UPDATE 27/2/13: Registering an account with Universal Jobmatch will become mandatory from the beginning of March 2013. There should still be no requirement to tick the box giving DWP access to your account. For the latest details and what this means for claimants keep an eye on: http://consent.me.uk/2013/02/26/mandatory/
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I'm sure you all follow me on Twitter and have seen my unfiltered rage first-hand, but here is an elongated and angry rebuttal that Alec Shelbrooke and anyone else suffering from Grinch Syndrome this Christmas needs to see.
Earlier today, Alec Shelbrooke, Tory MP for, apparently, somewhere in Hell, suggested to the commons the idea of a Welfare Card. His full transcript can be found here (
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The name that I failed to catch when watching Question Time last Thursday was Brian McArdle. He died the day after getting a letter telling him he’d lost his benefits and been declared fit for work by Atos.
His son, Kieran, had written to Iain Duncan Smith to complain that his Brian had been “hounded to death” by Atos and the DWP. Whether you think that’s a fair assessment or not, it came from a grieving son, and deserved a compassionate reply.
Letters of condolence can be particularly difficult for politicians, as they are often widely scrutinised, as Gordon Brown found out after he wrote to the mother of a soldier, Guardsman Jamie Janes, who had been killed in Afghanistan. The then Prime Minister had spelled the soldier’s name incorrectly, in a handwritten letter. It is easy to see how such a mistake could be made, and he had, at least, taken the trouble to write the letter himself. When the row erupted, Brown admitted that his handwriting wasn’t great, another complaint about his letter being that it had been “hastily scrawled”, and apologised to Jacqui Janes for that, and for the spelling mistake, by telephone.
So we come to IDS’s reply to Kieran McArdle. It doesn’t start too badly, with condolences offered, but quickly turns to government spin which, in my view, is entirely inappropriate and unsympathetic.
“I was very sorry to read of your father’s death. I offer my sincere condolences to you and your family at this time.
“I know nothing I can say will do anything to ease the pain of losing your father, but I’d like to explain why the Government’s reforms to the sickness benefits system are so important and how much work we’re doing to make the process as fair as possible.
“I know this will be a difficult time for you and I’m grateful this was brought to my attention.”
In fact, I cannot detect any genuine sympathy in those words, and I get the impression IDS only sent it because he’d been embarrassed into doing so by a Daily Record campaign.
Here’s the end of the letter, courtesy of the Daily Record:
As you can see, it isn’t handwritten, and I’m not even sure that Smith signed it himself, the signature is so illegible. If he did, the carelessness of that signature is surely indicative of his disdain for the person receiving the letter.
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Tagged Atos, Brian McArdle, Iain Duncan Smith, IDS, Question Time
At 2300 Saturday 2nd of June 2012, a coachload of Tired, untrained and ill equipped people left Bristol by coach for London and the Queens Jubilee.
At around 0240 they were dropped off by the side of a road with their Baggage and Tents and left stood for more than an hour along with 80 other people.
Having Had no sleep at 0415 these people were told that at 0500 they would be starting a 16 hour shift.
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