WTF are Frothers? Have you seen them around and wondered? Not a quiche, but a protest group. Tory, Labour, Lib Dems - Common Goal - Protest Against the Cuts

[MmeLindor.]

What are the Frothers?

The term "Frothers" came about one dank and dismal November day in 2011. A frustrated user of the parenting forum Mumsnet started a thread about her dismay at the cuts that the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government was inflicting on the British public.

She stated that she was not "quite a frothing berserker but I am getting rather cross with our government messing with the good stuff".

The good stuff - policies, benefits, institutions that had taken years to achieve were being cut for no good reason, often leaving gaping holes in the fabric of British society.

The NHS, with which we Brits have a love-hate relationship, but like a favourite sibling, we wish to protect from harm.

Sure Start, a successful scheme that supported parents who were struggling and offered children from deprived backgrounds a better start in life.

Universal Child Benefit was cut for those families who had one earner bringing in more than £44k a year. If both parents each earn less than £44k, they keep their UCB payments. This obviously hit single parents and families with a single earner hardest.

Disability Living Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance - which enabled those with disabilities to live a decent life, without feeling that they were begging for assistance or were a burden to the taxpayer.

Student Fees, the introduction of which, contrary to Lib Dem pre-election promises, means that a whole generation of young people will have to think carefully before applying to higher education.

These and many other cuts are being made in the name of austerity. We are "all in this together", but some of us are deeper in this than others.

We all understand that there are sacrifices to be made but why should these sacrifices be borne by those who already have so little?

The general public seems oblivious of the dangers being faced, they are unaware of the injustices being wrought on the already disadvantaged.

The government is winning the war of the headlines. They have blasted the recipients of DLA and ESA as scrounger and cheats so often that the general public believe it. They misinterpret data to "prove" their points. Teachers are painted as being irresponsible and greedy, while the bankers rake in the money.

The poster on Mumsnet was not alone for long. Within a few days, a group of over 30 posters had formed. They asked themselves, "What can we do?".

The idea of a blog was born. Three days later the blog had over thirty authors signed up, a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

The Aims:

• to open the general publics' eyes to the injustices being created by the governement

• to inform those who are facing cuts about their rights

• to link with other activists and charities, in order to put pressure on the government

Are you a Frother?

Come and join us.

BLOG

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Awol - decking phone

DWP asking for disabled and charities opinion on new assessment. I say we give it to them, both barrels, dont leave anything out.

here

hi - molepom!

Okay, I asked mole to come and post this here because lords vote today hasn't gone well. there were 2 votes today, both basically lost.

There will be no PIP trial period just a staggered start ,
50zr which was about making sure PIP assessors were sufficiently trained and not shite-y Atos was withdrawn?? Because the Baroness felt Freud agreed and would make sure it happened even though he didn't want it explicitly in the bill. On twitter she suggested she just didn't feel they would win and it was better to have a verbal concession than a ballotted loss iyswim.

molepom posted on another thread:

"It's not over yet. We can still fight this and loads of other propsals that will affect us. The DWP have already sent out a form to the public asking for the opinions of the disabled and charities about the propsed PIP and assessments, it shows 13 case studies so you can get a very rough idea of what is to come.

If they want opinions on it.......I say we give it to them. Download the form, print it off, sent it to them and tell tham exactly what you think of it and dont fucking hold back. Question everything you think you are not clear on, ask for details, who's doing the assessments, what qualifications do they have, what medical background do they have, whos going to support those who can not do face to face interview for mental assessments, what is going to be int he mental assessments, what about those who can not leave the house, what tasks are there, what provisions will be taken into account, compare what is better with the original assessments than to the new ones, what's going to add more stress by the new assessment...If we have to have then we will have it on OUR terms with OUR needs kept in mind, not some stupid tick box system.

Hit them with everything you can think of. We'll drown them in paperwork, we WILL get this thing stopped."

So if we can do another post on this tomorrow and get the next stage of not-lying-down-and-taking-this I think it'll help.

marking my place as I need to catch up.

One more thing before I log off for the night....

Pat's petition is still getting a lot of signatures, even after the vote, people out there are not happy about this at all.

Keep up the pressure, dont let it slip, send it everyone you can think even if you havent spoken to them for years.

If Pats petition get's 100,000 signatures then the entire thing HAS to go back and be debated on again.

Tories were scared, Lord posted on Twitter he saw people tonight he hadn't seen for years, they almost practically dragged people out of their coffins to vote against it, they are scared and they know it's wrong and best of all...they know they've had it and their days are numbered.

