for my kids, any other mother out there in my situation would do the same.
Thank you for listening, thank you for sharing, and I hope this gets my story out there and Alex does get the chance he needs…"
Well done Sue for raising this Carer's plight - people forget - its not JUST the disabled who are being targetted but Carers too. I hope she gets some help...
ReplyDeleteTisme
Carers should realise that once the person they care for is kicked off DLA (PIP) they too will be affected.
DeleteNO CARERS ALLOWANCE, NO CARING, GET A JOB
I'm a full time carer for my wife and receive carers allowance. But this is deducted from my wife's income support because it's classed as an income!
DeleteThis country should be ashamed! There is absolutely no excuse for what this family are being put through. I have shared and RT, etc and will continue to do so for several days in hopes that you get what you are entitled to, wishing your family good luck! xx
ReplyDeleteA longshot, and only immediate temporary help maybe..Most folk have families who have served in forces..Do either yourself or hubby have a mother or father who served in armed forces. As you will be entitled to SSAFA help and advice..This will not be monetary apart from immediate needs, but they can do a case study and visit and go back trhough your and partners emplyment histories, unions, water supplier, supply immediate help with white goods etc..Charity it is not. Not a long term solution but if there is any evidence of time served by them or parents then Ssafa are obligated even if only one day's service. Someone needs to help this family. What a country.
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify that you can apply for SSAFA assistance if you or your spouse (Civil partner or someone you are in a stable relationship with) are/were in HM Forces (including Reserves) for at least one day. In the definition of dependants, children can only get assistance if they are under 18 or are over 18 in full-time education. Assistance may also be possible from the individual service associations and the Royal British Legion.
DeleteBlogged & shared, apologies for the swearing in the article but warrants it, I think - well done for raising this...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailyshame.co.uk/2012/09/satire/blind-disabled-man-told-to-go-to-job-interview-benefits-cut-mp-john-howell-covers-ears-and-goes-cant-hear-you/
To Mrs Woods, I would suggest contacting the local Citizens Advice Bureau for some advice and assistance in trying to sort out some of your problems.
ReplyDeleteHenley and District CAB contact details ate here http://www.caox.org.uk/henley I know CABx are often very busy but that's due to the levels of people who are also facing difficulties such as you describe - I'm sure they'll do their very best to help you resolve the situation.
call us at Housing Options www.housingoptions.org.uk on Monday 0845 456 1497 and we can give you some independent advice on housing-we usually help people with learning disabilities but much of what we do relates to other situations ask for Alicia or Steve
ReplyDeleteI feel desperately upset for this lady I had a significant brain injury and the other awful part of this story is that the eighteen months to two years after a brain injury is a time when her husband may well be able to recover some of himself and without that help now he wont get anything back. The fights with the DWP were the thing that stopped me getting my life back I becames so depressed fighting for what I was entitled to I forgot about me and now I am a full time drain on their rescorces but THAT'S THEIR FAULT I WASNT GIVEN TIME TO HEAL I would have been working again if not for them but now its too late I have a huge dead lump of brain in my head that will NEVER recover. And no doubt the same will happen to this man. pls excuse typos caps and other stuff it takes too long to correct it all!
ReplyDeleteTHE opposition MP will hopefully be the one to help It is an horrific place for any young family to be in its an absolute disgrace.
Try get the Guardian onboard?
My daughter had an horrific accident some years ago that left her with brain damage. She lives on her own but has a lot (and I mean a lot) of help from the family to enable her to do this. She gets very confused, will not answer the phone (in fact keeps it in a drawer until SHE has to use it) cannot understand forms or form filling, and has terrible mood swings, epilepsy etc.,
DeleteDoes not accept that she needs help so will not have carers because "only ill people have them" If or rather when she has to be assessed, she will tell them she is alright and will make up the most fanciful stories of where she has been and what she has been doing! If she is contradicted she will fly into rages or tremendous sulks. Will not let the family attend doctors, specialists with her as she is "grown up" she is 35. Doctors see her for 5 minutes and do not get the whole picture. Cannot discuss her case with us because "They are not legally allowed to" - They feel (after 5-10 minutes of listening to goodness knows what stories she tells them) that she has insight.
She also has mobility problems but has more insight into these.
It is a total nightmare!!!!!
Shared this lady needs a decent CAB case worker and some rest bite care by the sounds of it and an adequate home for her husband and family as stated in law,.. she is very brave and has a hell of a lot to deal with on her own this is not right she needs help not doors slammed in here face..
ReplyDeleteShared and in support. Does any family member have links to the civil service? They have a very good charity 'The Civil Service Benevolent Fund' and are awesome in action...
ReplyDeleteThis is unacceptable - the local housing dept needs to be taken to task over their lack of action - local councillors can be quite useful in some housing disputes so it may be worth contacting her local authority councillor. I've contacted some family I have living in Thame to see if they can signpost to any advocacy services.
ReplyDeleteSarah
Could do with a link to the original blog
ReplyDeleteDamn, good point, beginners mistake! I was really ill, it was all I cld do to cross post, so sorry.
DeleteI work for a 'floating support agency', we provide support workers who assist people in this kind of situation, advocating with benefit agencies and councils with & for people who are struggling in this way. In Oxfordshire ( which is, I think, this lady's area ), there is Stonham Homestay( Tel: 01865 335320 ) You can call and do a self-referral over the phone, then they will come out and assess you, and then provide you with a support worker.
ReplyDeleteThey can't work magic, but they help you to navigate all these unhelpful agencies.
NB. I'm not sure if I have the right number for them there, but in case it's wrong you can go to the council & ask who the tenancy support / floating support agency is in your area. They will know, but if you get somebody unhelpful ask the CAB the same question
Resend this to everyone you know, this like other appalling and dismaying stories about welfare reform needs to be read, send it to your M.P's especially L/P ones, as they created it and of course L/Dem's, even Tories, who voted for it...
ReplyDeleteShared, and asked people to also share.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help this family more. It's disgusting that they're left in this position.
just found this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2102484/This-wartime-Nazi-Germany-Camerons-attacks-vulnerable-needy-stopped.html
Yet another shocking account of the way sick and disabled people and their carers are treated. My heart goes out to this family. Might I suggest we all write to this lady's MP John Howell and ask him to take immediate action to help this poor women and her family.The more people who write the more he is likely to take notice. Worth a try.
ReplyDeleteChristine
That is a disgrace, is astonishing to think that someone who claimed to care for the disabled, and yes I do mean David Cameron, could so cruelly stab us all in the back. Has he already forgotten his dead son? I have a daughter with Downs Syndrome, she is on the Autistic spectrum as well, we fight for everything, and we should not have to do this.
ReplyDeleteSo unfair on this family, the whole disgusting episode should get the airtime it deserves. I only wish there was more I could do, but I am making damn sure that I share this on Facebook.
She could be one of my constituents, I have people come to my surgeries with similar tales. The appalling fact is many have discovered that CAB are also inundated and just can't cope.
