Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
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Spin, not
face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's
chosen method of communication. Ordinary
people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question
which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member
might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like
us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she
might tell the truth.
Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September
16, 2004
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Blair
vows to get a million disability claimants working
By
Jane Merrick - Political Reporter, Daily Mail, February 2, 2005
Welfare
benefits for people who say they are too sick to work are to be
paid at a flat rate in a drive to push them back into jobs. New
claimants will get £56 a week regardless of how long they
are out of work.
THIS
IS WHERE YOU HEARD IT ALL BEFORE
"It
is wrong to spend billions of pounds keeping able-bodied
people idle" - Tony Blair in 1994
"There
will be and should be no option for an inactive life on
benefit," Tony Blair in 1997
"If
people are taking money from the state they must justify
it" - Tony Blair in 2001
"The
system should be there for people who play by the rules,
if they can work they should" - Tony
Blair in 2005
Promises,
Promises!
Commentary
by Edward Heathcoat Amory
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The
crackdown was outlined by Tony Blair yesterday in a speech in
which he promised to get a million people off incapacity benefit
and back to work. The Prime Minister's words had a familiar ring
- in 1997,
just weeks after taking power, he promised tough reforms to get
people off benefit and into work.
He
renewed that pledge in 1999, warning that the level of incapacity
claims was unsustainable. Now, eight years after his early mission
statements, he is facing the same problems.
Under
the existing system, which costs the taxpayer £7billion
a year, there is a cash incentive for claimants to stay out of
work, with benefit payments rising to £74 a week after 12
months. But in what the Prime Minister yesterday described as
the 're-engineering of welfare',k a £20-a-week premium will
be paid only to those incapacity claimants who are actively seeking
work, The carrot and stick approach is aimed at getting one million
off incapacity benefit to stem the spiralling cost.
In
the eight years since Labour came to power, the number of people
claiming incapacity benefit has stick close to 2.5 million and
the cost has climbed to more than £7billion. Other disability
benefits bring this up to £13billion. Far from curbing benefit
abuse, labour has seen it escalate.
For
example, there are 159,000 more young people claiming incapacity
benefit than there were when Mr Blair came to power. Work and
Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson will today outline the latest
attempt to rein back on the invalidity budget.
Previewing
the plans in a speech in Manchester, the Premier said: "The
system should be there for people who are playing by the rules
- if they can work they should, if they can't we look after them
as a community." Mr Blair said that during
the 1980s 'many people were transferred on to incapacity benefit
because unemployment was high and people thought at the time that
was a way of concealing the true levels of unemployment.'
In
fact, Liberal Democrat welfare spokesman Steve Webb said yesterday
that under Labour this trend had actually increased. A third of
a million people had shifted from unemployment to incapacity benefits
since 1997.
In
Manchester, the Prime Minister said Mr Johnson will announce a
flat-rate payment with a premium for those who want to return
to work. There will also be more support for the most severely
sick and disabled, and nobody will be 'written off'. Everyone
will be expected to 'fulfil their responsibilities' to work if
they are able to do so.
But
critics said that Mr Blair has been here before. In June 1997,
a month after his landslide victory, he said: "There will
be and should be no option for an inactive life on benefit."
And
in 1999, the Premier said: "We are reforming the welfare
state, and in particular, we are reforming incapacity benefit.
There are now more people claiming incapacity benefit than claiming
unemployment" benefit. That situation can't be sustained."
Shadow
Work and Pensions Secretary David Willetts said of Mr Blair's
latest promises: "This is classic Blairism. It sounds good,
but he has made these promises before and hasn't delivered."
Labour's
'failure' on incapacity benefit
Daily
Mail, February 1, 2005
The
number of young people on disability benefit has doubled
under Labour, according to figures published last night.
They show that there are 109,000 more young people claiming
incapacity benefit now than when Tony Blair took office.
The
Government claims its 'new deal for young people' has
helped to slash the number of youngsters living off benefits.
But a Conservative Party study reveals that 71,000 of
those enrolled for the New Deal have ended up on incapacity
benefit.
More
than 2.6 million people are now registered for the benefit,
which costs the taxpayer £12billion a year. Despite
the prime Minister's claim to be reducing the 'cost of
social failure', the Tories say the figures show that
more than half of those claiming the cash have been stuck
on the benefit for more than five years. Publication of
the study came on the eve of Mr Blair's speech on incapacity
benefit which he is to give in Manchester today.
Shadow
Work and Pensions Secretary David Willetts said: "The
latest 5-year plan from Department of Work and Pensions
is aimed at winning headlines instead of winning the battle
to get people back to work. It is a classic piece of Blairism
- it sounds tough, it will generate a row, the Left-wingers
will say it's appalling, but in the real world, it won't
help."
The
benefit, paid out to those considered physically unfit
to work, has turned into a political night-mare for Labour
following claims that it is being used to disguise vast
armies of unemployed. The Tories have unveiled their own
five-point plan, which concentrates on enlisting the support
of volunteer and private sector organisations to help
those claiming incapacity benefit find work.
