Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts

[KalokiMallow]

benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/

"News is coming in of protests and actions around the UK as part of the National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts called for the 24th January."

Are any of you likely to be attending this?
I'm thinking of dosing myself up on super strong painkillers and hobbling on over to the London one. Would be nice to meet up with some MNers?

FB event here

romany, you make some great points. You are spot on about the price of petrol. Most of that price is tax, and it is a taxation on business and people. It harms our economy. We have to get the economy moving and business booming, and milking the public and business is not the way to go about it.

agreed claig.

dont know if you spotted what the bankers bonus is did you? Absolutely obsurd amount for a bloody jobs worth!

I dont know who is worse the bankers or the lay abouts?! both are the biggest drain on society. HOwever both seem to be getting away with it scot-free as they say

I have a feeling we will see more business go under this coming year, what with the VAT increase aswell. I know many who are already struggling.

Let us pray there is no snow in the coming months, that is another thread i think!

Are you sure it isn't all your fault, Romanygypsywitch? You didn't let slip a curse, did you? [scared icon]

Could you see to the snow thing, please?

I believe that the problem we face these days and for the foreseeable future is a cultural one. Past Governments have created a culture where many people are no longer able to deal with their own problems, it's a state of mind that creates a mentality of "things are becoming difficult therefore the State must sort it out for me".

The benefit system should be a safety net...for far too many (but not all) it has become a lifestyle choice. That has to change.

I cannot believe any politician goes into politics to cut benefits for those in need but the problem that we face as a nation with regard to managing Govenment debt makes that a necessary evil.

It would be great to promise this and promise that like Miliband, Balls and the other deficit deniers are doing but someone has to pay for it.

The big difference between the Coalition and the previous Labour Government is that this lot have the guts to take difficult decisions whereas the Labour Party were (and still are) too spineless to do it.

Now if you just get a conscience and start caring about civil liberties and freedom as well.

Jesus Christ on a bike, I have already said NL was to authoritarian that does not stop me despising the Tory party and (nearly) all it stands for.

You still have not answered my question probably because like me you cannot think of one thing the Tories have done for the poor and needy (I will add specifically for the poor and needy). Just admit it you cant think of one.

Then you would find a home in the Conservative party. Dont think so, I always
had aspirations and ambnitions but I never wanted to get on by trampling those less fortunate underfoot so I could never be a Tory (pukes at the thought).

Agree with you about the bankers. The bankers are the layabouts. Their bonuses are obscene, and the great Conservative, John Redwood, as well as Michael Portillo, have said so. The bankers always get away with it. It was due to their reckless gambling, carried out under Gordon Brown's light-touch regulation that we are in the mess that we are in, and as always it is the ordinary people that have to pay the price as well as the bankers' bonuses. Let's hope that the Coalition can get business moving again.

Yes the snow took lots out of our economy. As usual, there were councils who weren't prepared, but their £200,000 chief executives seem to get away with that as well.

Good luck, I hope that it is peacefull and that others with their own agenda's do not bring you trouble as with the student protests.

Claig, the worst bit with the bankers and I have known a few in the past, is they squander the money more often than not, on mistress, drugs, overpriced drinks/meals, lavish holidays and the like, if it is any compensation I think a lot of them are not even that happy in themselves.

I hate the fact that the country is carrying the weight of the banking crisis, it is very unfair, we can't keep looking backwards it is not good for you, so we have to move forward with wisdome when it comes to bankers.

I don't know the details of the Tories' policies. LFN would probably know more about things like that. I am sure there are people who know where to google to find out exactly what their policies are, but I don't know where to look.

In my opinion, the Tories work for all of the people of the country, rich and poor. They do that by helping business, which employs us all, and by devolving power to us and removing restrictions on us, unlike the big state socialists.

'but I never wanted to get on by trampling those less fortunate underfoot'
so why did you vote for Tony Blair and his Iraq policy?

Agree BradTittAndFlange. When people earn obscene amounts of money, then they do tend to waste it and blow it. But, at least the money is spent and circulates back into the economy, paying for taxis and restauarants and beer and wine. At least the people in those sectors get some of that money back.

