We're all spoonies here. Or disabled. Or carers. Or families and friends of someone who is. Or just nice people who want to help put an injustice right.
With that in mind, we all know how it feels to fill in a DLA (Disability Living Allowance) claim form or an ESA50 form. (For Employment and Support Allowance )
On the whole, I think we see them as necessary evils. Yes, they could be shorter, but mostly, the people I speak to would rather lay their life bare on an impersonal form than face to face to a complete stranger.
If you're a scrounger, I imagine they are a chance for creative juices to flow freely, but if you're ill or disabled and you have a painful or difficult life, then chances are that the time you spend filling in those forms are the only time your really face all of your limitations.
It can be soul destroying. People who spend their lives painting on a smile, trying to offer a cheery "fine" when loved one's ask how they are; people who push themselves beyond "normal" limits; push through unimaginable challenges every day must face that paper day of reckoning when actually, they must write in painstaking detail how "not fine" they really are.
We must admit to every last aid we use (even the one's we pretend we don't.) We must list every last episode of incontinence, every time we forgot where we were or had a massive seizure in the middle of a crowded shopping centre, peeing ourselves in public. We must admit times when we may have been a danger to ourselves or others. We must admit just how much support our loved ones give us and just how little we can do for ourselves.
Has to be done.
Hurts just the same.
Well, I'm sure you're also aware how tricky it is to get a look at your own medical notes. Or how careful doctors always are not to share your personal information with anyone. Or how many checks are in place to guarantee our data is secure.
Now, it comes to light (FOI request) that once your ESA50 form speeds on it's way to the day of reckoning, it will be opened first in a royal mail sorting office, bundled into relevant piles and only then sent on to the correct department.
Yep, Fred the postman, spotty young Fred, 19 (interests : arse jokes and medieval platform games) gets to open your form, the form you agonised over, blushed as you wrote, perhaps cried tears over, smudging the words.
Perhaps he is a responsible young man who simply opens your private, medical evidence, looks at the address and bundles up the papers.
Or perhaps, he is a little thoughtless. Perhaps he shouts to Pete over the way and they guffaw at your bowel habits or mock your spasticity. Either way, surely the point is that no-one should see these forms but the person who wrote them and the decision maker who will consider them?
There is nothing on the form to say this happens, no disclaimer warning you. If it is legal (which I find incredibly hard to believe) then surely it is not moral? Surely it breaks every code that medical professionals try to follow as they safeguard our intimate medical secrets?
I imagine ministers will tell us that it is "standard procedure" that no-one reads the details. Is that the point?
If this is the line they take, then perhaps they would consider writing a 1000 word account of the most embarrassing or traumatic event of their entire lives and allowing me to pass them round my local pub? No-one will read them, honest, we'll just pas them round and leave them in a pile at the end.
No? Thought not.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
Happy Birthday to Me!!
So today it is exactly one year since I started to write this blog.
Just over a year since George Osborne accused benefit claimants of "Mugging the state" and a few dark days more than a year since his thoughtless, short-sighted Comprehensive Spending Review.
A year since it became clear we had nothing to lose and everything to gain from opposing a government out of control, out of touch and all out of compassion.
And what a year it's been!!
In that year there have been high points, low points, despair, exhaustion and exhilaration. I've made wonderful friends, met fellow campaigners, written for the Guardian, Left Foot Forward, Labour List, Liberal Conspiracy, the BBC and I've filmed a short documentary for Channel 4.
At around the same time, The Broken Of Britain was also born, groups like Black Triangle and DPAC have gone from strength to strength and other bloggers have risen to prominence exposing the lies, mis-information and terror behind a campaign to ostracise and abandon sick and disabled people.
The little "15" on the right hand side of this article trumpets the astonishing fact that my blog is the 15th most popular political blog in the UK. It is the the number one political blog written by a woman. According to Total Politics, enough of you voted to make my blog the 7th most popular left wing blog.
Well, thank goodness you did, because despite tens of thousands of supporters, over 300,000 articles read and our articles regularly making into the top ten most read in the UK, most of the mainstream media still ignore us entirely. Politicians aren't interested in evidence or research, so without your support, without your tweets and shares and emails, we would still be unknown and unheard.
So what have I learnt?
