Labour’s leader of North Lanarkshire Council Jim McCabe
In the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform committee – on the 26th March (yesterday) Labour’s leader of North Lanarkshire Council Jim McCabe said:
“With the greatest respect to Dundee and I respect their decision or any other council to say no we’re not going to evict …
“you’re opening a door to a certain extent to some people who may take advantage of that.”
He continued:
“What I said about councils doing their own thing – they will do that. It’s different strokes for different folks. What suits Dundee might not suit north Lanarkshire and what suits the highlands might not suit the borders, in all instances. …
“Councils will make their own mind up how best to attack this, but at least we can look at each other’s practices to see which one fits us.” (86 min)
VIDEO LINK: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/newsandmediacentre/48429.aspx
Labour’s actions hide IDS’s Bedroom Tax blushes
Condemning Labour’s failed attempt this afternoon to shift attention on the Bedroom Tax away from their No campaign colleague Iain Duncan Smith, the SNP said that Labour should be working with the Scottish Government and against the bedroom tax.
SNP Councils are committed to putting in place a no eviction policy for people who are trying to pay rent but can’t because of the bedroom tax.
The SNP has committed to abolition of the bedroom tax once the Scottish Parliament has the powers to do so.
In contrast Labour have failed to act locally and have refused to abolish the tax nationally:
1. Labour’s shadow minister Helen Goodman says Labour would keep the bedroom tax:
“We’ve said that the bedroom tax should only apply if people have been offered a smaller place to live and turned it down because, obviously, it is better to use the housing stock more efficiently.”
[BBC Daily Politics, 11th March]
2. Tory/Labour councils in Aberdeen and Falkirk have refused to follow SNP-led Dundee and prevent evictions where people affected by the bedroom tax are trying to pay their rent.
Labour councillors in Dundee opposed the SNP administration’s decision to stop evictions where efforts to pay are being made.
3. Labour councils do not want national legislation – In the Welfare Reform committee – on the 26th March (yesterday) Labour’s leader of North Lanarkshire Council Jim McCabe said:
“With the greatest respect to Dundee and I respect their decision or any other council to say no we’re not going to evict – you’re opening a door to a certain extent to some people who may take advantage of that.”
He continued:
“What I said about councils doing their own thing – they will do that. It’s different strokes for different folks. What suits Dundee might not suit north Lanarkshire and what suits the highlands might not suit the borders, in all instances. … Councils will make their own mind up how best to attack this, but at least we can look at each other’s practices to see which one fits us.” (86 min)
4. Labour’s leader and their Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie have not signed the petition calling for legislation, despite claiming today that they support it.
Speaking after Labour attempted to cover up their failings with a call for emergency legislation, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart – who sits on the Welfare Reform Committee – said:
“The SNP is opposed to the bedroom tax and with the powers of independence we will scrap the tax in Scotland.
“Today the man responsible for the bedroom tax is in Scotland and should rightly be taken to task for the damage the bedroom tax is doing.
“Instead, Labour have tried to cover up for their no campaign colleague with an ill thought-out, misleading and cack-handed attempt to attack the SNP.
“Responsibility for the bedroom tax lies firmly with Westminster and a UK system that means it can be imposed on Scotland despite the objections of a majority of Scots MPs.
“Without the powers of independence the Scottish Parliament cannot stop the bedroom tax, but we can and we will do what we can to help those affected. That’s why SNP councils will put in place no eviction policies and the Scottish Government has provided funding to help those affected.
“I welcome genuine opposition to the bedroom tax from Labour – but until they understand that it needs scrapped completely and the Scottish Parliament needs the powers to scrap it, then they are simply covering up for their no campaign colleagues.”
SEE ALSO: Salmond says SNP councils will fight ‘bedroom tax’ BUT No2BedroomTax Campaign responds that ‘it is not enough’ and that the Scottish Govt. must ‘protect all Scots’ Posted on March 23, 2013
Bedroom Tax ~ ‘The Scottish Government must stop playing politics with disabled people’s lives’ ~ Black Triangle Posted on March 7, 2013
23 Responses
Labour were formed long ago to be the champions of the Working Class, now it appears they have reneged and disserted a sinking ship. Whose going to be the champions of the working class now?
The working class Charles! Yes, the working class are their own heroes. If you seriously think that Labour has only now deserted the flock then take a good look at the history of the Labour Party.
In truth, the Labour party like the other mainstream parties have never been socialist, they like to make out they are and that they support the working class, but in reality, they are nothing more than a big con.
As for Jim McCabe’s comments? Well, have you ever heard such a piece of nonsense. It sounds like he couldn’t think of a decent thing to say and waffled till the cows came home, digging a bigger hole for the Labour party in the process.
The working class have wakened up to the fact that they can control their own destiny, without the Labour party.
What is the working class? How do disabled and unemployed people fit into that definition?