ReplyDeleteCABs and the like - the odd law centre - even tho often theyre not that good - can't cope because they've had funding decimated by successive governments.
DeleteThe government attack (war) on welfare is on all fronts - even today emergency loans are being scrapped because, without evidence - IDS thinks people spend the money on booze - id like to break a bottle over his head!!!
Has anyone at the hospital where your husband was treated offered any help? They usually have their own social workers who are conversant with the benefits system and I believe they can cut through the red tape quicker because any information the benefit people need to help you and your family, is instantly available and verifiable as it comes directly from "the horses mouth" as it were.
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps,
good luck to you all...
Annette
Try the local Headway they are very good and can get you help with the children too. The have carers support and can get you a social worker and welfare advisors.
ReplyDeleteI had a brain injury too. We lost our house as my husband had to give up work to look after us all. The children can go to young carer events that give them advocates and counselling. My children were 3 5 and 8 when i had my accident. It hit the eldest hardest but they are all doing ok now.You need support and the rehab and respite should be in place for you before he comes home full time.
All services are very steched and you will have to push for help continually, this is a sorry state of affairs.
Have the ESA folk see your husband in hospital and get the doctor to copy his reports neuro to copy thiers. eventually you might break thru the brick wall.
A sad indiction of the countries views on welfare.
Hello, my name is Lauretta Pearson and my friend on FB has the following advice for the lady, hope this helps xx "She should seek an advocacy service in her area. They should be able to help her communicate with the right people in her area, understand what is available too..... we aren't in the area. It doesn't mention in this article obious things like Adult social care etc so its impossible to know what help she needs but in our area this is the sort of case we would take on."
ReplyDeleteHello, Lauretta Pearson here again. I have a further message for the lady and a couple of links. "Depending on how much money they have in savings will depend how much they contribute to the support charges.... there is a govt grant to adapt houinghttp://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/HomeAndHousingOptions/YourHome/DG_4000642
ReplyDeletethere is a site http://www.actionforadvocacy.org.uk/index.jsp
this is where they could fine an advocacy service.
I can't believe some/ most of that is not known to them - like i say even tho there is a lot of info there there isn't!
Has she had a carers assessment for example?"
No one sign posts you to what they think is obvious, or they dont know what other services offer as they have never needed to help in this way. My other half never had a carer assessment. I got a social worker after my neuro psyc assessment. they had not needed to work with the young carers as most of thier case load was older people or male family members, somehow because i was a mother it needed more complex help. each person did thier bit and looked for someone who could help with other things as they arose. As a first time claimant of benefits we knew nothing and nothing was offered to us, word of mouth from other people got us claiming things prior to help from welafare rights.
DeleteBlogged and shared. Cannot believe the position they have left her in and the comment from her MPs secretary is utterly despicable.
ReplyDeleteSue
ReplyDeleteI have emailed this blog post on to Angie Patterson who is a councillor for South Oxfordshire District Council (Thame falls under them) and also runs John Howell's office. Fingers crossed this prompts some action.
Whats your story my friend, what is your disability?
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, I'm the anonymous poster who mentioned floating / tenancy support agencies. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my work, I have to act within confidentiality boundaries so can't discuss too much. I assume you have this lady's email, please tell her to contact her local support agency and they will be able to help.
ReplyDeletemay i suggest you contact good morning and get phil schofield to get your story out to the british public by being on tv. it will shame david cameron and his government into giving you the help and resources you so desperately need.
ReplyDeleteHow terrible. I will share this and hope that someone, somewhere, who can make a difference, and effect a change in your circumstances... does so.
ReplyDeleteshared.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful children! And the mother is obviously devoted to them and her husband and is doing her best for them. The children are the future. Families like these are the best part of Britain. They pull together when tragedy strikes. Not like the greedy tory sociopaths who take and take and don't want to contribute anything to society.
ReplyDeleteI have deleted all of the comments that try to make capital from the Woods situation.
ReplyDeleteThis thread was no place for debate - there are nearly 700 other threads on this very blog where you may leave any comment you wish. The previous post is entitled "Tory Tim Gets the Chop" and you are more than welcome to leave any comments there. I will respond to them happily.
But this thread is for advice and support for the Woods. I would like them to be able to read this comment thread and find ideas that might help them.
anyone with any degree of sensitivity or humanity at all will understand that and respect my position.
This website is a joke. And no I am not a Tory. Anybody who removes comments from their own website because they dont agree with them or their followers complain might as well live in North Korea. Enough said.
DeleteWhat's the point in having a comments forum, if people are censored? The blog post is not just about The Wood's Family, it is also about the Welfare Reforms being implemented.
DeleteMaybe the author of the blog should have been more concise, telling people to make no political comments, because that would be for their own "capital." It's not exactly like politics play a key role in what is happening to the Woods family, and I see many comments that have remained and are political, offering no help to the family. But only what Sue believes matters, after all it is her blog and she can be as partisan as she wants. That is more than obvious.
The author needs to get off that high horse, get back down to earth again with us "ordinary" commenter's who are so seriously ill and so disabled that we could never make it to watch the Olympics like some.
Am I jealous? Yes I am, especially when I see so many others who haven't been lucky enough to be heard or to receive both High rates of DLA, when they absolutely deserve it.
And other people reading this blog should be less sycophantic towards a campaigner with only one agenda, her own.
Fair enough, it's a personal blog, but it's also highly political and it is being used to promote a campaign that could effect my own Disability Allowances, and that should allow openness and be less partisan. When a campaign gets dictatorial it has already lost.
And just to be clear I was being sarcastic when I wrote that politics has nothing to do with the Woods family, it has everything to do with them.
DeleteBeginning to totally agree with the above. Whilst I started out admiring Sue I now find her blog self-aggrandising, self-pitying and self-promoting. She's out of her depth when it comes to political analysis and seems to thrive on shallow adulation from a few. I also note the unwillingness to credit others, only a few days ago she was talking about the Spartacus report as though she produced it single-handedly. If she wants to redeem herself she should get off twitter for five minutes and start looking at the issues again.
DeleteI wonder if any of you making anonymous and personal comments here remember that I have to wake up in the morning and see them?
DeleteThat this is just a blog I write sometimes when I'm well enough? It's not a "website" in the sense you say. I've never been an "organisation" or a "campaign group" - it's just me, on my own, writing what I think, how I feel.
You don't have to read it - no-one does.
If I choose to spend my time on twitter when I can't get out of bed, that's entirely up to me - can you not see how ridiculous it is to think otherwise?
I recognise where some of these anonymous comments come from and who wrote them. On the day I launched Spartacus Report, I gave it away. I am not one of those credited first. But good God, I nearly killed myself doing it. Anyone who thinks it just appeared, all purple and pretty has absolutely no idea what it took to do. The media surrounding it did not just happen! It was planned and it took months of work.
