Do you believe this claim that Iain Duncan Smith is trying to defend people on benefits?

Last Updated: May 24, 2015By

It seems that the Tories never meant to go through with their threat of £12 billion in cuts to the social security budget after all.

The Observer is reporting that they always expected to be able to water down the pledge in coalition negotiations with some other party (and then probably blame that party when the economy goes belly-up again in a few months’ time).

Now they don’t have that option and – to maintain their claim to power – they have to say that the public has demanded that these cuts go through in full. This has created an issue for the Secretary of State for Disability Genocide, Iain Duncan Smith:

One ally of Duncan Smith told the Observer that a major problem had been that key figures did not expect to have to implement such heavy hits on welfare spending, assuming the pledge could be watered down during coalition negotiations with the Liberal Democrats.

Now that the Tories are in government with a majority, the source claimed Duncan Smith was standing firm against attempts to slice off bits of his budget to fund a series of giveaways, including slashing inheritance tax and raising the 40p tax threshold to benefit people on twice the national average wage.

Let’s just highlight these giveaways, for a moment. Raising the 40p tax threshold to benefit people on twice the national average wage. Party of the workers? Slashing inheritance tax for those who have anything to inherit. Party of the workers?

“You have two sides of the ledger – the cuts and the giveaways – and people didn’t think they would have to go through with them,” one source said. “Iain Duncan Smith was surprised when the cuts were first announced in January, and that tells you where the push-back in government on this is now.”

You would be ill-advised to believe a word of it. The Gentleman Ranker (new nickname devised by Beastrabban) will feud with George Osborne over it because there’s a personal enmity between them, but his hatred for anyone who has fallen on hard times is far greater.

This blog advises anyone on benefits to get in touch with others in the same position living nearby. Form into groups of four or five and arrange to meet on a regular basis. If any members of your group fall on hard times, then you all do what you can to relieve any immediate issues and to get help.

Protect yourselves – because a Conservative government won’t help anybody but the extremely rich.

Source: Iain Duncan Smith in cabinet row over £12bn welfare cuts | Politics | The Guardian

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28 Comments

  1. leonc1963 May 24, 2015 at 1:03 am - Reply

    Nope he has proved to be absolutely ruthless and not care less of the consequences that he is aware of people should take his statement with a pinch of salt.

    • Jackie Cairns June 1, 2015 at 6:29 pm - Reply

      He’s a murdering b*****d and if he is saying that he’s helping people on benefits, he’s trying to get away with stuff. Hurry up the EU for human rights and get this SOAB charged with murder and the rest of them with assisting an offender.

  2. joanna may May 24, 2015 at 3:12 am - Reply

    It might be that he is worried that there is not enough money to fund workfare slavery, no doubt all the private slave companies will all have their hands out for richer payouts! What will they do if they don’t get them?!!!

    • lori May 27, 2015 at 3:33 am - Reply

      He’s a evil b*****d.

  3. jaynel62 May 24, 2015 at 7:22 am - Reply

    Excellent advice Mike – Vox Political​ offers this Great advice here – “anyone on benefits to get in touch with others in the same position living nearby. Form into groups of four or five and arrange to meet on a regular basis. If any members of your group fall on hard times, then you all do what you can to relieve any immediate issues and to get help.”

    • Maria Nelson May 26, 2015 at 11:21 am - Reply

      problem is they are all on hard times and can’t help each other

      • Mike Sivier May 26, 2015 at 12:16 pm - Reply

        Knowledge is power. You are trying to sap people of their belief that they can change their situation. Think again.

      • jaynel62 May 26, 2015 at 1:23 pm - Reply

        Maria, as well as knowledge shared resources are cheaper to buy, and problems are easier to overcome

  4. rupertrlmitchell May 24, 2015 at 8:25 am - Reply

    The problem here Mike is the selfishness of so many who are above the need for any assistance and who just can’t be bothered to stand up for those who are not.

    IF cuts of any sort are really necessary then they should in the form of cuts to the perks and benefits of MPs who should only be MPs for a proper salary and pay their own expenses.

    Cuts should never be aimed at the weakest in society as in this case. If Austerity is really necessary let it begin at the top with those with the strongest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden. Cut the ease with which so many get away without paying their due tax and certainly increase taxation to those who can afford it by just a little bit; say 50% to those earning over £150k pa. That way no one suffers and it will still be possible for those who want Rollers and Luxury Yachts to get by.

    Making life hell for those who are already very nearly there is not my idea of solving financial matters when the above are so easy to arrange.

    • Florence May 24, 2015 at 12:08 pm - Reply

      Many distinguished economists say there is no need for austerity. It is purely ideological, and aimed at destroying he welfare state. Those affected – the hungry, the suicidal, the ill, and the old – are considered wastes of space, wastes of money, and their fate – although predictable – is of no interest to the likes of Osborne, Cameron and IDS. They do not see the “weakest” or “vulnerable” or those who have paid into the NI system all their lives. They call them “benefit units”, and the aim is to reduce the number of them. They don’t care how.

  5. victedy May 24, 2015 at 8:30 am - Reply

    I would laugh wasn’t it so serious, not to mention he has blood on his hands, his God [Satan] is certainly very proud of him.

  6. NMac May 24, 2015 at 8:53 am - Reply

    Never in my lifetime do I remember such dishonest and corrupt politicians.

