Down to Redhill on Friday last to campaign in the local election campaign there for Phil Wilson, standing in Redhill West. We spent the morning, in blazing sunshine and the heat, going around the more leafy areas near London Road and near East Surrey College where Phil works. A mixture of responses on the doorsteps and many people out because of the weather and the Easter weekend.
Then off to a lovely old pub in Reigate for lunch with some other local campaigners and then we canvassed one of the largest council estates in the ward in the afternoon. The sight of Phil discussing AV with a voter wielding a kitchen knife at the door was somewhat concerning - but she turned out to be a Green voter. Noticed severeal Eastern European EU citizens also there and pointed out that they were entitled to vote, one was a Romanian and I pointed out my interest and connection with Romania, having spent my summer holidays there last year and my strong connections with the Romanian Green Party.
Finally off for a quick drink to the town centre, where I met sitting Green councillor, Jonathan Essex, who is campaigning in the neigbouring ward for his running mate and then it was the train back to London. I am certain that Phil will do well in Redhill - he is hardworking and committed and has signed up to the local anti-cuts campaign.
Here is his campaign video and website. I hope that other Londoners will go down to help before May 5th.
Meanwhile I am off to Dublin tomorrow to visit family and friends and to escape the royal wedding - my local residents association are organising a street party and have dropped royalist leaflets in my letter box - Ugh! More on my time in Ireland on my return as I will be too busy visiting people and drinking Guinness to blog for a week at least.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
The Hardest Hit March - Fight the cuts to disability benefits on May 11th
Details here of the Hardest Hit March, which is for disabled people and supporters to fight the cuts to disability benefits on May 11th. Last week disabled protesters brought the offices of the Daily Mail to a halt by protesting about the way that right wing rag labels disabled people and those on benefits. The attacks on disabled people, which can easily creat the scapegoating climate for hate crimes - and there have been many examples in recent years of disabled people being attacked and killed - must be resisted.
This government, and it must be said supported by many right wing Labour MPs who supported the Welfare Reform Act, is determined to grind disabled people into the dust, to force them into slave labour, on compulsory work schemes with wage rates lower than those of the minimum wage, or to starve. We have already seen recently the scandal, finally admitted by the DWP itself, of staff being told to knock claimants off benefits for minor infractions or none, and many of those people were those with learning difficulties or mental health problems. Now the grasping fingers of ATOS Medical Services and A4E will be let loose on thousands of isolated and vulnerable disabled people, not all of whom will be articulate enough to appeal, especially when so many advice agencies have closed down and free legal aid is effectively abolished.
The government has been clear that they expect at least 20% of those on Disability Living Allowance to lose it. The ruthlessness of the government and its advisors is extraordinary. DLA is a benefit which is given not to those who are unable to work (20% of those on DLA work) but in order for disabled people to live a full life, to be able to access the workplace and to be a full member of society and live a decent life. And even for the 80% of DLA claimants who do not work and many of whom cannot work, where exactly are these jobs to come from? There is already clear evidence in the stats that employers are deeply unwilling to employ disabled people - the numbers of disabled people in employment demonstrate this - or to make the necessary adjustments to make the workplace disabled friendly. Instead these people will be deprived of vital support, creating a great deal of stress and hardship at home, and forced into employment schemes run by dodgy private companies, who are being paid a whopping great fee for putting them on these schemes in the first place.
It is a return to the Victorian Poor Law for disabled people - further evidence of this government's determination to pauperise disabled people. If Dickens were still writing he would describe it for what is it is - the oppressive spirit of the workhouse and parish beadle. I will be marching on May 11th, and I hope that anyone with a shred of social conscience and awareness will do likewise. This must be stopped in its tracks!
Here is a song from that great work of the English theatre 'The Beggar's Opera' devoted to Atos, A4E and the other vulture companies who intend to dine out on disabled people thanks to Ian Duncan Smith and Co.
This government, and it must be said supported by many right wing Labour MPs who supported the Welfare Reform Act, is determined to grind disabled people into the dust, to force them into slave labour, on compulsory work schemes with wage rates lower than those of the minimum wage, or to starve. We have already seen recently the scandal, finally admitted by the DWP itself, of staff being told to knock claimants off benefits for minor infractions or none, and many of those people were those with learning difficulties or mental health problems. Now the grasping fingers of ATOS Medical Services and A4E will be let loose on thousands of isolated and vulnerable disabled people, not all of whom will be articulate enough to appeal, especially when so many advice agencies have closed down and free legal aid is effectively abolished.
