The Ultimate Betrayal ; of Our Disabled Children and their Families

No ones talking about it yet as Universal Credit still seems a long way off for some people. I make it my business to look into what is on the horizon with the DWP as I need to prepare for the next shock my family could face, but more importantly I need to make others aware of what they could be facing also.

Many families with disabled children have at least 1 working parent. My son is autistic aged 14. I work 10 hours a week Self Employed to fit round my caring duties. My husband is also Self Employed, Low Paid and on average works 25 hours a week. We receive Working and Child tax credits to top up the low pay. We obviously do not lead an extravagant lifestyle but we do our best for our 4 sons. As my youngest son is disabled he is able to receive an extra disability element for tax credit purposes.

All disabled children whose parent(s) receive Working Tax Credit currently, get a top up disabled child tax element of £57 per week. This is payable to ALL disabled children regardless of the severity of disability as long as they are in receipt of DLA. Gordon Brown was instrumental in knowing implicitly it costs a lot more to raise a disabled child, and families who are struggling on low pay need  a bit of extra help.

Not so David Cameron and his able henchman Iain Duncan Smith. While millionaires enjoy a  £100,000 tax cut this month, they both believe DISABLED CHILDREN, arguably the most vulnerable section of society should "shoulder some of the burden" - their poor lowly paid mums and dads should be made to "work  a little harder" "strive more" and so no longer receive the £57 extra across the range of disabilities that children may have.

Now the Government have decided in their wisdom there are some children "MORE DESERVINGLY DISABLED" than other children! Under Universal Credit the £57 pw will now only be awarded to children receiving the High Rate component of DLA. Those receiving either the Middle Rate or Low Rate Component will now be reduced to HALF the amount at £28 pw - smacking of being "less disabled" than those on the High Rate. If DLA was a specific amount for a specific condition, this charge at the disabled tax element may have a little justification. But no! It depends on how well you filled in your child's initial DLA claim form! I know of some autistic children with severe autism - 1 receives High Rate Care and High Rate Mobility of DLA, and the other receives Low Rate Care and no mobility. There is no science to it! If your DWP advisor, checks the conditions book , they can then make up their own minds what the award should be taking into account your claim form, which you could have hastily filled in after a night without sleep, or if you are lucky enough your local CAB advisor could have filled it in for you. It's definitely a hit and miss affair!

How dare this Government think that the MOST vulnerable, the MOST deserving, the helpless disabled children of our society should bare ANY burden for the misery inflicted on us by millionaires and "Robber Barons"? And what of their parents? Already struggling with low pay, working to survive and then saving the Government a royal fortune on providing 24/7 care themselves get this kick in the teeth.

And the biggest sickener for me: Knowing that David Cameron himself had a disabled child he claimed DLA for. Damn it man, you know how bloody hard it is don't you to work and care? Or at least your Mrs does! Many people ask how you sleep at night Mr Cameron on a daily basis - I really don't know or care.

But I care passionately about those disabled children and their parents who WON'T be sleeping at night when Universal Credit comes in. These people matter to me : for I am one of them too.

Rural Workers and All Employees need our Help Now!...

I was born in Gloucestershire. My parents lived and worked in Worcester and I lived there for 30 years of my life. We knew the changes of seasons: not by the weather, but from picking seasonal produce and flowers blooming : Strawberries in early June, Blackberries and Potatoes in August, Bluebells down at Bluebell Woods - first week in May. There was no rush to the Garden Centre for Holly at Christmas: it grew in the hedgerows around us. We fished and swam in the river, and could name most of the trees in the shire on sight. Basically I had a "Famous Five" type of outdoor childhood and one I always cherish. Many friends parents, were farm workers, farmers, labourers.

Today, by accident I came across a link at Unions Together who are asking people to email their MP to campaign against the Abolishment of the Agricultural Wages Board. The debate and vote on this abolition is on Tuesday 16th April - the day before Lady Thatchers Funeral. Thus the media and press eyes will not be on this little known debate and vote. It can easily slip through a vote that will wreak havoc, not only on Rural Workers, but has the potential to be the first step on the road to abolishing the Minimum Wage for all.

The Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) sets the Minimum Wage and terms of employment for Agricultural Workers. The Board has the power to set holiday pay and sick pay too. The Lib/Dem MP David Heath (twitter @davidheathmp) is leading the debate to abolish the AWB next Tuesday. Ironically his constituency is the rural Somerton and Frome in the South West - rich farming land. As a Lib/Dem who reportedly strives to support the Low Paid I was more than surprised he is seeking to abolish an organisation that upholds wages for the Low Paid! Ask him yourselves why he is doing this! He has not replied to me to date.

The big picture is once the Government has abolished the AWB - they can set about dismantling the Minimum Wage - not just for Rural Workers but for us all! They have 2 years until a General Election to do so, which is time enough.

People working in the countryside face challenges many of us take for granted. It simply costs far more than living in towns - Housing,Food, Fuel, Transport Costs are a lot higher. The wages are pretty low now - abolish the very organisation that protects them and they are left to the mercy of the Government, who lets face it are slashing costs/welfare for every vulnerable group in the UK. Far from a Minimum Wage to protect we should be campaigning for a Living Wage for all! On a recent Countryfile programme on BBC Hill Farmers were said to earn between £8k -£14k per year - hardly a fortune! With the March weather and snow recently,many Farmers and Farms will fold. Abolishing the AWB is "another brick in the wall" for them.

Many rural workers live in "Tied Housing". Not only will they be fearful for wages - they may lose the roof over their heads far quicker with no protection from the AWB. Young people, already forced from the villages of their birth due to cost, will desert the Agricultural Industry even more, where wages are poorer than currently and the future so bleak, thus exasperating the increasingly elderly population of Farmers and Farm Workers.

Another side effect of the abolition of the AWB could have sinister connotations. As we all know many Romanian and Bulgarian Immigrants will arrive in the UK in 2014. Herefordshire has already seen a huge increase in immigrants coming to take up seasonal work picking the produce of the countryside. While Immigrants may be quite happy to work for less than the Minimu Wage as it is more than they get in their home country, British Workers will not. Racial Tensions may occur if British Workers feel Immigrants are working for less than the going rate - and rightly so. British Workers will feel they are being priced out of their own jobs and homes and thus the tranquil countryside becomes a hotbed of racial tension and distrust.

 I sincerely hope Mary Creagh MP the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stands up in the HoC next Tuesday and fights for the livelihoods and jobs of these Agricultural Workers. If the Government win, they will attempt to abolish the Minimum Wage for all.

On the same day next Tuesday April 16th, the HoC will also debate the "Shares for Rights" they wish employees to exchange in future. In a survey only 1% of Employers are keen on a legislation that will see employees trade their right to strike, or appeal etc for shares in a company. This again is an attempt to erode workers rights by bribing them basically! At a time when belonging to a Trade Union is near criminal in Coalition Eyes, again we cannot allow an unmandated Government to push through legislation that would see employees rights back in the Dark Ages. I have already seen major retailers on the new Retail Park in my town take on young people under 18 on two counts : their Minimum Wage is cheaper than those over 18, and these young people, on the whole do not know their rights, as they have been brought up in an era where Unions have been pushed to one side and to be a member of one is only for those who are politically motivated.

The Government wish to see this band of 16+s brought up in an era where the Employer is Omnipotent and Workfare widely spread and accepted by all.

I hope those who both care about Agricultural Workers, the Minimum Wage, and Employees Rights make as much noise as possible before April 16th on Twitter, Facebook and by emailing their MPs before the debates. You can find me on twitter @PinkWaferBelle - Bernadette Horton

Once these rights have been voted on and agreed by a majority in the HoC by a Government with no 

mandate to act: there will be no going back and these rights will be lost forever. I am trying to do my bit. Will you do yours?

Come and Walk with me - On the Frontline Of Austerity.

As you may already know from my campaigning, my husband and I are both Self Employed and Low Paid.We have 4 sons: 3 still living at home, the youngest is autistic. While I see many families better off than we are: there are thousands for whom real grinding poverty is a 365 days 24/7 reality.

