The Reason for the Season

At this festive time of year, let us pause to remember the true message of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.

As many of us go about the business of buying and wrapping gifts, gathering together our festive fair for the big dinner and making last minute preparations for the feast, we should stop to remember the greatest story ever told. If you are not familiar with this story or have perhaps forgotten, allow me to refresh your memory.




It all begun over 2000 years ago. God, who was all seeing and all powerful decided the time had come again to intervene and make an appearance on Earth, his only real achievement in life. He had appeared about 1400 years previously as a burning bush. Around about this time the Chinese had a pretty developed society and a formal written language that was in common use but for some reason he had chosen to appear as a tree in the Middle East where most of the population were illiterate goat herders. It went well and he gave Moses a list of 10 rules which seemed quite popular so he left them too it.




However in the 1400 years that had passed his message had been corrupted and things had gone a bit wrong so he decided it was finally time to come back and set things straight. Again, he could have chosen to appear to the Chinese who would have no doubt written things down and there would today be a definitive record, corroborated by multiple scribes, all of whom could have attested to the events that took place and the things he said. That would have cleared a lot of things up. But as I mentioned previously, God is all seeing and all knowing and he knows what's best. So he decided to stick with the illiterate goat herders who made such a mess of things previously. Also God is white and the locals were mostly brown but he knew it would probably be fine. Now..

God used his infinite wisdom and omnipotence and identified a young unmarried virgin who seemed the perfect candidate for him to impregnate by magic so that she could then give birth to him. Luckily, and against all odds her fiancé Joseph was totally cool about the whole thing so the game was set. Again, it doesn't make a massive amount of sense to me but he works in mysterious ways and knows everything so for some reason he decided it would be good if Mary gave birth in Winter during the first ever census so she would have to leave home and travel to Bethlehem, about 3-4 days journey on foot. So off they set for Bethlehem.




There was no Groupon or Expedia back then and nobody could read or write so they weren't able to book ahead. When they got there all of the guest rooms were full so they ended up in with the animals. In actual fact back then the animals tended to sleep in with the people anyway, the humans upstairs where the heat went so it was probably quite toasty. God probably thought of this when he decided on Winter cause he knows. So Mary gave birth to a white blue eyed baby but God was right again, everyone actually was really cool about it. In fact some shepherds who didn't work during winter but were picking up a bit of overtime dropped by with gifts for the new born messiah. Gold (quite a nice gift), frankincense (an ointment used in perfume and skincare so not practical but still nice) and myrrh (an antiseptic. Hope he kept the receipt!)




And there we have it, Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph knew that he was actually a God on account of an angel telling Mary and the whole magic virgin pregnancy, but these were tough times so they decided he should have a trade in case the God thing didn't work out. He trained as a carpenter which went well for a few years until he went full God, shared all his wisdom with some illiterate goat herders then died on the cross for our sins. And we haven't heard from God since. Luckily nothing bad has happened since then and we're all sorted so he's probably taking some time off or focussing on Jupiter for a bit.





And that's the nativity. Merry Christmas.

Social Bite

Check out the video below. There's something wonderful about this concept, it's charity of course and there will always be plenty of charities needing money for one thing or another but it's the social aspect of it that appeals to me. You don't just need to dig deep and hand over your cash (although it would be lovely if you did) but it's the fact that it's a viable business providing a service that you and I need and while you are in there getting something to eat you can pay it forward and help out the next person who for one reason or another cannot afford to eat.



It's not political, it's just about doing something worthwhile and helping out those who need help. I can only hope this concept catches on, imagine if Starbucks or Costa or Burger King had a box at the till which allows you to buy an extra burger or sandwich or coffee for anyone who has nothing to come in a claim. It's about making the society that we wish we had, a kinder more caring one in which no amount of austerity and cruelty from the top can stop us from making positive change and helping those in need. In a way it's about taking that control away from the governments who want to cut services to fund lower taxes and creating a socialist nation whether they want it or not.



Just imagine where a simple idea like this might lead.

Oh and in case you're wondering, no the guy at the very end of the video isn't me!

Social Bite Video


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pig Sick

The alleged story of David Cameron "putting a private part of his anatomy" into a pig is great fodder for comedy and Twitter has certainly taken up that mantel admirably, however beyond the comedic value of this revelation, there is a deeper analysis to be gained. What this story tells us is that, if true, Cameron and his cohorts do not inhabit the same world that you and I do, they have their own set of rules, their own set of values and their own set of morals. Cameron represents the very thing that everyone hates about the Tories, he is rich, entitled, born with a silver spoon, toffee-nosed and looks down upon us mere mortals (particularly if you are Scottish or from Yorkshire.)

