Tag Archives: James Brokenshire

What does Chris ‘people aren’t lying dead in the streets’ Skidmore have to say now?

Chris Skidmore: He once said austerity wasn’t so bad because people weren’t dying in the streets. Now they are, and he is conspicuous by his silence.

The Conservative Party’s vice-chairman responsible for policy once said his party’s austerity cuts were not as bad as had been claimed because people were not “lying dead in the streets”. Now that people his party forced onto the streets have started to die, what does Chris Skidmore have to say?

Mr Skidmore, co-author of the Tory screed Britannia Unchained, which infamously claimed that British people were among the “worst idlers in the world”, has been challenged over his claim after the death of homeless Gyula Remes, who had been sleeping rough on the street just metres outside the Houses of Parliament. Mr Remes was a kitchen assistant at Charing Cross Station but was still forced to sleep rough.

He is the MP for Kingswood, which borders Bristol where a survey to count the number of dead homeless people is currently being carried out.

It is a good question, and one that should be put to Mr Skidmore at once. We need to hear his answer – especially as he is now responsible for Conservative Party policy. As Tory policies on homelessness have failed, how does he propose to prevent any more deaths?

That question was put to Housing Secretary James Brokenshire by Shadow Housing Minister Melanie Onn before Parliament went into recess for the Christmas period:

Mr Brokenshire passed the buck, saying it was the responsibility of Westminster City Council to see that “lessons are learned and applied”. We’ve all heard that line about lessons being learned before, of course.

He did say that Office of National Statistics figures show 597 homeless people died in 2017 – an increase on the previous figure of 449. While Mr Brokenshire said his government was “focused and resolute in our commitment to make rough sleeping a thing of the past”, the facts show that it isn’t doing enough.

Meanwhile, Sky News editor-at-large Adam Boulton seems to think he has the answer to the problem of people dying outside Parliament: Move them on.

https://twitter.com/RickBlaine123/status/1076065207468855297

Out of sight, out of mind, is it? Charming.

Oh, and while people are dying on the streets in the fifth-richest country on the planet, its prime minister has been visiting an exclusive shop where a handbag could cost more than many houses.

So much for “compassionate Conservatism” on her watch!

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What does James Brokenshire have to say about the homeless man who died outside Parliament?

Jamie Leigh, a homeless friend of the man who died, next to a makeshift memorial to him.

While Tories tried to accuse Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of saying something he didn’t in Parliament, a drama of a different kind was unfolding just a few metres outside the building – where a homeless man died on the street.

The man, believed to be a 45-year-old Hungarian named Gyula Remef, was said to have taken the street drug Spice, and was also said to have been drinking.

At first sight, this supports the claims of Housing Secretary James Brokenshire, who has said the rise in rough sleeping was due to an increase in the number of non-UK nationals on the streets and the spread of psychoactive drugs like Spice, along with factors including family breakup.

But what put this man on the streets? He clearly didn’t come to the UK intending to die on the ground outside Parliament, so why did it happen? Mr Brokenshire’s comment fails to address the principle contributing factor.

And it is clear that, if he took Spice, he took it after he had become homeless; we have no evidence to show it contributed toward making him a rough sleeper.

But this is a man who had a job – he was working as a kitchen assistant at Charing Cross Station but was still unable to afford a home.

Doesn’t that suggest that he was a victim of the Tory wage squeeze that has been going on since 2010?

Doesn’t it also suggest that support for landlords, who overcharge for dwellings that are unfit for human habitation, is wrong-headed?

So what are the real reasons this man died on the street outside Parliament, so far from his homeland and (allegedly) inebriated on drugs?

What is Mr Brokenshire hiding with his supercilious claims?

The contrast between the drama outside Parliament and the farce within has been hammered home by comments on the social media:

The consensus is that the Conservative government – including Mr Brokenshire, due to the nature of his remarks – is insulated from reality and has no sense of proportion due to the fact that it is full of people who are… well… stupid:

Worst of all is the fact that the death of this man won’t even make a difference:

https://twitter.com/ToryFibs/status/1075552377535651840

Has Mr Brokenshire bothered to ask any questions about this, at all? Has he considered examining the circumstances that brought this man to an untimely end outside the Mother of all Parliaments? Has he checked whether the death corroborates his claims or disproves them?

No chance!

He’ll just say, “Immigrant – check. Drugs – check. Proves I’m right.”

Hateful.

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Immigration and drug addiction caused huge rise in homelessness, according to Tory minister’s LIES

Is James Brokenshire an imbecile, or does he think we are?

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government said the increase in homelessness since the Conservatives slithered into office in 2010 is not the result of government policy but is being driven by factors including the spread of psychoactive drugs such as spice, growth in non-UK nationals on the streets and family breakdown.

Oh, really?

Personally, I would have said it was due to income changes that made it impossible for renters to pay their landlords or for homeowners to keep up with their mortgage repayments and I would have said this was the result of policies including, but not limited to:

The Tory Bedroom Tax.

The Tory Universal Credit.

The Tory freeze (late a one per cent limit) on annual public sector pay increases.

The Tory squeeze on wages that forced them to plummet during the first half of the current decade.

Tory support for landlords that means they can force people to pay huge rents for accommodation that is unfit for human habitation.

And the electorate knows this.

Look at the responses to his claim:

Oh, and the Tory plan to eliminate homelessness by 2027? It requires the death of anybody who is homeless.