The Peoples Assembly will do.
according to this government everyone as a spare room and no one gets or as illnesses/disability money money was that abba or condems
Just to let you labour councilors or members of the rip Britain parliament am ok jack you support the Thatcher government yes the Thatcher government you will never get the support of the Scots people again I will vote for two parties u kip or BNP ya bunch of corrupt scum
UKIP are worse and BNP are Nazis though.
for long enough now when dealing with officialdom it has been assumed that everyone has a driving licence, a passport, in other areas its assumed everyone has a TV and computer.
not so. i have neither a driving licence nor passport…nor have i ever had either. my son and countless others i know have no TV,(either they cant afford the licence or simply do not watch TV. i rarely watch it myself these days.)and i know a good few people who dont own a computer, a lot of them dont WANT one.
now its assumed apparently that, as Alan says above, everyone as a spare room and no one gets or has illnesses/disability …………..oh and dont forget that all on benefits are shirkers or scroungers.
a lot of assuming going on in official places dont ya think? but its not new..most of the above has been going on for around 20 years,possibly more.
Labour stance is purely anti SNP because they know that scottish voters have lost faith in the present blairite labour party and fully realise thst SNP offer more for the common man. They also know that with independence in Scotland, they will be wiped out at the polls. Alex Salmond has done more for Scotland and her people during his tenure than the labour party have in thr past 100 years.
hugosmum70……………..to true!!!
The reason David Milliband deserted was to distance himself from his cowardly brother and the merchant wankers who have lowered the standards of Labour to zero….
Yellow would be a more appropriate colour with a few white flags thrown in for good measure…..
If we ever needed the Labour support, its now!
Its reminiscent of being on death row and hoping for a reprieve……………
Instead of the sound of the bugles and the cavalry coming over the hillside we have clowns in baggy checked trousers, scurrying like cockroaches………
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Firstly, the Dundee SNP policy is not a No eviction policy – you can be evicted if you refuse the offer of a smaller property, and secondly it is only for 12 months. The Labour group on Dundee City Council put forward a motion calling on the council to get the Government to change the legislation – as they are able to do — but the SNP refused to do so.
Also, it is now the official Scottish Labour position to demand legislation to prevent ALL Scottish social tenants from being evicted – but the SNP say they dont want to do this – they prefer to scare people into voting Yes in 2014 by uding the Bedroom tax for their own political reasons. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21945242
They knew this was coming, THEY KNEW!!!, it was planned to happen, they only built THREE council houses in the whole of Scotland between 1982-2007.
Why did they do this ?, they KNEW what/where it would lead too!!!, they KNEW what the consequence’s would be, something is going on, there is something else behind all this, things don’t happen by accident, what have they in store for humanity ?.
I have thought and thought about all this, the ONLY reason I can come up with is that global resources are in a far worse state then we think, there is not enough left to keep things going as we have been used to in the past. All this is a global power grab to keep a system in place that is controlled by the few that have always been in control and have NO intention of allowing another system to take over. If I am right you truly have seen nothing as to what is going to happen in the near future, God, I hope I am wrong, but, with the best will in the world I can’t see ANY other reason for what is taken place before our eyes in so many ways…
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
“We have a financial system that is run by private shareholders, managed by private institutions, and we’d like to do our best to preserve that system.”
Timothy Geithner US Secretary of the Treasury, previously President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.1/3/2009
We need a new left wing party,a proper left wing one. If the right wingers can form UKIP, why can’t the left wing form the left wing equvilent?
UKIP was formed by a tory millionaire, I can’t see any of the labour millionaires starting a new left wing equivalent sadly.
Social housing in Scotland is in a bad state as the the South of England with people having no choice but to pay extortionately high rents in the private rental sector for substandard accommodation which offer no security of tenure and mostly refuse to house tenants on HB, a very profitable situation for greedy landlords.
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” – Thomas Jefferson
http://www.sarahglynn.net/images/Mass%20Demolitions%20and%20Growing%20Housing%20Waiting%20Lists.pdf
http://www.themoneymasters.com/the-money-masters/famous-quotations-on-banking/
“Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland not exempt from threat of National Health Service destruction”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/03/28/scot-m28.html
[…] Labour refuse to support Dundee SNP Council’s No Eviction Policy or the abolition of the Bedroom T… Posted on March 27, 2013 […]
The SNP keep harping on about their oil, do they know how far English waters reach?
Also that’s not their only problem.
http://forargyll.com/2013/03/snp-boxed-in-corner-over-northern-and-western-isles-independence-move/
“In 1999 Tony Blair, abetted by the Scottish traitor Donald Dewar”
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/01/scotlandengland-maritime-boundaries/
Very interesting article Annos.
“Labour wants welfare to help those who ‘play their part'”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22056212
jim mccabe,looks like mr grumpy!!,,,,,,,get a life mate,and help your scottish brothers and sisters!!!!!!it seems you and all your dimwitted cronies have no compassion,or any morality,,,,,is it because you are defeated people, who cannot admit defeat????,but will let people suffer,you should (all)be ashamed!!!!!