Voter’s attitudes towards the poor turning harder socialist alt needed

It is not a surprise to me really that the more scrounger, shirker, and benefit scrounging scum rhetoric that is pumped out that the more our social attitudes harden. It is now the case that56% of us now think unemployed people could find a job if they wanted one (up from 27% in 1993)” This sort of figure shows the entrenched ideas now that many people have. As the left has failed to give any real alternative and the labour party has to take much of the blame for this moving further and further to the right to in the last period in government it is no wonder people are hardening their attitudes to the poor. It is not uncommon now for someone struggling by receiving benefits be it in or out of work now detests those on benefits even though they themselves are on benefits too. It’s a mad set of ideas when you feel no empathy for someone in the same boat as yourselves now. Labour party supporters increasingly believe that welfare recipients are undeserving and that the welfare state encourages dependence, with a noticeable share saying that poverty is caused by a personal failing rather than a problem with society, a landmark study reveals. A report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examined the links between public attitudes to poverty, welfare and the state of the economy using data collected as part of the British Social Attitudes survey. It found that the traditional view that the poor were seen sympathetically during recessions has disappeared, with support for welfare "largely confined (to) recipients of unemployment benefits". The report says there is a "general trend" where the public accepts that individual characteristics rather than societal issues cause poverty. Most striking was that this change over the past 30 years can be put down to the shifting opinions of Labour voters. Just 27% of the country's leading left-wing party voters cite social injustice as the main cause of poverty, down from 41% during the height of Thatcherism back in 1986. During the same time Labour supporters blaming the individual rose from 13% to 22%. What the foundation seems to pinpoint is a major cultural shift. Almost half of Labour supporters – 47% – surveyed in 2011 said if benefits were not as generous, people would learn to stand on their own feet, up from 17% in 1987. Labour supporters also increasingly think that welfare recipients are undeserving – from 21% in 1987 to 31% in 2011. While the debates around welfare have shifted to the right, Labour supporters moved in greater numbers than those in other parties – with left-wing voters stressing personal agency and individual responsibility. However, there was marked public support for tackling child poverty – a key issue identified by the last Labour administration. In 2009, 82% viewed reducing child poverty as "very important", with almost three-quarters (74%) saying this is a task for government. Julia Unwind, Chief Executive of the foundation, said: "The stark findings of this report highlight the increasingly tough stance people are taking against people in poverty. We appear to be tough on those experiencing poverty, but not tough on its causes. "Reductions in pensioner and child poverty over the past 20 years show hardship is not inevitable. But the debate must go beyond a fixation with welfare and benefits tinkering – without jobs with proper wages and affordable housing and childcare, progress will hit the buffers. Charities demanded that policymakers must take into account the effect of a stagnating economy on the poor, rather than just following poll data. Will Higham, Save the Children UK Director, said: "Despite public attitudes seeming to harden in the past few years towards welfare the public are very clear that they want to see the government cut child poverty. Sixty percent of children growing up in poverty have at least one parent working. "Despite this, many families still struggle to afford basics with many children going without decent food, clothes and a warm home. Times are very tough right now for the poorest families and they need real tangible solutions such as a living wage if they are to escape poverty and the stigma that comes with it." For me this makes the need for a new works party on a mass scale being able to challenge this perception work to change the direction of the political debate. As socialists we may disagree with these polls but I’ve witnessed it with my own ears in local pubs and bars. It’s everywhere we look this sort of attitude. It is a direct legacy of Thatcher who told us we were all individuals and there was no such thing as society. Where in the past more would care these days we’re drummed into our heads to only think of ourselves and some quite frankly do unfortunately. We are starting from a long way back with attitudes like this but change can come and events will shift opinions. We must be there to challenge the right’s ideas wherever we can look to provide a socialist alternative to the problems we face today.

Could you live on £53 a week?

That is the challenge for many people who are unable to find work in this recession. £53 is nothing really when you have to pay the b ills for gas, water and electricity not mentioning feeding yourself and heating your home. There is simply no way you can live on this alone. Yet Iain Duncan Smith is telling those who can’t find jobs that £53 a week is a cushty lifestyle and they should be grateful for even this. Putting it into perspective at how generous this really is JSA in the UK is 18% of average wage, compared to Germany's 35%, France's 47% & Sweden's 68% This is simply not a lifestyle you would choose if you had the choice. An incredibly fast growing petition has been set up by someone who thought they’d challenge IDS to live on £53 a week the link to this is below http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week Those who are on JSA take it as a way of getting by and getting by is all it gives you an existence not a life. You cannot live the life of luxury like the Tories seem to think. But then when you’re so disengaged from reality of life in poverty and have never had to struggle in your life then no wonder you’d think benefits are generous. It is a clear out and out contempt for the poor. This is blatant class warfare where we need the labour movement to answer this in a robust fashion drawing the links and common ground between that in work and out of work. Over 60% of those on benefits are actually in work according to the DWP taking tax credits to top up crap pay. We wouldn’t need working tax credits if we all had a proper decent lovable wage not just a living wage of a tiny bit more than minimum wage. But IDS people will not take this laying down the uptake in this petition now touching quarter of a million signatures shows the strength of feeling against the Tories and their attacks on the poor. Let’s not just call for IDS to try living on £53 a week let’s get rid of him and his government of millionaires once and for all!