Let's talk about the children .Our kids. Already Government rhetoric is ramping up and hardening for anyone who dares to have more than 2 children. Last time I looked I thought we lived in the UK not China! It is deemed "reckless" to have more than 2, and there is every indication if a Tory Government is elected in 2015, Child Benefit will be curtailed to 2 children only. It must be because of those fantastically  high figures of ooh 180 families in the UK who have 10+ kids!

I have a friend with 3 children between 7-15. She and her husband lost their jobs last autumn. Both are looking for work daily. After having seen life as employed people she tells me of life now.

"I just feel terrible for the kids. There are no treats. For example, when they come home from school with a party invitation, I have to decline, because we can't afford the birthday present for the birthday child. And I mean something for less than £3. It's embarrassing. It costs £2.50 per child to go swimming at the local pool, that's out of our reach now. And as for school trips, my kids are now in a majority of the class who don't go on them as we can't afford to.

 My mum lives locally. The kids go round to her house for tea twice a week: nothing wrong in that you say:but it's out of necessity not because they're visiting their Gran. We can't afford to feed them 7 days a week and so she helps out, Either that or we will have to ask for help from the FoodBank. The difference between being employed and unemployed is that there is no room in the budget for anything other than bills and food costs kept to a minimum. School Uniform is a nightmare. I try and put away £2 per week towards it. I am not saying for one minute, that we should be entitled to a high standard of living whilst on benefit, but this is not living. It is just about existing and the existence is even hanging by a thread. It is like being on a never -ending production line of poverty. We need jobs - anything will do - and we need them now."

For me, I am finding the "extra's" increasingly difficult to find. There is a £350 France Trip my third son would like to go on, but I have had to say no this year. The Family Fund have paid 6 months worth of Drama School fees for my autistic son: a huge outlet for him and he has progressed so much I would hate these Saturday mornings to end but it is a £100 per month expense and the remaining 6 months will be  paid for from his DLA. We will do anything to make sure these continue. Teenagers clothes are pricey. While designer tags are out of reach, it is still a hard task to kit the boys out. Matalan have come into their own, but clothes have gone up in price hugely over the past few years! Trainers are a nightmare too and I bargain hunt on eBay for the labels at reduced prices.

People take for granted, eating out occasionally, a cinema trip, bowling night. All these have been lessened considerably. Whilst  many class mates jetted off for Easter,  that is beyond our reach. My youngest son was 14 a few days ago. We managed a lunch out for 4 of us at a set price carvery and some ice creams at a local nature reserve village. As he is autistic a box of retro sweets as a present was his only wish and he was delighted with it. But his brother's birthday is next month and he wanted 5 friends to go Paintballing. The cost is £30 for each child and we cannot afford to do that. But I feel guilty this is beyond our reach, and guilty again when I think of families visiting Foodbanks who would think this treat an absolutely dire waste of money whilst people are going hungry. I am angry that "work" is getting us by, but no more than that.

 My son will be 16 in 2 years time and will face a transfer from DLA -PIP. Will he be "autistic" enough to get the standard care rate even? Will his means of support to a life as an independent disabled adult be stopped before it has begun? Horrifyingly will he have to become MORE dependent on us as parents just because the state recognises him as an adult at 16 and not 18?

My third son is a talented cricketer and has played for Wales since he was 11. Cricket is a hugely expensive sport especially at National level as Wales are based in Cardiff : a 3.5 hour trip from us in N Wales. He is  friends with an 18 year old lad with some learning difficulties at our local cricket club. They both play senior cricket on the weekend and I have given the other lad my son's old cricket equipment he has grown out of, as this lad is painfully thin for his age. I volunteer my help for admin in the club and the first thing this lad says is: "I can't afford to sign on with the club this year as I cannot afford the subscription fees" (£75 per yr and £30 for students/unwaged) I always waive the fees for him, but then he cannot afford to pay the £7 cricket tea fees on the weekend either or a contribution for the minibus hire for away matches. He pretends he does not want to eat, in order to avoid payment so the club subsidises him. The senior lads 18+ always stop off for a pint on the way home from away games : he has no money but feels ashamed when other lads offer to buy him a drink. He cannot participate in this sport without 100% help from others. It is wrong!

