Post by nickd on Jun 17, 2011 21:58:24 GMT 1
What on earth is it coming to when politicians turn on the disabled in the way they have. The latest to come out of the war on welfare is a shocking comment by a politician that the disabled should work for less than the minimum wage. What is he on?
Tory MP says disabled should work for below minimum wage
• A Conservative MP sparked outrage today by saying employers should be allowed to hire disabled people on less than the minimum wage – £5.93 an hour.
Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, also said this second-class status should be applied to people with learning difficulties and mental health problems. He made the remarks in a Commons debate on the Employment Opportunities Bill, prompting anger from opposition politicians and charities alike.
Anne Begg, chair of the work and pensions select committee, said:
“These comments are utterly outrageous and unacceptable. To suggest that disabled people should be treated as second class citizens is shocking and shows just what a warped world some Tories demonstrate they inhabit.”
While Sophie Corlett of Mind added:
“It is a preposterous suggestion that someone who has a mental health problem should be prepared to accept less than minimum wage to get their foot in the door with an employer.
“People with mental health problems should not be considered a source of cheap labour and should be paid appropriately for the jobs they do.”
On Left Foot Forward tonight, Jos Bell points out that Davies’s remarks and attitudes are not as isolated as we’d like to think, and provide a much needed wake-up call.
His remarks may not have come as too much of a surprise to seasoned Philip Davies watchers, however. He has a record of outlandish, outrageous views, many of them closer in spirit and substance to the BNP than David Cameron’s Conservatives.
Only last month, he described Britain’s contribution to international aid as “stark raving mad”. More Griffin-esque were his remarks that there was “nothing offensive” about ‘blacking up’.
He said:
“Why it is so offensive to black up your face… I have never understood this.”
The Tory leadership have distanced themselves from his remarks today, yet a Tory MP he remains – for now.
• Earlier this week, at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, David Cameron and Ed Miliband clashed over the treatment of cancer patients.
The Labour leader told the House that as a result of the Welfare Reform Bill, the government would stop contributory-based employment allowance for recovering cancer patients after one year – resulting in 7,000 of them losing £94 per week.
He was supported in his claims by MacMillan Cancer Support, whose spokesman Mike Hobday said:
“We think it was a really important issue for Ed Miliband to raise. It is quite clear the government haven’t realised it will have a big impact on cancer patients who would like to work but aren’t yet ready to do so…
“There are 7,000 people this will apply to. Those who are recovering will be hit, those who want to work but are not quite ready yet because of the treatment they receive – they will be penalised to the tune of £100 a week.”
MacMillan’s chief executive Ciarán Devane added:
“Many cancer patients will lose this crucial benefit simply because they have not recovered quickly enough. The majority want to return to work as it can represent a milestone in their recovery and a return to normality, in addition to the obvious financial benefits.
“This proposal in the Welfare Reform Bill will have a devastating impact on many cancer patients. We are urging the government to change their plans to reform key disability benefits to ensure cancer patients and their families are not pushed into poverty.”
In response to this evidence, there followed a vicious right-wing backlash against Hobday, a former Labour Parliamentary candidate, and MacMillan, with wild accusations of a conspiracy between Labour and the charity. Utter nonsense of course, especially when you consider that not only MacMillan but 30 – yes, thirty – cancer charities oppose the government on these cuts, as revealed by Political Scrapbook.
PS:
“Are we to believe [all] these charities, rather than representing the interests of cancer patients, are pursuing some form of party political vendetta?!”
This just has to stop, it just shows the contempt some people have for those less able to fend for themselves.
www.leftfootforward.org/2011/06/look-left-17-06-11/
Tory MP says disabled should work for below minimum wage
• A Conservative MP sparked outrage today by saying employers should be allowed to hire disabled people on less than the minimum wage – £5.93 an hour.
Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, also said this second-class status should be applied to people with learning difficulties and mental health problems. He made the remarks in a Commons debate on the Employment Opportunities Bill, prompting anger from opposition politicians and charities alike.
Anne Begg, chair of the work and pensions select committee, said:
“These comments are utterly outrageous and unacceptable. To suggest that disabled people should be treated as second class citizens is shocking and shows just what a warped world some Tories demonstrate they inhabit.”
While Sophie Corlett of Mind added:
“It is a preposterous suggestion that someone who has a mental health problem should be prepared to accept less than minimum wage to get their foot in the door with an employer.
“People with mental health problems should not be considered a source of cheap labour and should be paid appropriately for the jobs they do.”
On Left Foot Forward tonight, Jos Bell points out that Davies’s remarks and attitudes are not as isolated as we’d like to think, and provide a much needed wake-up call.
His remarks may not have come as too much of a surprise to seasoned Philip Davies watchers, however. He has a record of outlandish, outrageous views, many of them closer in spirit and substance to the BNP than David Cameron’s Conservatives.
Only last month, he described Britain’s contribution to international aid as “stark raving mad”. More Griffin-esque were his remarks that there was “nothing offensive” about ‘blacking up’.
He said:
“Why it is so offensive to black up your face… I have never understood this.”
The Tory leadership have distanced themselves from his remarks today, yet a Tory MP he remains – for now.
• Earlier this week, at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, David Cameron and Ed Miliband clashed over the treatment of cancer patients.
The Labour leader told the House that as a result of the Welfare Reform Bill, the government would stop contributory-based employment allowance for recovering cancer patients after one year – resulting in 7,000 of them losing £94 per week.
He was supported in his claims by MacMillan Cancer Support, whose spokesman Mike Hobday said:
“We think it was a really important issue for Ed Miliband to raise. It is quite clear the government haven’t realised it will have a big impact on cancer patients who would like to work but aren’t yet ready to do so…
“There are 7,000 people this will apply to. Those who are recovering will be hit, those who want to work but are not quite ready yet because of the treatment they receive – they will be penalised to the tune of £100 a week.”
MacMillan’s chief executive Ciarán Devane added:
“Many cancer patients will lose this crucial benefit simply because they have not recovered quickly enough. The majority want to return to work as it can represent a milestone in their recovery and a return to normality, in addition to the obvious financial benefits.
“This proposal in the Welfare Reform Bill will have a devastating impact on many cancer patients. We are urging the government to change their plans to reform key disability benefits to ensure cancer patients and their families are not pushed into poverty.”
In response to this evidence, there followed a vicious right-wing backlash against Hobday, a former Labour Parliamentary candidate, and MacMillan, with wild accusations of a conspiracy between Labour and the charity. Utter nonsense of course, especially when you consider that not only MacMillan but 30 – yes, thirty – cancer charities oppose the government on these cuts, as revealed by Political Scrapbook.
PS:
“Are we to believe [all] these charities, rather than representing the interests of cancer patients, are pursuing some form of party political vendetta?!”
This just has to stop, it just shows the contempt some people have for those less able to fend for themselves.
www.leftfootforward.org/2011/06/look-left-17-06-11/