Coventry Whitefriars Could Refuse To Evict Tenants Over Bedroom Tax

The Welfare Reform Bill comes into effect in April 2013 and part of that bill is the 'Bedroom Tax', which means that Coventry tenants at Whitefriars would be charged an extra £14 per week if they have an unoccupied room. For around 7% of claimants it will mean they will have to find an extra £31 each week or move out of their home.

WM Housing Group which run over 18,000 "affordable homes" in Coventry will either take the hit or decide to evict people who cannot afford to pay the new tax. The Coventry Telegraph reported that the Bedroom Tax is "set to hit more than 2,300 families who receive benefits in Coventry", and for some the new tax will mean they lose their home. Homelessness is already on the increase as cuts continue, taking out over £84 billion during the course of this parliament.

The board of Coventry Whitefriars is made up of 4 tenants, 4 councillors, 4 independent members and 1 from  WM Housing Group Limited. It is possible that they could adopt a non-eviction policy as others  have stated or are looking into doing. One would assume that the four tenants on the board would be able to vote against Bedroom Tax evictions and three of the councillors are Labour - so they ought to be opposing the tax. This would give a majority, even without the four independent members.

Pressure needs to be stepped up before people in Coventry face the prospect of eviction with this unfair tax. We need to be asking the four councillors to use their positions on the board to stand up for ordinary people, we also want to see the not-for-profit organisation ensure it will not penalise those who are unable to pay. Many are already in dire poverty without the added punishment of being taxed out of their homes. Taxing the poor because of the mistakes of the rich is not the answer, a mass building of affordable, environmentally friendly  homes is the answer.

Coventry faces an increasing housing shortage, with over 22,000 people on the waiting list for social housing and many more trapped in rented properties at the mercy of landlords. Building new homes in Coventry and around the country would not only give a boost to the construction industry (and therefore supply much needed jobs), but would also help deal with the housing crisis. Less than 100,000 new homes were built in Britain last year, and only a small portion of these were affordable housing.

If the Bedroom Tax had been applied to private home owners or landlords, the outcry would be enormous but because this attack is on the poorest and most needy - many think it is alright to attack them. Coventry should lead the way and go one step further than Dundee council which passed a motion agreeing not to evict as a result of arrears caused by the tax for a "transitional period of one year." Coventry Whitefriars should refuse to evict tenants due to the unfair Bedroom Tax and a mass movement of people should rise up and defeat the Bedroom Tax, just as they did with the hated Poll Tax.

Below are the four Coventry councillors who are on the board of Coventry Whirefriars and can be contacted by clicking on their name:

Cllr Kevin Maton (Lab)

Cllr  Tariq Khan (Lab)

Cllr Linda Bigham (Lab)

Cllr David Skinner (Con)

Food Banks Or Fighting Councillors?

I was showing some friends the historical sites around Coventry on Sunday, but got more than I bargained for as we stumbled on a large queue of people under the ring road. They were at the Coventry Food Bank, which has fed over 18,000 mouths since it was started in January 2011. Hidden under the city centre ring road, hundreds of people have been forced to use the service because they are struggling to survive in austerity Britain. Figures in the Coventry Telegraph revealed that almost three quarters of users had applied for crisis loans from Coventry City Council as poverty meant many lacked the means to survive as benefit cuts impacted on ordinary people.

It was freezing cold but people had ventured out because, for many, this was the only option they had. While the government of millionaire ministers enjoyed a hearty Sunday roast, the reality for a growing number of people is the humiliation of having to queue at a foodbank just to get through the week. While MPs 'earned' £65,738 (let's not even mention expenses!), 62.7% foodbank users said they were trying to live on less than £100 per week. MPs and councillors are out of touch with how a growing number of people are being forced to live. As the coalition push through reforms, hammering the poorest in society - the situation of one of the richest countries in the world becomes even more disgraceful.

Coventry City Councillors will meet on Tuesday (26 Feb 2013) to vote through another £29m cuts, which will only increase the queues at the foodbank. Sadly, not one single councillor is expected to vote against cuts - with all 43 Labour councillors expected to toe the party line and impose the coalition cuts, safe in the knowledge we do not have council elections this year. The 'dented shield' Labour spoke about a few years ago has now been well and truly battered, the sad truth remains that not one single Labour councillor in Coventry has a conscience that will say "enough is enough". In fact, if Labour were to win the next General Election, the cuts would remain pretty much intact. So the price for lack of resistance will be that the people of Coventry will have to suffer as hundreds more council workers are thrown into unemployment.