Email MP's, if we get enough Labour Mp's in power in various areas in local elections, they can force a vote of no confidence. It's hard but nothing worth doing ever is right? I know it's Labour but it's a way to get the current government OUT OF CONTROL.

. The DWP must have believed me - they paid my IS today, and the backpay. So I have paid of half of the provvy loan, and I will pay off the other half in a fortnight, as I REALLY don't want it hanging over me. Why they have to cause me so much stress etc, for doing bugger all wrong except trying to do the right thing for my dc by helping them to build a relationship with their father, is beyond me.

On the plus side, it has been the push my Ex-P needed to move out of his current rented room into a studio flat where he will have room to have DS2 and DS3 to stay, so I might get a much needed break from the dc soon-ish, when he finds somewhere affordable(ish).

I wouldn't know how to do all the techy stuff to set up a blog - all the ones I have read look really fab with pictures and backgrounds and stuff. It was hard enough for me to work out how to put a blog post on the TMC blog! (Talking of which, now my computer is back up and running, I'll try to sort out the UC post which I've been trying to do since before Christmas for Friday, as I have a few hours free on Thursday - sorry for the delay!).

I asked in the Jobcentre if there was a computer course I could go on, like ECDL or something, and they told me that ALL they would pay is the course fees. So no help with childcare or transport costs, and they are ignoring the fact that the only place that runs them in my town is TWO buses away, with a 1hr15min journey to get there. And the course ONLY runs on a Tuesday, either 9am-12pm, or 1pm-4pm. None of which is very helpful when I have to do school runs at 9am and 3pm and I strangely lack the ability to clone myself in order to be in two places at once. I KNOW that when I DO look for work, my lack of computer skills will seriously hold me back - but I can't do anything about it!

I'll be honest, I have been too scared to look into exactly HOW the benefits cap will adversely affect me personally until now, but OM's post has got me thinking. Is the cap going to be by town, county, council area or what? And how would you find out what the LHA maximum for each property size is going to be set at for where you live? As I have had no information from my Council's HB department. There's nothing on their website either.

I am concerned because I am in the most expensive postcode area in my town, and I am TIED to this estate by a court order (or prohibited steps order to be precise) that means I am NOT allowed to move further away than a given radius, and I am NOT allowed to change my DS1's school. Rents on my estate are up to £50 a week higher even in Council accommodation, £70 a week higher in Housing Association properties, and a stonking £140 a week higher than anywhere else in my town in Private Rented accommodation.

But if I try to move house to get a cheaper rent, due to being unable to drive due to my epilepsy, I won't be able to keep the dc in the same school, and I would be in breach of Court Order, which will mean that I can be imprisoned AND lose Custody of my DS1. Where will it leave me, and how do I find out? Because there is NO spare money to pay a rent top up of even £10 a week in my budget - not if we still want to eat.

SO PLEASED you got your pay, Hunty!! Phew! Also good news about XP, you better nag him gently ...

See if you qualify for a LearnDirect course that fits your needs. Courses & criteria vary by area. If they've not got anything that's right for you now, you can email them and register a request. I did one of theirs; they're good.

molepom, thanks for the suggestions. I will do the form and will also email people I've not spoken to for decades with Pat's Petition.
No, it's not over yet.

Hunty - I was checking LHA rates for various places tonight. Most councils have got them listed, even this useless one Sadly, there's no way I can afford to move back to London so am going to have to remain in rural hermitage for a while longer. This place isn't fully covered, either, despite a rent drop, but at least I qualify for the transition period. Argh.

If you're not fully covered, I think you should contact all the charities to do with yours & DCs' conditions - ask for advice on special pleas with the council, and also check out the possibility of getting a rent top-up from them.

My council only has the CURRENT LHA rates shown - NOT what they will be from April when the cap comes into effect. Plus the LHA rates in my council seem to change from month to month!

Garlic - that IS where the nearest LearnDirect place is to me!

Oh! You do their courses online, you know. You're supposed to go in once a week or summat, but I never did.

the LHA rates in my council seem to change from month to month! - yeah, they do. It's in the new rules. Just in case you were stupid enough to think that poor people need to be able to budget or anything ... You won't actually know what your HB will be from month to month.

My Housing Association 2.5 bed house (not a full-size 3 bed according to the HB dept), costs me £120.63 a week. Which, right now, is fully covered by HB. However, when we get moved to a larger property, my rent will increase. Looking at what is on there for now (which doesn't include this months LHA, frustratingly), it looks like I will come in at JUST under the cap, thankfully. I am assuming that the rates have been set at near-London levels here to account for the fact that this is a commuter town, and a LOT of the people that live here actually WORK in London, thus pushing rental prices up. (I live very close to the main station to London)

That's daft though, Garlic - one month your rent could be totally covered, the next you could have to find a massive shortfall. In my town, over the last 3 months, the maximum LHA paid for a 4-bed property (what I will be housed in) has varied from £855 to £895. That's a £40 top-up some months. There's NO WAY I could find £40 a month, with no warning. How the absolute FUCK are you meant to keep on top of your rent if you have NO idea how much is going to be paid for you each month?

