Stop the welfare reform bill #invisibleinvincible #DPAC #wrb #ukuncut #spartacusreport

Right now I am on a train on my way to London to protest against the welfare reform bill. The bill has its third reading in the house of lords on Tuesday and then returns to the commons for final approval on Wednesday. Peers have made a valiant effort to amend the bill to prevent some of the more harmful aspects of it from passing but those amendments are not enough, and all of them are likely to be thrown out by the house of commons on Wednesday anyway.

This bill is incredibly badly written, will withdraw support from millions of people, cause homelessness, poverty, suffering, and save the country some money – the real aim. We are spending more on the olympic games than this bill will save. We are spending more on nuclear weapons than this bill will save. We are spending more on invading other countries than this bill will save. We are letting multinational companies off more tax than this bill will save. This bill is so awful that even former members of the Thatcher government have voted against parts if it.

The biggest problem that we have in opposing this bill is that people just don’t believe what is being done. It’s too extreme. I am very lucky to have received full support for my illness but other people in much worse condition than me have lost all support, and that is just under dwp direction from this government, before the welfare reform bill has even passed.

I am not against reform. I am against this bill and the deceitful and spiteful way that the current government are doing it.

And so today I will protest. I am travelling to London at great cost to my personal health, and will endure pain and exhaustion to do so because the government have not listened, are not listening. The Responsible Reform (Spartacus) report proved this. I don’t know whether anyone will notice our protest, or if it will make the news, but I have to be there and say no to this government.

Please, tell your friends what is happening. Sign Pat’s petition to stop and review the bill. Write to your MP and tell them not to undo the efforts of the house of lords.

Please don’t let misplaced cost cutting and tabloid-style hate and rhetoric destroy so many lives.

Pat’s petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968

Protest details http://ukuncut.org.uk/blog/message-from-the-invisible

Steven Sumpter, or Latentexistence to his virtual friends, is thirty-something who is married, has a cat, lives in a broken body and is stuck in bed a lot. Steven likes messing around on computers, gaming, and ranting about politics in written form. He also occasionally writes for The Pod Delusion and Where's The Benefit?

Latentexistence

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http://www.facebook.com/edward.burroughs1 Edward Burroughs
Your protest was in the poorest taste possible. What is more you’re allowing yourselves to be exploited by UK uncut who are nothing more than a ragged mob of statist agitators.
http://edwardburroughs.wordpress.com/
Anonymous
Fantastic protest today. It’s actions like this that keep the momentum going and continue to raise awareness outside of the disabled community. This Bill is a vicious attack on the vulnerable, masquerading as efficiency savings and it has to be stopped. Also delighted to see UKuncut joining forces on this issue. Their peaceful campaign against endemic corporate tax avoidance has pulled it kicking and screaming out the shadows.
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http://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/ Matthew Smith
It will not save the country much money at all – what it will do is make other public services highly inefficient. If people with disabilities are not supported to live independently, then the same problem of hospital bed-blocking that is known of with the elderly will happen with disabled adults also. Those institutions they might need will have to be built as well, now that they’ve sold off the old ones (along with the old asylums) to build luxury flats. It’s a huge, huge false economy.