Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said “austerity at a government” level doesn’t work. Speaking at a debate organized by Cambridge University’s largest society, the Cambridge Union, Varoufakis said austerity works for families or shops that are struggling, but if governments stop spending while people also spend less, the mixture is explosive. In a separate note, the Greek economist also said he was in favour of a No vote in Italy’s referendum on the basis of the fact that the proposed constitutional amendment “would be yet another expression of the EU’s current demand for reliable national governments that can implement technocratic decisions without the nuisance of political opposition.”

Previously the former Greek finance minister Varoufakis has called the Brexit department “Pythonesque” and staffed with “people of very low IQ”

Below is an older speech by Yanis Varoufakis at the Oxford Union. 

Order, Order, Order - John Simon Bercow  (born 19 January 1963) is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons  since June 2009.

Prior to his election to Speaker, he was a member of the Conservative Party. Once a hard-line right-winger he later moderated his views after becoming an MP and at one time was rumoured to be likely to defect to the Labour Party,

Because of this reason, Mr Bercow MP, has at times been unpopular with many of his former colleagues.

John Bercow went to the University of Essex (Colchester) current home of the student volunteer team which has been recruited to work with the ABC. John describes himself as a humanitarian and speaks highly of his time at Essex.

In 2005, Mr. Bercow won the Channel Four/Hansard Society Political Award for 'Opposition MP of the Year'. He said:

In addition to pursuing a wide variety of local issues, I have attempted to question, probe and scrutinise the Government in the House of Commons on important national and international topics which concern people. Over the last 12 months, I have constantly pressed the case for reform of world trade rules to give the poorest people on the planet a chance to sell their products and improve their quality of life. The plight of the people of Darfur, Western Sudan, has also been a regular theme. They have suffered too much for too long with too little done about the situation. I shall go on arguing for Britain to take the lead in the international community in seeking decisive action for peace and justice.

Information courtesy of Wikipedia. 

We have written to the Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP about the Friday debate in the Houses of Parliament.

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Dear Mr Bercow

I founded the Association of Pensions & Benefits CIC (the ABC) an organisation to help those on state funding. Currently we are contributing to the ‘Gig economy’ debate, and we are known to the DWP Select Committee. I was communicating with Andrew Forsey just last week. Andrew works with Frank Field MP of course, Chair of the DWP Select Committee. I have Cc’ed Andrew, just to keep the DWP Committee in the loop.  

This is the ABC here: www.abcorg.net We are partners of the Electoral Commission promoting voter registration with this hard-to-reach group, and we are currently working with a volunteer team of Essex University students adding content to our website, which doubles as a directory of help for the low paid. Later I hope to launch WorkTV. We have other initiatives underway.

During the Mhairi Black MP Private Members bill debate Friday 02 December, some very unpleasant remarks were made about the unemployed, by one MP.   

A reply came back ‘If you feel like that [about people] why are you working in this House’ I believe was the reply. I wrote this article in disgust about one individual: http://www.abcorg.net/item/1100-tory-right-wing-mp-david-nuttall-shows-his-contempt-towards-those-on-benefits

We host both Parliament TV and Europarl TV during relevant debates and we keenly follow relevant discussions with our growing audience.  

The suicide statistics have just gone up, and they are high already, and they are expected to rise further towards 2020.  Please see our article: http://www.abcorg.net/item/1096-deaths-from-suicide-increase-slightly

Please may I suggest that you speak to MPs and make them aware of the effect of what they say can have on people in the country?

Christmas is a very tough time of year, especially for people who may have low self-esteem, mental health issues or simply be suffering from loneliness. As such, they can be very deeply affected by what they see on TV and in newspapers.

Some people do not necessarily see the world in a balanced and rational way due to their anxiety’s. Of course, there are those with PHD’s, even airline pilots ‘on the dole’. For most people, they anticipate that life will eventually get better, but not everyone is optimistic?

I founded the ABC after a chain of events which started with a friend committing suicide just after Christmas in a shared house. Steve, was left an orphan as a young boy, and to help him [so they thought] he was sent to a public school where he was bullied because of his circumstances. For years, he was a robust salesman, with an outgoing gregarious personality - till one day he said, a veil of blackness came down over him like a curtain. I will not give the whole story, but in our house, we failed to recognise just how ill he was… till one day he hung himself from the landing and his body was found hanging above the stairs. He was found by our landlord’s agent, a former policeman who gave him the kiss of life, but alas he had been dead for some time.  We were all very shaken-up. We knew Steve ‘had the blues’, but we had no way of knowing what was about to happen? 