And, just for fun - the CHEAPEST 4-bed private rental on my estate is £1,200pcm. So even if the tenant budgetted for the minimum LHA over the last 3 months (i.e. getting £855 of your rent paid), they would still have to find a top-up of £445 a month. Or £110-ish a week. When you consider that IS or JSA is only £67.50 a week, they would have to take money that is paid to FEED THEIR CHILDREN in order to keep a roof over their heads. again.

Yet these cuts aren't going to push more children into poverty and overcrowded, substandard housing, according to the Government? What bloody planet are they from?!

And this is where I tell you all that my Housing Association has written to me today to tell me that by having more people in my house than I am allowed on my Tenancy agreement, I am in breach of it, and they are giving me 6 months grace to 'rectify the situation' before they take further action. Further action = Notice of seeking possession for breach of Tenancy Conditions. When I phoned the HA and told them that, given I have been on the housing list for a 4-bed for over a year now, and am 19th on the list and FALLING DOWN the list (applications from people who werein private rentals that are now being made homeless), and therefore will not be likely to be rehomed by the Council in the next 6 months, what did they suggest I did.

The answer - remove two people from the property so that I am no longer in breach of my Tenancy conditions, or find alternative accommodation. So in 6 months time, I will either be homeless or in Private rented accommodation that I can't afford. And if I don't take Private rented - I will be moved out of area and be in breach of my court order.

Just when you dare to think that it can't possibly get any worse...

(I HAVE booked an appointment with Shelter, BTW)

When I asked precisely HOW I was meant to remove two of my DEPENDANT CHILDREN WHO ARE ALL UNDER 16YO from the property, and exactly WHERE I was meant to send them - they had no answer. I mean, FFS!

@hunty , sorry my post scared you

LHA calculator covering all local authorities here

If you are on an assured/secure tenancy any eviction will have to go through the courts. So, I think, you could probably argue you have taken reasonable steps to avoid the overcrowding by registering on the council waiting list and it would be unreasonable to rent privately as you can't afford it. I am no expert though, so you do need to go to shelter/CAB ASAP.

It's only on an assured shorthold tenancy that a landlord can give you two months notice with no reason.

LHA is worked out on the bottom 30% of properties in a given area BUT the cap is also for ANY area. The weekly caps are:

* £250 for a one-bedroom property
* £290 for a two-bedroom property
* £340 for a three-bedroom property
* £400 for a four-bedroom property.

So if the the lowest rent on a 4 bed in your area is 450 you won't be able to afford any homes in your area.

Will be back after school run.

diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.com/

Sue's opinion of the HoL "defeat" is that it is actually a win

Fecking hell, Hunty. That is appalling.

The movable goalposts on the housing benefit is a typical Westminster politicians removed from reality idea. They cannot see that finding an extra £40 a month can have such an affect on a family.

And who will take up the shortfall - the loan sharks who will charge extortionate interest rates.

Hunty
Might be worth making contact with Stella Creasy, who is campaigning against pay day loans and calling for major changes. She woudl certainly be interested in the fact that you had to take out a loan because the DWP didn't pay. (Glad you got it sorted, btw)

LHA has always changed monthly. But because 50% of local properties were always availaible with no maximum cap tenants didn't notice.So this system actually worked.The system was expensive BUT it worked.

I have always thought, even as someone who has been reliant on HB, that it would be more cost effective in the longer term build more not for profit social housing. The tories have replaced the old system and offered no viable alternative. The only alternative, social housing, is against their ideology.

Fucking bullshit Tory dogma.

On the contrary, OM. The Tories are increasing Right To Buy, which is so self-defeating that I cannot even begin to start ranting about it.

I know, it has me spitting fire that they have done this at the same time as trying turf out tenants when they start to earn more or a room becomes spare.

They say they will replace them, not sure I trust them. In my opinion, Cameron is trying to impose a radical tory agenda at breakneck speed. I believe he will get rid of it all if he gets his way.

They cannot possibly replace them though. It jsut does not work on an economic level. I worked it out for my blog post on the subject.

If a house is valued at £200k and the resident gets it for £100k - some of which goes to the council - how is the government going to build a new house for the £80k or so that is left?

If it were that cheap to build houses, we would all be building them and saving ourselves thousands of pounds.