I've learnt that democracy is dead. Policies and governments are for sale to the highest bidder. Elections are bought by those with the deepest pockets and lobby groups and vested interests control the direction of our country more successfully than ministers ever will.
Every vote has a loophole, every committee has a whipped majority to make sure that dissension and opposition goes unheard and no matter how wrong, cruel or pointless a policy might be, if politicians choose to stick doggedly to it, it will go through. No matter how many lives are ruined, no matter how many people die, no matter how many people suffer, if a politician thinks he is right, you may as well whistle in the wind, you will never change his mind.
But I've also learnt that people can come together, fight, share information and oh-so-slowly start to turn the tide of ignorance. In the end, the only thing that will shift stubborn politicians is shame. In the end, it is people who make a difference.
When George Potter found my blog, he decided to act. After months of agony, false starts and hoops to jump through, he changed Liberal Democrat policy. By standing up for what is right, he found a platform in which he could show grassroots LibDems a little evidence, break down a few of the negative stereotypes and prove that good people will listen, even when politicians won't.
When the Hardest Hit march took to the streets of London, more sick and disabled people than ever before made the Herculean effort to get to the protest and make their voices heard.
When charities came together, the Disability Alliance threatened legal action against the government on behalf of 272 different groups. Since the challenge was mounted, many, many more charities have joined.
Over the course of this year, we have come together, worked together and battled great personal difficulties to oppose the 9.2 Billion of cuts sick and disabled people are facing.
As the welfare reform bill is debated in the Lords, there is now a real chance that we can win some changes. With the LibDems pledged to oppose a one year time limit for ESA and the indignities of Work Capability Assessments, we may just be able to break the whipped majority both in the Lords and in Parliament. With campaigners, supporters and charities lobbying both houses, sending information, evidence and testimonials almost daily, the Lords are well informed and articulate and there is cross-party opposition to the worst elements of the bill. We are now able to provide a counter argument, challenge lies and put our views across.
Researchers work daily to expose the futility of scrapping DLA, proving that the arguments used in defence of reform are wrong. We produce our own evidence, present our own facts and every time, we show that reform that ignores reality will only ever be fancy-dress for cuts.
Thank you to everyone who reads my blog. Thank you for supporting me, believing in me and listening when others choose to turn away. Every day there are more of you and every day we win a few more hearts and minds.
Keep fighting, keep tweeting, but most of all keep believing. When I started writing, the Gandhi quote at the bottom of my blog seemed as overwhelming as it was inspirational.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Well now, they are forced to fight us and if we keep fighting, together, we will win.
Just over a year since George Osborne accused benefit claimants of "Mugging the state" and a few dark days more than a year since his thoughtless, short-sighted Comprehensive Spending Review.
A year since it became clear we had nothing to lose and everything to gain from opposing a government out of control, out of touch and all out of compassion.
And what a year it's been!!
In that year there have been high points, low points, despair, exhaustion and exhilaration. I've made wonderful friends, met fellow campaigners, written for the Guardian, Left Foot Forward, Labour List, Liberal Conspiracy, the BBC and I've filmed a short documentary for Channel 4.
At around the same time, The Broken Of Britain was also born, groups like Black Triangle and DPAC have gone from strength to strength and other bloggers have risen to prominence exposing the lies, mis-information and terror behind a campaign to ostracise and abandon sick and disabled people.
The little "15" on the right hand side of this article trumpets the astonishing fact that my blog is the 15th most popular political blog in the UK. It is the the number one political blog written by a woman. According to Total Politics, enough of you voted to make my blog the 7th most popular left wing blog.
Well, thank goodness you did, because despite tens of thousands of supporters, over 300,000 articles read and our articles regularly making into the top ten most read in the UK, most of the mainstream media still ignore us entirely. Politicians aren't interested in evidence or research, so without your support, without your tweets and shares and emails, we would still be unknown and unheard.
So what have I learnt?
I've learnt that democracy is dead. Policies and governments are for sale to the highest bidder. Elections are bought by those with the deepest pockets and lobby groups and vested interests control the direction of our country more successfully than ministers ever will.
Every vote has a loophole, every committee has a whipped majority to make sure that dissension and opposition goes unheard and no matter how wrong, cruel or pointless a policy might be, if politicians choose to stick doggedly to it, it will go through. No matter how many lives are ruined, no matter how many people die, no matter how many people suffer, if a politician thinks he is right, you may as well whistle in the wind, you will never change his mind.