 

 

But pigs aside for just one second, it beggars belief that this guy and his pals have been elected twice as they do not represent us. They represent that elite 1%, often erroneously referred to as the "top" 1%. That means that 99% of us (or 100% if you are a Scot) are led by a government that do not represent us or our way of life. The simple fact is that The Tories are there to protect their way of life, not ours. That 1% that sit and cream off the top need the poor to be kept poor, they need people that are desperate for minimum wage work, they need wages and living standards to be kept low so that their profits can be kept high and that is why they need Tories.

 

 

 



The guy on minimum wage, working 8 hours operating a machine to churn out hundreds of units that cost £5 to make but sell for £50 is the basis on which this 1% have gotten rich and remain rich. The machine operator sees none of the profit from his hard work because his poverty is necessary to keep the machine running. The Tory run media churn out story after story about "migrants" and benefit cheats milking the system, wanting something for nothing and taking from OUR society whilst contributing nothing but it is to distract you from the reality that is the 1% taking from the 99% like parasites on an institutionalised basis.

 

So while the internet is having a field day today with these allegations, and rightly so, I shall leave the comedy to others as in my view, if true, David Cameron sticking is dick in a pig is the least disgusting thing he's ever done!

Political Scapegoating for Dummies

Let me give you a quick lesson in political scapegoating.



So you find yourself in the situation where your election campaign was unsuccessful, your party is extremely unpopular, you've aligned yourself with a party who are the very embodiment of everything you claim to stand against to protect a establishment that is more in their interests than your perceived own and have used every dirty trick and fear tactic in the book to do so. What's more you were caught doing it.

What do you do?



Simple, you find someone to blame, make that person the bad guy and the cause of everything that is wrong and everything that is unpopular and you get rid of him. Then you can demonise him, criticise him on telly and in the papers and say you never agreed with him and make out that all the bad stuff was his idea. Now that he's gone everything you hated about us is gone and all the good stuff is left behind.



It's been done time and time again and the public fall for it time and time again. Next step is to find a new guy or girl who looks like a gameshow host and will say everything you want to hear and you will fall for it. Won't you?



Obviously this is completely hypothetical.

Simple Sums

Hello Friends,

Today we're going to do some simple sums and hopefully put to rest one of the big myths that's doing the rounds, mostly perpetuated by those who still take instruction from the press on how to vote.

I've heard a few people say this since Thursday: "Thanks to you SNP supporters we've ended up with a Tory government".

So let's just quickly add it up, shall we?



323 electoral seats are required to form a majority government.

Labour won 232, Conservatives won 331 and SNP won 56. There are 59 electoral seats up for grabs in Scotland.

232 + 56 = 288 = <323

Now, supposing every single person in Scotland went out on Thursday and voted Labour and we elected 59 Labour MPs and sent them to Westminster, it still would have made zero difference to the outcome, we still would have ended up with a Tory government we hadn't voted for. Same as happens at every election.

This isn't the first time I've mentioned this.

Labour did not lose the election because they lost Scotland, they lost the election because they lost the media war. Simply put, the mainstream media wanted the Tories, same as in 2010 and they pulled out every dirty trick in the book to make sure it happened. Labour lost because Ed Miliband can't eat a bacon sandwich and the majority of UK residents of voting age can't use the Internet or an analytical mind.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

"The choice on May 7th is clear.."

You'll have heard this quoted ad nauseum by both David Cameron and Ed Miliband for weeks, nay months now. "The choice is clear." On one hand we have Cameron telling us the choice is between the path that we are on, the successful path that has brought us out of recession and delivered a strong working economy or the alternative which is uncertainty and higher taxes, more borrowing and an increased deficit. Then you have Miliband on the other hand offering a "clear choice" between more austerity, more and deeper cuts, more poverty and food banks or his alternative vision of investment, taxing the rich to pay for the poor and a fairer society. So who is right? Well neither in my view. That isn't the choice at all and in fact the choice is far from clear. Particularly if you live in any other region of the UK outside of England. Now before you stop reading and assume I am just another angry Scot with a chip on my shoulder I should explain. I am not a Nationalist. I never had been. I believe in the UK and whilst I did change my vote to Yes at the 11th hour in last year's Independence referendum (all of which is documented in this blog)it was not because of any nationalistic feeling of superiority or hatred of our English cousins. My reason for wanting Independence is that I genuinely believed and still do that it would have been the first step in fixing a broken system within British politics and the UK in general. And when I tell you that the Scottish vote at general elections has had no impact on the outcome of the GE for 65 out of the last 67 years, it's not sour grapes, it's just maths!