Thankfully one or two councillors around the country, like Keith Morrell and Don Thomas in Southampton are doing what voters asked and voted against cuts. For this they were expelled from the Labour group but they still sought to present an alternative budget, which the Labour council shamefully gagged. I support any councillor, from any party, that will vote against cuts but I can not support councillors that will vote for budget cuts that will hurt the most vulnerable and needy in our city.

If we had fighting councillors instead of food banks, the people of Coventry would be better off - instead we are seeing over £140m of funding being robbed from us, and all of this under a LABOUR council. More fearful of Eric Pickles sending in commissioners than people being thrown into poverty, councillors will sear their conscience and vote for the next round of spending cuts. Not one banker has been jailed for the financial crisis, while millions of hard working Brits are being hammered to the ground. I will be outside the council house on Tuesday voicing my anger as the 54 councillors inside vote for cuts. Their are alternatives Coventry City Council  could adopt, history records heroic councillors like Clay Cross, Poplar and Liverpool, that dared to fight. The choice for Coventry is food banks or fighting councillors?


* I stand as the Socialist Party candidate council elections in Lower Stoke, Coventry because I believe ordinary people did not cause the crisis and we should not be made to pay for the bankers crisis. Labour no longer represents workers like myself as it is just another capitalist party. I fight for a democratic planned economy based on Socialism, a society based on need not greed. For more updates locally visit Coventry Socialists or nationally Socialist Party websites.

VIDEO: The 12 Tax Dodgers Of Christmas

 Thanks to 38Degrees for providing the inspiration to make this video about the '12 Tax Dodgers of Christmas' Make them pay up for a fairer society!

Coventry Does Have A Choice Over Cuts

 'No choice but to axe Coventry council jobs' was the headline from the Coventry Telegraph as the deputy leader of Coventry City Council told of another 800 jobs to be lost in public services across the city. I disagree - the Labour dominated council (43 out of the 54 seats are controlled by Labour), could put up a proper fight against the cuts that will continue to impact the people of Coventry. The fact of the matter is, they won't because they hope the people of Coventry will just continue to vote Labour as the councillors carry out the Tories dirty work.

We always have a choice, and TINA (There Is No Alternative) is just a catch phrase used by the Tories to hood wink people into believing the lie. We live in one of the richest countries in the world, the UK finds money for wars and tax cuts for the rich while fooling people into thinking somehow we have no money for the welfare state or public services. Every Labour councillor that has been elected has a choice, they can choose to do the bidding of the government and slash millions from our services or they can put up a fight and demand the money we need to run public services in Coventry. So far all 43 Labour councillors have opted NOT to fight the cuts as they wield the coalition axe and reduce services and funding. I have seen the crocodile tears first hand from my own ward councillors, who follow party politics instead of standing up for the people who elected them to the council.

With no local council elections in Coventry next May, it seems like now is the perfect time to hit the people of Coventry hard and hope the swelling goes down before the next elections in May 2014! Rather cynical view maybe, but there is an air of truth in my irony. As the hated Tories continue to hobble on from one disaster to another, Labour almost silently sits by with just the odd rumble of opposition (but are soon silenced when it is pointed out Labour introduced most of the policies etc). Voters will be more likely to vote Labour as the 'lesser evil' just like in the recent US elections, where Obama scored a second lack-luster  term in office.

Lobby outside Coventry Council house 

We hear much talk about 'balancing the books', 'painful decisions' and 'listening to people' but the reality is this - unless the people of Coventry get angry enough to DO something about the attacks on public services, then the £140m cuts will grow and grow until virtually all services are wiped out or drastically reduced. The deputy leader of Coventry City Council warns, "the worst is yet to come – and we’re now facing the prospect of having to make the kind of decisions about our services that no councillor would ever want to make." Now imagine if the same Labour councillors did what the Labour councillors did in Liverpool between 1983-87, they stood up to Thatcher and fought for the money Liverpool needed. While it would have just been easier to just say they had no option but to cut jobs and services instead the Liverpool 47 conducted a city wide campaign to save jobs and invest in services. Yes, it was almost 30 years ago and society has changed - people say the unions are weaker and people are not up for the fight. But a change is coming and people are beginning to see we are not 'all in this together', society is geared towards the 1% at the expense of the 99%. The wealth is there but in the hands of the elite, while all the time the hard working people are being downtrodden more and more.

