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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Twitter Twitter.com/tmc_frothers

This is our 4th thread now!

I bet that key meter is still £££ more than you'd pay by direct debit. We have the house v warm and because there's almost always someone home we use a lot of electricity and we'd still never come close to the amount you're paying.

marking my place....

Is anyone else over-using certain words? Disgrace and immoral in my case.

Latest blog post going down well on Twitter

been checking out the blog again

it gets better every time i see it

Agree Kate. We use a lot of electricity. I am home all day, use tumble dryer every day, no bugger ever switches lights off (and we think there is something wrong with the electricity supply cause we go through light bulbs like nobody's business.

Hunty I'm looking at a company called EBICO - they are a non for profit gas and electricity supplier especially aimed at low income families. I've just posted on chat for opinions on them. Maybe they could help you? I'm actually in credit to British Gas as the weather has been so mild this autumn so I'm in a position to move!

Will do some Googling on that one - it's not one I have ever heard of, even when doing my comparisons...

WOW! They are a LOT cheaper than my current company, for gas at least. Like £20 a quarter cheaper. Only problem is - I have signed up for that £120 off your gas bill thingy, and if I change company now, I'll not get it. I will have to remember and swap when I can though!!

I am going to fish out my leccy statement (They send you a statement telling you how many KwH you have used) and see how much for leccy.

The one thing I find is that most fuel companies expect you to use less electric and more gas - whereas my consumption is the other way round.

I can't sleep so back to business. My comments are in bold:

• Student fees
• Public sector workers terms and conditions (otherwise known as moving the goal posts after the match has started)
• Women (Fawcett society have good stuff)
• Sure Start
• NHS
• Erosion of employment rights
• Removal of EMA
• Removal of universal child benefit
• Unfair changes to DLA
• Unfair changes to ESA assessment
• Workfare
• Withdrawal of Connexions services
• Privatisation of our schools via free schools and academies
• PFI
• Energy companies making a profit out of the poor.
• Cuts to benefits for disabled
• Cuts to benefits for working poor

12 Drummers Drumming Military cuts or *Sure Start

11 Pipers Piping Scotland What about Scotland?

10 Lords-a-Leaping House of Lords and the impact they can have on the Welfare Reform Bill and Health & Social care Bill and what we can do? ie which Lords might be receptive to influence??

9 Ladies Dancing students stripping to pay fees ?? How the cuts disproportionately affect women??

8 Maids-a-Milking Support cuts for midwives/BFing counselling? NHS reforms with a focus on how services are allocated on political lines not clinical need

7 Swans-a-Swimming 7 water companies AS this comes the day after another utility perhaps feature 7 Lib Dem election promises that have gone by the wayside or 7 Lib Dem politicians who are coasting along nicely in their ministerial jobs who need reminding of their pre-election promises and where their conscience resides.

6 Geese-a-Laying - Six fuel companies laying....a land of fuel poverty

5 Gold Rings Olympics - costs while cuts this is a brilliant idea

4 Colly Birds 4 bailed out banks ?? DLA cuts? 4 corners?

3 French Hens 3 Henchmen (Callmedave, Boy Gideon, Pinickio Clegg)?? How about 3 fat cats/organisations who are enabled by the government either via Workfare, PFI or selling off assets (like the solvent bit of Northern Rock) for buttons??

2 Turtle Doves 2 milibands How about something a bit less obvious, taking the imagery of the turtle dove and what it represents (love and loss) and twist it a bit to a comment on the coalition? A comment on the "romance" and make the point that without the coalition none of the cuts could be pushed through so quickly and so agressively?

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree. and a useless Labour parteeeeeeeeeeeeeee That is genius idea. It's a shame it comes first because it would go so well last as a summary

Actually, Kate I think that the partridge is great as an opener.

We are not just complaining about the ConDems, we are apolitical.

Maybe we could get BIWI to do that day. Or someone who is a long term labour supporter. I am but not officially.

I was forgetting that we were starting that way around. Doh

I'd like to do the first or the second days, as they are the general politics waffle ones.

Anyone want to sign up for the others?

Clare from FreeYourParenting will do the midwife / breast feeding one. Will pm you, Kate.

Hunty
If you don't have time to do the electricity one perhaps we can use you as an example of why this is all so fecking unfair. And how the bastard energy companies are ripping off the poorest.

Anyone a LIB DEM voter who could take on the 7 - seven broken dreams

Remind me to look up national sports councils tomorrow. I used to work for one, in the outdoor centre. Be interesting to see if their budget has been cut.

Or school sports.

Outdoor centres.

Just noting down ideas. Shout if you have other ideas

Link on sports council cuts news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/9111865.stm

Olympic budget
www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2011/12/we_learned_two_things_about.html

Gerry Sutcliffe's speech in HoC last week

m.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/debate/columnists/gerry_sutcliffe_a_betrayal_of_olympic_promises_on_sport_in_schools_1_4060988

Typical. Funding for opening and closing ceremonies found but no money for school sport.

Especially when the poor are being hammered for being bad parents/having obese children etc

How many people can afford to pay for the after school clubs ?

I had a convo on twitter recently about this.

Hypocritical to celebrate sport at the Olympics and slash funding for kids

Not that I am generally against the olympics but there is a big keeping up with the jones thing going on. That every games must e bigger and better and more spectacular than the last.

Instead of saying, right we are in the middle of a recession, the Olympics will go ahead but we won't be spending 2m on fireworks for the opening and closing parties.

Just popping in to say well done for trending on twitter y'day!

As an explanation of why I think a military topic would be good if we want to be apolitical then forces spending is usually considered pretty right wing and if bases close in rural areas can be very dependent. Research required cos it's all dragging on.

Sorry I meant local economies can be v dependent

YY, feel free to use me as an example. . Just got about 1,000,000 things to do. I'm still frothing - but Christmas is creeping up and yelling in my face!!

6 geese a laying - Boris just said something on Marr about city and not killing goose that laid golden eggs. Didn't hear it, was talked abt on twitter

"Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred.” Vaclav Havel

Can't imagine any of the ConDem numpties coming anywhere near his standard.

Needs more on benefit cuts, esp disabled children related

I think we've written a lot on the blog about the cuts and the disabled. While it is absolutely right we cover it, it's really important the other stuff gets a look in too. The Lords section covers it explicitly and points 2, 4, 7 and 9 will likely make considerable reference to it as well.

MmeL I meant it's a shame the bit about a lack of opposition isn't last (due to the way the rhyme is) because it would have been good to have the previous 11 days to refer to and make the point that without a proper opposition then all the horrors of the previous 11 days will go through unchallenged. Completely a-political; without opposition too much power is given to the government and allow things to slip past the public's notice (regardless of who the parties are).

Katie fair enough
Useless Labour parteeeee will be the very last line counting down from 'On the 12th day of Christmas....'