(Wings over Scotland)

 

Simply put, England is bigger than the rest of us. It has a massively greater population than Scotland, Wales and Nothern Ireland therefore it has the numbers needed to sway the vote one way or the other. So the reality is that if you belong to one of the smaller regions in our "Family of Nations" then your voice is likely to be drowned out by our louder family members. So the choice for you is not clear at all.

 

But I digress, let's get back to The Point (sorry, couldn't help myself).

 

The choice may not be clear but taking personalities out of it for now, the choice is between Socialist or Conservative. You may think that equates to Labour vs Tory but no, the choice is not that clear. There is no doubt that Labour are less Conservative than The Conservatives but they are certainly not socialist any more. The Labour of old were about the working man, they stood up for the rights of the workers and gave them a voice, they stood against exploitation and greed and strived for fairness and equality. Labour these days are very much part of the establishment and are more concerned about protecting their own power and position and maintaining the support of their corporate sponsors than looking after the common man. The Labour of old would not have gotten in league with the Tories to convince Scotland to vote No.

 

So what is the choice then? Well Socialism at it's core is about fairness and equality. It is the idea that while you should be encouraged to work hard and hard work should be rewarded, if you can afford to pay a little more in for the common good then you should and that those who, for reasons beyond their control, cannot contribute or are unable to, should be helped. I guess what it comes down to is making sure that those who work hard are rewarded rather than those who make people work hard and no-one is left behind. We are a society and we care for those less fortunate than ourselves. The NHS is the antipathy of this concept, healthcare should be for everyone, not just those who can afford it. So instead of the rich paying for their healthcare and letting the poor die, we all contribute an amount that is relative to our wealth and everyone shares the healthcare. That's socialism in a nutshell.

 

So what does it mean to be Conservative? Well at this point I should declare that I fundamentally disagree with Conservativism so perhaps I should leave it to someone else to define what it means. To me it means looking after number 1, ensuring that you keep your wealth and those who cannot afford to survive do not. It is their problem not yours. The problem with this is that the number 1 they are looking out for is not you, it is the richest 1% of the population and if you accidentally get to keep a few extra pounds in your pocket as a result of their policies which are aimed at ensuring the rich stay rich then so be it. Unfortunately if you are poor or disabled and you die as a result of their policies then so be it too! It is essentially a belief in non-intervention and thinks that the less the government does the better, it maintains the status quo and is very helpful to those who have and very damaging to those who have not. But I said I was going to let someone else define it, didn't I?

 



A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores, often by opposing what they consider radical policies or social engineering. Social change is generally regarded as suspect. A second meaning of the term social conservatism developed in the Nordic countries and continental Europe. - source: Wikipedia

 

So now we are getting somewhere. The choice is clearly between a society that cares for all and shares the wealth fairly, allowing those who work hard to be rewarded but sharing some of  the wealth with those who need a little help OR a society where you get to keep everything you work for and are comfortable with the idea that those who need help will not get it and many poor and ill will die as a result. You are OK with food banks in a modern civilised society and disabled people committing suicide because they have no hope. That's your choice.

 

But we still haven't established who to vote for if you choose Socialism. Well if you are English then Labour are your best bet and I would urge you to vote for them. They aren't perfect but they aren't Conservative and are the best chance you will get of putting The Tories out of Number 10. Just to remind you of some of the Tories election promises from 2010 (which has since been deleted from their website along with a number of speeches), they said that they would eliminate the deficit by 2015 as a result of "difficult choices" and while they have failed to do so they are now boasting about how well they are doing and after failing in their task and putting the country through hell for the last 5 years they are using this as an argument for handing them another 5 years! They have presided over the slowest recovery from recession in over 100 years and have repeatedly told us that they "inherited" a bad situation from labour and blamed all of their failings on them. The fact is the global economic crash was, well, global. It started in the US and yet somehow the Tories have managed to convince the country that it was the fault of the Labour government (it's almost as if the same rich people who own the Tories, own the media!). The simple fact is that Labour HAD to do something when the banks collapsed and they HAD to bail them out, had they not the situation would have been a lot worse and thankfully they had the money to do it. But it's not in David Cameron's interest to blame the crash on the banks as they are his friends, it serves him better to blame it on Labour so he does. Repeatedly. Until we believe the lie.

