Disability benefit cuts just not acceptable, Tory rebels tell Osborne

[LeftishBrit]

George Osborne risks parliamentary defeat over plans to cut £1.3bn from disability benefits as criticism of the scheme spread across Conservative backbenches.

The leader of the revolt warned the chancellor that the political unease was greater than that felt at the time of last autumn’s successful revolt over plans to cut tax credits.

Andrew Percy accused the chancellor of hitting “exactly the wrong people” in its proposal to cut personal independence payments (PIP) for people who need aids to help them dress and use the toilet.

The MP for Brigg and Goole said: “This is about need, it is not about welfare reform. These people have these needs. These needs are not going away and therefore the payments should not go away.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/17/tory-rebels-osborne-disability-benefit-cuts-just-not-acceptable


Wow. Glad to see that even some Tories are finding this level of viciousness a bit too much.

[LeftishBrit]

1. And now Nicky Morgan says the cuts were 'Only a suggestion'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disability-benefit-cuts-included-in-the-budget-were-just-a-suggestion-cabinet-minister-nicky-morgan-a6938131.html

I.e. 'We got caught!'

Well, I daresay Nicky Morgan isn't that keen on losing her rather marginal seat; but I'm not sure if anything will stop true fanatics like Iain Duncan-Smith, or idiots like George Osborne.

At any rate, this does show that not all the British people, even some of those who vote Tory, are quite as nasty as Duncan-Smith et al would like us all to be; and that possibly we can have some effect on our government some of the time. Let's hope!

[Ironing Man]

2. ...

Mark Garnier, who sits on the Treasury Select Commitee, and who knows his stuff financially, was - if less sharp than Percy - certainly on the same page while talking on Radio 5.

he sounded rather casual about it actually - in a way not that he thought it unimportant, but that he took the view that disability rights organisations and MP's of all flavours who were unhappy about it might be pushing at an open, or certainly unlocked, door with regards to getting it changed. behind the scenes knowledge, or a firm grasp of the weakness of the government case and a sound understanding of the depth of feeling across the house..?

he made a rather amusing destruction of the, err.. optomistic Treasury and OBR predictions for the economy: he claimed it was a well established joke/truth that economic forecasters were invented by weather forecasters to make them look good. his cynicism regarding the 'long term economic plan' was evident for all to see, and he wasn't exactly fullsome in his backing of the Chancellor and his budget...

[T_i_B]

3. It beats me....

...how Gideon Osbourne gets such uncritical treatment from so much of the British press. Nothing but bad, spiteful policies, and nonsense figures.

[Ironing Man]

4. ...

two reasons:

firstly, because he has a speaking ability to make the implausible plausible, he is a good speaker, and more than one Labour/LibDem party person has described his speaking persona as 'captivating'. he comes across as a bit of a slightly nervous cold fish on TV, but not in real life..

secondly, he is assiduous in cultivating journlalists and MP's - he is, i think universally, regarded within the westminster bubble as charming, funny, clever, knowledgable and good company. if enough people really like you on a personal level you'll have a real impact on how seriously criticism of you is taken.

[T_i_B]

5. Doesn't have that effect with me

All I see is an extremely partisan, ambitious politician with a fondness for crapping on the powerless and blaming Gordon Brown.

[LeftishBrit]

6. While I haven't met him personally and don't wish to..

he certainly doesn't seem charming or a good speaker to me. I can imagine why some people find Dave or Boris likeable, even though they don't have that effect on me; but Gideon just seems partisan, obsessional, and not even very competent.

[Denzil_DC]

8. Add me to the roll call of those who're totally unaffected by his charm.

He comes across as smarmy and ineffectual, a lightweight promoted way beyond his abilities to boot.

I'm loving this "it was just a suggestion" nonsense. The budget's not usually the time or place for kite-flying.

If Osborne's so much part of the in crowd among MPs and so many of them have the hots for him, how the hell did he not detect the looming backlash that may see this measure voted down by his own backbenchers if it gets even that far? Or is it that he surrounds himself with a bubble of yesmen keen to climb on his bandwagon if he makes a leadership bid?

[LeftishBrit]

7. And it seems that even my unwanted MP may be joining the rebels...

http://www.bicesteradvertiser.net/news/bicester/14353651.Nicola_Blackwood_joins_Tory_rebels_over_disability_benefit_cuts/

For once I don't feel as utterly ashamed of being in this constituency as I usually do.

[T_i_B]

9. IDS has resigned over this.

[LeftishBrit]

10. I think I've just fainted...

[T_i_B]

11. Faint all you want...

You'll still be passed as fit to work by ATOS and have your benefits cut thanks to IDS.

It might just be a DWP ploy to see which disabled person jumps out of their wheelchair and does a jig at the news.

[LeftishBrit]

12. True enough...

but even they might decide that George Osborne isn't fit to work because of that toxic waste that he has for brains!

[Denzil_DC]

13. It's twue, it's TWUE!

If the BBC says so, it must be true:

Iain Duncan Smith quits over planned disability benefit changes

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has resigned citing pressure to make cuts to disability benefits.

It comes after mounting controversy over £4bn of planned cuts to Personal Independence Payments, expected to affect 640,000 people.

Mr Duncan Smith said the cuts were "not defensible" within a Budget that "benefits higher earning taxpayers".

Earlier, a government source indicated the changes were going to be "kicked into the long grass".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35848687

Which is a weird turn of events - I had him down as a hard-liner on all this, given his general comport and his positive reactions to savage government initiatives in recent times.

Unless there's more behind it, of course ...

The schisms on Europe, now this - do I smell a rebellion Cameron's going to have a hard time firefighting? Has he hung Gideon out to dry? Stay tuned.

[T_i_B]

14. I suspect his real intention is to concentrate on the "Leave" campaign

His position as a cabinet member had already become untenable thanks to this issue quite frankly.

[Denzil_DC]

15. I share your suspicion.

He's long been a bogeyman, and his current role, playing to that stereotype, was pretty thankless.

Apart from anything else, all this terrible PR and the untold human cost of the ridiculously punitive disablility tests hasn't delivered any savings - quite the opposite, as with so many of this government's "cost-saving" measures.

[T_i_B]

16. Any time anyone in government has said anything pro-EU...

...IDS has taken to the media to rubbish them. To be perfectly honest it's a mystery how he held on until now.

And don't get me started on his DWP reforms. I am not sorry to see him go, although there is always the possibility that Cameron could find an even worse replacement. Priti Patel for instance.

[LeftishBrit]

17. Priti Patel? DON'T! ARGH!

[Denzil_DC]

18. There's this to add to the mix as well:

IDS loses legal challenge to keep Universal Credit problems secret

Iain Duncan Smith has lost his latest attempt to keep potentially damning Universal Credit documents secret.

If this sounds a little familiar, it's because this isn't the first time the department has been ordered to publish these papers. In fact, it's now the third.

In 2012, Tony Collins and John Slater separately fired off Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for several reports relating to the early stages of Universal Credit. The documents detail any problems Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) staff imagined could arise from the programme, information about issues which did occur, and the outcome of a high-level review. Their requests were flatly refused.

The pair complained to the Information Commissioner who decided that all but one of the reports should be published. The DWP then started what has become a lengthy and costly legal battle to keep them hidden. Four years on from when the FOI requests were first sent in, a second judge has now demanded that all the papers are released.

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2016/03/17/ids-loses-legal-challenge-to-keep-universal-credit-problems

I'll see your Priti Patel and raise you Nicki Morgan.

[Ghost Dog]

19. Universal Credit. Universal Living Wage is what's required,

with supplements for those with legitimate extra needs.

Some good news, then.