In February 2013, I confidently expect all 43 Coventry Labour councillors to vote through a budget that will wipe millions out of this city. They will all toe the party line and continue the mantra about Tory cuts being too far and too deep, while claiming to be 'honest and open' with the people of Coventry. Meanwhile there are people like myself, calling for a united campaign across the city to fight for the money we need to provide services, we face an uphill struggle. Sadly many of the unions are hand in glove with Labour and this is preventing the battle from even starting. Workers need a new political party that will actually defend them against attacks on working conditions. I stand as a Socialist Party candidate in my ward because like all the TUSC (Trades Union and Socialist Coalition) candidates we oppose EVERY cut to services. I am not ashamed to say we need a different way to run society, one that is democratically planned with the interests of the 99% instead of the 1%. Only by standing up and doing something about the way society operates can we ever hope to change it. We do have a choice about accepting cuts in Coventry - voting Tory, Liberal or sadly Labour has proved to be the option for cuts. You wouldn't open your front door and invite a thief to come inside and take what they wanted, so why accept it when it comes to your services? If Coventry Labour said they would choose not to implement the Tory cuts, I would support their stand but show me just one Labour councillor in Coventry that would be willing to make a stand for the people so I could support him or her. In the meantime, I will continue to stand against the mainstream parties because I love my city and community and want a better world than this greedy, failing capitalist system that enslaves workers.

Why Crime Will Rise In UK

Police crime figures for the last year showed an overall drop in crime by 4.2%, so it might seem a strange heading to predict crime will rise, given the recent decline. The data for England and Wales was welcome news, showing that up to March 2012 overall reported crime was now below 4 million. Even in Scotland, the latest figures released showed 9,061 fewer crimes had been committed in 2011-12. Will the good news continue into 2013-14 or are we about to see a stark increase in crime?


When Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 and began attacking the public sector, she had the sense in protecting the police. This did little to reduce crime, but it did safeguard her government policies from the public backlash that followed. Crime figures rocketed upwards in the 1980's as unemployment climbed above 3m and support services were slashed, according to a parliamentary report. Today the UK faces a similar scene to the 1980's - rising unemployment and a wholesale attack by the coalition government on public services. Cameron and co have not had the foresight to protect the police budget with forces making massive job cuts, filtering through to front line staff. The Guardian reported that since the coalition came into power over 24,000 police jobs had gone (including 6,800 front line officers according to government figures). West Midlands police have shed 814 front line officers since 2010, at a time when around 1 million young people are out of work.

Greek protests - June 2012

This weak and divided government have been able to get away with their wholesale attack on public services because of an even weaker opposition from Labour and a timid response from many of the big unions. While European workers have been leading the fight back through co-ordination via strikes and public meetings, in the UK the TUC has 'allowed' workers to let off steam via one or two demonstrations. The Labour Party have shamefully sold workers out by supporting the coalition, albeit with a 'slower, less deep' cuts agenda. This has led to the Labour funding unions becoming a mute warrior at the front of a battle cry.

As the rushed through social policies of the ConDem government become law and changes begin to affect growing numbers of people (through benefit and housing policy changes), more and more people will begin to slip through the Welfare Security safety net. The means of help that was previously available to the most vulnerable and low paid in our society is quickly disappearing as we edge back to a Victorian era system of charity handouts via soup kitchens and food banks. Growing numbers of homeless people and a sharp rise in sofa surfing tenants unable to get any type of social housing is only one component in the lethal cocktail waiting to explode over the coming years. Under employment and rising food / fuel prices adds even more dynamite in what could become a decade of anger and crime.

