Cooking with Tories

 The latest trend I'm seeing from Conservative representatives is that if poor people knew how to cook properly they wouldn't be facing the cost of living crisis. The Tories that are saying this are clearly living in a High Looking down on the plebs with displeasure.

They have clearly never been in a situation where when you are paid the bare minimum you can get towards the end of a month and face a regular panic. You scrape together all the change you can find to maybe buy enough food, and basic provisions at that, to last until pay day. Or maybe it is to go unto your electric key or gas card for you prepayment meters, or maybe to see if you can afford to get to work. This is not a new occurance it is something I faced at times around 2008.

It was not caused my me not being able to cook. In fact I was not purchasing pre-cooked meals as it was cheaper to buy ingredients to cook. I had a selection of all the dried pulses you could imagine and ate a largely vegetarian diet as meat was so costly. In fact when I was forced to live like this I did spend longer before going to the shops working out how to balance my diet, and within my budget, that at times when I had more disposible income on which to life.

Currently the sitution is dire. There are people whose fuel bills have gone up so much that they are having to ask their energy companies for credit, which is actually debt, to tide them over. This they will have to repay and therefore there is a further hole in their weekly budgets.

There food shop is already going up and the fact that there are now more food banks across the UK than McDonalds restaurants should tell anyone looking at those figures that we are heading towards Dickensian disparities between the rich and the poor.

So Tory MPs telling people how to economise or that they don't know how to cook are not aware of how much scraping around people do when they live on the edge. Food does not get thrown out it is used up, somehow. Basics are there and yes sometimes there is survival with basic bread and basic baked beans. However, when even the prices of the stables, bread, pasta, cooking oil are all subject to price rises due to the war in Ukraine affecting supply, along with a removal of the cap on energy price rises, pay is not keeping up to costs.

Yet in the Queen's Speech provided yesterday there was no major statement about how to help those in need now, nor how to prevent more slipping into a poverty trap.

How About Closing the Loopholes for the Rich George?

First there was the freeze on child benefit and the curbs on housing benefit in the budget. Plus the change in the ways that these will be paid out. Now we hear that there are plans to cut incapacity benefit. But what about the various tax loopholes and avoidance methods that the Lib Dems had highlighted George? Why are all the headline measures to cut taking from the poor like some modern day Sheriff of Nottingham?

Of course having worked in the fraud section of the Social Security Agency I know that there are some benefit claimants who should not be receiving it, but in recent months I've been hearing from people more cases of them being re-appraised and even though they have a genuine medical condition they are finding their incapacity benefit cut.

It is something perhaps that George Osborne should talk to his Equality Minister colleague as Lynne Featherstone has pointed out:

"The previous Labour government tried to get people off such allowances and my experience as a local MP from surgery is that the 're-assessment' of people claiming has been variable at best.

"We need to be sure that there is no perverse incentive to determine that someone can work when they cannot. We also need to be sure that those carrying out the assessment are good at it."

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith added to the debate on Sundaywhen he said unemployed council tenants should to be given incentives to move to areas where there are jobs. Seeing as many of them are living in an area where they have expanded family who may, or may not, be or have helped with childcare in the past, has the provision of moving to a strange part of the country been accounted for into those incentives. Also what about relocation costs? Also what if the unemployed council tenants are a couple and find work in different locations. Is Mr Duncan Smith as a Conservative going to advocating the break up of families?

Of course one of the reasons that leads to such people having a fear of losing their homes when moving, as IDS indicates, is because of the selling off of social housing in such large numbers under the last Conservative government. Oops.

It all seems that the Conservatives had not really thought through the implications of the Social Security measures before they took power, yet somehow it is their policies that are being taken to the front and centre. The Lib Dem policies maintained fairness to the poorest, because it looked at dealing with supplying such benefits to those with need by targeting the tax avoiding tactics of the rich, someone that George is clearly avoiding tackling too much as they vote for him.

So it does beg the question what are those who find themselves in need who have been turning to the Lib Dems in recent years after Labour has failed them get out of the coalition deal? Where is their fairness?

