Document Actions
Cuts: a really radical approach
Disabled people are likely to be among the hardest hit by the recently announced government spending cuts. In his first regular column for us, Mike Oliver argues that the coalition should look much closer to home to make savings
Now we have a government, public expenditure cuts are inevitable. Indeed some are already underway. Despite all the rhetoric about protecting frontline services disabled people will be hit in at least three ways. Firstly, there will be increases in the taxes we pay and our benefits may well be frozen or cut. Secondly, our access to frontline services will be severely restricted. Finally, the organisations that are supposed to give voice to our concerns and anger about this will have their grants cut.
If we accept that the Government has no choice but to agree to the cuts being proposed by a combination of failed bankers, economists who can't agree on what happened yesterday, let alone predict what might happen tomorrow, and fawning media commentators, then how should we go about it?
It seems only fair and logical to me that we should start with the most inefficient public service of all - parliament itself. Every year it sets its own agenda by laying out its programme in the Queen's Speech. It never manages to meet its own targets and yet is never audited in the same comprehensive manner as other public services like health and education and penalised for any inefficiencies discovered.
Additionally much of the legislation it churns out often turns out to be unenforceable. Think of things like banning people from using mobile phones while driving, controlling dangerous dogs and stopping foxes from being ripped apart by packs of "non-dangerous" dogs. As disabled people we can also come up with our own list of legislative failures; to deliver proper social care, to ensure inclusion in education and to end discrimination against us.
Never mind the marginal changes currently being proposed. We don't need two chambers so let's abolish the House of Lords. Then we could insist that being a member of parliament is a full-time job and ban members from holding outside jobs, consultancies, directorships and the like. Next we could raise money by selling the Palace of Westminster to an international hotel chain or to the oil-rich middle east.
Finally we could build a new modern parliament using the private finance initiative - after all it's considered a good enough way to raise money for new hospitals and schools. We could save further costs by building it in the north where the price of land is cheaper.
People will accuse me of not understanding how parliament works - I agree but I do understand only too well why it doesn't work. According to the Government's own figures we spend £500 million a year on parliament. My radical and simple plan could cut that in half. Even if that's not enough, if our politicians were to adopt it, at least it would show that they are willing to share the pain with the rest of us.
disability
here is one from a labour PPC who would have been an MP.
Have you not been paying attention to our Welsh Whinger always on about how ‘the newlabour’ had introduced these tests to get the ‘disabled’ off benefit, hence making his life an utter misery.
Fact is Steve, the previous Govt had already started on the road to getting people off ‘the incapacity’.
So nothing new there then.
I’m with you. We need to put everyone through the hoop, again, and establish whether they are still ‘incapicity’.
I’m sure quite a few will be found to have ‘improved’ and are ‘capable of working’.
This is how many of the labour party see people these days.
Another kick to the Disabled
I am Disabled, I don't like to use the term, simply because of my privacy and independence. I worked all of my life, however, I was medically retired by the company I worked for. I am like many others in similar situations compelled to add to my company pension as it is relatively small, I top it up with Incapacity Benefit. I have also over the last ten years applied and after an appeal been awarded DLA for which I am most grateful. At first, it was lower rate mobility, ( It wasn't until I had actually gone through successive courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy that my mobility was raised, this was three years later on renewal ) It has been a ten year period, I have worked voluntarily for something I have always felt to be worthwhile. I have become computer ate simply because I have a thirst for learning and rising to the challenge, so I now have completed an ECDL course which means I am in charge of anything from my personal finances to being able to type out letters and use my computer as a window to the world. I have three serious conditions, one is a chronic life long condition which is invisible to the general public, It is a serious condition which causes me great pain and much fatigue on a daily basis, it is controlled through medication and constant check up's. No two books are the same, some people cope with this condition better than others, there are various stages of it and I was diagnosed late and had a battle on my hands to get to where I am today. I also have a degenerative spinal condition, this was found last year by an MRI and now I am on opiate based pain medication and have recently started spinal epidural injections to see if that manages the pain as I should really like to lessen the amount of medication I take. At the moment, it is a full time job to keep up on the dosette boxes. Yes, I am having a bad day, I don't always and the reason is that I am fearful by Mr George Osborn's proposals on Disability Living Allowance. It seems to me that the 'Baby will be thrown out with the Bathwater' here. He is I feel basically implying that most of us who are in receipt of this benefit are not genuine. I am stressed and sick of being stressed. I was called in last year for a medical interview by Atos. I was so agitated. I am also diagnosed with Clinical Depression, that after my Doctor wrote to them, I was given two years to 'get over it', that was a quote from a telephone call from Donna from Atos. I have to attend so many hospital appointments for my varying conditions, I wouldn't be alive if I ignored one of them and that I just want to be left alone. DLA has given me a new lease of life, it has given me independence back, I am very grateful for this. Now I am waiting as though I am waiting in the gallows to be called in by Atos again for a medical for my IB and then it will be the DLA which will be looked into. This is all causing me much stress and a great deal of anxiety. There is an old saying that charity begins at home, I say to Mr Osborne and colleagues, that means many key members of parliament in this coalition Government, Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron, please do not be smug, look at your own house first and clean it, then put other people's right when you can't be criticised. I went out yesterday to my local shops , I felt awful as though I was living in 'cling film', I saw many people in life who were less fortunate than myself, less able and yet they were all managing some with severe disabilities. It is easy to judge people and put them into various categories, I just wish this Government would realise this and see that life isn't a bed or roses for many people who without they would not be in such a position of authority, put there by people like us, or rather usurped their way into Government through Co alit ion, My advice to them would be to tread carefully.