Guy Standing on IDS’ Personal Welfare Dependency

Beastrabban\'s Weblog

I found this description of Iain Duncan Smith’s hypocrisy in orchestrating a reduction in state support for the poor, while doing all he personally can to gain as much of it himself in Guy Standing’s A Precariat Charter: From Denizens to Citizens (London: Bloomsbury 2014):

Iain Duncan Smith, UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has led a robust campaign against benefits for the poor and precariat, saying he is determined to reduce state dependency and end the ‘something for nothing’ culture. Meanwhile, his own state dependency dwarfs that of any of his targets. A trust run by members of his family has received over £1 million in EU agricultural subsidies in the past decade, in addition to the various tax breaks farmers receives, courtesy of an estate of 1,500 acres inherited by his wife. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy is regressive, since the primary beneficiaries are large landowners…

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Benefits and Work Newsletter: Revealed, Truth About Atos Death Threats

kickingthecat

ESA NEWS
Benefits and Work has obtained documents via the Freedom of Information Act that may undermine claims by Atos that its staff were the subject of nearly two thousand episodes of assault or abuse, including death threats, by claimants in 2013 alone. Atos used the claim to justify wanting to exit early from the contract to carry out work capability assessments (WCAs).

This was, by any standards, a very serious accusation.

Characterising thousands of sick and disabled claimants as violent thugs that Atos could no longer expose its staff to is likely to have increased the level of prejudice against benefits claimants. It may even have contributed to a rise in the number of violent hate-crimes committed against disabled people.

Benefits and Work, however, has now obtained a month-by-month breakdown of all the incidents of violence and abuse reported by Atos to the DWP throughout the whole of 2013…

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Judge refuses DWP leave to appeal ruling on Universal Credit reports

Campaign4Change

By Tony Collins

An information tribunal judge has unexpectedly refused consent for the Department of Work and Pensions to appeal his ruling that four reports on the Universal Credit programme be published.

The ruling undermines the DWP’s claim that there would be “chilling effect” if the reports were published.

The judge’s decision, which is dated 25 April 2014, means the DWP will have to publish the reports under the FOI Act  – or it has 28 days to appeal the judge’s refusal to grant consent for an appeal.  The DWP is certain to appeal again. It has shown that money is no object when it comes to funding appeals to keep the four reports secret.

In 2012 John Slater, who has 25 years experience working in IT and programme and project management, had requested the UC Issues Register, Milestone Schedule and Risk Register. Also in 2012 I requested a UC project assessment review by the…

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Jobcentre adviser: “The reforms have been designed to hide the numbers of unemployed.”

Nigel Farage was thrown out of a pub in Bath today:

Pride's Purge

(not satire – it’s the UKIP!)

Nigel Farage and his UKIP entourage have been thrown out of a pub in Bath today after trying to use it to host the launch of their European election campaign in the South West:

Nigel Farage and Ukip asked to leave Bell Inn pub in Bath

The manager of the Bell Inn said UKIP using the pub for their hustings was “not appropriate”

Here’s the pub’s Facebook page if you feel like sending a message of congratulations on the success of its selection policy for weeding out trouble-makers.

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Related articles by Tom Pride:

Supposedly unemployed British builder used in UKIP poster is an Irish actor

Irrefutable statistical proof that bovine TB is caused by UKIP support and not badgers

Nigel Farage expels entire UKIP membership for bringing party into disrepute

The UKIP suspend member until his 163rd birthday (not satire!)

Best of Twitter reaction to UKIP councillor’s rant about…

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If this is a recovery, why is the patient still on the critical list?

If this is a recovery, why is the patient still on the critical list?.

The evolution of the news: from lecture to conversation

Corporate Influence and Staffing of Government in Britain and Pre-Revolutionary Russia

Beastrabban\'s Weblog

One of the features of post-Thatcherite British government is the strong influence of big business on government policy and even the staffing of government departments. Government officials are frequently drawn from corporations, where they have directorships or occupy other positions in senior management. The conferences of all three main parties are sponsored by businesses hoping to influence government policy and win contracts or other business concessions from their political clients, once they are in government. The parties increasingly formulate their policies according to think-tanks, formed by and representing the views of particular industrial or corporate interests. Private Eye for years, since as far back as the ‘sleaze’ of John Major’s administration, has documented the way corporations and their employees have permeated government institutions. This has most often been done with the specific intentions of reducing or blunting government regulation of industry. Thus you can find the presence of various senior…

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What UKIP Won’t Tell the Voters: The Fascistic Illiberalism at the Heart of the Party

What UKIP Won’t Tell the Voters: The Fascistic Illiberalism at the Heart of the Party.

£31 BILLION lost by Whitehall waste

Politics and Insights

According to the Times, the calculated waste by Whitehall is more than double the £15 billion cuts planned for 2015 onwards, as recently announced by George Osborne.

Details originally posted here: £31 BILLION lost by Whitehall waste.

Throwing money away through incompetence. And it’s our money!

Government departments have wasted over £31 billion in the past two years according to an investigation by the Times.

Analysis of over 70 reports from the National Audit Office and parliamentary select committees shows wasteful overspending in areas such as welfare and capital projects and farm payments.

According to the Times the calculated waste is more than double the £15 billion cuts planned for 2015 onwards, recently announced by George Osborne.

Where the money went to:

Analysis of over 70 reports from the National Audit Office and parliamentary select committees shows wasteful overspending in areas such as welfare,  capital projects and farm payments.

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