Fisking Harriet Harman

So today in (Deputy) Prime Minister's Questions Vince Cable stepped up to ask Harriet Harman about the widening inequality gap, which I'd picked up on earlier.

So in response Ms Harman said it had got wider under the Conservatives.

Well to be honest it did, but that is not the end of the story, it got even wider under Labour. Indeed the differential (equivalent to 100 times the wealth) between the top 10% of earners and the lowest 10% is greater than at any time since 1961.

One wonders just how Harriet can justify her statement that her Government have helped the poor when the opposite appears clear.

Why We Need Fairness is Two Easy Lessons

Two findings that make interesting reading today.

First up the pay gap between rich and poor is wider than it 40 years ago. Despite Labour saying they constantly doing something about poverty and helping people aspire, their tax regime of regressive tax increases seems to have had the opposite effect.

The other one I heard on the TV before leaving the house on the BBC was that family conflict not whether the parents were together or apart had more impact on a child's well being. Therefore the Conservative incentivisation, through a tax-break, to stay married may have repercussions on the child if conflict ensues.

Indeed their policy only would affect 14% of the poorest families where only one parent works full time, fail to help 230,000 children living in in poverty in one parent families who juggle work to care for them. Nor will it help 29,000 children living in in poverty where both parents work. In total four out of five adults of working age would fail to benefit from this tax scheme, as well as the above 46% of adults living in poverty are single.

Of course the Lib Dems have a message that is clear regarding both those issues. We want a see a fairer tax system. We will lift the tax allowance threshold to £10,000 lifting 4million out of tax altogether and giving £700 to those lowest paid. We'll balance it with taxes on those that can afford it and on how we pollute.

Hyslop Announcement Step in the Right Direction

Yesterday the SNP Education Minister Fiona Hyslop announced £30 million of student support of increased grants and loans. Grants of up to £1,000 are to be introduced for independent students – those unsupported by parents and mostly over 25. And she said the maximum level of the income-assessed student loan, which has a current interest rate of 0 per cent, will go up by £442.

Liam Burns the President of the National Union of Students Scotland welcomed the news saying:

"For years, we've been calling for student hardship to be prioritised over graduate debt, getting money into students' pockets when they need it most."

However, he did also caution adding:

"But we still have a long way to go. Even with this money, students will still be living below the poverty line, and we know levels of credit card borrowing and other commercial debt have increased to unprecedented levels."

As I blogged earlier this year there is still a high student reliance on commercial debt. While an extra £442 per year interest free from the Student Loan Company it only goes part of the way to pulling some students out of poverty. Ms Hyslop ignored calls for a comprehensive review on student funding by Sir Andrew Cubie, whose report 10 years ago led to the scrapping of tuition fees in Scotland. The SNP entered Government promising students that they would 'drop the debt' Deputy Conservative leader Murdo Fraser points out that to fulfill that pledge totally the current expenditure required is actually £2bn rather than a £30m drop in the ocean.

Margaret Smith the Lib Dem education spokeswomen added:

"It has taken hard work by the opposition parties and NUS Scotland to drag the SNP kicking and screaming into the best deal for Scotland’s students. Today's decision absolutely vindicates our refusal simply to go along with the government's options and campaign instead for a better option that puts more money into students’ pockets.

"The Education Secretary promised to replace loans with grants, but today's statement is clear. The SNP has abandoned this key election promise."

So maybe this is one small step for the SNP, but we're still awaiting the giant leap for student debt.

Metro Lays into Gordon....no Cameron.....BOTH!?!

Splashed across the copy of the Metro I've just picked up for free on my bus is the headline:

'Workhouses' for teenage mothers

I'd hoped that this headline was going to be seen on every bus and train across the country but the Metro site indicates that the story is carrying the more conciliatory headline 'Gordon Brown Accuses Tories of having no hearts'.

After the headline sentence in my copy of the Metro it goes straight on to lash even further in to the 50,000 family ASBOs that Brown promised yesterday.

'What is the news in that?' you may ask. The Scottish Metro goes out into the Labour heartland of Glasgow and the central belt. So I'm wondering if the two different Metro headlines are being aimed differently at Labour and Tory territory? If so does this imply some sort of unspoken, burgeoning support for the Lib Dems from the nation's biggest circulating free newspaper?