The design didn't just happen, the articles did not just magically come together from nowhere. No-one wanted to raise the money - I didn't either but it had to be done. I'm glad I did it - probably more glad than I've been of anything, but I can't see any situation where I would ever do it again.
Though I'm often called a disability campaigner, that's a mistake. I'm a writer, a blogger. I fought the welfare bill, but that's passed now. I'm NOT a campaigner or part of a campaign group. I write what I see - if people don't like it, they won't read it. If people stop reading it, that's fine too. I would still write what I write, because like any blog or diary, it's my thoughts and feelings.
The anonymous who is jealous of me going to the Paralympic opening ceremony - it was NOTHING to do with my blog, but because my husband was a Paralympic torch bearer. He was nominated, he won, his company made sure that our family had a wonderful time and got the tickets to the ceremony. Your jealousy is misplaced.
If what I write offends or upsets you, then please, don't read it. To actively search out something you don't like to hurt the human behind it is not very kind, and as I started out by saying, it makes my days unhappy.
Possibly your husband's company should concentrate on giving him a decent living wage to support himself and his family. You were so "poverty stricken" before you were given all your benfits that you had to borrow from youur famiy. Something sounds wrong somewhere!!!!!!!
DeleteThis is sues blog not a forum - she is free to publish what she wants to get her message across - her message - get with the internet age and learn whats what, blog and forum different things
Deleteindeed it's sue blog and she works darn hard and with no let up in sight will continue to work darn hard in the pursuit of helping others from her bed
Deletelike myself if we lived next to each other it would be great working from our beds but the work sue does and her friends is far to serious to be undermined by any clown dropping by with a load of codswallow as a troll
lucky those that read this blog have got to know sue very well over the past two years and are very gratfull for all she does in the pursuit of getting justice for the sick and disabled
if all of the mp's and lords of which i have known of many in my time worked even a fraction of what sue does the country without doubt would be a world leader
she is way above any politician as i see it and being from the establishment myself and my family for the past 80 years that's as good as it's going to get in her praise and that's for certain
Hi Sue,
ReplyDeleteReally appreciate you reposting/commenting on this blog about Tamsyn and the family, sadly it is being used by MP John Howell's, what I can only assume is a pet news editor, at http://www.thamenews.net/readmore.asp?Content_ID=7899&Navigation_ID=38 to mis-represent the Woods. I am helping Tamsyn to deal with the massive response that she has had from the media. The editor Sonya Francis has said that she will take change the link to Tamsyn's later as she said she couldn't find it anywhere on the internet... doh, I think it was in your story and thousands of other links as it has trended on Twitter and had loads of support from hundreds of people in Thame and internationally. Not sure if you can change your blog name/ link, but it is so frustrating when people try to twist things like this... Many thanks Sue for your help in advance.
PS - I wonder if the anonymous person to your last reply is a follower... I can't stand people who aren't brave enough to use their own name when posting on the web and hide behind anonymous postings.. enough said
All the best
John
I wonder if this information should be sent to Anne Begg and Tom Greatrex.
ReplyDeleteEspecially the nonsense about the jobcentre interview - is this for a job or WRAG?
I can't believe that this chap isn't in the Support Group, and it's not clear from the post.
Also, as well as all the sterling advice above, CarersUK might be able to help; I'm also thinking that if the children are at school there may be support from that quarter to take some pressure off Mum?
I don't know the area, so I don't know what local provision there is.
I've emailed a few MP's and asked jonnyvoid to repost this as well.
This is the most appalling story.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention Sue.
If there are any Christians on here then why dont you hypocrites give this family a home, you seem to have a lot of wasted church property lying around the land! so give these guys a home and some money. And don't give me any bullshit about Gods free will because that itself is a load of bloody nonsense.
ReplyDeletethier curent situation needs attention now, they need help.
ReplyDeleteBUT
How the hell did they end up with all those children in this day and age????????? too many 'do gooders' on this site that cost us all a lot of money. IF YOU CANT AFFORD THEM THEN DONT HAVE THEM.
If you read the article you will see he suffered the brain injury just under a year ago. Nowhere does it say they couldn't afford the children BEFORE the accident. I hope they get the help they so desperately need.
DeleteThis thread is not for debate, both comments above should be removed.
Delete[QUOTE]Anonymous8 September 2012 16:00
ReplyDeleteThis website is a joke. And no I am not a Tory. Anybody who removes comments from their own website because they don't agree with them or their followers complain might as well live in North Korea. Enough said.[/QUOTE]
this blog in my opinion is the best on the INTERNET with regards the sick and disabled. The sick and disabled at this time are extremely stressed by all of these welfare reforms. Those in the long term sick camp like myself need as much piece and quite in their lives as possible as we will invariably not get better and to blight our time with assessments and ongoing assessments is a wicked thing to do as the drugs we in general have to take to be able to eat and drink and to live only work if the mind is at ease and not in any type of guilt or stress as we are ill
The disabled also have a vast amount of worry to deal in their daily lives without the additional added burden by these assessments they in general already feel guilty for the burden they put on others the last thing they need is for the government of the day to blight there lives further
benefit fraud is NOT what this blog is about neither is it about putting the sick and disabled on a guilt trip so if readers to this blog cant offer any words of comfort and support to others then will they please refrain from posting
This blog is about getting the government to do the right thing at all times for the sick and disabled and to make sure they get the very finest care and when that care falls short by a failure within the system that it's put right ASAP so that the claimant involved is not inconvenienced and has to further rely on their friends or family for money
The benefit system has been built up over many years and is in place to those that have contributed to it's current state for those that haven't contributed nether matters as sickness and disability can strike at any time rich or poor
for those who are fit and able and not working or contributing to society i would suggest that you try an organisation like sue Ryder to offer some sort of help and care to others in your area that may benefit by your presence
You will find that in helping others to be very rewarding and in all probability life changing the greatest role you can play in life is to give to others to change or improve their lives bill gates will tell you that and yes he did learn this very late in the day but at least he learned it and that's the main thing
Why are you offering this comment on this thread when it offers absolutely no support to the Woods family? You seem to be using it for your own capital.
DeleteIn Sue's own words - This thread was no place for debate - there are nearly 700 other threads on this very blog where you may leave any comment you wish.
Your comment should be removed.
it's a pity David Cameron and co haven't learnt to do likewise
Delete[QUOTE]Anonymous8 September 2012 18:05
DeleteWhy are you offering this comment on this thread when it offers absolutely no support to the Woods family? You seem to be using it for your own capital.
In Sue's own words - This thread was no place for debate - there are nearly 700 other threads on this very blog where you may leave any comment you wish.
Your comment should be removed.[/QUOTE]
As a long term regular contributor to this blog my post was to get this blog back on track as to what this blogs all about hence my post. If sue thinks my post has not contributed to this thread then she like i would do if it were my blog will remove it she does not need any help from an Anonymous poster like yourself thank you
But you are debating and gaining capital from it.