The remarks Friday did not reflect well on the individual MP who made them, the Party he represents, or even the Houses of Parliament.

These kinds of remarks can trigger people who maybe considering taking their own life to do so. I was given figures recently that one in six suicides are DWP related?

I just hope you might be able to take a moment to remind MP’s of the powerful effect their words can have? We cannot all be winners, and I hope you might remind MP’s that saying what you think, without thinking, can have tragic consequences.

I would be grateful if you would consider our points, the majority of our MP's do a fine job. 

On behalf of the ABC - have a very Happy Christmas to all who work at the Houses of Parliament, both staff and MP's.     

Seasonal Greetings,

Simon COLLYER

Founder & CEO

Video below: The Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP reflects on his life and experiences. 

David Nuttall MP heckled Mhairi Black MP during her Private Members Bill on the 02 December 2016. A Bill which sort to amend the way sanctions are being administered by Jobcentre Plus. Black is the current 'Baby of the House' as the youngest member in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. When elected in May 2015, she was 20 years and 237 days old, making her the youngest MP elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since at least the Reform Act of 1832, replacing James Dickson who was 21 years and 67 days old when elected in 1880.

Nuttall was criticised after the debate for implying that those who receive unemployment benefits are 'scared of getting a job'. His response was in opposition to the SNP who had been pushing against benefit sanctions, that have been responsible for the deaths of claimants in a number of high profile cases.

Black was heckled in the Commons by Nuttall when she referenced Loach's recent film I, Daniel Blake as part of her speech. Conservative MP David Nuttall shouted "it's fiction" before leaving the chamber.

So who is David Nuttall MP and what other views does he share? 

David Nuttall is the MP for Bury North, having won his seat in the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. He currently holds the seat by a slim margin. 

According to Wikipedia - Nuttall made his maiden speech on 10 June 2010 during a debate on "Tackling Poverty in the UK".

Nuttall's first question in the House of Commons attracted some local comment when, in the week that cuts in spending and public sector job cuts were announced, Nuttall chose to express regret over the freezing of the spending on the civil list and implications for the Queen's diamond jubilee. The Bury Times carried several letters protesting his stance.

In 2013 Nuttall was one of four MPs who camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on what they called an "Alternative Queen's Speech"—an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver. Some 42 policies were listed including reintroduction of the death penalty and conscription, privatising the BBC, banning the burka in public places and preparation to leave the European Union.

Other views that Nuttall holds:

• Generally voted against equal gay rights
• Consistently voted against smoking bans
• Almost always voted against allowing marriage between two people of same sex
• Generally voted against laws to promote equality and human rights
• Consistently voted against allowing terminally ill people to be given assistance to end their life

Article created with special thanks to Wikipedia.

David Nuttall MP, supports the return of the Death Penalty.

Image supplied courtesy of the Daily Mail. 

Mhairi Black MP: Fight Against Deeply-Flawed Benefits Sanctions Will Go On. 

SNP MP Mhairi Black has vowed to continue to fight against the “deeply-flawed and cruel” benefits sanctions regime as debating time for the bill ran out in the House of Commons today.

Mhairi Black led the debate on her Benefits Sanctions (Required Assessment) Bill and hoped to have it progress to committee stage but, despite having over 40 of the 54 SNP MPs in attendance the lack of other opposition MPs meant that bill lacked the 100 members needed to progress to the next stage in Parliament.

The Bill proposed that Department for Work and Pensions staff in Jobcentres across the UK would be required to consider whether personal circumstances such as caring commitments, whether a person is at risk of homelessness or whether they suffer from a mental ill-health condition that could be exacerbated by a benefit sanction before one can be issued.

Despite widespread agreement from all MPs that there are huge issues with the benefits sanctions regime, Tory MPs spoke at length to oppose the bill.

Lack of progress today means the bill is not likely to be heard again this session.

Mhairi Black MP said:

“I am very disappointed that my bill was not supported by a sufficient number of MPs to guarantee its passage in the Private Member’s Bill process but this is by no means the end of my fight against the deeply-flawed and cruel sanctions regime and I will never stop working towards a fairer, more just society.

