Nice calming photo before the rant…..

Politicians in designer power suits, talking platitudes and manicured slogans. On their 6 figure pay checks, with second or third lucrative jobs plus more than generous expenses, gold standard protected pensions. Dressed to kill while they announce drastic cuts to disability benefits hitting many of the most hard pressed and struggling members of our society.
Spin Doctors please note, it’s not a great look seeing politicians smiling to camera while announcing disability cuts….
Can’t quite put my finger on it….. Something not quite right about this in my mind…….
Yes this is a Labour Government who has spent the last 10 years howling with protest whenever the previous Government went anywhere near welfare cuts, taking the moral high ground. At least the Conservatives are upfront about it, if they can could get away with it, they would cut.
Listening to the politicians, they seem to have no idea about the real lifes many in the country are struggling with each and every day. In politician world many receiving benefits are just avoiding work, exaggerating disabilities, over playing the impact of mental health issues and are clearly a burden on society, holding the country back.
Deep sigh.
Benefits don’t lead to a life of leisure, rather they allow people just to survive. Even with benefits many in society are living on the edge or beyond. Plus the process of trying to get those benefits is laborious, taxing and angst filled. The system is already stacked against claimants. The ‘cut benefits and suddenly people will get a job’ tag line just isn’t the reality for many. Health, Mental Health and Social Care support is patchy, overstretched, chronically underinvested and in many areas, NONE EXISTENT. Many are having to give up work or reduce hours to care for loved ones as a result of the lack of support. Now even these carers are facing losing the meagre care allowances they currently receive. So if these carers are now financially forced to stop caring, who then looks after those you need full time home support.
Unless this can be reversed or properly thought through, this is going to be a nightmare for many in our country.
Definitely deep deep sigh.
I hear you Gary. Hubby lost 65% of his disability allowance because he could touch his pinkie to his thumb at his assessment. His mobility is shit, so he only gets the basic of £28.70pw which is going up by a whole 50p a week in April. Even that is in jeopardy now. There are other ways of saving millions of pounds A DAY if someone just had the balls to turn the boats around. Sounds harsh, but we have friends in their 80s who are struggling and have lost their heating allowance and cannot get other help. Then we know of a couple younger than us who have just got a brand new car on the mobility scheme, had an electric charge point installed on their drive, had a new boiler, solar panels, new bathroom and an extension ALL FREE because they are on benefits. Her daughter lives with them already and her son has also moved in with them as they have a four bedroom house now, and both are on benefits too. The system is so unfair. We are managing OK at the moment , but to see our friends in such dire straits and then this family in comparison makes my blood boil.
The politicians have no idea of real people and true life as they fill out their expenses forms and get their allowances for second homes etc etc.
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That’s so wrong. How they use one or two arbitrary tests and don’t do a proper assessment. It’s something a Psychologist moaned about with Adult Autism assessments in the UK. It takes a trained expert at least one full session, probably way more to assess autism and the support which might be required. But in the UK, this assessment is carried out by a GP within a 3 or 5 minute appointment (these days often a telephone consultation). It leads to unfairness and allows the politicians to hit those who really need the support.
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The whole system is unfair and today’s cuts announced in Her from Accounts Spring statement is not only unfair but unjust, and IMO discriminating.
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As you are probably well aware, here in good old US of A we are in the throes of an apocalypse of tyranny greed that is reaching its evil fingers across the globe. Everything that is good and fair is being decimated at a rate too fast to grasp. It’s nothing short of devastating. I’m sorry you are experiencing the loss of social services in England too.
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it’s truly terrifying, it shows just how quickly things can go wrong when the wrong people get power.
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It really does.
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It is absolutely not right, Gary. And I agree, the optics and delivery are both not good looks at all.
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Today more welfare cuts announced, again done with smiles, photo opportunities and while they picked up a pay increase for themselves. So wrong.
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🙃🙃🙃
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This epidemic of putting the ordinary people through the wringer is catching rapidly. I’m so sorry Gary
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Thanks Sadje, too many countries are losing themselves.
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Indeed. Another kind of pandemic.
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Politicians here in the US are eliminating all good programs that help Veterans, children, elderly. Trump and Musk seem hell bent on removing all help whether it be the Veterans administration, Dept of Education and now moving unto Social Security along with National Park Rangers. They have no empathy for familes, retired folks or disabled. They wear their fancy suits and cut programs that we pay our taxes to make sure folks have a lifeline. If you are a woman, black, minority or disabled, they want you removed. They want all immigrants, legal or not sent back to their country. All high end jobs in government are being filled by the most unqualified white men…like JD Vance who cannot even use his real name of James Donald Bowman, but is the VP who succeeds Trump if anything happens to him…Lord help us! Common sense has gone out the window and now the 35% of folks who voted for this administration are whining that “they didn’t know” what was coming…talk about not paying attention when the rest of us were shouting from the rooftops! I’m afraid we are all in the same boat with a leaking bottom no matter what country we reside in.