DeleteThis thread is for Mr.Woods and his family. You could have easily ignored the comments, but of course you have some longevity as a contributor to this site, and it is much more important to let everyone know that, than to apply yourself to helping this family.
Surely Sue cannot have one rule for you, and a different rule for others who want to pontificate their personal political debates, as you have done in an earlier post.
It would be hypocrisy and isn't that the one thing we the Disabled and the ill have accused this government of, dismissing others for their own ideology regardless of they you hurt?
Correction on last sentence - "Regardless of those they hurt?"
DeleteDidn't the family live and work in France prior to the accident, and only move when Alex Wood was transferred to another hospital in England? Would that be the problem with the hold up in benefit payments?
ReplyDeletePerhaps the French Government could also help?
Brits returning from abroad are not entitled to anything automatically. They face the same hurdles as other 'immigrants' for benefits and housing etc. All they have is the right to relocate to Britain to reside here. Most people dont realise this.
DeleteHowever it is wrong to assume this is the root cause of the family's difficulties.
The rules are that they are 'insured for NI purposes' under EC regs in the EC country where Alex worked and paid most of his NI ,the Uk: Probably why they had to return to the Uk. Also red tape etc is very, very difficult in France, if you are not a native forget it.
ReplyDeleteTls.
Royal Mail staff given access to confidential medical details
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/royal-mail-staff-given-access-to-confidential-medical-details-8118203.html
So here we have the definitive Paralympic Final Medal Table
ReplyDeleteNumber of Disabled People in Government 0
Number of Disabled people in LOGOC 0
Number of Disabled People in Sponsors 0
Number of Disabled people in TV management 0
Number of Disabled TV Presenters 1
Number of Disabled Experts 0
Number of Disabled Athletes Thousands
It's good to see the influence disabled people have at all levels of the Paralympics
Somebody talk about legacy????
Tory and LibDem MPs who blithely voted through the Welfare Reform Bill just won't know what's hit them soon, as more and more cases like this poor, desperate woman's inundate their surgeries. Those responsible for the dreadful Bill that is causing so much suffering and hardship have been living in cloud-cuckoo land.
ReplyDeleteWonder what Lord Fraud would have to say...
Sad to see some unhelpful people trying to derail the issue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-19529717
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely shocking if i were the prime minister i would be sacking everyone involved in the DWP departments for criminal negligence as it is very plainly clear that their are those within Whitehall that wish to see the death and destruction of certain sectors of the sick and disabled and that the police i believe should be involved to root out those that do have minds to and the power to destroy the sick and disabled
Deletethis man is lucky he has a wife and has been able to make contact with the bbc and that they have responded that could be coincided a miracle as they have never ever responded to myself or any other person that has needed help that i have asked for
On Radio 4 1PM news NOW - report on the problems of introducing Universal Credit. Ann Begg will be interviewed. 70 associations have said it will be chaos because of lack of IT support and know-how amongst many caimants.
ReplyDeleteI thought this as soon as the new benefit was announced the whole thing is destined for failure. Expect delays, cost overuns, and the final product not fit for purpose.
DeleteMost large complex goverment schemes go this way.
To Anonymous at 11.20 yesterday: Have you looked into the question of whether your daughter would be regarded as having the capacity to make decisions for herself? It IS a minefield, and as you say a nightmare. Social Services will be quite content to accept her assurances so long as it is cheaper that way, but the LAST thing you need is them applying for an order under the Court of Protection.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other family, what strikes me is how difficult it is made for people to find sources of help and support, what they are entitled to. I do hope she finds someone who can help her negotiate her way through the battles she is facing. Instances like this one should be shouted from the rooftops, as most people blandly assume that the "deserving", those "genuine" cases don't have to struggle. The reality is appalling, and my heart goes out to her.
I think what this family may need is a good lawyer. L.A s regularly break the law, either because they don't know what it is, or assume people can't afford to challenge them. It is very complex, and even the best of advocacy/CAB can be unaware of its power and complexity.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how much of the old case law has been disappeared in the new Acts, but given the hurried way this government writes legislation we might still have a few rights left. I don't think the question of housing can be shrugged off quite so easily.
as i have stated before having asked the law society there are currently no lawyers in the uk who specialize in the work of the DWP and you need to be very suspicious to anyone who may indicate otherwise
DeleteAll lawyers that have spoken with agree with me that there level of knowledge would be at the standard of the average CAB case worker
http://www.thedtgroup.org/foundation.aspx
ReplyDeleteyou may already know about this
best wishes
I'm sorry but if Sue capitalizes on her "impoverished" state then she must expect challenges. Her husband works and yet her descriptions of not being able to pay rent, having to borrow (and not being able to pay back) from her family. The scratching out a very meagre existence just seems to be very extreme. Many many families only have one wage, have more children than Sue, and yet they seem to manage very well. Benefits should not be seen as a second wage, unfortunately they often are!
ReplyDeleteStill she can tell a good story - remember Karl?
What about the £1000 she says she saved in May for Olympic tickets?? Before she had DLA.How do you do that if you're skint?
DeleteYes - A £1000 (saved before the granting of DLA and at the height of their "poverty") would go a long way to repaying the family and friends she was"forced" to borrow off. It would also go a long way to paying the rent; buying food, clothes and shoes for the children etc.,
DeleteCatherine Cookson - watch out you have a rival!!!
sue would not have needed to pay a £1000 for a ticket and i dont recall she posted that as if she had of done then yes that would have been madness
Deletei had a free complementary ticket but was useless to me as I'm unwell and in all honesty the cost of taxi and having to go on my own without the rest of my family didn't seam at all like a good night out and with ATOS their no way on earth i would have attended not even if i was the richest man in the world
there are some folk left still with integrity thank god
Blog archive, May 2012 Atos and the Paralympics. DLA in July.
DeleteWho remembers George Bush saying - you're either with us or against us? So has ended the biggest propaganda exercise in peacetime britain - we are now reclassified as terrorists or fakers or scroungers - authenticated by the elites because it is they who do the reclassifying of the people.
ReplyDeleteThe paralympic games has been a wonderfully successful exercise in reclassifying people. Coe ends his speech last night decalring disability will no longer be the same.
My fiends we now enter a new era of persecution - because we have seen on tv that disabled people can do things. Cameron reinforced the notion of it not being about what we can't do but what we can - in interview he even turned the death of his own child into a propaganda piece. he man is what used to be called clinically insane but today is called prime minister
We may as well all go find somewhere to die.
Pete i think the paralympic games was a disaster for the majority of disabled people in the uk I'm just glad that I'm classed as sick
Deletei think history will repeat itself if were not careful from the Hitler years it is a very fine rope we tread
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-545450/This-summers-Olympics-wont-make-blind-bit-difference-Chinese-tyranny-naive-think-will.html
It is all about "positive thinking" - If you have cancer and fight against it; do not "let" it win,do not let it "beat" you, determine to "win" for the sake of your family etc., ec., If you do this and recover, it is all through "positive thought" If you do all this and die - well then - you didn't fight hard enough!!!!! Believe me there are people who believe that!!!!
