One hypocrisy I really enjoy is this: how the great and good go full the berserker when war, or Trump or other name sociopaths separate families for the political #win, but sort of let it slide when it happens here.
This is particularly true when the families are very poor, or immigrants, or, naturally, very poor immigrants. The consensus seems to be that immigrants feel the pain of separation less.
Certainly, the rest of the world feels their pain less.
In the past month or so, I’ve been speaking regularly with C, who is a woman in her 30s.
In her life, C has made two of our era’s bigger social mistakes. First one – she was born in Europe. She is Portuguese, but here. Gah. Second one – she’s a single mother. This is absolutely not her fault, but good luck marketing that. Main thing here is that C is suffering for her sins, so that at least will keep the jingoist crowd happy. Somebody’s getting something out of it, etc.
Actually, C is suffering for her landlord’s sins, but no doubt that also works. Two years ago, C was forced to ask Waltham Forest council for help, because she was homeless. The then-pregnant C had been renting a room from some chiseller who said he was the landlord, but was not. He was a tenant who sublet rooms to C and several other women, and, needless to say, paid their rent to himself.
The real landlord, of course, turned up one day in search of his rent. He wasn’t thrilled to find that his rent was all gone and that his place was being run as an unlicensed HMO by a robber. He chucked C and the other women out.
So far, so private rental sector.
Enter the calamity that is Waltham Forest council (I’ve had experience with Waltham Forest council’s treatment of homeless single mums, most of which I hope to forget).
Ever on the (often successful) prowl for ways to make a lousy situation worse, the council made the extraordinary decision to move C and her baby to a flat in very far-off Blackpool to live, presumably forever.
Even accounting for the possibility that nobody in Waltham Forest knew where Blackpool was, the council outdid itself sending C so far away from friends, family and her baby’s brother and father – an hours-long, massively overpriced return train journey “provided” by your choice of useless transport companies that at the moment couldn’t organise a trip to the shops.
Surely, the council could have found C a low-end flat in a neglected and downtrodden area closer to home? Councils used to like dumping homeless people in ratholes in towns like Slough and Colchester. What happened to those golden days? C didn’t actually demand to stay in London. She just wanted to be able to take the occasional trip there.
Placing C so far away isn’t even a cost-saving exercise, at least for the state. C was employed in London, but now must claim benefits by way of universal credit. As for landing a job in Blackpool – never say never, of course, but Blackpool has one of the highest unemployment rates around. C doesn’t know anybody, has no-one to help care for the baby and she is still learning English. She has also has serious depression now, because she is so isolated. Think we can safely say that she’ll be claiming universal credit for a while.
So, there we are. I doubt that C will be getting any big ideas about her human rights, or even being human, soon. Even dog rescue centres usually try to rehome dogs from the same family together, the understanding being is that dogs really feel these things.
You do find yourself wondering why this council practice of tearing people away from their families is still such a thing. No doubt it’s just part of the bigger game we’re playing – you know, the one where we’re trying to find out how much immigrants can take.
The screenshots are from some of C’s emails with the council over the last couple of years.
Immigrants are treated like lepers in this country. Blackpool has its own share of social problems and is not somewhere I’d want to live nowadays, maybe 50/60 years ago yes but not now, it’s a right shit hole. Having said that the only work there will be seasonal, probably part time, in the tourist trade.
Yep – the levelling up seems to be on the slow burner in these parts, but I’m sure Rishi’s onto it.
Also talking of levelling up, ‘legacy’ Benefits claimants are having to use the Right of Appeal at Court to fight (against the government) for a level playing field in the Social Security system:
Court hears universal credit £20 uplift appeal, as activists vow to fight back
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/court-hears-universal-credit-20-uplift-appeal-as-activists-vow-to-fight-back/
Not keeping that uplift was unbelievably shitty. I mean for fuckssake. Hardly a ransom.
Not extending it to legacy Benefits was also very shitty too, it was awarded to those on UC only for no good reason that made any sense then or now.
They probably thought legacy benefits were already ridiculously generous
Mmmm… at the time an extravagant £74 p/w, hardly the £330 per day that the Lords get.
Do they even turn up half the time? They should have daily sign on.
Well that’s the thing. They get the £330 cash in hand every day that they turn up, but then they can just sit there and nod off. And most of them are already Millionaires to begin with, some are even Billionaires like Lord Ashcroft, former head of the Tories, but he still pockets his £330 per day. Those of us on JSA on the other hand have to spend our lives jumping through all manner of inane, demeaning and frustrating DWP hoops just to get our worth; determined to be about £11 per day.
Kate thank you for everything ❤
❤️ Talk soon
Court to decide on DWP battle that could hand £774 to 2million Brits
The Court of Appeal has heard a fresh appeal against Tory ministers paying £20-a-week during Covid to people on Universal Credit – but denying it to nearly 2million people on legacy benefits
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/court-decide-dwp-battle-could-28680688
*Note that the figure decided upon is now £774, about half of what was originally owed, due to the agreement that DWP computers were allegedly incapable of increasing JSA/ESA for 9 months. Bizarre. The computers worked OK for automatically paying benefits throughout Covid Lockdown and for 2022’s cost-of-living payments. Funny that innit.
We’re doing our own “levelling up” at grassroots I guess. I had some very useful stuff given last night from daughters of immigrants (Pakistanis in this case) who live up the road, gave me an old but useable air-fryer (I don’t even know how to use it – fried Air anyone?) and an electric blanket and hot water bottle. One of them is moving house so there were some other household items that I don’t particularly need or want so I gave them to the bloke living in the cellar as he says he can pass them onto someone else he knows. This is what’s going on in communities now at a local level. Tomorrow morning I’ll be working down the foodbank doing my job of accepting, sorting and packing donations, unloading the van etc. Other volunteers will be making up the food parcels whilst others man the phones and take yet more referrals. We also have an organization that helps “destitute asylum seekers” in my town, as well as many smaller localised food banks in community centres and churches etc. dotted around the outskirts in the little villages. There is so much need and suffering, yet a massive grassroots response in spite of governmental failure and growing irrelevance. It’s that famous old “wartime spirit” at work, only this time it’s the Class War we’re fighting.
This cold weather, i.e. Winter, is no joke when you can’t afford to put the heating on or turn it up. It’s bloody freezing here right now and forecast to get even colder. I’ve spoken to Local Welfare Provision about my situation and what help I can get but got nowhere, no help, there are some housing grants available but not for covering my circumstances, which are living in a private rented flat and paying my landlord in cash for the electricity that I have used and not qualify ling for any government help or discounts because the bill is in my landlord’s name not mine, therefore I can’t afford to put the heating on because it would cost pretty much all my income (JSA, £77 per week). Been advised by foodbank to ring CAB on Monday to arrange appointment with them ASAP.
Let us know how it goes
Turns out you can’t book appointments at my local CAB anymore, it’s drop-in only on Thurs & Fri, probably queue a mile long. In the meantime I’ve been booked-in to attend a Jobs Fair at the Jobcentre tomorrow. Bummer.