Finally I know a local couple in their late 40's. The male has an alcohol problem and is recurrently in and out of hospital. His partner is disabled and has the added onus of coping with his addiction. They lived in a 2 bedroom flat but have now had to move 20 miles away to privately rent a 1 bedroom flat due to the Bedroom Tax. Last week they ran out of food and reluctantly walked 4 miles to a Foodbank for help. The rent on the 1 bed flat was more than the rent on the 2 bedroomed previous flat and is being paid for by Housing Benefit. Not a saving by the Government but an extra cost! Who benefited from it? Not the couple or the Government! Three months ago he was found by police after threatening to commit suicide through both his addiction and the sheer despair of what he termed "existing" not living.

This is what poverty and Low Pay in Austerity UK is about: Exisiting and Getting By. It comes to a terrible point when some cannot afford food, and a feeling of guilt as a parent when school trips are denied and new trainers a burden to provide. You feel a personal failure. I am ANGRY at how both Jobseekers and the Low paid are becoming increasingly marginalised by the Government, both in rhetoric and perception in the media. The Government are about to embark on unchartered waters by taking on the Low Paid Workers who are "not striving enough" to increase their hours and pay and so the Government think sanctions or even a termination of Tax Credits is the answer.

I am ready and waiting for the fight Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg. Come and take me on!

The Low Paid - The Government says It's Your Turn Now...

...to face the threat and assault of Tax Credit Cuts and Sanctions.

Yes that's right! You the Low Paid Worker who currently claims Working and/or Child Tax Credits to top up your Low Pay. You, the part time supermarket worker,You the Mum juggling childcare and working Part Time, You the Avon/Betterware rep struggling for sales in Austerity UK, You the Dad whose hours have been cut and you can't get a 2nd job because it doesn't fit in with your current jobs shift pattern. Me - Part Time Sales Rep, Self Employed, Low Paid, Mum to Four Sons. Husband also Self Employed - Struggling in 2 Part Time Enterprises to make ends meet.

"No you're wrong!" I hear you say. "George Osborne stood in a warehouse at Morrisons and continuously referred to us as "HardWorking Families" "Getting Up In the Mornings" "Working Hard - Doing the Right Thing"

No more! Not content with hounding the Jobseekers, the Disabled, the People Living in Social Housing with a spare Bedroom - Bedroom Tax - now it's the turn of The Workers, the Low Paid, often Part Time Workers who as Mark Hoban Minister at DWP has accused of "Pursuing Hobbies" whilst not working enough hours to be self sufficient.

This is unprecedented territory for any Government. Up until April 2013, even if we are Low Paid, there is always the knowledge we are supported by a top -up of Tax Credits to acknowledge our "striving". But the Coalition Govwrnment no longer agrees. Now that the assault and demonisation of the Poorest in Society begins in earnest the Government are thirsty for another target, another section of society to ostracise  - The Low Paid Worker.

Whilst I cannot put the phrase "Hard Working Families" into one blog, as many times as George Osborne put into his key note speech at Morrisons I can say "Low Paid Workers" until I am blue in the face! This section of society, Mr Duncan -Smith and co actually WORK! STRIVE! CONTRIBUTE.. The very section of society you previously admired and encouraged.  The very section of society Margaret Thatcher thought so much of, she brought in her hugely popular Right To Buy your Council Home Policy! What has changed?

In the Guardian's article Low Paid to be Pushed into More Hours Patrick Wintour talks of " a new frontier on Welfare" where more frequent interviews at the Job Centre await the Low Paid, scrutinisation of hours worked and an "encouragement to seek more hours" in order to become self sufficient and off Tax Credits  and ultimately Universal Credit. The DWP refer to the Low Paid on Tax Credits as "Working Less than could be reasonably expected".