“Apart from a handful of notable exceptions, Labour were nowhere to be seen and failed to turn up to support the bill.  Labour MPs have no problem talking about their opposition of the hated sanctions system but sadly when we had a real opportunity to make a difference they failed to act.

“And the Tories who did turn up, only did so to oppose the bill despite many MPs from the Government benches recognising the very real problems that exist within the system.

"Sanctions hit people, they hit real people. They are not statistics, they are human beings who are struggling and they are suffering, all due to the actions of the UK Government.  

“With this bill Parliament had a real opportunity to make a difference and stop some of the misery and hardship caused by sanctions - sadly this opportunity was wasted."

The unemployment rate in the eurozone fell to 9.8 percent in October, the lowest rate since July 2009, the EU’s statistic agency Eurostat revealed Thursday.

Throughout the EU, unemployment in October fell 0.1 percent to 8.3 percent, a record low since February 2009.

Of the EU28 countries, the Czech Republic had the lowest unemployment rate, (3.8 percent), followed by Germany (4.1 percent). Unemployment was highest in Greece (23.4 percent in August, the latest available figure) and Spain (19.2 percent in October).

The youth jobless rate also fell in October 2016 compared to the same period the year prior, to 18.4 percent from 19.9 percent for the EU and to 20.7 percent from 22.2 percent in the Eurozone.

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) is not doing enough to find out how sanctions affect people on benefits, according to this weeks report from the National Audit Office.

A benefit sanction is a penalty imposed on a claimant meaning a loss of income when someone does not meet conditions like attending jobcentre appointments. Sanctions are not rare: 24% of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants received at least one between 2010 and 2015. Use of sanctions varies substantially, with some Work Programme providers referring twice as many people for sanctions as other providers in the same area.

Today’s report finds that jobcentres’ monthly sanction referral rate for Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants rose to 11% in March 2011 then fell to 3% in December 2015. There are many reasons for this variation but it cannot be fully explained by changes in claimant behaviour. The NAO concludes it is likely that management focus and local work coach discretion have had a substantial influence on whether or not people are sanctioned.

Today’s report recommends that the Department for Work & Pensions carries out a wide-ranging review of benefit sanctions, particularly as it introduces further changes to labour market support such as Universal Credit. The DWP has commissioned independent reviews and taken steps to improve processes but rejected previous calls for a wider review. The NAO finds that the previous government increased the scope and severity of sanctions in 2012, and recognised that these changes would affect claimants’ behaviour in ways that were difficult to predict.

The NAO report finds that the Department is meeting target timescales for most sanction decisions but is missing its Universal Credit targets. In August 2016, 42% of decisions about Universal Credit sanctions took longer than 28 working days. 

International studies show people who receive sanctions are more likely to get work, but the effect can be short-lived, lead to lower wages and increase the number of people moving off benefits into inactivity. The DWP has not used its own data to evaluate the impact of sanctions in the UK. The NAO undertook preliminary analysis of the impact of Work Programme sanctions on employment, inactivity and earnings. The results show the Department should do more to understand these sanctions outcomes.

Sanctions have costs, for people who receive them and for the government. The Department does not track the costs and benefits of sanctions, but estimates that it spends £30-50 million a year applying sanctions, and around £200 million monitoring the conditions it sets for claimants. The NAO estimates the Department withheld £132 million from claimants due to sanctions in 2015, and paid them £35 million in hardship payments. The overall impact of sanctions on wider public spending is unknown.

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said today:

“Sanctions on benefits have a high opportunity cost, not only for those who are dependent on those benefits if sanctions are applied, but for the efficient use of public resources.

“We acknowledge the department's effort to reduce its error rate on sanctions, but we think there is more to do in terms of reducing them further, and in reducing the notable differences in sanctions applications between comparable localities.”

Deaths from suicide in the UK rose slightly from 6,122 deaths in 2014 to 6,188 deaths in 2015 with a subsequent increase in the rate from 10.8 to 10.9 deaths per 100,000 population.

UK male suicide rate decreases whilst female rate increases to its highest rate in a decade.

England and Scotland saw decreases in the total number of suicides, whilst Wales and Northern Ireland saw increases.

Of the English regions, Yorkshire and The Humber had the highest suicide rate at 11.6 deaths per 100,000 population and the East of England had the lowest at 9.3 deaths per 100,000.

Across all broad age groups, the rate for males was around 3 times higher than females.