ReplyDeleteNot every "fit" person can be an olympic athlete and neither can every disabled person. Yet another stick to beat people with!!
Positive thinking can be very dangerous indeed, not only a person with a terminal illness has to deal with the fact that they are going to die but also with their failure to beat their illness and with letting family and friends down. A good read on this subject is Barbara Ehrenreich's "Smile or Die"
Deleteit depends oh how you react to the drugs you have to undertake most people die through not being able to take their medication correctly as it makes you violently sick hence they die of cancer in the first place
Deletefit people will be looking at disabled people when their in their chair and going up to them as say your a con artist because that's the picture that's been painted by the government
disabled people will never be looked upon the same again by the general public after the Paralympics
OH COME ON GUYS!!
ReplyDeleteIt's the olympic parade through london - all those smiley faces, all those medals, all those brave people ....
I'm sick of the Londoncentric nature of this country but not nearly as sick of the TeamGB cycling coach who when asked how good was Sara Storey replied that she was just an inch from being as good as a normal cyclist!
What a legacy hey???
well sue so you have removed those comments you deem were making ..capital..out of this familys situation but as far as i can see you have been very selective here.Why dont you remove the posts that harp on about why have they had kids when they cant afford them etc etc?Surely the posts shouting back at the trolls posting on here should have been left .Just tell me how telling these trolls to do one is NOT supportive and just what about going OFF topic by bleating about the olympics and you tickets eh...whats any of that got to do with the Woods situation..
ReplyDeleteI'll just explain a few things on this blog in that sue is very generous to allow Anonymous posts very few blogs cater for the Anonymous because of trolling
DeleteRemoving off topic posts which is the technical term is very time consuming this is not a forum with moderators this is a blog that primarily is out to help the sick and disabled and to join in where possible without going off topic and make on line friends where possible
sue has enough on her plate without Anonymous people having the cheek to criticise her for any so called errors that she or i or anyone makes if you are not enjoying reeding this blog then do please stay away
if you however feel that you must criticise another poster then you show some courtesy for the blog members and sue and do so under a blog name
as always if sue feels the need that i myself have overstepped the mark then sue will remove this post
Nick you need to lay off the patronising tone mate.I wasnt saying that the owner of a blog should not have freedom to edit but there are still some posts on here that are FAR from helpfull to the situation so why are they still on was my point.And going off topic about the tickets is hardly helpfull to them is it eh!!!I have been a supporter of sue and this blog both on following it and sending money when asked so dont you think i for one know what sue has on her plate so wind that neck in sunshine.My whole point here is if you remove one trolling post remove em all or its pointless having the right to edit.If i see someone being nasty to people on here and there are lots then its a free country and freedom of speech and all that gives me or anyone else a right to reply RIGHT....now if the owner reserves the right to remove then fine but trolls are trolls and must be criticised for it under all circumstances.Some of the comments they left on this subject where at best ignorant at worsed cruel and one should suspect organised by those with a particlar political agenda as we all know these blogs ARE read by certain politicos so that too needed to be replied to and YES removed if felt appropriate to do so BUT dont start patronising or telling the SUPPORTERS of this blog what to say and how to react that is not down to you so you need to explain nothing ...IF you put something in print in any paper you should expect a reply so why is a blog or any other on line vehicle any different...you could argue that if you dont want a reply then either dont publish on line OR dont put a method of comments on either..you cant have both.Dont be so afraid of critics and comments OR trolls be more afraid if people cant be bloody bothered at all .Oh and one other point it doesnt matter if people comment using a name or anon does it really??? You cant exactly meet them to discuss anything YOU dont like face to face now can you and not ALL anon commenters are trolls or detractors as you well know...
DeleteNow if you or sue or anyone else is serious about helping the Woods then where is the call to help by using the go fund me thing eh!!
i agree that this thread has gone off topic and if sue were able she would remove those comments but as i say it is a lot of work when your unwell
Deletei was not patronising anyone when i post the members of this blog know full well on what my reply will be to any given subject be it good or bad they will know that i am completely on the side of the sick and disabled at all time and always have been
i have made sure that the majority of all mp's know of this case and a payment has been made with further payments to come as it should be
DLA in full for mobility and care and being placed in the support group and from my own observation a satisfactory outcome
Payment to what..for what?I dont get that part Nick .I read this blog every day mate and if i can second guess what you or anyone else is going to put to any given subject then i would be a modern day miracle and a mind reader.The end part about dla etc who is that in relation to? Off topic again...
DeleteNick, why don't you pull your head out of Sue's arse.
DeleteSue removed comments from her blog that offered support to the Woods family, and also attacked the trolls.
It clearly demonstrated Sue's agenda, that there was only a stereotypical kind of Disabled person she was prepared to speak out for. The white middle class kind, the kind Seb Coe might shake hands with.
I can absolutely guarantee that if a Mr.Woods had taken a stroke causing brain damage from alcohol, and he was living in a piss stained flat from Manchester Sue would believe he was unworthy of DLA.
She reminds me of the Committed 'homosexualist' Daffyd, the only gay in the village. Sue's politics are Tory, but she wants to be the only Labour supporter in her constituency.
[QUOTE]sometimes i really DO wonder11 September 2012 23:24
DeletePayment to what..for what?I dont get that part Nick .I read this blog every day mate and if i can second guess what you or anyone else is going to put to any given subject then i would be a modern day miracle and a mind reader.The end part about dla etc who is that in relation to? Off topic again...[/QUOTE]
I'm relating to the wood family who else could my post of related to
well nick you clever boy..where does it mention DLA in that story it doesnt it mentions ESA nor does being called in for an interview suggest support group to me.READ IT AGAIN. The family need a suitable house for Mr Woods and the family and that isnt forthcoming which is the main gist of the story surely...what part of 'can only visit for short periods 'dont you get.I have said if we ALL want to help this family and i do then lets get something sorted.Use the go fund me to at least get them something...use towards a decent car,,or MAYBE see if some company will help with an adapted vehicle.
DeleteLets see if the people who do come on here can get in touch with all these agencys they have mentioned and try and get them onboard.What else...i dont know but at least its ideas which i dont see you coming up with so again wind your bloody neck in and hmm as much as i like this blog and i have as i said supported sue when she needed it (go fund me )i like the above anon am beginning to wonder here and that is not a good thing so Nick if as it seems you are in charge of this blog if sue it too ill get on with helping the Woods and stop the patronising bullshit son.Put up or fuckin shut up...