Labour’s John Healey puts the real reasons for the rise in homelessness in a nutshell in the following clip:

And Labour has a plan to help victims of Tory policies who end up sleeping rough:

“Oh, but we can’t support that, can we? It comes from that Jeremy Corbyn person and he’s a horrible Communist! All the newspapers and TV channels say it so it must be true, right?”

There’s a simple answer to the kind of person who says that – or anything similar to it.

Just point out that many of the people who are now sleeping rough were also persuaded to vote Conservative, in order to avoid the Labour policies that would have helped them avoid their current predicament.

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Brokenshire busted: Tories’ ‘pitiful’ social housing strategy has no new money for housebuilding

Busted: James Brokenshire.

This is the reason families are sleeping next to dustbins and their children’s head teachers are relying on charities to help them.

As Jeremy Corbyn has pointed out: “You can’t build new social housing without any new money.

“Labour will build the homes we desperately need.”

The Tories’ “pitiful” new social housing strategy fails to commit a “single extra penny” toward constructing new homes, campaigners have warned.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said a Green Paper introduced today would help re-balance the relationship between tenants and landlords and help tenants get on the housing ladder.

But Labour said it was “pitiful” that the long-awaited proposals committed no new money towards building new social homes.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the paper “does little to address the fundamental lack of low-cost rented homes”.

And the Local Government Association (LGA) warned the announcement was “only a small step, compared with the huge and immediate need for more genuinely affordable homes”.

Source: Tories’ ‘pitiful’ new social housing strategy has no new money for building new homes – Mirror Online

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Support the National Health Action Party in its bid to unseat Hunt and Cameron

Fighting for the NHS: Dr Louise Irvine will challenge Jeremy Hunt for his seat in Parliament.

Fighting for the NHS: Dr Louise Irvine will challenge Jeremy Hunt for his seat in Parliament.

Why is the fight against creeping NHS privatisation no longer gaining national headlines in the mass media? Do editors think it is no longer fashionable, or do they think the job’s done and they don’t have to bother any more?

Thank goodness for the Daily Mirror and its report that Dr Louise Irvine is to stand against Conservative Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt at the 2015 election, as the National Health Action Party candidate for South West Surrey.

She joins Dr Clive Peedell, who will challenge David Cameron for his Witney seat.

Both candidatures were announced at the NHAP’s national conference, which took place over the weekend. You probably didn’t even know it was happening, thanks to the priorities of the mainstream media.

The doctors have a hard challenge ahead of them – Hunt’s majority at the 2010 election was more than 16,000 votes. That’s 16,000+ more than his closest rival. Cameron’s was even higher – nearly 23,000 votes ahead of the pack.

But Dr Irvine told the Mirror she was ready for the fight: “I’ve faced Jeremy Hunt in the courts and beaten him twice. Now I’ll face him at the ballot box.

“He needs to be held to account for what he’s doing to our NHS and the way in which he has bulldozed democracy, changing the law to push through hospital closures when he was beaten in court.”

Of course, Dr Irvine’s pledge to stand against Hunt is a deep embarrassment for the Health Secretary – not only did she lead the successful Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, which won a High Court ruling that Hunt acted outside his powers when he decided to cut the hospital’s emergency and maternity units, but she is also a council member of the British Medical Association, which represents 150,000 doctors.

It is a sign that the medical profession at large is entirely opposed to his money-grubbing, postcode-lottery, health-for-profit policies.

Vox Political calls on voters in South West Surrey and Witney to support their NHAP candidates.

In Conservative stronghold seats like these, it seems realistic to expect voters to respond more to respected medical professionals like Drs Irvine and Peedell; there is also considerable distrust in Labour’s will to reverse NHS privatisation – but this may be alleviated if NHAP candidates are in the House of Commons, holding Labour to account.

The Mirror has been running a poll, asking readers whether they would vote for Dr Irvine against Mr Hunt. At the time of writing, 99 per cent of readers would, while less than one per cent support Hunt.

Other candidates announced at the conference include disability rights campaigner Naveen Judah, who challenges Liberal Democrat leader and Tory enabler Nick Clegg for Sheffield Hallam.

Ex-GP Dr Paul Hobday will take on Tory Sports Minister Helen Grant for her shaky majority in Maidstone.

In Truro, Rik Evans will try to topple Tory Sarah Newton, who has a majority of around 400.

Karen Howell, a popular member of the Support Stafford Hospital campaign, will stand for Stafford.

And Dave Ash, of the Keep of St Helier Hospital campaign, will take on Liberal Democrat former health minister Paul Burstow in Sutton and Cheam.

Kent GP Dr Bob Gill will be against Immigration Minister James Brokenshire in Old Bexley and Sidcup; Brighton University mental health expert Dr Carl Walker is standing in East Worthing and Shoreham and Oxford health journalist Roseanne Edwards will stand in Banbury where Tony Baldry has just announced he will not be seeking re-election.

NHA Party co-leader Dr Richard Taylor is hoping to regain his old seat of Wyre Forest, which he won as an independent in 2001 and held in 2005.

Notably no NHA Party candidate is standing for South Cambridgeshire, the seat Andrew Lansley holds with a majority of nearly 8,000. Perhaps this shows that they consider him a spent force who simply doesn’t matter any more.

This blog considers that it would be a valuable victory to unseat the man who spent seven years working in secret on what became the Health and Social Care Act – the legislation that allowed privatisation of the health service on an unprecedented, and entirely unwanted, scale.

Nobody should forget that the Conservative Party won its 300+ Parliamentary seats with a lie – the pledge, carried on posters of an airbrushed David Cameron, that the NHS would be safe under a Tory government.

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

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