Today’s the first time I’ve seriously tried to get my head around the developments in the UK on benefits and welfare since I left, prompted by Sarah Ditum’s blog post on the attempt by Tories in marginal seats to persuade Cameron to toughen benefit rules for teenage single mothers. Using the Guardian’s society coverage purely for ease of use, this is an incomplete list of what’s happened since I left to come to Australia on May 18, less than three months ago. This is neither an exhaustive list nor a cherry-picked one, and it’s biased to a single source.
- Costs soar as wealthy councils rehouse families in hotels and B&Bs
- Child and pensioner poverty reductions under Labour at risk, says report
- Britain faces ‘colossal’ child poverty bill, report shows
- Homeless? Here, have a tent…
- Food banks struggle to feed hungry as demand rises
- Bedroom tax ‘could make thousands of poor people homeless’
- Fitness-for-work tests unfair on people with mental health problems, court says
- Work Programme staff struggle to help unemployed when ‘jobs aren’t there’
- Night shelter crisis: ‘Find your own money,’ say ministers
- Welfare to work scheme failing to get people work, say figures
- Benefits cap is rolled out across Britain
- Welfare curbs ‘risk food banks and loan sharks’
- Huge rise in use of food banks since welfare changes, says aid body
- Most of London’s new housing benefit claims are from working families
- Carers facing debt and eviction because of bedroom tax – study
- Extra million people in absolute poverty since coalition came to power
- And, to cap the list: MPs brace for public fury over pay rise of nearly £10,000
I am struggling to understand what is happening at home as anything other than a war waged by some of the richest people in the country against some of the poorest.
::SToRY~MACHiNE:: Journo Startup tweet: made me see why womens equality (fem) is different to equality in that it is mainly much much harder especially in the work place which may be why bullying laws are strongest here maybe.
But is it time for feminism to change tak: to pushing for equality without so much focus on gender (thats sounds bad). I think digital media has been absolutely amazing, fantastic with the thought in mind that: thats activism; its not pretty, getting your hands dirty is usually part of the process. Muddy that water!
Is it time to change tack or more appropriately push onwards to equality in the broader sense.
– its easier
– your helping everyone as in greater surface area (solid point)
– your helping to open doors for male feminists
– your helping to open doors for women that may not be in reach of “feminisms” reach
– take a look at any industry any (its so much harder for women)
– for men there is also a lot of sexism especially in the younger years its much more apparent as the parents consciousnesses are floating about the playground (off track)
– Money and of course the game of life (more of a snakes and ladders of which your competitor holds the board) plays a huge and complex part in this. I would of made a window stylised blogger network web page for indigenous people long ago if equality was a little more present in my life. But I am having difficulty doing this alone.