But I've also learnt that people can come together, fight, share information and oh-so-slowly start to turn the tide of ignorance. In the end, the only thing that will shift stubborn politicians is shame. In the end, it is people who make a difference.
When George Potter found my blog, he decided to act. After months of agony, false starts and hoops to jump through, he changed Liberal Democrat policy. By standing up for what is right, he found a platform in which he could show grassroots LibDems a little evidence, break down a few of the negative stereotypes and prove that good people will listen, even when politicians won't.
When the Hardest Hit march took to the streets of London, more sick and disabled people than ever before made the Herculean effort to get to the protest and make their voices heard.
When charities came together, the Disability Alliance threatened legal action against the government on behalf of 272 different groups. Since the challenge was mounted, many, many more charities have joined.
Over the course of this year, we have come together, worked together and battled great personal difficulties to oppose the 9.2 Billion of cuts sick and disabled people are facing.
As the welfare reform bill is debated in the Lords, there is now a real chance that we can win some changes. With the LibDems pledged to oppose a one year time limit for ESA and the indignities of Work Capability Assessments, we may just be able to break the whipped majority both in the Lords and in Parliament. With campaigners, supporters and charities lobbying both houses, sending information, evidence and testimonials almost daily, the Lords are well informed and articulate and there is cross-party opposition to the worst elements of the bill. We are now able to provide a counter argument, challenge lies and put our views across.
Researchers work daily to expose the futility of scrapping DLA, proving that the arguments used in defence of reform are wrong. We produce our own evidence, present our own facts and every time, we show that reform that ignores reality will only ever be fancy-dress for cuts.
Thank you to everyone who reads my blog. Thank you for supporting me, believing in me and listening when others choose to turn away. Every day there are more of you and every day we win a few more hearts and minds.
Keep fighting, keep tweeting, but most of all keep believing. When I started writing, the Gandhi quote at the bottom of my blog seemed as overwhelming as it was inspirational.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Well now, they are forced to fight us and if we keep fighting, together, we will win.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Search for the perfect Scrounger
Job Description :
Must have absolutely nothing wrong with them.
Must "claim" child has ADHD or similar when in fact we all know they are just "naughty" and it's really all down to "bad parenting".
Must drive BMW or better, all paid for under the motability scheme.
Must live in (at least 8 bed) mansion in Chelsea, paid for entirely with Housing Benefit.
Must have at least 5 children, all by different fathers. (Applicants with no partner only, sorry)
Must never have had any assessments at all for Incapacity Benefit or Disability Living Allowance, yet, must have been claiming for 10 years or more without ever working.
Must definitely not be of white, British origin.
Must smoke, drink, and generally spend any state monies on food with zero nutrition.
Must require a swimming pool for "joint therapy", a crate of champagne a week for "social interaction" and a pony for "exercise"
If you know anyone who fits any of these requirements, (in real life, not just a woman your neighbour knows) please send details to The Daily Mail, as they are having some difficulty finding anyone at all to actually quote in their "stories"
UPDATE : The Daily Mail "story" that inspired this post has been roundly proved to be utter bunkum by Full Fact here . As usual. Because they always lie. Zzzzzzzzzzz
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Bns Jane Campbell wants our views on PIP
Here is a copy of a mesage we just received from Baroness Campbell. I'm too tired to tweak and make this shiny, so if you can just leave your opinions in the comments thread, it would be much appreciated :
"As you will see from yesterday we talked about the importance of language. So I'm thinking of challenging the title PIP. I think it should remain Disability Living Allowance, after all that's what it's about, disabled People's extra cost of living. It shouldn't not based on independence (defined by professionals) conditionality.
The condition that one should become "personally independent", which is likely to be defined in a medical model way, will not result in the independence disabled People have demanded over the years (i.e. independent living is about having choice and control over your life like that of non disabled people.
It includes all things in your life like work, education, raising your family, leisure, personal mobility etc) If the government want to continue encouraging us take responsibility over our lives, then they must give us the right to make our own decisions as to how DLA money should be spent.
It must not be measured by able-bodied people's assumptions as to what it is to be independent. Could you ask your networks what they think. I believe disabled people want to keep disability living allowance as a universal allowance.