So the Mum juggling childcare and Part Time Work is "Working Less than is Reasonably Expected". Mr Osborne announced in the budget that in 2015 mums will be given £1200 for childcare expenses. He deliberately EXCLUDED mums on working tax credits - the very people who need childcare help!! So how is Mum with a few kids supposed to increase her hours to become self sufficient when she is denied childcare help? But Mum on £149k is given the £1200 towards childcare? Madness!!

The dad whose hours have been cut. The last time I looked the UK was facing unprecedented austerity. He will be "encouraged" - another way of saying "forced" in DWP speak to increase his hours or get another job paying more or face having his tax credits cut entirely. Result:Unemployed Dad on JSA - another stat, another person to demonise.

This policy along with Bedroom Tax and PIP is another example of a Government policy not thought through at all. It may well save the Government money when people are switched from tax credits to JSA, but it also sends a signal that "working" is not enough anymore. You HAVE to work Full Time as Part Time is "not worthy" anymore. I'd also like the Government to consider that if Mums are "forced" into increasing hours with little or no childcare support who is raising our children?

To this end I am so incensed with Government policy on the Low Paid Workers, that I have started a twitter campaign under the hash tag of #StandUpForTheLowPaid . I am asking each and every Labour MP and also the Green Party and Plaid Cymru as well as Unions like Unite to stand up and speak out for the Low Paid. I am not saying this section of society is more deserving than another section like the Jobseekers or Disabled. In my view we all stand together, unitedly opposed to the  detrimental Welfare Cuts this Government are inflicting on the people least able to carry the burden. Indeed I often use the hastag on Twitter : #CampaignForYourNeighbour as with all the cuts we do not know who the Government is coming for next. We must stand united.

While Millionaires get a £42,000 Tax Cut this month, the Low Paid Worker is getting a Tax Credit Cut or Sanction if he/she is not "striving enough". George Osborne stood up in Morrisons on 2nd April 2013 and DEFENDED the tax cut for the higher paid saying - we do not want the brain-drain of skilled people going out of the UK. Yet Osborne is prepared to throw into poverty the supermarket worker he was talking to!

Join my campaign to bring this into the more mainstream public knowledge.

Tweet/ Email your MP, spread the hash tag #StandUpForTheLowPaid  on Twitter. Spread the news that the Low Paid could face Tax Credit Cuts or Sanctions on your facebook page. We need Low Paid Workers to know what is happening in their name. Contact your union, tell your neighbours, contact your local papers - The Government is about to come for the Low Paid - We need to be ready.

As I have said many times "If we Tolerate this, then Our Children Will Be Next."

#StandUpForTheLowPaid

Self Employed and Universal Credit: Demonisation Begins

...And so it has come to pass. The DWP have published "Guidelines" - information on how the Self Employed who currently claim Working Tax Credits will be treated under Universal Credit - the shiny new 6 Benefits-In-One flagship policy of Iain Duncan-Smith.

You can find the new guidelines here: http://bit.ly/WVUNd9

The first thing I noted was how under the previous Labour government and even initially under the Coalition Government the Low Paid Self Employed or Employed worker was seen as "striving" "doing the right thing" and trying to work their way in a low paid job. However the emphasis and language has shifted dramatically! No longer is it enough to work in a low paid Self Employed capacity, a new stringent set of regulations in order to claim Universal Credit, is about to come into force in 2013, with emphasis on "sanctions" if you do not comply on time.

The Self Employed have always sent in tax returns with income made on a once yearly basis. Not under Universal Credit. Those who need to claim the Working or Child Tax Elements perhaps, or/and the Housing Benefit element or more of the 6 benefits encompassed under Universal Credit must report monthly with paperwork so income can be scrutinised closely. Appointments will be made at Job Centres/HMRC offices much the same as the unemployed currently: a Gateway Interview will be made to discuss your Self Employment and appointments made on a recurring monthly basis. For those in rural/coastal areas it is a trek to the nearest Job Centre, and your time could be better used in finding more work quite frankly,or chasing up paperwork. Failure to report on time and sanctions will be made. Failure to report within a month and Universal Credit will be terminated!