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Benefits
fraud and blunders cost us in UK £3,000,000,000 in 2004,
the same loss as in 2003 and 2002 Daily
Mail - January 19, 2005
A
staggering £3 billion was lost to fraud and error in the
chaotic benefits system last year. Despite repeated pledges from
Labour to crack down on bogus claimants, the amount of taxpayers
money squandered reached the same figure for the third year running
- triggering a furious condemnation from Whitehall's spending
watchdog.
National
Audit Office chief Sir John Bourn said last night the losses were
so 'substantial' he was unable to approve the Department for Work
and Pensions accounts. His anger was shared by MPs on the powerful
Public Accounts Committee, who branded the fraud and error figures
a 'grievous waste'.
The
scale of the problem was spelt out yesterday in the National Audit
Office's annual report which revealed that the £3bn losses
amounted to almost 3% of the annual benefits bill. In the case
of the Jobseeeker's Allowance, for every £10 spent, £1
was taken by fraudsters or lost through errors.
Edward
Leigh,, Tory chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said: "The
flood of benefit money being lost as a result of fraud and error
is not abating."
The
Department for Work and Pensions insisted benefits were being
continuously monitored to prevent further losses.
For
the health of our democracy, we, the people of the United Kingdom,
must find a way to force Mr Blair to resign
Such
defiance of the democratic process and the will of the majority
of we people of the UK, must be exposed by voters as a matter
or urgency, and not just in the two by-elections we have had this
July and the European elections in June 2004. But how can this
be done?
The
most effective way of getting our deceitful PM to resign would
be to mobilise the army of Labour MPs currently in the House of
Commons and get them to demand it, the loss of their seat to be
a penalty if they did not. All voters in Labour-held constituencies
need to write a letter along these lines to their local Labour
MPs:
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Dear
Despite
his absolute and unequivocal assurances over the past year
of the serious risk to our security of Saddam Hussein's
'weapons of mass destruction', Prime Minister Blair
has admitted, that the threat was non-existent. For that
critical error of judgement and for his gross incompetence
in handling this very important issue, I ask you to take
immediate steps to ensure that Tony Blair does the honourable
thing and resign without delay..
I
would therefore be much obliged if you would propose and
help mobilise a Parliamentary vote of 'No Confidence' in
Mr Blair which, despite Labour's huge majority, would leave
the PM with no option but to resign.
If
I get no reply to this letter, I shall assume you will continue
to support Mr Blair as our Prime Minister. In such circumstances
I shall not vote for you in the forthcoming General Election.
Signed:
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Simple,
non-violent, protest letters along these lines on a variety of
issues could be the basis for re-vitalising our democracy and
increasing voters' interest and participation in politics. Download
a printable copy of the above letter here.
There
is another way for the voice of the silent majority to be heard,
a voice that made sure broken promises would not only be revealed,
but punished in subsequent elections.
In
the year available before the General Election expected in 2005,
many topics are available as ammunition, each one asking questions.
A weapon for our purpose will be the results of Opinion Polls
in individual constituencies using ICM, NOP, Gallop, Mori
or YouGov.
Questions
suggested for this purpose are listed here.
CAST
YOUR VOTE ON A VARIETY OF OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES HERE.
Current
and prospective Parliamentary candidates of all Parties running
for election could share a platform at public forums in every
constituency. They would be presented with the results of
polls on this issue expressed by the majority of voters in that
constituency.
The candidates could be asked if their own views and that of their
Party manifesto corresponded with the polls, and if not, how they
intended to represent the will of the majority of local voters.
Local and National Press, Radio and TV coverage would be arranged
and the results published on this web site.
Here
is another powerful strategy for using your vote effectively in
the forthcoming General Election. Send your sitting and prospective
MPs a letter defining your requirements if they want your vote.
This example deals with the proposed
EU Constitutional Treaty.
Your
letters would end: "If you do not answer
this letter, I shall take it that you intend to follow the Government
line. I shall act accordingly in the forthcoming General Election.
Or
why not create a questionnaire that you send to all the candidates
in your constituency, getting them to give yes/no answers to questions
of your choice, and ending it with the same paragraph(above).
Download
a printable example of the questionnaire.
It
is high time for the people of this United Kingdom to stop allowing
themselves to be manipulated by politicians. We need our representatives
in Parliament to genuinely reflect the view of the majority in
their own constituency, even if this means going against their
personal and/or their party's policy. While they may argue their
case, hoping to change the minds of the majority in their constituency,
they should ultimately be obliged to reflect the majority view
of those who elect them.
It
will be argued by politicians of all parties that most voters
don't have the knowledge necessary to express an opinion on important
subjects at issue, and that our vote is a form of delegated democracy.
We should argue that it is their duty to ensure that we voters
do have ready access to such information as is necessary to form
an intelligent opinion. That, after all, is one main purpose of
Opposition Parties in our Parliamentary Democracy.
Most
important of all, such proceedings would rekindle in voters their
latent interest and obligation to cast their vote, knowing that
the candidate of their choice would be more likely to act in accordance
with their wishes. A much higher turnout in elections would be
the result.
Contact
your local Party Chairman. Gain his support for setting up public
forums in your constituency on these, as well as any other relevant
topics, well before the next General Election expected in 2005.
You should then, depending on the integrity of the candidate of
your choice, feel fairly certain that your view on any subject
being debated in Parliament will more accurately be reflected
by your representative in that assembly.