The most common method of suicide amongst males and females in the UK in 2015 was hanging.

ONS Statistician’s quote

"While the increase in the suicide rate, this year is a result of an increase in female suicides, males still account for three quarters of all suicides. There has also been a continued increase in suicides for males under the age of 30, however, these remain lower than the peak seen in the late 1990's and remains significantly lower than the suicide rate for middle-aged males despite falls in recent years."

The ABC says. If you are feeling down the Samaritans can assist. Use our contact form and just say hello. 

Telephone: 116 123

Mhairi Black MP’s Private Member’s Bill, which will be debated in the House of Commons on Friday 2nd December, will introduce a code of conduct for Jobcentre staff across the UK that would ensure an individual’s personal circumstances would be taken into account before a sanction is issued.  

A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found that the controversial benefits sanctions regime costs taxpayers a staggering £285 million compared to the £132 million a year that the cuts save.

A copy of the Bill is attatched at the bottom of this page. 

The Commons Work and Pensions Committee is launching a new inquiry into whether the UK welfare system adequately supports the growing numbers of self-employed and gig economy workers, and how it might be adapted to suit their needs. This will be a wide-ranging inquiry, looking at areas including Universal Credit and other working-age benefits, pensions, and labour market participation. The “gig economy” has come to prominence recently with high profile issues over the hours, pay and conditions of workers in large online courier and cab services like Hermes, Deliveroo, Amazon and Uber.

Background

• Nearly 5 million people, 15% of the workforce, are now self-employed.
• The proportion of people who are self-employed has been growing since the early 2000s and has accelerated in recent years. The ONS believes that substantial levels of self-employment are now a structural feature of the UK’s labour market:

Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey

• Although most self-employed people work full-time, it is part-time self-employment that has been growing faster in recent years. Part-time self-employment grew by 88% between 2001 and 2015, compared to 25% for full-time.
• A recent research report further suggested that the true number of people working part-time in the “gig economy” is much higher than the official employment statistics capture.
• Self-employment suits many people and could be an important lever in achieving policy objectives, such as increased disabled employment rates. Similarly, informal contract work can offer welcome flexibility and, in many cases, supplementary income.
• However, low pay in self-employment is much higher than in conventional work, self-employed workers can experience considerable variations in pay from month-to-month, and the increase in numbers of self-employed workers has been mirrored by a decline in the numbers contributing to pensions.

Call for written evidence

The Committee invites evidence addressing one or more of the following areas:

Universal Credit

• The relative treatment of employees and self-employed people in UC, including:
• How UC adapts to variable incomes.
• The effects of Minimum Income Floors and UC earnings disregards.
• How the introduction of the National Living Wage will affect self-employed UC claimants.
• How variable incomes affect other benefits, such as housing benefit and tax credits.

Jobcentre Plus and support for newly self-employed people:

• What support should JCP offer to people who are self-employed or want to become so and is JCP equipped to offer it?
• How can the DWP best support self-employed people, including those who are disadvantaged, to grow their businesses? What role does the UC in-work service have to play?

Labour market participation:

• How can self-employment contribute to achieving full employment — especially for disabled people, older people and those with caring responsibilities?
• What role does the New Enterprise Allowance play in that and how, if at all, could it be improved?

Pensions:

• How can self-employed people best be encouraged and supported to save for retirement?
• Should self-employed people be required to enrol in a pension?

The deadline for written submissions is Monday 16 January 2017

Rt Hon Frank Field MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “The welfare state was created in an era when relatively secure long-term full-time employment and traditional families dominated. Even Universal Credit will be at least 12 years old when it finally finishes rolling out. The labour market is changing very quickly:  self-employment, uncertain hours, insecure short-term contracts and gig work are becoming ever more prevalent. We will be investigating the extent to which the welfare system can adapt to these challenges and what may need to change.”

Image courtesy of the Daily Mirror: The Rt Hon Frank Field MP

At a press conference following the publishing of the Financial Stability Report and the stress tests, BoE Governor Mark Carney warned about the high lever of household debt in the U.K. The report showed that the overall ratio of household debt-to-income was 133 percent in the second quarter of 2016. The BoE said that was high by historical standards, although not as high as during the 2008 financial crisis. Carney said consumers were borrowing more on their credit cards and through other forms of unsecured debt, which is rising at its fastest pace since 2005. “We are going to remain vigilant around the issue, because we have seen this shift,” he said.