I. Daniel Blake

[fem2019]

Anyone else watching this tonight? (NC due to an outing comment I made recently). Saw it when it first came out and as a SP some of it hit home. As a statement of how it is to be without resources it is bang on. Be interested in what MN thinks.

It's horrific that families are sanctioned like that. What sort of country is this? I am sure this will be looked at in years to come with the horror we give when thinking back to how children were treated in the past.

@MorbidlyObese. I am far from weak of brain. You, however are seemingly unable to accept someone else's opinion without stooping to insults which says plenty about you. You may like to think these things don't happen, but they clearly do. Of course its a dramatisation, but it's still shocking and we're all entitled to react to that as we see fit. It's called having an opinion. And shock horror, that may well not be one you share.

"metropolitan elite friends in his big house in Islington, that bastion of the working classes! "

Ken Loach doesn't love in London. Also there's massive deprivation in Islington if you look past Upper Street.

I'm watching it now. Sheila in the Jobcentre is a massive cunt. My DH had to go through this when he was made redundant and there was one particular jobcentre worker who seemed to take pleasure in seeing people struggle. Utter bastards the lot of them

There are Sheila's in every single job centre up and down the country.

Agree with the utter bastard statement too

I’m so sorry Olly...that your sisters last months here were so distressing.
I can’t even begin to think what it’s like.

Just watched it on catch up, have seen it before but wanted to watch it again. Just been on our local foodbank's facebook page to see what they are currently short of, off to Tesco's tomorrow. There but for the Grace of God go I ...

I cried the whole way through it last night, knowing I'd a family member who has/still is experiencing similar. Spoke to them today and they'd watched the first 20 mins or so and it all rang so horribly true that they had to turn it off. We should be so ashamed to live in a country that treats the ill and disabled like this.

I couldn't watch it because I believe the stories of the real people it represents. I'm aware how lucky I am.

A previous poster mentioned that food banks can only be used 3 times a year. Is that because of referrals? Do food banks turn you away without a referral?

Yes

I think it might be 3 every 6 months though (off the top of my head)

A previous poster mentioned that food banks can only be used 3 times a year. Is that because of referrals? Do food banks turn you away without a referral?

Some give you 'budgeting' advice and others can use their discretion wrt whom they give parcels out to, but the belief that you can rock up and use them like you would ASDA is erroneous.

I hadn't realised that. That's awful. I mean it's awful that in our society we need food banks at all. But, even more awful that it's rationed. The shite people spout about this really pisses me off. That idea that if it's not restricted people will just go to the food bank rather than Asda or Lidl.

I haven't lived in the UK for a few years, but here we have food banks with self referrals, no questions asked. As far as I know they're not exploited. The view from interviews given by them seems to be that they'd rather help, even if a few people don't need them than not help those that do.

That idea that if it's not restricted people will just go to the food bank rather than Asda or Lidl.

Oh, this has actually been spouted in the press by some Tory ministers, that this was the reason food bank use had increased under their government and on here, too, along with all the usual guff about smoking, drinking, Sky, mobiles, tattoos and bingo.

As pointed out, you have to use the net to claim UC and libraries that will allow you to use their net 35 hours a week are . . . non existent.

I know this has already been said, a million times, but the whole system is fucked.

www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-46772901?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/james-cleverly-daniel-blake-lavery-15641167?fbclid=IwAR2T3OQyhRRAXW2HIt305aI-I9Vu48ujD9qZIq0ujWa4AQYB9DKfWm7oJ1k

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/tory-mp-james-cleverly-ridiculed-15636192

Ian lavery is my mp. I bet he doesn't get a response

I've just watched it. One of the hardest hitting and gut wrenching films I've seen. I sobbed through most of it and so did DH. It should be mandatory viewing.

I feel so angry. The sad thing is I don't have any faith in any of the political parties to do anything positive to try and improve the system.

I will definitely start donating regularly to the food bank.

I watched it.

Heard a politician claim it wasnt true to life the other day - they haven't a clue, it most certainly is true to life, as someone who has had an esa assessment where the assessor lied about what I said, DESPITE me having the whole thing recorded.

Also I went to CAB and they said they were unable to help me with this.

I couldn't get an appointment with cab when I needed them the most. They offered me an appointment in 4 weeks time....by which time my house would have been repossessed. (Long story and only just found the (( hidden by my ex))paperwork

I’m struggling to watch it. I help out with a local organisation, not a food bank, they give out donated food to anyone who turns up, serve soup in cold weather and provide a cooked meal on Sundays. The second week I was there a woman told me that “we” made a huge difference to her after her benefits were reduced. It makes me tearful to remember her face that day.

I said “we” because I really only help 1 day each week. The people running it feed people every day with no questions asked.

One of the most disgusting things about this film was the JobCentre worker asking "do you want a voucher for the food bank".

The government is using food banks (with everything being donated by kind people) as a way of feeding its people. Like it uses library staff to help people with their internet form-filling, instead of paying for someone to do it at Job Centres.

This government has the same agenda for everything - get it done for free by someone else. Don't raise taxes, get everyone to vote Tory again, make more cuts to social care, get more volunteers to do everything they should be doing for free. Bunch of cunts.

I watched this last night. One thing I couldn't understand was why the woman would be moved from London to the north-east. I can understand the mentality behind moving people from London, but why not move her to somewhere where there are jobs, ffs? It just seemed absolutely pointless to move her to an area of high unemployment.

I saw it at the cinema when it came out, having been warned how harrowing it is from the Cannes Film Festival reviews. Ken Loach as with many of his other films has based it on the reality of life on the dole for many given the changes the Tories have introduced.