Consider You're in the Poorhouse w' All of Us

Following Gordon Brown's speech Charlotte Gore has a wonderful post, about him returning us to Victorian Dickensian Britain, not that he'll call it that of course. Also after what will be 13 years of Labour promising to reform the Lords and the Commons, we're going to have to wait for a fourth Labour term for them to fulill those promises of the spring of 1997.

So I was insired about what is a poor single teenage mum called Olive, ends up being led to one of his poorhouses by the queen dodger Woeful Monica.

[WOEFUL MONICA]

So, Olive and wean, you're coming with me.

[OLIVE (spoken)]
Are you sure Mr. Gordon won't mind?

[MONICA (spoken)]
Mind?!

Consider yourself at home.
Consider yourself a scourge of society.
We've taken to you so strong.
It's clear we've messed our lives up wrong.
Consider yourself locked in
Consider yourself making the furniture.
There isn't a lot of space.
Who cares?..What ever we've got is ace!

If it should chance to be
We should see
Some Labour days
MPs have their ways
With us?
Always a-chance we'll meet
Somebody
Who passed the bill
While their voting at the House!
Consider this house your fate.
We don't want to have no fuss,
For after some consideration, we can state...
You're in the Poorhouse
Now with us!

Consider yourself...

[OLIVE]
At home?

[MONICA]
Consider yourself...

[OLIVER]
A scourge of society

[KAREN]
We've taken to you

[OLIVER]
So strong

[ANN WALKER]
It's clear...we're...

[ALL]
Not gonna to get along

[MONICA]
Consider yourself...

[CHARLEY BATES]
Locked in!

[MONICA]
Consider yourself...

[KATE]
Making the furniture

[OLIVE]
There isn't a lot to space

[ALL]
Who cares?
Whatever we got is ace

[MONICA]
Nobody tries to be lah-di-dah or uppity--
There a hit-o'-E for all.

[ALL]
Only it's wise to be handy wiv little 'ne
When the social comes to call!

[MONICA]
Consider yourself
Our mate.
We don't want to have no fuss

[ALL]
For after some consideration we can sate

[OLIVE]
I'm in the poorhouse

[MONICA]
Yes!

[ALL]
W'all of us!

[COMPANY]
Consider yourself at home...
We've taken to you so strong.
Consider yourself locked in...
There isn't a lot to space
If it should chance to be
We should see
Some Labour days
MPs have their ways --
Will?
Always a chance we'll meet
Somebody
Who passed the bill --
When they voted in the House!

Consider this house your fate.
We don't want to have no fuss
For after some consideration, we can state...
You're in the poorhouse...
W'all of us!

[MONICA]
Consider yourself

[ALL]
At home.

[MONICA]
We've taken to you

[ALL]
So strong

[MONICA]
Consider yourself

[ALL]
Locked in.
There isn't a lot to space.
Nobody tries to be lah-di-dah or uppity.
There's a hit-o'-E for all
Only it's wise to be handy wiv the little 'ne
Wen the social comes to call

Consider Brown's house your mate
We don't want to have no fuss
For after some consideration we can state
You're in his poorhouse
W'all of us...

For after some consideration we can state
You're in Brown's poorhouse
W'all of us...

[OLIVE]

If it should chance to be
We should see some Liberal days,
Happy MP ways,
For us.

[MONICA laughing then speaking]

Olive, get real next you'll be saying. "Please Nick can I have some liberty?" or, "Where is Chancellor Vince?" Don't you know that the voting system means we'll stuck here. We've as much chance of Ole Brown of Cameron actually rather than reviewing changing the situation.

Are Student's Education Worth the Plastic They Are Being Paid With?

Must of my adult life I've been fighting the onslaught of student debt, from the dying years of Thatcher who had taken our milk as kids, to our student days when she wanted to also take away our grants and loan us money to pay for our living whilst were studying. Since then of course it is not just the living expenses that students have paid for but tuition as well since.