Youth services cut

The divide between rich and poor, north and south, haves and have nots are becoming increasing evident in our society once again. The hard fought gains of the working class - such as the NHS, free education for all and affordable social housing are set to be lost if the three main political parties have their way. Young people are being priced out of education and the thought of owning their own home is becoming just a dream for many. With youth services among the first to go and little opportunity for full time employment, it is little wonder crime will be back on the agenda in the coming years. The Conservative Party will be rubbing it's hands because it will give them the excuse to introduce even more unfair laws that target those driven to crime in order to survive.

Crime is not the solution, but neither is the wholesale attack on public services and the people who did not cause this financial crisis. Osborne's Plan A is actually expected to cost the UK an £76 billion by 2015, according to the IMF, highlighting the disaster this government has been. While thousands of police, fire, NHS and council workers have lost their jobs and been thrown on the scrap heap - the country sinks ever deeper into the crisis of capitalism  Instead of taxing the rich or closing the corporation tax loopholes - the coalition have attacked hard working people by increasing VAT to 20%, slashing services, robbing pension rights and ripping up the Welfare State. More and more people will find themselves pushed to the limit as the Welfare State is reduced. As the 1% continue to get ever richer and the 99% become poorer, more will see no alternative but to survive by alternative means.

Many UK companies avoid paying full tax

We need a properly funded Welfare State that helps the poor and vulnerable in our society. We should be encouraging all young people to reach their potential through an education system that is not obsessed with league tables but offers the chance to excel  not based on how much money is in your bank account. The Tories and Labour have increased the burden of debt and closed the door of opportunity for a growing number of young people - it is time to look again and invest in education. Those who say there is no money in society are wrong, the headlines day after day highlight that wealth is here in the UK but it is how that wealth is distributed that is wrong. If business started paying the taxes they should and the rich paid more, we would have enough money to fully fund the NHS and all our public services. Building more green affordable social housing would give this generation the real hope of having a home while giving meaningful employment to many in the construction industry. With doors of opportunity opening for people, crime would be less on the agenda because society would be working together in a meaningful way.

First we need to change how society is run and only by admitting this rotten greedy capitalist system based on exploitation of labour is wrong and exploring the real need to plan the economy for ALL is a step in the right direction. The elite are ruining society, yet remain untarnished by the economic woes but it is the army of working class people that can change society for the benefit of the 99%. A democratic socialist society that provides a meaningful life for all is the only lasting way we will see crime figures drop forever.

[PICS: Student protest  -  http://london.indymedia.org/articles/6259
Greece protest - http://www.wealthwire.com/news/economy/1244
Youth Services - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/youth-services-in-crisis
Tax avoidance - http://godandpoliticsuk.org/2012/08/18/majority-of-british-adults-say-tax-avoidance-is-morally-wrong/ ]

VIDEO: NxtGen - Greedy Tosser Ft MC Cameron

Great new video by the talented NxtGen entitled 'Greedy Tosser' (featuring MC Cameron) and is a fitting follow up to the highly praised video 'Andrew Lansley rap'. The tune is infectious and the lyrics are spot on. I especially enjoyed watching 'Cameron' exercising his MC skills (which are much better than the real Cameron's PM skills!). Even Lib Dem turncoat, Nick Clegg gets a look in during the course of the video.

Well done to MC Sean 'NxtGen' Donnelly!

Three Main Parties Face Election Challenge

Many voters have been put off by the three main political parties because they are failing to represent them. Our wages have declined in real terms while the bosses of the FSTE 100 companies saw their pay increase 49%. At last a real alternative for London voters has been announced today....

A new alliance, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), made up of trade union members and socialists, is to stand candidates in the Greater London Election on 3 May to challenge the all-party support for the government’s austerity cuts and pay freeze.

The coalition expects to win support from trade unionists and other voters who are angered by the recent statements of Labour leader Ed Miliband and the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, in which they stated that they will not reverse the Government’s cuts and that they support its pay freeze.

A list of candidates will challenge in the ‘top up’ section of the election and if it wins at least 5% of the vote across the whole of London it could win at least one place on the 25-seat Greater London Assembly.

The coalition has already selected prominent London trade union leaders such as Alex Gordon, the national president of the RMT rail and maritime union and Steve Hedley the RMT’s London Transport regional organiser, Ian Leahair, the Fire Brigades Union executive committee member for the capital, Joe Simpson, assistant secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association and Martin Powell-Davies, who is the London representative on the national committee of the NUT teachers union.