  7. Jonathan Wilson May 24, 2015 at 9:49 am - Reply

    Do I believe him? Errrm, does the Pope s*it in the woods?

  8. Chris May 24, 2015 at 10:31 am - Reply

    One Labour MP who had hoped to run as Labour leader dropped out. Why?

    Because his voting area had the most non-voters of all in England, so that for the first time MORE people did not turn out to vote than ALL the voters who came out to vote for any party.

    The working class by income face LESS NOT MORE state pension or eve
    NIL STATE PENSION FOR LIFE from the flat rate state pension changes
    for those retiring on and from 6 April 2016.

    See why at end of my petition,
    in my WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT section, at:

    https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now

    PLEASE SHARE MY PETITION WIDELY
    and ask your family, friends and work colleagues to sign.

    There is no flat rate and there will never be a single tier pension. Everyone will alsoways get different amounts or nil altogether, as we see the beginning of the end of the state pension.

    Goolge Form BR19 pension forecast
    and find out for yourself if your retirement date
    is on and after 6 April next year.

    The more realise the flat rate is a con for most, then other policies of the Tories might also be shown up as an attack on the working man and woman.

    Because the state pension is payable even if you remain in work.

  9. amnesiaclinic May 24, 2015 at 10:59 am - Reply

    Nobody else to blame now so we shall see.
    I think you are absolutely right for everyone, especially those on any sort of benefits to be prepared.
    Organising into circles of 5 with people you really trust and meeting weekly to discuss how things are going for your community and ways forward is key.
    Linking up with all the good local initiatives already going so that all those benefits are shared between far more people.
    Get down to the parish and town and county council meetings and ask questions and get involved in creating community gardens, orchards, bees and shops and linking in with food distribution to those who need it.
    Credit unions, unions and independent councillors and charities can all help when they are linked more closely to help all those living in fear or need.
    Everyone is needed to create a far more caring, empathetic and compassionate society step by step.

  10. Michael Broadhurst May 24, 2015 at 1:13 pm - Reply

    i wouldn’t trust one word that this lying,corrupt,murdering toerag said,nor any of his
    colleagues either.

  11. foggy May 24, 2015 at 1:37 pm - Reply

    One has to ask oneself, Why now ? Why speak out now if this is how he’s felt since last January ?

    Could it be due to certain DWP death figures being released soon ? ‘They made me do it gov’ just won’t wash !!

    For anyone struggling with the ‘system’ there is FREE help out there if your friends are unable to help. Google your problem, post up on the web and sites and you will find hundreds of people to explain, help and support you though it. Just please, DON’T GIVE IN !

    • Mike Sivier May 24, 2015 at 1:59 pm - Reply

      Yes, exactly.
      Thanks for your help, by the way.

    • Florence May 24, 2015 at 6:08 pm - Reply

      IDS is not arguing against the cuts, he’s arguing against “salami slicing”. He wants a full root & branch revision of benefits. Going on past form with Universal Credit, and his certainty of the number of DLA recipients who will loose everything with PIP, abolition of the ILF, and other regressive cuts, I can only assume he wants to abolish some benefits completely, and use others for a bit of social engineering (aka Social Darwinism) to punish the poor even more. Why do I keep on getting the feeling that “residential training” will feature in his latest ideas?

      • Mike Sivier May 24, 2015 at 6:53 pm - Reply

        The workhouse, you mean?

      • Florence May 25, 2015 at 11:16 am - Reply

        Yes, those mysterious residential & training contracts “calls for tender” that seem to have been going around the usual suspects for a while. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the regional “devolved” total budgets for social & heathcare contain some provision too. .

  12. Timro May 24, 2015 at 5:03 pm - Reply

    This is an example of political horse trading, similar to pricing goods in a shop that you want to unload quickly. So, say, you want to sell a certain item for £10.99, what you do is to mark it up as £16.50 and offer it at a 50% reduction to encourage people into the false belief that buying it secures a bargain.

    The Tories probably were hedging their bets in respect to going back into coalition with the Liberal Democrats. (Remember them?) The Tories probably only wanted to cut social security by £5 Bn, say, and so probably could have negotiated such a cut by upping the amount suggested by the Lib Dems (£3 Bn) by £2 Bn, leading the Lib Dems to believe they secured an extra £7 Bn for social security and allowing the Tories to blame the Liberal Democrats for failing to cut welfare by the £12 Bn they promised.

    Like Iain Duncan Smith himself Tory politics is all about the sh*te!

  13. tommaz jay May 24, 2015 at 7:57 pm - Reply

    And the Once upon a time & They lived happily ever after awards goes to………Mr Ranker

  14. Brian May 25, 2015 at 6:53 am - Reply

    ‘IDS helping people on benefits’ is just laughable.

  15. Graeme May 27, 2015 at 12:40 pm - Reply

    “Secretary of State for Disability Genocide, Iain Duncan Smith” – so, it’s official then?

    • Mike Sivier May 27, 2015 at 11:53 pm - Reply

      Only on this blog!

  16. George May 27, 2015 at 3:40 pm - Reply

    Just read a wee bit of this story,so where do they get the public want £12 billion of cuts,are they freakin mad,stupid,thick to think we would believe that the public wanted it? ffs you lot need your heeds examined.

    • Mike Sivier May 27, 2015 at 11:53 pm - Reply

      By “you lot”, I take it you mean the politicians – not the writer and readers of this blog?

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