There is also a presumption that you must work a 35 hour week and make minimum wage to be "gainfully self employed" as the DWP put it. Carers who claim Carers Allowance are exempt, but others are not. Time limits will be set to bump up your hours/pay until you are "gainfully self employed" or your Self Employment will be terminated and the DWP will force you to seek paid employment - a subtle term to transfer you onto JobSeekers Allowance/Income Support until you have a paid job.

So what are the likely outcomes/consequences? I can see many women in particular being disproportionately hit. I for example, am an Avon rep. I get commission on my sales once every 3 weeks. To get £500 of sales I receive £80-£100 of commission earnt- nowhere near minimum wage. There are many women in Betterware and Kleeneze reps jobs who fit their work around caring for young children etc but who desparately want  to retain a small degree of independence, and feel valued in the work they do. There are those who are writers, sculptors or seasonal workers like Gardeners who have erratic low pay also. The outcome will be these people will be forced to close down as Self Employed and seek paid employment. Those who have "done the right thing" and registered with HMRC as a Self Employed Rep for example will be tempted not to register as Self Employed and try to get away with earning a small pittance "on the side" - in fact HMRC has recently offered an amnesty to Avon Reps as this situation of Non Registering was rife!

The Unemployment stats are bound to rise, if the low paid Self Employed are then transferred to JSA until they get paid employment. I have been told from a source that the main targets of the DWP are immigrants who have become Self Employed selling the BIg Issue or betting a reps job like Avon, and have then be able to be eligible  for the more generous tax credits than if they were on JSA/Income Support. However, even looking at it from the DWP viewpoint when they transfer those not "gainfully self employed" their net will close long standing small sole traders down too, especially those in the creative arts type trades.

There are devils advocates out there who have said "Well you are claiming benefit- shouldn't the taxpayer ensure you are looking for more hours/increased pay?" Fair comment I say if we were not in the middle of a toxic storm of austerity. But many of us Low Paid Self Employed are contributing to society in many ways. Shouldn't we be rewarded for our efforts instead of facing the "stick of sanctions"?

The Conservative Party: always been the Party of the Small Business, the Sole Trader, the Party as Mr Cameron tells us daily "of those who want to get on and work hard" . Under Thatcher the Self Employed Low Paid were the very sector of the electorate she targeted to enable those to buy their council home! Seems the Self Employed Low Paid Workers are now to be demonised alongside the Unemployed, Disabled, Sick, and Young, Mums, Dads.. The list is longer every day!

Mark Hoban - Minister of DWP said on 21st January 2013

..."new demands could also be placed on the self-employed, pointing out that the tax credit system as it stands allowed people to pursue hobbies, earn nothing and subsidise their income through state support "without any expectation that they will increase their earnings and move towards self-sufficiency. This flies in the face of a principled welfare system".

So onto the Labour Party: no news yet on how they will tackle/oppose these swingeing attacks on Self Employed Low Paid Workers. Mr Miliband has spoken out about the loss of Working Tax Credit Cuts this April and the loss of those tax credits against the tax cuts for Millionaires and rightly so! Now the Labour Party need to act to defend us.

In Pain. Ill, frightened..The Night Cameron's NHS failed me.

A fortnight ago  had begun with a tickly throat nothing more, but by 10pm I was being rushed by my husband to A+E.

The throat had turned into gasping for breath, hacking repeated cough, high temperature and the straw that broke the camel's back - hallucinations. In a space of a few hours I had declined so rapidly, my husband would hear no more protestation and decided to drive me the 7 miles to hospital. On arrival he found a wheelchair and wheeled me from the car to the reception and booked me in. I could not hold my head up and lolled to one side in the chair. The triage nurse assessed me and queried pneumonia. I was then told I would have to wait for the medical doc, but the waiting room was not ideal for me so I was put in a nurses meeting room within A +E.

I was wheeled past a corridor full of sick people on trollies, past the packed waiting room and the cubicles (all full) and into the nurses meeting room. A healthcare assistant brought me some water and then scurried away. My husband asked a passing nurse whether there was anywhere I could lie down as I was in danger of falling out if the wheelchair as I could not hold my head up and was lolling to one side. She said everywhere was full, but she would see how long I had to wait to see the doctor as she could see I was very ill. My husband then asked for a pillow to support me, but was told there were none available, but perhaps a rolled up blanket may help?