We're suppose to be living under a Government that is going to end student debt but today's report from the National Union of Students Scotland shows that there is a long way yet to go. It shows that 56 percent are relying on expensive commercial debt to try and get through their studies supplementing their full uptake of their student loan. Indeed they are more likely than other groups to be indebted at commercial rates.

Also that over 70% are in paid employment for more than the recommended ten hours a week to make ends meet. Two thirds also rely on handouts from friends and families. In total 88 percent of our students are in some kind of indebtedness, many of them a mixture of student loan, commercial and family or friends.

The report points out that the current financial situation is greatly affecting students:

"The current economic recession has hit students in a big way.

"The fundamentally flawed assumptions our student support system is based on, namely that students will be able to secure part-time work during term time, a job during the summer vacation and will receive parental support throughout, will be seriously tested this academic year, and we are positive that no-one will like the results."

So what can be done? The NUS study have suggested some proposals.

In the short term they are looking for the minimum loan to be increased to all students and more cash to be made available to the poorest students in a mix of loans and grants to prevent them slipping into poverty or being forced to drop out.

In the longer term, NUS Scotland wants a minimum income of £7,000 and the loan to be gradually decreased as grants are increased to reduce student debt. The minimum income guarantee has already been backed by both the Lib Dems and Labour. Indeed LYS moved the motion that secured the Scottish Liberal Democrat's support at Autumn conference.

As Liam Burns , NUS Scotland president, points out the aim isn't to totally get to the stage I was at as a student at the end of the more fortunate 80s and early 90s (though my grant was never that big) when he said:

"Simply moving from loans to grants is not what is needed.

"Far worse is the social injustice that would be reinforced if commercial debt is not dealt with, as poorer students are more afraid of commercial debt than those of a luckier background."

The NUS are looking out for those less able to look out for themselves, over to Fiona Hyslop to see what action the SNP can and will take to help work this terrible problem out.

The Unemployed and Those that Cannot Claim

I was reading today that the unemployment level has rising, to well, the number it was at the last time I was unemployed, in early 1996. But the following graph shows another untold story.

As you can see the gap between unemployment claimants and the level of unemployed has actually grown, largely since 1997 when Labour came to power. Now there are all sorts of people missing in that gap, some are those that do not and will not seek work, but another group is often overlooked.

I've had a lot of correspondence recently with a few local residents whose style of work is not the traditional work for a firm, but contracting. Fine you may say contractors are able to earn big bucks good luck to them. This is true when the times are good, but when there is a recession on there are less people looking to employ specialists like them, especially at the rates that they need for their short term expertise. Don't forget these people often have families that need to be feed, housed and clothed too.

The problem is that often those contracts take them overseas, where they don't pay National Insurance. Or they set up one man companies and the companies get paid instead of them directly but of course they have access to the company finances. Also this is the group least likely to sign on between jobs as they have normally expected another one to some along. As some have recently told me they have tried to hold off as long as possibly without claiming benefit to bide them over, but now they may find out that they do not have enough National Insurance contributions to gain benefit under the new system. There is a definite gap in our benefits system which if Gordon Brown had truly have eliminated 'boom and bust' would not now be an issue. But as he failed it is a growing one.

Ironically those who in the good times try not to be a burden to the Government are a part of that gap. I'm sure there are others but it is frightening just what a gap has opened up in the 12 years of Labour's means testing between those who are claimants and those who are unemployed. This remember is the Government who claim they are fighting poverty yet the above chart makes you wonder just what holes various people have fallen through and just how they may actually be being counted in the figures given out by whatever department minister is spewing them forth.

UPDATE: As Andrew Reeves kindly reminded me, unlike that last time when I was claiming Job Seekers Allowance for 9 months after 6 months as an unemployed person you can no longer claim even income support. Considering I was out of work for 9 months when the job market was picking up, heavens knows what state some people are in with jobs being harder and harder to find.

Labour Attack Bishops For Speaking the Truth

OK I've attack the church a little bit recently but when they point out that the divide between rich and poor is getting wider that is something that the Lib Dems have been pointing out to Labour for a while.

The Church is often a good judge of how the poorest are getting on as they are usually behind, involved in running or knowledgeable in the conditions of such. So when they say there is a growing divide not aided by the debt culture that is being encouraged they should be listened to.