 

 

But if you live in Scotland then you have a very different choice. As above voting Tory or Labour will have no effect on the outcome, we will get whoever England chooses. That's just a fact we have to live with. But this time we have a very different choice. We have the chance to send 59 SNP MPs to Westminster, not to break it but to fix it. If we elect 59 MPs from the same party with the same common vision: to end austerity; to stimulate investment; to make a fairer society built on socialist values; to protect the NHS from privatisation, just imagine what we can achieve. These are just some of the policies that the SNP will argue for in our voice. Instead of a random selection of Scottish reps bickering and arguing amongst themselves, we send 59 representatives who have the same goals and a strong chance of achieving them. By sending the SNP to Westminster to take up our seat amongst our Family of Nations we will be truly represented for the first time in a long time. Scottish Labour have been described by their own leader as the London Labour, Scottish branch office; they speak for London with a Scottish accent. The SNP are a truly Scottish party and when 55% of the population voted against Independence they dropped Independence from their latest manifesto, the first time in their history. Had they included Independence in their manifesto this may have given them a mandate to chair a new referendum, but knowing that this is not what anyone wants right now they have opted to change their approach and will go to Westminster and embrace the UK in the same way that the UK embraced us in the weeks preceding last year's vote.

 

Whether the government is Tory or Labour The SNP will vote and debate in our interests and they will hold the government to account. You don't even have to agree with all of their policies as it is in Holyrood that the day to day business takes place. Their main purpose in Westminster is to speak up for us and when the London government are making decisions that affect us all to ask "What about the rest of us?" Austerity is a policy of inequality as it hits those on the lowest incomes hardest while barely touching those on the highest. When David Cameron or George Osbourne tell us of the "difficult decisions" that effect us all he really means "all of you" and both Labour and Lib Dems intend to stick to the path. The SNP will question that and use their strength in Westminster to affect real change. That is the clear choice that we have as Scots. To have a voice or to hand over full ownership to our Westminster masters in London. Westminster have a proven since September that they have no intention of delivering on their promises of more powers for Scotland unless we go to them and ensure that they do. Going to Westminster and taking part is the positive thing to do and moves us on from last year. It is about looking to the future, our future within the UK rather than lamenting what might have been.  

 

So it turns out the choice is clear, live in England; vote Labour. Live in Scotland; vote SNP.

Westminster running scared

Here we have a man who rode into town on a white horse at the eleventh hour last year to tell us that he would be...

Posted by The Point - The World, The Universe and Everything on Sunday, 19 April 2015

The referendum wasn't about the SNP but the General Election has to be. We are part of the "family of nations" now, that...

Posted by The Point - The World, The Universe and Everything on Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Red Tories or Blue Tories?

Dear Friends,

As you know there will be a general election in the UK on May 7th and we all have a decision to make. I have covered previously that Scotland has historically made little impact on the outcome of the UK GE, I have also noted that last year's Independence Referendum was won on the basis of misinformation, biased reporting and outright lies. "The Vow" hasn't exactly come to much, has it and as of now, all 3 parties involved have made attempts to distance themselves from it claiming that it was a mock-up by The Daily Record and that they had not, in fact agreed to honour any of it. The Daily Record on the other hand have denied any involvement in the wording of the article and as yet no-one knows who is responsible for writing it!

So, where does that leave us? Well I believe it should be fairly clear to all that if you voted No on the basis of the promise of more powers you were lied to. The media and the politicians said what had to be said at the 11th hour to turn round the vote and now that it has gone their way they have forgotten about it. You were conned.

I still believe in the UK, I still believe that being part of something greater is important but more than ever I believe that Britain is no longer Great and we need to do something meaningful to change that. You can vote Tory and you will get more of the same or you can vote Labour and..well, little will change. Miliband is an empty suit I'm afraid to say. But now more than ever the "Red Tories" nickname is accurate as once again Labour and Conservatives are in bed with one another to try and convince us not to vote SNP. "Scotland In Union" or "Better Together 2G" is a group consisting of Labour and Tory MPs. Their aim is to identify areas where tactical voting is required to keep SNP out of power, ie if needed Labour MPs will inform the public that in order to keep SNP out they will need to vote Tory and vice versa. Labour no longer stands for the working man, they have become desperate and now that they have stuck their necks out to defeat Independence in Scotland, they have no option but to collude with the Tories to continue lying in the bed they have made for themselves.

