Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Frothy and Triumphant! Oh Come Lefties, Come Ye to anti ConDem-nay-tion!

[KateMiddlet0n]

Fed up of the ConDems robbing the poorest and most vulnerable blind? Sympathetic to the squeezed middle? Have you eyes that can see the horrors that await the dismantling of our welfare state and all that is great and good in UK?

Then you're a frother. This is our safe-space to rally, vent and get organised. You are also welcome if you want to be better informed and/or do something.

#Frothers don't join - #frothers ARE. Check out the blog for information and actions you can take, like us on www.facebook.com/frothers Facebook for bite-sized chunks of frothiness you can read, like and share, or get ye to Twitter and tweet your frustrations using the #frothers hashtag or follow us @TMC_frothers.

Our blog toomanycuts.blogspot.com

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This is our 4th thread now!

I can't sleep. am too frothed up and annoyed as I started a thread on NM and cannot find a fkn link to back it up and am being told am wrong and now thinking I AM!

FFS.

A sliver of hope: m.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/14/housing-benefit-cuts-lords-defeat?cat=society&type=article HoL defeat WRB housing benefit changes.

ACTION Let's find out who the 13 Lib Dem lords and the 1 Tory and contact them to thank them and urge them to keep rejecting changes that hurt the vulnerable.

A sliver of hope: m.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/14/housing-benefit-cuts-lords-defeat?cat=society&type=article HoL defeat WRB housing benefit changes.

ACTION Let's find out who the 13 Lib Dem lords and the 1 Tory and contact them to thank them and urge them to keep rejecting changes that hurt the vulnerable.

Fricking iPhone! m.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/14/housing-benefit-cuts-lords-defeat?cat=society&type=article

It'll maybe say when they release the transcript tomorrow Kate?

I echo TapselteeriO's post and would like to add that I feel shit for having done nothing myself.

After a shit week at work, where jobs are at risk again and teaching staff will soon be subject to an observation policy that means they can be observed at any time (previously you would have 2 weeks notice). If the teacher does not 'perform' to the criteria laid out by management (not Ofsted/CIF criteria) they may face disciplinary action. Fuck the fuck off with that! It's a way for management to get rid of people by making up their own 'gross misconduct' criteria.

Anyway. I know my job isn't the shittiest job. I know I get paid much more than minimum wage and it's not the plight of poor lecturers that will win any acknowledgement or sympathy. But, there are hundreds and thousands of adults who can't read and write at all or beyond the level of a reception aged child. They are being ignored. They can't contribute to the economy at the moment but that is what they want (in my experience). They often have no voice. They can't engage on the level needed with government agencies/legal issues/housing/debt. CAB are over loaded.

Well, we all know how that goes ...

I work in FE and the students most in need are being excluded. I work in a London borough that is deprived. The is a high need for ESOL and low level literacy and numeracy courses. 5 years ago all of those who wanted to enrol were enrolled. The courses were free. I taught adults who were unable to write their own children a birthday or christmas card. A lot of those students finished the course being able to do that. All of the students I have taught want to work. They want to be able to be 'functional 'in literacy and numeracy to be able to achieve this.

This year the students who most need help are excluded because the cost of the course is too high. The college won't allow the course fee of £140+ to be paid in installments. These are students who can't read or write at a functional level. Some of them work in NMW jobs at night. The students who don't work, and want to come in the day, are having their options squeezed.

The job centre will 'allow'them to attend college, if under 16 hours a week but they also have to be seeking work. They have few child care options. They can't afford the course anyway and even if they could find the money they don't want to pay if they are going to be made to take a job before the course finishes.

The government pretends to care about getting everyone educated to level 2 but they can't see that they are putting up more barriers than they are removing. I've had potential students in tears because they just want to be able to read their children a book but we don't have a course that they can afford/fit fit around childcare/can't be sure they'll be indentured to Argos.

Article says Lord Newton was the Tory.

Tony Newton used to be our local MP. I met him socially once at a cheese and wine evening he came to which was a fundraiser for a day centre for the disabled. He does understand the need for a second bedroom for a carer or care worker. That may be why he voted against. Forgetting his political leaning for a moment he is much more realistic and in touch with life than many of his peers. I cant say much more than that without outing myself in RL.

I really want to see workfare exposed. I've been trying to compile a post, but keep getting bogged down by dearth of verifiable info - I did find some good stuff from the DWP for the workfare thread, though. Think I need to take a break from it before clarifying my ideas. I hope everyone else will do it, too.

Umm, can I just stress that this is not a party political issue? There's nothing Tory about making sick people work (without legal protections) before their doctor says they're ready for work, nor about the State paying lump sums to big businesses for getting free staff, also paid by the State. It's such a ludicrous strategy it has no political home. The benefits to our dear taxpayer are very hard to find.

In addition to the problem of workfare taking jobs off the market, to be filled by taxpayer-funded workfarers, there's also the little matter of ATOS having the right to tell you you're fit for work. I think this might bother a few people when they consider what might happen if they have a heart attack, say, or an accident. They could be told to go to work in Sainsbury's warehouse three months before their doctor says they're fit for work. Quite possibly prompting a second heart attack, one imagines.

What's more, their existing job will not necessarily be protected for a period. The employment laws are being 'changed' to mkae them less onerous for businesses.

(Those will be the businesses that get paid £5k a time to get free staff. What a hard time they have.)

Shirley if you're mentioning the deferral of jet tax "to allow companies to adjust their plans", do you want to put in a bit about the opposite happening with ESA? Or should this be a separate piece? (Sorry, don't feel brave enough to write for the blog myself just now.)

" '700,000 terminally ill to lose benefits' " , Channel 4 News.