We want to continue the principle that once you become eligible it is left up to you (personal responsibility) as to how you spend it to minimising the extra costs of being a disabled person, therefore we shouldn't be constantly reassessed as to how our so called independence is going. I'm thinking of demanding we keep the language that means disability living. And as we know, living must be defined by the person whose life it is. (Disabled people are the experts in their own situation)
I could put this down as an amendment, but I need support from the outside world, to make it important and powerful.
"As you will see from yesterday we talked about the importance of language. So I'm thinking of challenging the title PIP. I think it should remain Disability Living Allowance, after all that's what it's about, disabled People's extra cost of living. It shouldn't not based on independence (defined by professionals) conditionality.
The condition that one should become "personally independent", which is likely to be defined in a medical model way, will not result in the independence disabled People have demanded over the years (i.e. independent living is about having choice and control over your life like that of non disabled people.
It includes all things in your life like work, education, raising your family, leisure, personal mobility etc) If the government want to continue encouraging us take responsibility over our lives, then they must give us the right to make our own decisions as to how DLA money should be spent.
It must not be measured by able-bodied people's assumptions as to what it is to be independent. Could you ask your networks what they think. I believe disabled people want to keep disability living allowance as a universal allowance.
We want to continue the principle that once you become eligible it is left up to you (personal responsibility) as to how you spend it to minimising the extra costs of being a disabled person, therefore we shouldn't be constantly reassessed as to how our so called independence is going. I'm thinking of demanding we keep the language that means disability living. And as we know, living must be defined by the person whose life it is. (Disabled people are the experts in their own situation)
I could put this down as an amendment, but I need support from the outside world, to make it important and powerful.
Comments please ASAP please"
Lord Fraud - A Freud-ian Slip
We hereby give notice that the Lord previously known as "Freud" shall henceforth be known as "Fraud"
A million thanks to Doc Hackenbush (@DocHackenbush on twitter) for this wonderful image
**For blind supporters, it is a mosaic image of Lord Freud made entirely of the word "Fraud"
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Lords fight against Time Limiting ESA
For the trawling-through-endless-clauses-subsets-and-amendments kind of genius, I'm really not your girl.
However, having just spent a miserable hour or two poring over the amendments tabled to the Welfare Reform Bill for today's committee stage, I believe that Time Limiting contributory ESA to one year is one of only two clauses that Lords are asking to be removed altogether.
Huge thanks to Lord Patel (Crossbench) Lord Crisp (Crossbench) and Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour) for calling for the clause (51) to be removed entirely from the bill, and I only hope there is broad support for the amendment.
For your information, here is a link from the Lords page on today's committee meeting. http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2011/october1/welfare-reform-bill-committee-stage/
However, having just spent a miserable hour or two poring over the amendments tabled to the Welfare Reform Bill for today's committee stage, I believe that Time Limiting contributory ESA to one year is one of only two clauses that Lords are asking to be removed altogether.
Huge thanks to Lord Patel (Crossbench) Lord Crisp (Crossbench) and Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour) for calling for the clause (51) to be removed entirely from the bill, and I only hope there is broad support for the amendment.
For your information, here is a link from the Lords page on today's committee meeting. http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2011/october1/welfare-reform-bill-committee-stage/
A Plague on Both Your Houses
"And the Lord (Freud) said "Part a sea of sick and disabled people to move them unto the Moses Room".
But we will plague you Lord Freud.
We will watch the Committee stage today (Now confirmed in fact as committee room 4a)
3.30pm onwards on www.parliament.uk If you want to help with live tweeting the event, just show up on twitter and use #wrb with every tweet. (We believe that the welfare meeting follows an education meeting and therefore starts at 5pm)
Several Lords have contacted us to congratulate us. After making our opinions so strongly known, this committee WILL have plenty of room for wheelchair users (including an overspill room) and their WILL be a live feed to both rooms so that we can follow the meeting. A huge congratulations to all who wrote, emailed, tweeted and shared.
To watch live, follow this link http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=9061
Or, if you have any problems, go to www.parliament.co.uk
Click on "MPs Lords and Offices" at the top
Scroll down and click on "Watch parliament TV" on the right hand side
Then, scroll down and click on "What's On"
Finally, scroll down to "Committees" and click on the link
Finally, if you can possibly be there physically today, please do try and go. Especially today as any access problems will need to be sorted out at this first reading.
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