The government has been clear that they expect at least 20% of those on Disability Living Allowance to lose it. The ruthlessness of the government and its advisors is extraordinary. DLA is a benefit which is given not to those who are unable to work (20% of those on DLA work) but in order for disabled people to live a full life, to be able to access the workplace and to be a full member of society and live a decent life. And even for the 80% of DLA claimants who do not work and many of whom cannot work, where exactly are these jobs to come from? There is already clear evidence in the stats that employers are deeply unwilling to employ disabled people - the numbers of disabled people in employment demonstrate this - or to make the necessary adjustments to make the workplace disabled friendly. Instead these people will be deprived of vital support, creating a great deal of stress and hardship at home, and forced into employment schemes run by dodgy private companies, who are being paid a whopping great fee for putting them on these schemes in the first place.
It is a return to the Victorian Poor Law for disabled people - further evidence of this government's determination to pauperise disabled people. If Dickens were still writing he would describe it for what is it is - the oppressive spirit of the workhouse and parish beadle. I will be marching on May 11th, and I hope that anyone with a shred of social conscience and awareness will do likewise. This must be stopped in its tracks!
Here is a song from that great work of the English theatre 'The Beggar's Opera' devoted to Atos, A4E and the other vulture companies who intend to dine out on disabled people thanks to Ian Duncan Smith and Co.
"I proceed from a partisan family - my grandfathers fought and died struggling against an occupation."
Footage here on the life of Vittorio Arrigoni, who has been murdered in Gaza, supposedly by Salafists, who was a member of the International Solidarity Movement and who went to Gaza to support the rights of the Palestinian people. Vittorio, as he says himself, came from a partisan family in Italy and was unable to watch the suffering of the Palestinians without acting. He was on one of the first boats into Gaza in 2009.
He joins a long list of international activists who have died trying to assist the Palestinian people and oppose their oppression by a brutal regime. The pictures of the Israeli snipers firing on the farmers harvesting their crops are truly shocking. I have been invited to write a short piece for the Jewish Socialist magazine about where the Green Party stands on these issues. I salute Vittorio and all those brave people who have been involved in the campaigns to support the Palestinian people.
He joins a long list of international activists who have died trying to assist the Palestinian people and oppose their oppression by a brutal regime. The pictures of the Israeli snipers firing on the farmers harvesting their crops are truly shocking. I have been invited to write a short piece for the Jewish Socialist magazine about where the Green Party stands on these issues. I salute Vittorio and all those brave people who have been involved in the campaigns to support the Palestinian people.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Latest developments on HIV
While I work in the disability field and am often involved in disability policy (responding on behalf of the Green Party to government consultations etc) as well as having several disabled activist friends, I hardly ever talk nowadays about my own disability or have contact with others who are also HIV+. That was certainly not the case in the 90s when I was active in running a support group for people living with the virus, nor in the years from 1998 to 2001, when I was a trustee and Vice Chair of the Positive Place in South London, a centre for people living with HIV, which unfortunately closed over a year ago. My problem is that, unlike some others involved in politics, I am not a single issue person, and see health, economics, foreign affairs, social policy, equality etc as all intrinsically linked and so often get drawn into aspects of all of these.
This has been one of my busiest weeks, having chaired the London Ambulance Service Patients Forum on Monday night, travelled to Birmingham and back on Tuesday night to debate the cuts (representing Coalition of Resistance) and taken minutes last night at the Green Left committee meeting. Tomorrow night I get a night off for good behaviour:)
However, tonight I am attending a meeting on HIV - details below -which will be on the latest reseach in the field.
This week... THE FUTURE OF LIVING WITH HIV - Thursday 14th April 6.00 - 7.30
A medical up-date - with feed-back from last week's British HIV Association (BHIVA) conference.
We will have up to date news on all the latest thinking, medical advancements, developments and future research.
Dr Ian Williams (who is stepping down this year as Chair of BHIVA), Dr Gary Whitlock and Dr John Thornhill will lead the discussion
The venue will be Lecture Theatre 2 in University College London's Cruciform Building at the top end of Gower Street between Uiversity Street and Grafton Way. Nearest tubes Warren Street and Euston Square.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Disability activist's speech at the TUC demo on March 26th
Sean Mc Govern, who sits on the TUC as one of the disabled reps, gave the following speech at the TUC demo on March 26th. Sean is well known to me and is an activist in UNITE and also Chair of the Lambeth Pan Disability Forum. At a time when the government and right wing press are attacking disabled people like never before, it is very important to support them.
Sean McGovern speaks at March for the Alternative from Trades Union Congress on Vimeo.
“HELLO WEMBLEY!!!
WHOOPS – SORRY WRONG GIG!
Hello Comrades, I’m Sean McGovern, a disabled trade union activist; and, I’m honoured to be here today part of this anti-cuts movement. Which is growing daily!
Comrades, disabled people are fighting for the most basic of human rights.
• The right to work;
• the right to a living income for those who can’t work;
• the right to sustenance;
• the right to decent care support;
• the right to live without hate crime; and
• the right to dignity!