However, Labour in what is now their usual behaviour have ignored facts and evidence that is contrary to their narrative. The five bishops had branded the government morally corrupt for encouraging a credit culture and making people live beyond their means. The fact that even government parlance of giving credits rather than benefits heightens the acceptance of credit as an acceptable way of living. The Bishops also pointed out that while the bankers have received large bail outs, the government has been doing little to help the less well off in comparison, the government being tight fisted in what it offers the people who actually suffer.

Facing the government itself has borrowed over and over to gets itself out of difficulties far from being a prudent hoarder saver of wealth when available. See the government likes to talk the talk on poverty, but apart from actions in the first four years of Labour governance that has been all they have done. They have been all talk and failing to walk the walk in successive budgets and plans since.

VAT Cuts Favour the Rich More than the Poor

Darling has carried on the trend of being Dooh Nibor a reverse Robin Hood that his predecessor had at the Treasury. Darling had made much that the poorest pay a greater percent of their income in VAT that the wealthiest.

While this is true a bigger proportion of that is taken up by the VAT on fuel which at the 7.5% rate is already under the 15% VAT level, giving no benefit. An even greater proportion of their income also goes on zero rated necessities such as food again giving a negligible effect. The Financial Times is reporting that Robert Chote of the Institute of Fiscal Studies is pointing out that low-income households will not benefit so much from the VAT cuts if they are considered as a proportion of spending.

Yet again Labour are stealthily giving greater tax breaks to the rich than to the poor. Indeed many of the poorest households would have been better off with an income tax cut rather than a VAT cut as this would have given them cash in their pockets, which they could then of used to buy more of their necessities rather than getting a bonus on many of the luxury items that many have already have to cut back on buying due to the credit squeeze.

Blog Action Day 08 - Poverty How Are Those Pledges Doing

It is Blog Action Day today. The theme this year is World Poverty seeing as this blog started with the Make Poverty History March it is like we've come full circle like we did on that glorious summer's day in 2005 but what has changed?

Sadly the gap between the world's rich and poor is still gaping.

25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes. That is one person every three and a half seconds.

AIDS kills over 2 million people a year, that's one every 15 seconds with the toll highest in Africa. Despite what some on the religious right in America want to tell you many of these are children, who are often infected with the HIV virus during pregnancy or through breast-feeding.

22 countries pledged to give $195 billion a year to help fight world poverty. As little as 0.7% of their GDP. Only 5 countries are currently meeting that pledge Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and the Netherlands. Others have a schedule of between 2010 and 2015 to meet their pledge but Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and trailing behind USA have yet to schedule fulfilling their commitment.

Come on world we have to do better, quicker to make poverty history.

Unionist Says No to Cameron: Just Who Will Speak for the Poor?

Ulster Unionist MLA Chris McGimpsey has put his own person kibosh on Dave "caring" Cameron's plans to merge the Conservatives and Unionists once more. Interesting in light of Dave's apparently more considerate and caring conservative brand one of the key reasons that Mr McGimpsey, who's bother Michael is the Health Secretary in the Assembly, is that it would "deprive working-class Northern Ireland of an important voice".

Now that is a sting in a tail not just to the merger but to the Conservatives appearance as reaching out across the political divide. All the more reason for the Lib Dems to stand up for hard working people everywhere, not just as Jennie Rigg rants about just those in families Nick. If the Tories aren't viewed as standing up for the working class and Labour are only happy with them as long as they fleece more taxes out of them the working class need a voice. Liberals down through history have long been radical in workers rights and reforms and are ideally placed to be so once more, lets not be branded like the other two main parties for the sake of sameness being less of an issue. We always have been looking for fairness to those most affected by poverty so let's take the argument to the place it needs to go rather than follow the headless chickens in the wrong direction.

Of Mice and Brown

Well the Big Cheese of a Tim'rous Beastie is still over and the US of A and tried to defend the abolition of the 10p tax rate in a press conference last night thus:

"I am satisfied that once people understand the scale of the good things that we have been able to do in reforming the tax system, that we are tackling poverty by increasing tax credits for the poorest, then whatever questions people have about these changes can be answered."