My husband became increasingly worried as my breathing and coughing were worsening. I hardly knew what was going on around me, I just felt so very ill. The nurse came back and said it may take "some time" to be seen. She put her arm around my shoulder, and said "I know you are very ill and this isn't right. I'll do my best to get you seen ASAP."

My husband found out (and note this was a mid week Wednesday, not a weekend) that there were 4 doctors in the department, 2nurses and 1 healthcare assistant. Staff were overrun with sheer numbers of people to treat, and there were simply not enough of them to cope.

I was seen 2 hours after admission. The doctor apologised for the room they had to use temporarily. It was a store room with boxes in, with a makeshift treatment bed installed and no heating. It felt very cold but as my temperature was high, I did not care. The doctor made routine investigations and said I needed an X-ray but the X Ray department was "down"currently, as this would show up pneumonia for definite. He then gave us a frank appraisal of the current situation within the hospital.

"The hospital is full. There are no beds currently. It's midnight and I fear that if you were to wait for a bed, you would be here all night in a chair until the day staff come on shift. I can give you the antibiotics needed, but to be frank you will be better off in your own bed at home than waiting here. Should you worsen anymore then please come back, but some antibiotics may make a difference in next 48 hours."

As often happens, our son was returning from a school trip to London and my husband had to leave me to pick him up from school and return him home. A 45 minute dash until he could return to me at the hospital. He had asked the doctor for someone to keep an eye on me until he returned.

I waited for a nurse to return with the antibiotics and she said they needed the room so could I wait in the foyer. I replied I could not get up and walk as I was very weak. She said she did not have the time to wheel me into the foyer, so I would have to walk as best I could. I don't even remember walking to the hospital foyer. Just blurred visions of people passing by. I managed to get there and waited for my husband to return. A couple of teenagers asked me if I was alright as I was slumped in the chair. My husband returned and he later said he was so shocked and angry that I was dumped in a chair by the front door, that words failed him.

I returned home and battled through the next few days. I saw a practice GP and my husband related the hospital experience and the GP agreed it was totally unacceptable. "You should still be in hospital now" . The GP also said to hear the hospital was full mid week was a worry. I have now battled through the last fortnight. I returned and saw my GP yesterday who said he had heard people were being sent to Shrewsbury hospital some 50ish miles away. He said the situation for patients" was intolerable and was falling far below acceptable standards of care." I am now having further blood tests next week as I am still experiencing poor energy levels and feel very weak.

Staff in hospitals CARE Mr Cameron and Mr Hunt. There are not enough of them to cope. Wards have been shut. There are not enough beds to cope. Staff are doing their best in impossible circumstances with poor resources, yet Mr Hunt demoralises them on a daily basis, akin to IDS with his constant barracking of job seekers. I live in rural North Wales. It is hard enough with hospitals already few and far between, without thinking in future we have to travel to England for most healthcare. An elderly neighbour has been told her spinal op will be done in Staffordshire over 100 miles away. How are relatives supposed to visit their sick mother? It is in another country, miles away from her support network!

You are creating an NHS that frightened, ill people cannot recognise or understand. We all know you want to privatise the entire thing.We know that you want to create a ghetto system of care for those who cannot afford private health insurance, but hey it does not affect your sort Dave so us working classes can suffer!

I needed the NHS a fortnight ago desparately, but I was met by Cameron's version of the NHS, a 1984 Orwellian nightmare. If Labour and Andy Burnham gain power in 2015 will there be an NHS left to save?

Liam Byrne Sold the Labour Party.. Can True Labour MPs reclaim it?

There have been many instances whereby I have ranted and raved at some Labour Party decisions in the past, but have stood by the party as I believe on the whole they get it right most of the time. Healthy debate within the party is also to be lauded.