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I’ve been reading some of the horror stories from the US. Billionaires demanding savings from those who are already struggling. You can only push people so far before something has to give, I fear the US is really close to a truly dangerous times.
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This attitude of politicians is everywhere.😕
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sadly it is
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When you haven’t suffered, you should not be allowed to lead…
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the best leaders have always experienced suffering and know what it truly means to serve.
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It is a disgrace. It is happening over here too. Cuts to disability, old age pensions, etc. the government is shit, xo
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Sadly disability, pensions are easy targets for billionaires.
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Sit everyone in front of 10 Downing St. before the morning starts, and invite all the media. “OUR LIVES MATTER TOO!”
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The politician making these cuts doesn’t seem to understand why her accepting free expensive concert tickets while cutting benefits is really bugging people.
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Canada’s oldest incorporated company, The Hudson’s Bay Company, which started life in 1670, is declaring bankrupcy. Of its 1000s of employees, most are not guaranteed any wages owing. BUT 131 managers are all guaranteed $3,000,000 EACH in bonuses and wages owing. They see no problem with this, just like your politician. You gotta wonder how some people live with themselves.
But the reason I brought up the sit-in protest was not really for the members of Parliament to see, but for the media to see and report on. Brits love causes, and the plignt of the disabled and the cutting of their benefits would raise a big stink.
Politicians hate big stinks!
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You’re absolutely entitled to rant. I see injustice everywhere on a worldwide scale these days. My daughter was subjected to cancer at a young age and still suffering from the effects of treatment and unwell most days… but financially insecure and no help. We stare speechless at politicians giving themselves massive % rises, while making unnecessary cuts elsewhere. I understand how you feel.
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your daughter should be getting support, yet the politicians are more likely to award themselves pay increases, perks and gold plated pensions.
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It seems to me that, left or right, politicians, because they can, don’t understand the concept of can’t
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They can’t. Just finished reading Rory Stewart’s biography, it paints a truly horrific picture of politics and how our government runs.
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I feel a rant coming out as well. Bloody politicians – all bad I am thinking now.
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it feels like a few too many so called stable countries are heading towards a car crash.
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I did think about you and Hawklad when I started to hear, and I don’t even know what to say anymore. Why they REFUSE to tax the rich and take it all out on the people WHO VOTED THEM IN…Beyond my brain. Beyond the brain.
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independent assessments are talking about the changes forcing 50000 children and 250000 adults into abject poverty. Yet the politicians are saying, look the other way. It’s truly scary.
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It is just cray cray!
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I just found out that REFORM agree with Labor. If that doesn’t tell people this is a bad thing, nothing will.
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Something dark is sweeping the planet. Here we have a man proclaiming that old people won’t mind losing the pension they paid in for, that they depend on. He goes on to say that anyone who does complain will be seen as a “fraudster”. Needless to say he is a billionaire.
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you are so right, many countries are heading so in the wrong direction.
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It’s always the same. In opposition they can promise the earth because t6hey don’t have to back it up. In real life, when they are actually in power, they realise that the roads need mending, big companies avoid paying tax and it’s not as simple as they think., having said that, this lot seem particularly savage. I’m afraid the truth is that government isn’t easy and after talking big in opposition they are finding reality to be a bit more difficult than they thought.
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it’s how on one hand they say we can’t break our manifesto promises but that doesn’t apply when it’s about real people and real needs.
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If you’re at the bottom of the pile, you will stay there. If you need help there will always be reasons you don’t get it. All the good stuff goes to the people who shout loudest. We saw it time and time again on the farm – social workers sent out to cut back on services by interviewing the clients while their parents weren’t there and the kids of pushy parents getting things that other people could only dream of.
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Please hang in there, my friend. We must all hang in there to prove to the next generation that good is possible in the worst of times. xxxx
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that’s the key, we continue to fight for our children and future generations. xxxxx
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Truly contrasting reflections my friend. First, of the beautiful tree 🌳 in the still water, then reflecting upon the deep deep doo doo. 💩
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wish it was just trees to focus on ❤️
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heartbreaking…
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sadly it is
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I’m sorry you’re going through a similar shit show to what’s going on here in the US. Well, maybe not quite as crazy but shit show none the less.
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it’s like they are trying to cherry pick some of the ideas from Trump and Musk, to keep on their good books.
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I feel you on much of this, my friend. xxxx Praying and sending virtual hugs to you and Hawklad xxxx
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