The nothing for something culture

We are constantly told of the something for nothing culture which apparently infests our country with many people scrounging benefits and feeling a sense of entitlement. This is completely untrue of course and is a rhetoric driven by the ruling class with the capitalist controlled media aiding their assault on disabled people as one section of the society feeling the attacks hardest.

But I thought I’d twist this on its head and re name it the nothing for something culture where we are being asked to work for nothing in workfare schemes where big companies get cheap labour well for nothing.

The government of millionaires are quite happy for this society to carry on as many of them have financial benefits with such companies involved in the workfare scheme. Workfare is meant to help people find work but ultimately it is unpaid labour where the workers only get their benefits and if they refuse they may not even get that.

The battle to defeat workfare hasn’t gone away and a concerted effort to highlight the programme and how we can create real jobs with real wages needs to be addressed.

Many will ask so you oppose workfare so what is your alternative?

Well how about using some of that 750 billion big business is sitting on either tax it or say we’d nationalise them to run for need not profit providing socially useful jobs perhaps in the construction industry for a start. Rolling out a mass affordable house building project.

Other areas could be investing in our railways, a fully nationalised railway and public transport system run for the need of people not just the profits of a few fat cats at the tops of these private organisations.

The nothing for something culture has to end with the bankers laughing all the way to the bank with their bonus’s all be them not as large as before we do need to get organised to change society to benefit everybody on this planet.

Disabled people this week have been attacked in the news this week with the news that Iain Duncan Smith the work and pensions secretary for the government declaring half a million S DLA claimants are to be re assessed and those in least need will be losing their disability benefits. Even amputees who have lost limbs in illegal wars could see their benefits cut or removed entirely. Only the most genuine cases will be granted support and this will be constantly monitored I don’t imagine any life time indefinite claims will be granted. Forcing more disabled people into misery and poverty I wouldn’t be surprised if many feel it is too much to carry on with the cost of living and the challenges they already face feeling far too great. Life is a struggle to many disabled people myself included as a blind man we are not a drain on society and certainly don’t fester on long term benefits. I work two days a week on part time employment but I still don’t earn much but I try my best. IDS want us all to work harder and get less as a result. Its time this government was gone in my view.

Unemployed Britain, figures show unemployment on the rise

• Nearly 2.5m people unemployed
• Benefit claimants rise to 1.56m
• Number of women out of work highest since 1988
• Record number are self-employed or working part time
• Youth unemployment pushes back towards 1m

Are just a few of the figures out today from the office of national statistics. All this makes grim news for us all. The governments plans are clearly not working and there is no recovery no matter what they say. It is clear now that the job market in this country is static very few jobs are being created and where they are they are often low paid and poor conditions often part time too.

It is time to tell this government that there is a job crisis in this country and something needs to be done. The bill for people on job seekers allowance will rise as more people loose their job over the next 4 years of this present government then who knows what after that. It is worrying for many young people in particular growing up today facing fewer and fewer opputunities in society for them. A lack of jobs is just one of them.

Youth Fight for Jobs will be marching from Jarrow to London this october to highlight the need for more jobs for young people and the lack of opputunities young people have today.

We also expect and hope the NUS, The national Union of Students to call a national Demonstration for later this eyar too to highlight the lack of jobs and again to put pressure on this government to reverse its decision to treble tuitian fees to 9 grand a year .

The figures out today are worrying also for people set to loose their jobs over the next year or so too. The more unemployed people there are out there the harder it will be for people made redundant to find work again. Further increasing the problem.

But the tories do not worry about mass unemployment they will just blame it on lazy benifit scroungign culture and claim people are not looking hard enough for jobs. Absolute nonsense when there are few jobs it is ridiculously hard to get a job. Even if you have come out of university and have been lucky enough to come out with reasonably small debt you are not even garunteed a job then. So what good will going to university be when at the end you still cant find a job and are told you have no experience so we dont want you.

It is very demoralising for young people and its these people who we face loosing for good if we do not act now and start standing up for young people and their lack of opputunities.