The Labour Party will be concerned that many public sector workers who participated in the 30 November pensions’ strike may be moved to vote for this coalition because of the failure of Labour leaders to support the walk-out.
Labour leaders will also be worried that rank and file union members of Labour affiliated unions could press for their funds to go to a party like TUSC instead of to Labour.

Steve Hedley, whose RMT union was expelled from the Labour Party in 2004 for backing the Scottish Socialist Party, said, “We need candidates who support the ordinary man and woman. TUSC is the only organisation that opposes all cuts, defends pensions and benefits for all working people. Labour just wants a compliant, silent union movement to hand over its money. TUSC will be a voice for all workers and will support trade unions in struggle.”

TUSC national committee member Nick Wrack, who is also a candidate, said, “London is a city of stark contrasts. There is a huge amount of poverty amidst the plenty. Corporate bosses and bankers still get their million pound pay and pension packages while one in six London workers is paid less than the Mayor’s £8.30 per hour living wage. Millions are suffering from the cuts to services and benefits yet last year the city paid out over £4 billion in bonuses. It’s extremely hard even for those on better wages to make ends meet. We believe that there is an opportunity for a party that will speak up for working-class London to make a real break-through and that would begin to change the nature of political debate in Britain today.”

TUSC believes it can get a candidate elected if it wins at least 150,000 votes across London.

VIDEO: What's The Point Of Nick Clegg?

The latest video from Captain SKA asks the question 'What's The Point Of Nick Clegg' after he betrayed millions of voters, especially young people. He then sold out the Liberal Democrats and the country for a taste of power.

Watch it and share.

dan hancox: Kettling 2.0: The Olympic State of Exception and TSG Action Figures

For a fascinating read about the new police 'weapon' that is to be used against the public, have a read of this excellent blog:

dan hancox: Kettling 2.0: The Olympic State of Exception and TSG Action Figures

*EXTRA BLOG - more from the world of robmacca

VIDEO: Rioters Explain Their Reasons

Newsnight (05/12/11) highlighted the findings from The Guardian and London School of Economics, which looked into the summer riots. They spoke to those people involved and found out why they rioted. The findings (see video above) were very interesting and gave a real insight to how people felt during the rioting and especially their attitudes towards the police and government.

Back in March 2011, I wrote an article on this very blog saying 'Anarchist Numbers To Rise In UK'. The student movement had been hit hard by the government tripling tuition fees and scrapping EMA, closing the door for many from poorer backgrounds. Naturally that anger would find an outlet, as I said:

Direct action is on the increase and no matter how many new laws or impositions Home Secretary Theresa May introduces, anarchists will work around the law to get their point across. The main political parties have failed young people and peaceful demonstrations, in their opinion, do not work. For many anarchists, taking matters into their own hands has become the only option. We will see more events like this over the coming months unless the government gives young people hope instead of hurting cuts.

Even before I wrote that article, the seeds of uprising in the UK were being sown as the coalition government began to unleash £81 billion in cuts to services and tax increases. They were hoping we would be just like the Irish, and roll over and take it. Our 'stiff upper lip' attitude would not wash once cuts to services and rising unemployment took effect. Back in December 2010, this blog correctly stated;

The coming year will either see the working class roll over into submission and accept unfair public sector cuts or 2011 will become the year that those from the very bottom of society fought back and beat the ruling classes by refusing to accept their ideological cuts agenda.

Rioting by a section of marginalised, mainly young people was only one result seen this year. We also witnessed around 1m people march in London against the cuts and millions of public sector workers joining together in strike action last month. With over 1m young people in the UK unemployed and many facing the prospect of either a lifetime of student debt or no university, the government needs to give the future generation hope. Sadly they are not listening, instead they roll out slave labour jobs where young people will have to either work for free or face having their dole cut or stopped. Young people want to better themselves and further education was meant to be one of the avenues they could take but alas, for many that avenue will be closed.

As mentioned on Newsnight and in other places, rioting will take place again unless the symptoms are addressed. Increasing child poverty, closing doors to young people, driving down workers wages and slashing public services will only exasperate an already volatile situation. Mark my words, we will see more unrest during 2012 and beyond unless the government changes course.
*video source: The Guardian / London School of Economics