Who Desires to Evict a Millionaire? On Saturday thirteenth April UK Uncut led a protest in opposition to the profit cuts and new taxes being introduced in that may most severely influence lots of the poorest and significantly the disabled in our society with a energetic peaceable protest in opposition to Tory Peer Lord Freud, one of many millionaire architects of the bed room tax.
David Freud, a grandson of Sigmund, had made a fortune as a service provider banker earlier than retiring in 2006 when he was requested by New Labour’s Prime Minister Tony Blair to overview the UK’s welfare-to-work system. His 2008 report ‘Decreasing dependency, rising alternative: choices for the way forward for welfare‘ included making use of personal firms to assist lone dad and mom and folks on Incapacity Profit again into work and for a single working-age profit fee to switch the entire vary of these at present being paid.
Many within the Labour Get together discovered his concepts unpalatable, and Gordon Brown refused as prime minister to chop welfare spending. Freud then switched to supporting the Conservatives and in 2009 was made a life peer and have become a Tory shadow minister. After the 2010 election Freud grew to become Parliamentary Beneath Secretary of State for Welfare Reform on the Division for Work and Pensions.
Iain Duncan Smith had change into Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and took up Freud’s concepts, engaged on the introduction of Common Credit score, introducing a brand new Work Programme underneath which claimants might be sanctioned, dropping advantages for as much as three years in the event that they have been judged to be failing to cooperate and making actual phrases cuts in advantages.
Damaging to many as these insurance policies have been in precept, they have been made a lot harsher by the sheer incompetence Duncan Smith imposed on the Division of Work and Pensions and his failure to grasp or empathise with the very totally different lives of poorer individuals. For him or Freud a delay of 5 weeks in receiving funds can be no drawback – their sources would appear them over and so they may simply borrow from household or pals – and even banks.
However these on advantages had no sources to fall again on. If funds have been delayed or they have been sanctioned they might haven’t any cash to purchase meals, warmth their houses, pay lease.
Famously in April 2103 after a claimant had instructed the BBC he had £53 per week after paying housing prices, Duncan Smith replied that he may stay on £53 per week. And in 2015 he “was criticised after the DWP admitted publishing faux testimonies of claimants having fun with their advantages cuts. Later the identical month, publication of statistics confirmed 2,380 individuals died in a 3-year interval shortly after a piece functionality evaluation declared them match for work.”
It was the insurance policies of Freud and Duncan Smith that led to the large enhance within the want for meals banks. In 2010-11 the Trussell Belief distributed 61,000 meals parcels. By 2022-3 that annual determine was “shut to three million, virtually a fiftyfold enhance.“
The protest was significantly directed in opposition to the ‘Bed room Tax’, which penalised tenants in public housing by lowering their Housing Profit in the event that they have been judged to have extra rooms than they wanted. It was meant to cut back the prices to and encourage council tenants to maneuver to smaller lodging – however as this was seldom obtainable its end result was merely to impoverish them. And it hit some teams significantly the disabled hardest, as they could have to maneuver away from properties that had been appropriate and tailored to their wants.
However there have been additionally different measures, together with a advantages cap which was being introduced in throughout the nation in phases to place a strict restrict on the quantities that individuals could obtain. It appeared inevitable that this may result in many 1000’s being evicted, significantly in excessive lease areas reminiscent of London, in addition to a minimize in authorized assist and council tax advantages and an finish to incapacity residing allowances.
These advantages which stay will rise by lower than inflation – a minimize in actual phrases. And these cuts have been happening similtaneously the 50p tax price was being abolished, saving the UK’s 13,000 millionaires round £100,000 every.
I went with the biggest group of the protesters, who met at King’s Cross to journey to an undisclosed location, which turned out to be the Highgate house of Tory Peer Lord Freud.
Exterior his house there have been quite a few performances and speeches which you’ll learn extra about on the hyperlink under to My London Diary. And the protesters gave an enormous cheer when it was introduced that disabled activists from DPAC (Disabled Individuals In opposition to Cuts) had visited the house of Ian Duncan Smith and likewise delivered an eviction discover there.
Extra in regards to the protest and plenty of extra footage on My London Diary at Who desires to evict a Millionaire?
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Tags: 50p tax price, bed room tax, profit cuts, profit sanctions, David Freud, incapacity residing allowances, disabled, DPAC, DWP, evictions, match for work, meals, meals banks, Inexperienced Get together, Warmth, Highgate, Iain Duncan Smith, London, Lord Freud, Natalie Bennett, peter Marshall, police, protest, Removals van, lease, tax cuts for millionaires, UK Uncut, common credit score, Who Desires to Evict a Millionaire? 2015, Work Programme
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