Bedroom tax brings council together to ‘fight for Glaswegians’
Councillors united: Representatives come together in their fight against welfare reforms.STV
Condemnation of Westminster’s welfare reforms has united the chamber of Glasgow City Council.
A motion on the reforms, especially the so-called ‘bedroom tax’, sparked a lengthy debate at the full council meeting on Thursday, February 21.
The UK Government’s legislation will reduce social housing tenants’ benefits if their home has one or more spare bedrooms.
The motion, put forward by Councillor Billy McAllister noted “great concern” for the “terrible impact these reforms will have on large numbers of Glaswegians”.
Councillor McAllister also spoke at length on the criticisms levelled at ATOS Healthcare, who carry out benefit assessments on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
From the public gallery, a member of the public shouted:
“ATOS must be dropped as sponsor for the 2014 Commonwealth Games as they are killing Glasweigans.”
He was removed by police.
Lord Provost Sadie Docherty said that the outburst was ‘uncalled for.’
Councillor McAllister proposed the council write to the UK Government ministers responsible – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith MP and Disabilities Minister Esther McVey MP – inviting them to visit Glasgow and meet those directly affected by these ongoing changes.
It was a debate that a number of councillors wanted to get involved in, with some taking to Twitter to make their voices heard.
As if writing to IDS will do ANY good WHATSOEVER!
NO TO BEDROOM TAX EVICTIONS! UK
http://no2bedroomtax.co.uk/category/demos/
Join : https://www.facebook.com/events/369488576491663/ :
NO TO BEDROOM TAX GLASGOW
https://www.facebook.com/events/574333722596462/?ref=3 :
NO TO BEDROOM TAX EDINBURGH
Glasgow Against Atos : https://www.facebook.com/glasgow.againstatos?fref=ts
11 Responses
I am very sympathetic with these comments, and, as he suggests, what if this happened to ”ordinary people” ?
Well, recently my wife and I booked a meal at a Cardiff restaurant to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary
We, a standard middle age, middle class couple of 16 years, rarely venture out as, due to a pavement fall 7 years ago (the City Council cheating me out of any compensation). After 3 major spine operations am now permanently disabled with limited ambient movement, unable to walk without a stick
I spend 90% of my life in bed helped with many painkillers including Morphine and Opiates, to ease the permanent back pain
Anyway, the main course was sent back twice as it was inedible, and after a row with the Manager, he walked off in disinterest, and we concluded that we finish our glass of wine and leave
However, the Manager called the Police who, to my surprise attended my table and, though I was not unpleasant, advised of my disability and we had agreed to leave in a few minutes after finishing the glass of wine.
However, he did not believe me on either counts and very roughly handcuffed me – I still have the scar on my wrist – and, with a colleague forcibly made me stand by lifting me under the armpits – I of course fell right down. They then dragged me across the floor via 3 steps, causing me huge pain and I made this clear most vociferously
. At the door, with me now in shock, a blonde female PC looked down sneeringly stating I was not disabled and to get up, which I patently could not. There were now 6 or 8 officers around me and manhandled me into a van in enormous discomfort, still denying or checking I was disabled and took me to their Station.
I CAN ONLY EXPLAIN THE NEXT 22 HOURS AS PHYSICAL AND MENTAL TORTURE, REPEATEDLY PHYSICALLY AND VERBALLY ABUSED, STILL DENYING ME ANY HUMAN RIGHTS PARTICULARLY THAT OF MY BEING DISABLED
I conclude that the ‘Chip on the shoulder’ attitude of Police in general is endemic and something must be done.
The IPCC is not the way as, in my experience they should strike off the ”I” as they are not Independent but collude with the Police to dilute or dismiss any formal complaint.
Yours painfully
STEVE WEST
1, Cardiff Rd
Llandaff
Cardiff
CF5 2DN
07831 464064
SO A GUY GOT HELD BY THE POLICE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH.. SHAMEFUL ..
JEFFLPH
Lord Provost Sadie Docherty said that the outburst was ‘uncalled for.’ no its you lot for allowing this atos in grow some and do the decent thing before there aint any disabled or sick people left but then it could be whot you want jeff3
Keep shouting! they can’t arrest all of us, but I bet they’d like to try….
I have to admire the guy in the gallery who shouted out during the debate. He had the bottle to say what he was feeling. Politics is too pussy footed and slow to respond, given the plight of the poorest, the homeless and the disabled. Protocol is one thing but when people are dying due to these bastards,
One good fist saves a thousand words…………….
Watched Question Time the other night…..
As usual, all the topics of conversation were politically correct. Strange how they skirt around all the peripheral crap and avoid the nitty gritty!
Looking around the audience you can see the divide in our communities…..
Its so apparent it hits you between the eyes. The haves and the have nots.
The BBC are right in the governments pockets. Same with their news reporting. A late night recognition on their news page that IDS had received a plea from charities to re -examine bedroom tax on the disabled, next morning story withdrawn…..
All the hype of the lady with lots of kids living off state handouts……
Queen Victoria had nine kids, four boys and five girls and they were all handed palatial homes and lived off the state…….
None of them worked in poundland and stacked shelves and none of them failed an ATOS examination. In fact the hardest thing any of them did was shake hands ….
when universal credit comes in the riots that will happen will make the poll tax riots and brixton riots etc look like a boy scout passing round a bag of jelly babies.. the more cuts the government makes in the public sector the worse unemplyment will get, those idiots don’t know the fist thing about getting the economy going, they are a buch of fools wasting our money, i say stop payingh tax etc till they start to listen to those that are telling them what is wrong and how to fix it, whatever party gets in they all have a job for life. if they give themselves the 32% they want they are going to need more than gods help to save them from the wrath of the british public.
also i say nationalise the railways, british gas, electric etc, bring them back from the private companies who make vast profits while we scrimp and save what little we can.. nationalise and creat jobs for the british work force with decent wages not a pitance that can’t even buy a loaf of bread… remember what happened in france when the upper clases went too far, they lost their heads…
The man to protest was within his rights! Just because he dared to address hos concerns to the “untouchables” he was carted away by police. The UK is a dictatorship now. We are not allowed to do ANYTHING. And Bluesky is right… I will be surprised if there are not any hard protests when the universal credit comes in.
Forget ATOS. They are just a tool of the state to deflect attention from the real perpetrators, the DWP and associated government staff.
They have been chosen very carefully to take the flack from the ire of the electorate.
Being french makes them virtually untouchable and accessible.
No doubt about it, ATOS does kill, and its taking more lives as we speak, but their paymasters are the culprits.
Stress and Suicide caused by ill thought out, relentless attacks on the poorest and most vulnerable. A trophy to the maggots in whitehall and the mandarins of elitism.
You are being sold down the river by a group of so called medical experts at the DWP. Heading the team is BILL GUNNYEON.
His medical team are using the disabled in an exercise to rid you of your benefits, allowing insurance multinationals like UNUM , ATOSs holding company, to peddle health insurance in the uk.
Its all part of a bigger picture. Privatisation of the NHS will makeway for the likes of UNUM to operate on our shores. The links between members of the DWP and the Insurance industry are at your disposal. Investigate further, you will be amazed……….
This shower of shit are sacrificing lives…………
Even the Tribunals are biased in favour of the DWP.
FAIR
INDEPENDENT
IMPARTIAL
Of course not, we live in the u.k.
I have put in a Freedom of Info request;
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/tribunal_bias#comment-36142
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/one_sided_tribunals#comment-36160
I WONDER…………………………