Oh and on the subject of becoming rather fond of Coe as sue has twattered...behave ypurself you shouldnt even joke about liking any of these people..Coe is as much a part of the machine as the rest so no more of those jokes eh...some people really DO take offense and i am one of them and before Nick or anyone else says dont read the blog then i will say again dont publish or speak if you dont want comments...simple.Come on nick get helping then.
the story may not but if you re read my post
Deletei have made sure that the majority of all mp's know of this case and a payment has been made with further payments to come as it should be
DLA in full for mobility and care and being placed in the support group and from my own observation a satisfactory outcome
that has been implemented by the DWP i have been told by my mp
I did read your post and it still didnt give any clue as to just WHO you were refering to as it is which is WHY i bloody asked..again if you dont say who you were refering to it just reads as odd....must try harder.Now i see the trolls are back again but i will be fuecked if i can be bothered defending anyone by having a go back at then only for the comments to be removed so you and sue are doing well in alienating people who do support this blog and if the trolls take over then well done .
DeleteOh and becoming rather fond of Coe...you are feckin joking right????
ReplyDelete'Seven medals but now the Tories want my benefits'
ReplyDeletehttp://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=29451
Interesting little article in the Guardian this morning. It draws attention to the 'notion' that Cameron wanted to move IDS (think shit) away from DWP so he could drop the Universal Cedit plans.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/10/universal-credit-frank-field
Frank Field who is no supported of the poor and disabled tries to take advantage. More than anything else this article shows just how 'disinterested' these people are in real people who they think they can manipulate into whatever pleases them ..... MPs are fucking traitors.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could email me?
I look forward to hearing from you,
Doug
I'm watching the Hillsborough Debate in Parliament. It is truly remarkable that whilst cameron is correct to offer his apology and curse the manner in which the tragedy unfolded he seems totally unable to see what he and his government are doing to the disabled and poor in this country today!!!
ReplyDeleteHow many more have to die, cameron?????
with cameron and co along with ATOS and the DWP their problum is much worse as the death rate/suicide rate caused by the stress and worry of the welfare reform bill runs in to several hundred at this time
Deleteyou will find that a private inquiry at some point will take place by the relatives of all of those concerned and that justice will take place in due coarse for the ill treatment that the government have handed out to those genuine sick and disabled who were told they were fit for work but were not and died whilst an appeal was in progress or died shortly after woods or committed suicide by the stress of it all and couldn't go on with living
i look forward to the judgement day and the court appearance of all those involved in the abuse of power on the sick and disabled which resulted in their untimely death
check below nick and watch the shad estate on panorama last night
Deleteits not the poor and disabled committing suicide its WORKING people that will be doing so as you can see the man cleaning job getting £100 a week but the scroat on benefits getting £1100 a month tax free I add with free weed, paint for her house etc She said too sick to work, but ok to get weed etc and moan about having to go to job centre. The thought of working made her feel like saying 'u having a laugh?'
Sorry time for the gluttony to end once and for all.
i watched it that an entirely different subject and correct me if I'm wrong that person is getting child tax credits and non working ESA totalling £1100 per month plus free rent and housing tax ?
Deletewhich in total amounts to around £1600 per month
the breakdown for the five people that's 4 children and one adult amounts to £46 per week each from the £1100 which is below the JSA equivalent
that is low amount of money to have as a family of 5 income and if this is how it is all over the country where such families live on such little and when you have such a low wage of £200 per week to those in work it's no wonder you have family breakdown
the days of working full time as a slave for £200 are over my wife only works part time as she has to look after me and gets £100 per week and has done the same job for the past 20 years and she will tell you she feels like a slave and being African can deal with it mentally
however because my wife can deal with it it does not mean to say that a white person can because they cant and it is that slave component that will prevent people from wonting to work
i do not judge people in this way i judge people by their character and what help they bring to society but that is another topic
this topic is about the woods family and as i say there income has now been sorted out by the DWP
The panorama program is not what this blog of sues is about and we should not digress i feel in to areas that are outside of this blog which is about the full care and support of the long term sick and disabled people of the uk
Sue,
ReplyDeleteyou are the best advert for welfare reform if there ever was one.
All above who complain poor are being mistreated watch this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mqvhs/Panorama_Trouble_on_the_Estate/
its not the poor being mistreated its WORKING people. this shows benefits pay!! the woman getting £1100 a month to sit at home all bills paid smoking fags and weed all day who said it was a hassle to go to the job centre. I dont blame you love if I got such a huge handout why bother? She said the THOUGHT of working made her say 'are u having a laugh?'
Its not the poor that need protecting its working people. Yet you see people with cleaning jobs on £100 a week who say pride makes them do it.
When benefits is so lucrative why bother working? Working people have HAD enough Sue of leechers that have bled this country dry. £1100 tax free a month this moronic loser gets is far more than the average income so its no surprise the thought of working makes her tremble with fear. I would do. Her last job 8 yrs ago was a dinner lady for 1 hr a day!! You having a laugh?
This country is finished. Any place that rewards fecklessness with mountains of free cash wont progress anywhere.
Also with regards to Sue it seems benefits for you is like a second income with hubby working and £1000 Olympic tickets the main concern whether to have or not?? Doesnt appear to me like benefits dont pay more like a nice bonus like spending money.
This is the best advert for welfare reform asap stop benefits stop the £1100 handouts a month yes £1100 I still cant believe to people that smoke weed all day and get housing association money to decorate their house.
broken britain you bet sue. Would the last working person leaving britain please switch out the light.
and to all the moaners above that are complaining their lucrative handout will be trimmed watch the above programme as working ppl are fed up supporting you lot and time now has come to stop it once and for all and for you to look after yourself not bludge off others who have no choice in the matter!
You have never had it so good with yr handout and its now time for the benefits party to end once and for all.
Theres only one answer this utter shite you typed. No one should be paid £100 a week. It's a fucking disgrace, and if you need to get on a soap box, that is what you should be shouting about, not people trying to exist on £64 a week.
DeleteDisability Allowances are for the extra cost that comes with Disability, and surely even you wouldn't deny that to a human.
Don't bullshit me about people getting DLA who don't deserve it, you're not a Doctor, and I am guessing you will tell me you know lots of people who get it who are not Disabled, I suggest, Report them.
But once again, remember GOVERNMENT figures for Disability Benefit fraud is only half a percent. Prove to me otherwise and I will believe you. I gave you facts, don't give me drivel.
the star of the show claims she is ill so ill that her days are spent smoking dope drinking wine on an evening and blaming everyone else in particular having to go to the job centre every few weeks oh the horror. if she was offered a job she would say 'u having a laugh?' i aint laughing.
Deletewhos the fool? her or me that works full time and is worse off than her?!
Can you and the other boneheaded reactionaries get lost and clog up the Daily Fail comments, which is where you belong.
DeleteThis blog is for people who care about the way the benefits system is letting down a very large number of people, people who are being failed by this government and their pernicious cuts!
We know you idiots exist, with your obnoxious opinions and tabloid waffle, but we don't want to have to read you're tripe here.
I just watched the link to Panorama, and It's sad that any person has to live in this kind of poverty. Most of these people are so poor that their lives are entrenched in dysfunction and mental illness, and you begrudge them some crumbs from Whitehall, when the problems have been there since Thatcher started privatizing the Country, and selling off industry throwing families into muliti-generational despair.
