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Category - #spartacusreport

  • 1 Feb 2012
    Government must change direction on welfare, say critics

    The House of Commons debates the Welfare Reform Bill for the last time today, following a record seventh defeat for the government in the House of Lords last night.

  • 31 Jan 2012
    Kirk wants MPs to support Welfare Reform Bill amendments

    The Church of Scotland has joined leading charities, faith groups and trade unions in urging Scottish MPs to uphold the Lords amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill.

  • 26 Jan 2012
    Disabled rights on the streets

    Disabled and sick people angry at government cuts and changes that will hit thousands of vulnerable people across Britain are taking to the streets over the coming week.

  • 26 Jan 2012
    Pressure intensifies as government stays deaf to welfare pleas

    The government has suffered its sixth defeat on its controversial Welfare Reform Bill, and disabled and anti-cuts campaigners are taking to the streets.

  • 23 Jan 2012
    'The disabled and sick': a breed apart?

    Everywhere we look see and hear the phrase “The Sick and Disabled”. It is as if somehow 'these people' are a separate commodity - other than us, says Karen McAndrew. A breed apart. Seeing ‘them’ like this is what allows politicians and journalists to discuss ‘their’ future in terms of statistics. Talking of ‘them’ in these terms makes it easier for people to dissociate and thereby give consent for actions which will have an adverse effect. The arguments over the deeply flawed Welfare Reform Bill are a clear example of this. The Spartacus campaign is a key part of the much-needed reversal.

  • 23 Jan 2012
    A government declaring war on welfare?

    The Welfare Reform Bill debate has now given way to open warfare, says Simon Barrow. These latest battles are as much about the soul (or lack of it) of the coalition project as they are about money or the demographics of power. The government can command majorities in both Houses. But it is losing the argument, losing good will and storing up massive costs - financial and political - for the future.

  • 20 Jan 2012
    Why is government so determined to slash benefits for disabled people?

    Why is the UK government so determined to slash benefits and public services for sick and disabled people and carers? Many people have pointed out the flaws in a harsh Welfare Reform Bill targeting those who are already badly-off.

  • 20 Jan 2012
    Greens back pressure on government over flawed welfare reforms

    The Green Party has backed campaigners who say changes to Disability Living Allowance and other welfare benefits will push more people into poverty and distress.

  • 18 Jan 2012
    Government narrowly avoids a fourth Lords welfare reform defeat

    Conservatives leaned heavily on Liberal Democrat support in the Lords last night, avoiding another humiliating welfare reform defeat by only 16 votes.

  • 17 Jan 2012
    Why Maria Miller's DLA-PIP claims are misleading

    Speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One, ahead of the House of Lords Welfare Reform Bill (WRB) debate today, Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Maria Miller sought to sound reassuring and reasonable. But the key points she made were either highly debatable or plain wrong. And the stakes are high. The government is attempting to move from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to an untried Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and to cut around £2.7 billion from the benefits system for the most vulnerable people.