But why go to this trouble, why are they so united in their contempt for SNP? Probably because 45% of the Scottish voting public voted for Independence and they know that when we need to we can pull together for a common goal.

Which is what we need to do now. We need to vote SNP and get as many SNP MPs into Westminster as possible. Why? Because whether you agree with Independence or not we are part of the UK and we need a voice in Westminster. Like it or not we are still part of the UK and we need a voice, we need someone to fight for OUR way of life and our beliefs. We are still a socialist country but Labour are no longer a viable option and we need someone to speak against the Tories. Remember that the first thing Joanne Lamont did post Referendum was quit. She quit because she was frustrated at the lack of power she has as leader of the London Labour Party Scottish Branch Office! But she waited and towed the party line up till that point arguing how much new powers we would have and how great it was being part of the UK.

The only power we have is if we unite and all vote for the same party, The SNP. It is the only way we will be represented in Westminster and the only way we will have a voice and a say in The UK. Our voice must not be diluted, there IS strength in numbers and we ARE Better Together!

I'll leave you with this, for those who think that it's not so bad having a Tory government and for those who argued better the devil you know during the Referendum. The list below has been on a few sites but I have randomly checked and verified it and have included a few independent sources at the bottom of the page to support this. Feel free to google some of them to confirm this. THIS is what you are getting if you allow the Tories to stay in power. You get a complete lack of compassion, you get an "us and them" mentality, you get the demonisation of the poor to distract you from the corruption and greed of the rich, you get outrage at those in need asking for help and a general acceptance of those who want for nothing taking so much from those who have nothing to give. You get food banks and poor people dying of starvation, while trust fund millionaires in tails preach austerity to the masses from their banquet halls. This is what happens as a result of the "difficult decisions" that The Tories have made for the "hard working Briddish familes". Read on if you can stomach it.

Terry McGarvey, 48. Dangerously ill from polycytheamia, Terry asked for an ambulance to be called during his Work Capability Assessment. He knew that he wasn't well enough to attend his WCA but feared that his benefits would be stopped if he did not. He died the following day.

Elaine Lowe, 53. Suffering from COPD and fearful of losing her benefits. In desperation, Elaine chose to commit suicide.

Mark Wood, 44. Found fit for work by Atos, against his Doctors advice and assertions that he had complex mental health problems. Starved to death after benefits stopped, weighing only 5st 8lb when he died.

Paul Reekie, 48, the Leith based Poet and Author. Suffered from severe depression. Committed suicide after DWP stopped his benefits due to an Atos 'fit for work' decision.

Leanne Chambers, 30. Suffered depression for many years which took a turn for the worst when she was called in for a WCA. Leanne committed suicide soon after.

Karen Sherlock, 44. Multiple health issues. Found fit for work by Atos and denied benefits. Fought a long battle to get placed into the support group of ESA. Karen died the following month of a heart attack.

Carl Payne, 42. Fears of losing his lifeline benefits due to welfare reform led this Father of two to take his own life.

Tim Salter, 53. Blind and suffering from Agoraphobia. Tim hanged himself after Atos found him fit for work and stopped his benefits.

Edward Jacques, 47 years old and suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C. Edward had a history of severe depression and self-harm. He took a fatal overdose after Atos found him fit for work and stopped his benefits.

Linda Wootton, 49 years old. A double heart and lung transplant patient. Died just nine days after the government found her fit for work, their refusal letter arriving as she lay desperately ill in her hospital bed.

Steven Cawthra, 55. His benefits stopped by the DWP and with rising debts, he saw suicide as the only way out of a desperate situation

Elenore Tatton, 39 years old. Died just weeks after the government found her fit for work.

John Walker, 57, saddled with debt because of the bedroom tax, John took his own life.

Brian McArdle, 57 years old. Suffered a fatal heart attack the day after his disability benefits were stopped.

 Stephen Hill, 53. Died of a heart attack one month after being found fit for work, even though he was waiting for major heart surgery.