He's ignored the fact that the level at which the abolition of the 10p rate affects people actually comes above that at which tax credits can be applied for. Some of us that is affects do not have children and therefore cannot claim that tax credit either.

At a time when we are facing longer time throwing money away on rent, because we now need to save more before we can buy. When our fuel costs increase by far higher levels than seems reasonable, I found a receipt from about a year ago for petrol and almost cried. When even our weekly food shop is taking more out of pocket.

It very much is like the ordinary people in Sherwood Forest. We are struggling to make ends meet with our non-inflationary pay increases while at the same time we are getting taxed more heavily. Of course there are those who are better off than us, who do actually benefit more from the 2p cut to 20p for the standard rate of income tax. But many of us fall into a black hole, between poverty and benefiting from any good thing from this tax reform.

Tax under Labour is less based on ability to pay that tax than at any point under the last Conservative government. The proportionate tax burden on the poorest, when Income Tax, National Insurance, Fuel Excise, VAT, Council Tax et al is taken into account in far closer to the proportion paid by the most wealthy. If only more Labour MPs were prepared to continue to stand up for the principles and the people they must have joined the party for in the first instance. If only they'd done it a year ago when as Chancellor Brown proposed it in the first place rather than now a week after it's implementation.

As it is the mischief of mice on the government benches will continue to make the fat cats wealthier they'd just better watch out for the masses are getting hungry for revenge.

Almost a Year Since Gleneagles...

...how is Tony Blair Getting on.

Well Save the Children have unearthed this memo.

So still a lot to do on making healthcare free in Africa.

HIV treatment target of 2010 needs some work on if this is going to be acheived.

Although debt in the 28 poorest countries of the world has almost now be cancelled.

Tony cannot be losing his direction or purpose as some of his own people are saying. There is still work to be done on the promises he made us last year. If he really wants to make poverty history he should be doing more about it.

In the Name of the Father

The latest critic of Gordon Brown's decision to seek out a replacement for Trident comes from the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. The Right Rev Alan McDonald says that he doubts that Mr Brown's father, the late Rev Dr John Brown, whose name Gordon invoked on the eve of Veteren's Day in his address at St Bryce Kirk, would have agreed.

The Moderator said that as for the actual view of Rev Brown he can not be sure but he stated the Church of Scotland has been opposed to nuclear weapons for 25 years. He went on to say in a cutting remark:

"The Chancellor is due great credit for his part in the Make Poverty History Campaign.

"However, what is the point of making poverty history if you then effectively target the poor, and everybody else in the world, with nuclear weapons?

"And ... how much aid for the developing world could you buy with £25 billion? How many lives could be saved?"

Last night a spokesman for the Chancellor was saying that 'the fullest possible debate' would take place on this matter before a decision is made. So in that case what exactly was meant by the Chancellors statement last Wednesday?

Going Red

First off the news that Motorola have announced a red version of the popular L7 SLVR to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. The phone is available unlatched to networks so anyone can place their current SIM into it straight away. On purchase £10 and 5% of all call and text charges will be donated to Bono and Pat Shiver's (Product) Red Global Fund to help combat AIDS in Africa.

I was unable to get a copy of today's Red Independent guest edited by Bono but I'm glad to see that one thing in today's paper is him questioning Tony Blair and Gordon Brown about the African issues connected to their G8 commitments last year. In fact by the looks of things the entire front section of the paper is dedicated to Africa rather than the usual one or two stories slotted away in a side column in the back of the international news section.

225,000 March to Make Poverty History

Today I went on the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh along with 224,999 others. I was part of the Liberal Democrat contingent headed up by our new Scottish Party Leader Nicol Stephen and his family.
A number of other parliamentarians both from Westminster and Holyrood also turned up to march. Over 200 Liberal Democrats from all over the country were present.

The picture shows me with Charles Dundas my fellow West Lothian candidate from the recent election, who stood for Livingston.
I hope this show of strength as Edinburgh was encircled in white for a number of hours has some impact on the G8 leaders at Gleneagles later this week.