May I congratulate some of our popular media? Well done the Daily Heil, the Sun and Express, you purveyors of disablist propaganda. Along with the rubbish-end of TV and attention seeking politicians you’ve managed to demonise disabled people.
In times of recession and economic downturn governments and their media hounds need a scapegoat; history has shown us this; today it’s the turn of disabled people – who’s next?
No wonder hate crime against disabled people is on the rise.
While the bankers caused this economic crisis disabled people’s support and benefits are being blamed.
So much so that we are feeling the brunt of the ConDem ideological cuts.
They say these cuts aren’t ideological – liars!
• Replacing Disability Living Allowance with a Personal Independence Payment, with predicted savings of 20% – naked ideology!
• Introducing a draconian set of Work Capability Assessments – viciously ideological!
• Migrating disabled people from Incapacity Benefit to poverty level JobSeekers Allowance – driven by ideology!
• Removing hundreds of items from Access to Work; a scheme that earns 20% for every pound spent! – stupid ideology!
• Supported employment schemes such as Remploy under threat; thus adding to an ever-increasing unemployment queue and benefits bill – misguided ideology!
Not content with attacking our jobs and benefits they’re bent on depriving us of life enhancing resources. And calling it the BIG SOCIETY!
Day centres are closing. Council care is being cut. Direct Payments bills slashed as eligibility criteria are squeezed to critical only.
Comrades, every day disabled people are dying due to ConDem ideologically driven policies. They must go!
Today the struggle shifts up a gear! From here we must return to our cities, towns and villages to organise everyone against this ConDem regime; these enemies of disabled people, these enemies of the people – our class!!”
Sean McGovern speaks at March for the Alternative from Trades Union Congress on Vimeo.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
The Italian involvement in Libya
Recently attended a Stop the War Coalition rally on Libya, where George Galloway, in his inimitable fashion came out with the line: "the last time the Italians were in Libya they were wearing the black shirt of Benito Mussolini!" This reminded me of the film 'Lion of the Desert' which I saw some years ago and which was financed, apparently, by Gaddafi. The story of the Italian war crimes in Libya are a matter of historical record and it is also a huge historical irony, that Berlusconi's government, which includes the political descendants of Mussolini paid reparations to Gaddafi only a couple of years ago for Italian war crimes.
Even more ironic now that Italy is one of two governments to recognise the regime in Benghazi. One is tempted to say, with friends like that....
Anyway here is the clip from the film where Mussolini expresses his frustration that the Italian army cannot crush the Libyans and appoints General Graziani to mastermind his torture and oppression of the Bedouin. Has a ring of contemporary events about it.
Even more ironic now that Italy is one of two governments to recognise the regime in Benghazi. One is tempted to say, with friends like that....
Anyway here is the clip from the film where Mussolini expresses his frustration that the Italian army cannot crush the Libyans and appoints General Graziani to mastermind his torture and oppression of the Bedouin. Has a ring of contemporary events about it.
Monday, 11 April 2011
London Ambulance Service Patients Forum Meeting Tonight at 5.30pm
Tonight is the monthly meeting of the LAS Patients Forum which I chair. We are having a discussion on Infection Control in the LAS, an issue which has hit the headlines last week with reports of superbugs etc. We will also be reporting back on the scrutiny into the LAS which was recently held by the London Assembly's Health and Public Services Committee, along with the news last week, widely reported in the press about a woman who suffered serious brain damage because of ambulance delays. A full agenda yet again.
Nearest Tube and Rail: Waterloo
Buses1,4,26,59,77,68,139,168,171,172,176,188,507,243,341,381,507,21
BSL signers will be available
1) Minutes of Meeting held March 14th 2010
2) Matters arising and action points
3) Chair’s Report – Joseph Healy
3) ‘Infection Control in the LAS’ – Steve Lennox, Director of Health Promotion and Quality London Ambulance Service
_________________________________
4) London Assembly Scrutiny into LAS – Malcolm Alexander
5) Public and Patient Involvement Team Report
6)LAS Committee Reports
7) Target performance and turnaround times
Press Reports
Correspondence
Other Reports
The meeting will close at 7.30pm
Patients’ Forum Meeting
Monday April 11th 2011, 5.30–7.30pm
Conference Room, LAS Headquarters, 220 Waterloo Road, SE1
Buses1,4,26,59,77,68,139,168,171,172,176,188,507,243,341,381,507,21
BSL signers will be available
AGENDA
1) Minutes of Meeting held March 14th 2010
2) Matters arising and action points
3) Chair’s Report – Joseph Healy
3) ‘Infection Control in the LAS’ – Steve Lennox, Director of Health Promotion and Quality London Ambulance Service
_________________________________
4) London Assembly Scrutiny into LAS – Malcolm Alexander
5) Public and Patient Involvement Team Report
6)LAS Committee Reports
7) Target performance and turnaround times
Press Reports
Correspondence
Other Reports
The meeting will close at 7.30pm
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