ESA, CGT and the Tory Government’s reverse Robin Hood routine
Here are just a couple of items that caught This Writer’s eye while perusing Twitter.
The first is from tomorrow’s Guardian front page, which leads on a demand by the Labour Party for the Tories to reverse their cut in Capital Gains Tax (CGT). The change, announced by George Osborne in his Omnishambles II Budget a couple of Wednesdays ago, gives around £3,000 per year back to around 130,000 of the wealthiest people in the UK – people who certainly don’t need the money.
The plan had been to fund the cut by taking more than £3,000 per year from disabled people who rely on the Personal Independence Payment.
But the Tories have been forced to halt the planned PIP cut, meaning the Budget no longer balances in this respect. As John McDonnell correctly argues, there is no reason the very richest should expect their tax cut to continue – and why should they have expected it in the first place?
The second item to catch my eye was about a benefit cut that the Conservatives did succeed in pushing through – by playing their ‘financial privilege’ card again, denying the House of Lords the opportunity to reject it for a third time: ESA-WRAG.
As you can see, the Conservatives were the only MPs in the whole of Parliament to vote in favour of this cut, which removes 28 per cent of the original ESA entitlement from new claimants who are put in the Work-Related Activity Group.
There is no justification for the cut at all.
Claims that it puts people on ESA who are able to work on the same benefit as people on JSA are ridiculous because, by definition, nobody on ESA is able to work. It is as simple as that.
What we are seeing is a government that revels in taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich, making Osborne the reverse Robin Hood.
And people will die because of it.
Do you care?
What are you prepared to do about it?
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Impropriety, Money Laundering, Genocide, Modern Slavery, Cultural destruction, Sectarianism, Just a few of the features perpetrated by, Aha, you thought ISIS, no, by the Tory government.
Considering the subject matter of the article, I’m pretty sure everybody knew it was the Tory government.
I just hope that the 94.2% of tory mps who voted in favour of this cut are pleased with themselves. All those who voted tory, are you proud of your mp for this?
no matter how much we care no one can do a thing to stop this state sponsored murder!!
Don’t you believe it!
except for taking out the whole tory party, and i don’t mean for dinner.
I know you don’t condone violence, but I would willingly sacrifice my soul to save everyone else!!!
I really do care!!
we have to keep raising awareness.
I recently saw the film about Suffragettes which showed that after years of campaigning for the right to vote they had to resort to civil disobedience/direct action to achieve justice. I would suggest we are basically at the same point now ‘re disabled rights. Although dpac are leading the way in this maybe it needs to escalate up a level? I can’t see we stand to lose anything as we’ve lost it already.
That’s why the water canon were ordered by Boris the berk despite being illegal, and why the human rights act is going whether the rest of parliament, the lords and judges approve or not.
I’m still looking for a way of telling, from Hansard or any other source, which MPs abstained. Do they have to be in the house and say they are abstaining or, if they are out on constituency business, are they classed as an abstention. There are a lot of MPs to sit and work out the ayes and nays then check who’s missing. I can easily find out about Labour, Tory & LibDem Scottish MPs but I seriously want to know which SNP MPs abstained.
There are three legitimate ways of abstaining without being on the fence
1 – Being absent from the house
2 – Being in a select committee meeting at the time of the division (vote)
3 – Pairing
The latter two may mean an MP participates in the debate, but does not vote. Unfortunately, since the recording of such is rarely carried out, it’s impossible to know if an MP has abstained from a vote by conscious choice, or due to one of the above!
Think it means one SNP MP didn’t make it he had funeral to attend,that’ll be why,who were the 25 Labour mps
Who was the SNP MP?
The memes being produced and circulating for each and every one of the Tory MPs who voted for this cut are really hitting home. The use of a picture, showing the individual, highlighting something of their wealth, privilege, or expenses, or other financial impropriety has really hammered the message home. Now they’re whining about being “outed” as total sh*ts and cowards, once they lose the protection of the pack they hunt with.
It would be interesting to know;
How many representations each MP got from constituents who asked for CUTS, as opposed to those constituents that complained.
Any difference clearly shows self interest and voting AGAINST their constituents wishes.
The tories have got away with so much evil, it was high time they were held to account for it!