That's the eay of the world. The bigwigs call the shots, and there aren't many bigwigs bigger than a bunch of bankers. They choose who pays, and it is always the people.

Let's hope Osborne can rein them in, but I am not too confident that he can.

'but I never wanted to get on by trampling those less fortunate underfoot'
so why did you vote for Tony Blair and his Iraq policy?

The only time I have ever voted Labour was in 1997 other than that i have always been a LD voter, I have said this on other threads a few times. The problem is now that my "politics" does not have a natural "home" but Labour (not New labour) comes closest and have been endorsed by David Owen who in the early 1980's with the rest of the SDP reflected my views.

Trouble is I got "mugged" by Blair in 1997 and by Clegg at the last election.

"Good luck, I hope that it is peaceful and that others with their own agenda's do not bring you trouble as with the student protests".

I hope they do, the Tories only understand "violent" protests, Poll tax anyone, that worked but the Iraq march didnt.

Newwave...why were you mugged by Clegg? He went into the election stating that if there was no clear result he would talk first to the party with the most votes and the most seats...and that's what he did.

""Good luck, I hope that it is peaceful and that others with their own agenda's do not bring you trouble as with the student protests".

I hope they do"

Ah yes, helpful.

Great to here that you were a LibDem voter. they are fantastic on civil liberties and devolving power to the people, as well as working for social justice. I don't agree with their policy on students either, but as always let's remember who started the whole tuition fees thing rolling - those caring, sharing New Labourites.

Peaceful protests work, not violent ones. Headlines about violent anarchists smashing up cars etc. put off the majority of the people and are counterproductive. They only appeal to naive progressives who chant slogans about scum etc.

hear

Actually claig, I don't think it's true that peaceful protests achieve more than violent ones. Sadly.

I'm very conflicted about it. I hate violence, and am intrinsically a nice, law-abiding headgirl type. But I also read my history. We remember Gandhi's peaceful protests precisely because they were so unusual.

But I'm not expecting trouble tomorrow. We'll all be too knackered.

hammer - If i were a real witch i would be sure to cast a few spells in directions which would sort many a problem out!

Violence plays right into the hands of the state. The state always has more power than a violent mob. The media focuses on damage by the mob, but not on injuries to protesters. The public turn against the mob. That's how the students end up losing support. The media invites on socialist/anarchists with "Tory scum" written on their shirts, talking of revolution, and then sits back and waits for the public to turn against the student cause.

Heather Mills was on Andrew Neil's 'This Week' show a few weeks back. She is a millionaire and she supports the students. One of her friends went on the march. She was against violence, and wondered who the people causing violence were. She wondered if they were agent-provacateurs.

claig, it wouldnt suprise me, i often do wonder where the government gets their ideas from, and how they possibly think they can justify bringing in the laws, making the cuts and rising the costs of daily living. HOwever with the cuts & raises there comes to pay rises or further help to help us afford the daily life.

Un-employment will go up in the near future and fraud will become a thing done just to get by. It worries me for the future of my kids it really does.

Bradd why the ?

The odd response to my previous post by op.

I still hope the protests go well.

Brad, I think the OP was responding to newwave's post, where newwave said that she hopes there is trouble.

Newwave...why were you mugged by Clegg? He went into the election stating that if there was no clear result he would talk first to the party with the most votes and the most seats...and that's what he did.

Yes and he rejected a rise in student fees and VAT and wanted a slower pace for debt reduction, I know he had to compromise but he did not compromise he capitulated to everything the Tories wanted.

The pupil premium he boasts about was not new money just moving the existing money about, have you noticed he has not mentioned it since he was caught out.

This is not a coalition it is a Tory lead government.

Craig, please note the "violence" is in quotes, throwing flour bombs and stink bombs at the Police is ok with me.

I will leave the real violence to the Police as they are the experts, lets hope we dont have another Blair Peach or Tomlinson and God forbid no one ends up with a fractured skull compliments of a thug in uniform.

Charlie and camila get a fright and every plod is on the case, a kid gets his skull fractured and the plod do nothing. Tomlinson gets killed by a copper and it gets swept under the carpet.