The DWP has been sending out letters to sick people, including the terminally ill, warning their ESA will cease - before the Welfare Reform Bill has even been passed.

The DWP claimed it was necessary to spend thousands of pounds scaring the shit out of dying people about something that might never happen because, "From next April people in the work-related activity group will only be able to claim ESA for a year."

So no deferred introduction of the slashing of contributory-ESA to one-year support only.

Still, I suppose that makes sense: it's not like the sick can change their plans and make arrangements to get better, so we can't do much even with notice.

DWP webpage about this, with link to actual letter.

(NB C4 headline slightly wrong - not all of the 700,000 will be terminally ill.
Also similar article here: "Terminally ill patients told their benefits may be cut" Guardian 21 Sep 2011.)

By the way, even the FT has been strongly against the Work Programme all year.
Recent article.

The FT only gives a very little shit about impoverished plebs, but has been pumping out evidence that the programme is impracticable, expensive and does not make the providing agencies rich after all.

Which raises the interesting question: who is this insane programme designed to benefit?

I think they just haven't thought it through, garlic.

Remember the HR tax / child benefit announcement? Lots of head-desking from Treasury and the like who said, "This has huge practical problems we've known about for years - why didn't you even ask us."

I honestly think this lot are running the govt like the Sixth Form Economics Club - no professionalism at all. None.

WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY KNOW ABOUT THIS SHIT???!!!

I haven't even started on the fact that our own energy secretary has stated publicly that it's foolish to expect power on demand

The new Dark Age starts next year :(

The last one only took twelve years to happen, and lasted two hundred iirc.
No wonder I can't fucking sleep.

(ps, Tianc, that turns out to be the real reason for smart meters. I've downloaded every single one of the documents you found, and am working on it.)

I want to believe it's just idiocy or inexperience, Tianc, but I don't any more. Somebody's pulling the strings. Presumably some large-scale investors and/or their consultants.
Sigh.

Frothing over here too. Grumpy after an evening of arguing on another thread. Why do I do it? They haven't an ounce of compassion.

I haven't forgotten the Smart Meters stuff, garlic - it's bloody nagging at me and one reason I don't feel able to write for the Frothers blog - but RL is slightly too demanding atm.

Smart meters are about the failure to invest in new power stations, but also about attempting to cut carbon emissions. The lights are truly going to start going out within 10 years. Energy Sec clearly feeling the need to start softening the populace up for this already.

Gratuitously screwing the consumer wrt instant disconnection and price-based rationing is just the power companies seizing the opportunity to sneak purely commercial changes in with the shortage-management stuff.

Anyone who can bear to read more, my thread is here: "Anyone having a gas/leccy meter replaced with a Smart Meter? Something you need to know"

It's as important but less urgent than the WRB - unless you have people at your door trying to change your meter right now.

www.causes.com/causes/582492-keep-disability-living-allowance-say-no-to-reforms?fb_ref=recruiter_id%3D146415799&fb_source=profile_oneline

Just logging this as something to look at later. Will be out most of the day today so will look at writing something later on for the blog. Got 120 mile round trip on public transport to see my consultant lots of time to think then!

Have a frothy day everyone :)

Morning.

Here is a good article from Susanne Moore about uncertainty if you want a break from frothing. Very interesting.

YES. Write that blog post. It is kind of echoing what I have been thinking these past few days. Need to get it down on paper soon.

Just a thought - when we tweet about the Wealthfare Reform Bill, we should use #wrb hashtag so that others can find us.

No energy on demand eh?

Cor, Dh's not even complete yet technology degree will be worth a fortune then

Course my paranoid head says if there's no leccy then people can;t get together over twitter and FB to complain and march

But I am slowly realising my paranoid head is my wise one

Yesterday i read an astounding post by shirleyknot where she said that we are smiply losing the media battle.

for the love of all that is left, read this article it is amazing mazing amazing.

not only are we being royally fucked by the conservatives - there is this growing media contempt for 'scroungers'

the article makes the very highly excellent point that labour are doing nothing about it.

labour are lettuce. limp, spineless. if even unemployed people don't want to be associated with this amorphic unknown 'scrounging' element then we have lost the media battle and worse...we have no Joan of Arc - we have no-one to stand up for us. The workers.

becuase somehow 'the workers' means something bit Commy

The poor have no-one becuase they are 'scrougers'

there is no political system in place to help us. Labour should be ashamed. They have no real chance of getting into power in the next election by which time ED, you will have been replaced in favour of someone who might actually win.

labour political stratgy ma kes no sense.

the Tories have gone blue, bluer than blue - there is no grey here mr milliand. We all know what they stand for

What do you stand for my chinese leaf shaped friend? becuase from where i'm standing ...and i want to believe in you like an 11 year old wants to believe in a santa they know doesn't exist ...you stand for nothing.

you don't stand for the poor
you don't stand for the workers

are you just standing for the sake of getting power one day? SHAME ON YOU. SHAME -ON- YOU

Hunty for your figures, if your child currently gets MRC DLA you get a premium of £52.21 per week on your tax credits. If your child gets HRC DLA you get a premium of £73.27 total.

Under UC if your child gets MRC DLA the premium is being CUT to £25.95 per week, and for HRC it will increase slightly to £74.50.

Given that the difference between MRC and HRC is whether or not your child sleeps (and actually Rhys doesn't yet I still only get MRC) it's a bit shitty really.

figures above from here

Custy
I have been saying that for years.

Where is the alternative?

And why are the conservatives better at propaganda than the left?

But it is not just Labour, I have noticed the same in other countries.

I think it because the right have the easy, populist answers. It is the benefit scroungers/immigrants/gypsies...