DeleteThis kind of poverty might turn you on because you feel safe in Cameron's Britain and you have indoctrinated yourself with hatred, but any man or woman with an ounce of decency would feel compassion for a Britain that allows this. It's the oldest con in the book, they bring it upon themselves, look at the wretched rats, smoking and eating our hard earned taxes. But that's not true, these people have been left to rot by successive governments, corrupt governments lining their pockets and helping their banking buddies. England is soaked in wealth, yet they make us believe other, to avert our gaze from the reality of bonuses, theft, Royal Family orgies, Corporate games, and the wealth of London's elite.
Have fun mocking the poor, you might loss the source of your own income one day and find out just how difficult it is to live being hated, shamed for smoking, shamed for eating wrong, shamed for addictions, blamed on a deficit you don't even understand. Condemned to a future of mental anguish, pain and pills, and most likely an early grave.
what poverty is this?? they are better off than those that are working!!
Deleteif this is poverty can i have a piece please??
You obviously watched a different documentary, I'm talking about Panorama where the streets looked like shanty towns, and the houses were falling apart. The only recreation the children had was an old swimming pool, and the Council is trying to close that.
DeleteMaybe you consider living in condemned ghetto's acceptable, but I don't.
listen u make yr own bed u lie in it if u cant keep yr own house clean and tidy what do u want a maid or butler to do it for u?!! if u contribute nothing to society what should u get? nothing!
Deletetake some of the £1100 the slob gets who smokes dope and boozes while claiming to be depressed but still can get the bus everywhere and give it to the family who are prepared to work cleaning even if it means they are worse off than being on benefits.
there are jobs out there but when u are better off sticking your hand out or indirectly begging then why bother taking them?
Your basing an entire argument on a stereotype. But I'll humour it.
DeleteThis lady has been severely abused, and beaten, it also doesn't take an expert to tell that she is clearly in bad health. She looks after four kids on her own. Looking after just one kid when you have lots of money and all your health is exhausting.
The £1100, that is for everything, from rent to council tax, to gas, electricity, food for a family, clothes for a family, everyday essentials, Toilet rolls, toothpaste, etc. I have no idea how she manages to do it.
These problems are deep, but we are dealing with humanity, not slobs, actual people with very sad lives and multi-generational problems associated with poverty.
They do not understand work, it is an alien concept, they have been work deprived since Thatcher. But if they were offered a real wage, a true living wage where they could actually have some expendable money to make their lives happier, I can guarantee the majority of the youth on that estate would be in a job.
I'm not exactly sure why you hate people, I don't hate people for being rich, or poor. People all have the same basic needs, and those needs begin with love. The chances are being born into poverty, you'll have a massive absence of that.
These social problems have been studied since society was first wrote about, these divides have existed since society was first established, and at the end of the day you are going to base your own opinion on the politics and nurture you have been given to you by family. If you are born wealthy, you're probably not going to have much sympathy for these people, and will believe what the BBC and tabloids portray. It's also a cheap form of entertainment for people who don't need to worry sick about money, looking in at the zoo from the outside could feel very comforting to people. Just knowing they'll never have to live in squalor.
What would be the point in having wealth, if there was no poor? Who make help them feel better about themselves if everyone had the same?
The people who are born into this poverty cycle rarely ever make it out. They work 100x harder trying to exist and survive than they would if they were given a full time job. But they'll never know that.
what do u expect for poisoning yr body with pot, tobacco and alcohol for a number of years?? to look like a supermodel? unlikely huh not exactly slim is she either? ever heard the word responsibility?
Deleteyeah it must be tough to survive on £1100 when u got all that weed and wine to fund right?? if u got money for drugs then u are getting too much.
end day there are ppl that been through a life zillion times worse than her yet dont see the state as the means to live their life. what do u think would happen if her benefits were stopped which should hopefully happen anyhow? u think that might shock her into getting a job. u got a choice then? sink or swim?
the family with 2 cleaning jobs chose that even though benefits are better off for them?? why? pride perhaps?? only way to get the feckless working is remove the golden hand that has been feeding them for the past x years +. you probably dont hate them as u aint funding their lifestyle.
what utter shite?! you think giving someone this mongrel over a grand a month gratis tax free to fund the local weed factory is acceptable? if so its no wonder this country has gone to the dogs and all the taxpayers who fund your feckless lifestyle will soon leave.
ReplyDeletesame mongrel has quoted in the press today saying 'she couldnt give a f*** what ppl think about her' and its ok as shes on the sick. So sick she has better things to do than go to the job centre every 6 months and come back with relief she is unemployable.
this trash bag gets £1100 a month not £64 a week!! doctors are not einsteins and they wont be able to see through the acts that are put on to get benefits.
this aint drivel when same mongrel gloats to the press about how much she gets something is wrong. if you got money for weed and wine then u are getting too much pure and simple. where is it stated in law u should get MONEY WITHOUT EARNING IT!
why bother working when the benefits party gives u £1100 a month tax free FAR MORE THAN THE AVERAGE UK WAGE!
Hilarious how this woman claims to get only £1,100 in benefits a month - that's just the cash she gets in her hand. When you point out that she also gets Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit on top of that then people say, "well, she doesn't really get that money, it goes to the landlord/council." It's like the rest of us who actually work for a living don't have to pay our mortgage/rent or pay council tax. It's still benefits in my opinion. With four children you would get around £30k/year in benefits plus any extra she gets for being disabled plus any maintenance from her children's copious fathers. Probably nearer double the amount.
ReplyDeleteone other think i need to point out is the likes of sue and myself and indeed many other contributors to this blog is that most of us are very ill and on medication which at times produces errors in our reply's such as the odd spelling mistake or not having researched the topic as well as what we would like to have done and therefore our judgement can be poor at times
Deleteall i can say is sorry i try like others to do one's best but do very much appreciate at times i fall short that I'm afraid is what long term conditions and drugs do to you
well if you are fit enough to write on blogs and criticise those that fund your survival get a job as a website designer or IT tech you dont need to do anything physical all done from your own chair.
Delete:)
Once again, can you please do one! You're not being clever or funny. Neither are you contributing anything to the original story that Sue posted.
ReplyDeletePlaces like the Daily Fail/Express/Sun and BNP websites are where you belong, you'll find like minded, heartless Nazties there. You'll feel more at home, get a bigger thrill and humiliate yourself less.
Go on, do us a favour, scarper and crawl in amongst your fellow braindead lowlifes on the websites where you belong!
That last comment was aimed at anon and andy!
ReplyDeleteWhat this unfortunate lady needs is a good social worker. My advise would be for her to go down to her local social services office with her four children and husband (in wheel chair obviously)and politely ask to see a senior social worker for assessment. This must be done as a matter of urgency.
ReplyDeleteJust to say I wrote a letter to the woods family’s MP John Howell as I suggested in an earlier entry. I thought it might be an idea to include here his contact details to save anyone else who would like to write having to search to find them.