But on March 19th, Liam Byrne did the unthinkable. Firstly, he saw the unemployed, the Job Seekers as they are  rightly named, as a commodity, to overrule, to sanction, to chastise. He agreed to let IDS and the DWP table an emergency debate to retroactively overturn the Courts decision that £130 million pounds will NOT have to go in compensation to those Job Seekers who had not been told their rights under the Workfare scheme. What is more the Labour Whip was used to ensure that Labour MPs abstained to vote. THere was no need for a Labour Whip as the Govt coalition majority was enough to see the bill go through anyway, so why did Liam Byrne want to virtually support the Govt in this endeavour to rob Job Seekers of compensation that was rightfully theirs under what was basically a huge cock-up of the rules from the DWP on workfare?

As the debate started Liam Byrne, ably assisted by Stephen Timms, spoke from a position that I have never heard a Labour MP speak from. The dawning on myself and thousands of Labour supporters on Twitter was of a rhetoric and Labour Party that we could not recognise and could not empathise with. Many of us ordinary people were astounded that Liam Byrne was basically letting the DWP off the hook with £130 million compensation to Job Seekers, and secondly was in collusion to retroactively change  a bill at will, which has huge consequences for future bills where cock-ups are made.

As the debate went on, I became saddened, hopeless and angry in different degrees. How dare you Liam Byrne rip the heart out of my Labour Party! How dare you try and turn this party into one I do not recognise? How dare you stand by and watch this Government sanction Job Seekers and agree with them? How little you connect with your constituents and those around the UK who are suffering. You have lost sight of the very people Labour are there to protect. the clue is in the Labour Party's name Mr Byrne or have you forgotten that too?

Then as hopelessness and anger set in, Ian Lavery, MP for Wansbeck came storming in on his white charger and spoke up for me, for my family, for the people in my road, for his constituents, all suffering from austerity. Why? Because it became apparent from the start he connects and listens to those going through hard times.

“If the Department cannot make these retrospective changes, then further reductions in benefits might be required in order to find the money to repay the sanctions.”

That is blackmail of the highest order—I make no apology for the strength of my feeling on that. If people are due finances, they should get them, particularly following a court ruling, but the Government are saying, “If we pay these people, we might have to cut benefits for other people as a result because that is where we have to find the money.” That is emotional blackmail. It is totally and utterly bang out of order. They are trying to set people who are looking for work and on benefits against each other. That is absolutely unacceptable."

"The Bill turns my stomach. The impact assessment states:

“A retrospective transfer of public money to this group of claimants would represent poor value to the taxpayer”.

What a disgrace to say such a thing in Government documents with reference to the people I have mentioned 10, 15 or 20 times previously. That will not give them self-esteem. They are doing their very best."

There were 40 Labour MPs who defied the Labour whip and voted against the DWP legislation. John McDonnell, Fiona Mctaggart and Grahame Morris all made impassioned pleas as to why this bill was so very wrong and why they would oppose it.

As the Government won the vote and whilst Hansard gave us the list of the 40 Labour MPs with backbone, many of us on twitter asked why the likes of Ian Lavery, John McDonnell and co could not reclaim the Labour Party, for the likes of me. Why are Labour strategists hellbent on turning the party into one we cannot recognise? Liam Byrne for example even uses Government  rhetoric such as "Skivers and Scroungers" for God's sake. This is wholly unacceptable. Why are Labour strategists running scared of helping the Job Seekers, protecting the vulnerable, and standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves? Grass roots Labour voters do not support this stance. You can fill the party full of neo- liberals, Liam Byrnes, harp on about sanctioning Job Seekers to appease the right wing press, but you will lose the core voters - ordinary people like me. I cannot vote for a party I do not recognise, simple as that.

If Labour fill their key Shadow Cabinet positions with the Ian Lavery's and John Mcdonnells - MPs who resonate with voters, MPs who connect with voters, MPs who care for their constituents, then Labour will win the General Election on 2015. If you continue on this path of alienating us ordinary people, you will be no better than the Government you say you oppose. Don't presume us ordinary people will forget March 19th 2013: the clock is ticking, do not presume you do not have to work or change for our votes. There was a clear message on Twitter on March 19th. We do not recognise this Labour Party. You need to change now!