Jacqueline Harris, 53. A former Nurse who could hardly walk was found fit for work by Atos and her benefits withdrawn. in desperation, she took her own life.

David Barr, 28. Suffering from severe mental difficulties. Threw himself from a bridge after being found fit for work by Atos and failing his appeal.

David Groves, 56. Died of a heart attack the night before taking his work capability assessment. His widow claimed that it was the stress that killed him.

Nicholas Peter Barker, 51. Shot himself after being told his benefits were being stopped. He was unable to work after a brain haemorrhage left him paralysed down one side.

Mark and Helen Mullins, 48 and 59 years old. Forced to live on £57.50 a week and make 12 mile trips each week to get free vegetables to make soup. Mark and Helen both committed suicide.

Richard Sanderson, 44. Unable to find a job and with his housing benefit cut forcing him to move, but with nowhere to go. Richard committed suicide.

Martin Rust, 36 years old. A schizophrenic man who killed himself two months after the government found him fit to work.

 Craig Monk, 43. A vulnerable gentleman and a partial amputee who slipped so far into poverty that he hanged himself.

Colin Traynor, 29, and suffering from epilepsy was stripped of his benefits. He appealed. Five weeks after his death his family found he had won his appeal.

Elaine Christian, 57 years old. Worried about her work capability assessment, she was subsequently found at Holderness drain, drowned and with ten self inflicted wrist wounds.

Christelle and Kayjah Pardoe, 32 years and 5 month old. Pregnant, her benefits stopped, Christelle, clutching her baby son jumped from a third floor balcony.

Mark Scott, 46. His DLA and housing benefit stopped and sinking into deep depression, Mark died six weeks later.

Cecilia Burns, 51. Found fit for work while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She died just a few weeks after she won her appeal against the Atos decision.

Chris Cann, 57 years old. Found dead in his home just months after being told he had to undergo a medical assessment to prove he could not work.

Peter Hodgson, 49. Called to JCP to see if he was suitable for volunteer work. Peter had suffered a stroke, a brain haemorrhage and had a fused leg. His appointment letter arrived a few days after he took his own life.

Paul Willcoxsin, 33 years old. Suffered with mental health problems and worried about government cuts. Paul committed suicide by hanging himself.

Stephanie Bottrill, 53. After paying £80 a month for bedroom tax, Stephanie could not afford heating in the winter, and lived on tinned custard. In desperation, she chose to walk in front of a lorry.

Larry Newman suffered from a degenerative lung condition, his weight dropping from 10 to 7 stone. Atos awarded him zero points, he died just three months after submitting his appeal.

Paul Turner, 52 years old. After suffering a heart attack, he was ordered to find a job in February. In April Paul died from ischaemic heart disease.

Christopher Charles Harkness, 39. After finding out that the funding for his care home was being withdrawn, this man who suffered with mental health issues, took his own life.

Sandra Louise Moon, 57. Suffering from a degenerative back condition, depression and increasingly worried about losing her incapacity benefit. Sandra committed suicide by taking an overdose.

Lee Robinson, 39 years old. Took his own life after his housing benefit and council tax were taken away from him.

David Coupe, 57. A Cancer sufferer found fit for work by Atos in 2012. David lost his sight, then his hearing, then his mobility, and then his life.

Michael McNicholas, 34. Severely depressed and a recovering alcoholic. Michael committed suicide after being called in for a Work Capability Assessment by Atos.

Victor Cuff, 59 and suffering from severe depression. Victor hanged himself after the DWP stopped his benefits.

Charles Barden, 74. Charles committed suicide by hanging due to fears that the Bedroom Tax would leave him destitute and unable to cope.

 Ian Caress, 43. Suffered multiple health issues and deteriorating eyesight. Ian was found fit for work by Atos, he died ten months later having lost so much weight that his family said that he resembled a concentration camp victim.

Iain Hodge, 30. Suffered from the life threatening illness, Hughes Syndrome. Found fit for work by Atos and benefits stopped, Iain took his own life.

Wayne Grew, 37. Severely depressed due to government cuts and the fear of losing his job, Wayne committed suicide by hanging.

Kevin Bennett, 40. Kevin a sufferer of schizophrenia and mental illness became so depressed after his JSA was stopped that he became a virtual recluse. Kevin was found dead in his flat several months later.

David Elwyn Hughs Harries, 48. A disabled man who could no longer cope after his parents died, could find no help from the government via benefits. David took an overdose as a way out of his solitude.