ReplyDeleteTo contact John Howell on general issues
Telephone: 0207 219 6676
Email: howelljm@parliament.uk
House of Commons London, SW1A 0AA
To contact John Howell to book a surgery appointment and to raise other local issues
Telephone: 01491 613072
PO Box 84 Watlington
Oxfordshire, OX49 5XD
For more details:
http://www.johnhowellmp.com/contact/
I think if might be of help for us all to write to the MP not only of the woods family but also anyone else in similar dire need as many are who comment on this blog
Sorry Sue to hear you are in so much pain , I know only too well how debilitating pain is . Hope things improve for you soon
I have not read all the posts so I do not know if anyone else has included similar advice and information
Ah good we are NOW back on topic...trolls done now have they.Nobody takes any notice of your daily mail fed bullshit anyway and now lets get on with it eh!! The Woods family remeber them.Well i contacted a certain Diy programme to se if they could help BUT it seems they can only do this if you are the owner of the property hmm fair enough you might think with all the leegalities involved.
ReplyDeleteAhh but what if somebody from one of these agencys out there could find them a property where the owner would allow the alterations.There must be somebody somewhere musnt there.....Only and idea i know but if there is one out there surely people from that show or one of the others OR maybe a charity or two could get involved and do the work.Now its not like this family dont deserve the help is it so if there is anyone who knows or works for an agency who thinks this might be a doer then please contact the family. WE know it can be done its wether anyone will let it be done.....How about YOU JOHN HOWELL...get on it and do what we PAY YOU to do
well said
DeleteVery shocked at some of the hostile comments on this blog, when it is about a young family struck by the unexpected, and especially about a young woman trying to bring back some stability into all their lives. Shame on you for not hearing the truth in this story. Like Sue and many others I have been trying to draw attention to the so called reforms that have been heading our way like an uncontrolled and unnoticed tsunami. It was obvious from early on that there would be casualties, and now that it is on us we can see that indeed this is what is happening, people are getting dragged down by a wave of measures that look to be heading for worse. This families rights would have been protected under older legislation, and deserve to be now. John Howell, these are the people you are in Parliament to protect, being in Parliament is not about what you want, it is about representing your constituents in a responsible way.
ReplyDeleteThis new legislation has to go.
I wonder if Sue has left the vile disgusting posts on here to let her many thousands of readers including lots of 'working/able bodied' readers know just how misinformed, bigoted, misanthropic and plain lier's, many of the bash the disabled' crowd really are...
ReplyDeleteThey will see what sort of discourse the Govt and New Labour) and the BBC has encouraged and to where it leads and how much further it will go when the very sick writer of this blog is defamed in such a way...
Defamed! By stating the truth - no-one should be afraid of the TRUTH!!!!!
DeleteAnyone who doubts that their own life could change in seconds should to watch this video of Alex Wood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4pMrdVI3CQ&feature=youtu.be before and after his brain injury.
ReplyDeleteI also found an appeal: :http://makingwavesforalex.co.uk/
I have never met them, but it should not take internet, facebook and twitter trending, then the BBC Oxford picking it up, to give this family the help and benefits they need.
Tls
If more people in the general public, whose lives have not as yet been affected by severe illness or disability, knew something of the skullduggery which lies at the heart of welfare "reform", they might realise that they've been really conned by the government and press "scrounger" rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteIt was brilliant to see in today's Guardian, actually printed, Black Triangle's letter about the links between the medical insurance industry and government welfare policy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/12/private-firms-disability-assessment-regime
"These for-profit corporations should never have been permitted to sequester such power and influence over public health and social policy. There may be clear conflicts of interest at stake, and the public interest now demands an urgent and thorough independent public inquiry into the relationships between, and roles played by, senior Unum, Atos and DWP staff in the creation of the current government disability assessment regime."
John McArdle and Dr Stephen Carty Black Triangle Campaign and 449 co-signatories (see http://bit.ly/Pi4z4D)
To Sue
ReplyDeleteWe haven't heard from you for a few days. I sincerely hope you are OK.
You are an excellent writer, I really enjoy reading your blog, you have wonderful and vitally important things to say, and you do so beautifully. PLEASE keep saying it! Your blog is a fabulous meeting point for all of us who are touched by the so called "welfare reforms" and is also a great repository for all things related to the shocking attacks on our Social Security system - above post a perfect example.
Thank you so much for all that you do!
Don't let the buggers get you down!!
(Of course, they may not be, and the recent scourge of Trolldom on the comments may not have interested you at all, and even now you are putting the finishing polish on another excellent post.......!)
Hope to hear your voice again soon
All the best!
Sue,take no notice of the negative posters.Most come from Tory Central Office.Don't let them get you down,its what they want.
ReplyDeleteFirst they ignore you,then they fight you,then you win.
Best Wishes,Peter Benson.
"If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen" springs to mind!!!!
ReplyDeleteI too have been struck by this post, by the mindless adoration for someone who claims they are "poverty stricken"
but who has a husband in employment, money for the olympic games etc.,. How on earth would she manage if she had an unemployed husband?
You're the sort of person who doesn't like the idea of people with disabilities having some sort of independence and believe they have to rely on relatives for financial support.
DeleteYou blather on about Sue saving up to treat her family to a once in a lifetime experience. Think about it: we had 5 years to prepare for the Olympics, you could save £5 a week over that period. How do you know what sort of sacrifices Sue made to get the money together? Do you really begrudge her that sort of saving regime!?!
The only thing "mindless" in this comments thread are your inane, limp little rants. Get over yourself!
You rant on about
Deletepeople having "some sort of independence" and that I believe "they should have to rely on relatives for financial support". If you read this blog properly you will see that Sue has mentioned a number of times that she has had to borrow from friends and relatives and cannot pay them back.
So! Cannot have the principle or means to pay back friends and relatives, but can "manage" to save £1000 towards olympic tickets. Not the actions of a principled person, particularly one who lectures on fairness!
The system is kack. My family however are thinking of you and sending you our love.
ReplyDeleteCan you point me in the direction of this woman's address please Sue? I can't help with her housing or benefits claims but at least I could send her a food deliver. Thank you. Penny
ReplyDeleteI am appalled at how the comments have gone off topic. Believe me when I say it's a situation that'll become more and more common in the coming years.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some horrific comments about Sue on here. It's not easy claiming disability benefits. Just because we are sick doesn't mean we have to be in bed 24/7, we have to continue with some sort of normality.
As Alex Woods' case proves all too well, disability and/or illness can strike any person at any time. There is a tiny minority who take the mickey but there's so many who struggle to receive the right support.
In terms of working, NO PERSON SHOULD WORK ON MORPHINE OR STRONG OPIATES! They alter brains ability to process information, and will cause drowsiness and other problems.
I truly hope Mrs Woods will get support she needs and that her situation improves so she can concentrate on whats important.
Hello Everybody,
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ReplyDelete