Denis Jones, 58. A disabled man crushed by the pressures of government cuts, in particular the Bedroom Tax, and unable to survive by himself. Denis was found dead in his flat.

Shaun Pilkington, 58. Unable to cope any more, Shaun shot himself dead after receiving a letter from the DWP informing him that his ESA was being stopped.

Paul ?, 51. Died in a freezing cold flat after his ESA was stopped. Paul appealed the decision and won on the day that he lost his battle to live.

Chris MaGuire, 61. Deeply depressed and incapable of work, Chris was summonsed by Atos for a Work Capability Assessment and deemed fit for work. On appeal, a judge overturned the Atos decision and ordered them to leave him alone for at least a year, which they did not do. In desperation, Chris took his own life, unable to cope anymore.

 Peter Duut, a Dutch national with terminal cancer living in the UK for many years found that he was not entitled to benefits unless he was active in the labour market. Peter died leaving his wife destitute, and unable to pay for his funeral.

George Scollen, age unknown. Took his own life after the government closed the Remploy factory he had worked in for 40 years.

Julian Little, 47. Wheelchair bound and suffering from kidney failure, Julian faced the harsh restrictions of the Bedroom Tax and the loss of his essential dialysis room. He died shortly after being ordered to downgrade.

Miss DE, Early 50's. Suffering from mental illness, this lady committed suicide less than a month after an Atos assessor gave her zero points and declared her fit for work.

 

Robert Barlow, 47. Suffering from a brain tumour, a heart defect and awaiting a transplant, Robert was deemed fit for work by Atos and his benefits were withdrawn. He died penniless less than two years later.

Carl Joseph Foster-Brown, 58. As a direct consequence of the wholly unjustifiable actions of the Job centre and DWP, this man took his own life.

 

Martin Hadfield, 20 years old. Disillusioned with the lack of jobs available in this country but too proud to claim benefits. Utterly demoralised, Martin took his own life by hanging himself.

Annette Francis, 30. A mum-of-one suffering from severe mental illness, found dead after her disability benefits were ceased.

 Ian Jordan, 60. His benefits slashed after Atos and the DWP declared Ian, a sufferer of Barratt's Oesophagus, fit for work, caused him to run up massive debts in order to survive. Ian was found dead in his flat after taking an overdose.

Janet McCall, 53. Terminally ill with pulmonary fibrosis and declared 'Fit for Work' by Atos and the DWP, this lady died 5 months after her benefits were stopped.

Stuart Holley, 23. A man driven to suicide by the DWP's incessant pressure and threat of sanctions for not being able to find a job.

Graham Shawcross, 63. A sufferer of the debilitating disease, Addison's. Died of a heart attack due to the stress of an Atos 'Fit for Work' decision.

David Clapson, 59 years old. A diabetic ex-soldier deprived of the means to survive by the DWP and the governments harsh welfare reforms, David died all but penniless, starving and alone, his electricity run out.

Chris Smith, 59. Declared 'Fit for Work' by Atos as he lay dying of Cancer in his hospital bed.

Nathan Hartwell, 36, died of heart failure after an 18-month battle with the ­Department for Works and Pensions.

Michael Connolly, 60. A Father of One, increasingly worried about finances after his benefits were cut. Committed suicide by taking 13 times the fatal dose of prescription medicine on the 30th October - His Birthday.

Jan Mandeville, 52, A lady suffering from Fibromyalgia, driven to the point of mental and physical breakdown by this governments welfare reforms. Jan was found dead in her home after battling the DWP for ESA and DLA.

 

Trevor Drakard, 50 years old. A shy and reserved, severe epileptic who suffered regular and terrifying fits almost his entire life, hounded to suicide by the DWP who threatened to stop his life-line benefits

Better the devil you know, eh?

 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/man-who-ill-attend-fit-for-work-3177803
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/suicide-bid-of-woman-who-feared-losing-her-incapacity-benefit-8761182.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mark-wood-sweet-and-gentle-44yearold-man-with-mental-health-problems-starved-to-death-after-benefits-cut-9161749.html
http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2011/nov/16/do-public-spending-cuts-kill
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/boyfriend-missing-leanne-chambers-speaks-4465236
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/327050/My-ill-wife-had-to-fight-for-benefits-up-until-she-died
https://welfaretales.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/rip-paul-after-14-weeks-with-no-money-due-to-dwp-error/