uk

The Tory Cabinet

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pinkoqueer:

literally Boris Johnson, conservative MP and Mayor of London, is a MESS

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feminhistory:

despite all this – no BECAUSE of all this, he’s revered by the UK public as a friendly loveable buffoon with silly hair. female politicians can’t even look angry in photos without being torn apart by the media as high-strung and too emotional for public office. yet here we have an actually ridiculous politician, who only got his position bc he’s David Cameron’s old Bullingdon buddy, who is problematic and gross in every way and people lap it up as part of his charm. 

what makes this all the more infuriating is that boris johnson gets away with all of this without a single scratch to his popularity or reputation whilst Ed Miliband (leader of the Tories main opponent the Labour Party) is scorned and ripped apart by the Conservative owned media for eating a sandwich. 

but nah, keep telling me democracy prevailed on the 8th.

#ToriesOutNow

British Memes Gothic

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storywonker:

  • There is a Nandos on every street. They are all cheeky. You do not know what makes them cheeky. Each houses a garrison of lads. You do not want to enter, but you cannot resist a cheeky Nandos. The smell of banter and peri peri overwhelms you.
  • A meerkat is trying to sell you insurance. You have forgotten what the insurance is for. All that matters is the comparison. If you are good and do not protest, the meerkat promises, you will get a free meerkat toy.
  • Freddos are too expensive. No-one you know remembers a time when they were the right price. You stare at the sweet shelf, lost in the glamour of the Pick’n’mix and the little chocolate frogs.
  • The DFS sale is now on. It is always now on. Has it ever been off? No matter. It is now on. If you hurry, you can get a year of interest-free payments.
  • Jamie Oliver is on the television. Jamie Oliver is in your school. Jamie Oliver is in your kitchen, cooking an eight-course banquet in 30 minutes. It’s full of big flavours. He always has enough herbs. You do not ask where he gets them from. You can only be thankful it’s Jamie Oliver and not Heston Blumenthal.
  • Everyone watched Dick and Dom when they were a child, no matter their age. Do they age? Where have they gone? What was the nature of their bungalow? Are they of the same deathless kindred as Bruce Forsyth? You suspect Graham Norton may also be involved.
  • There are four candles. Everyone you mention them to thinks you’re talking about utensils.
  • A car races past you. Behind the wheel is a man screaming about POWER. This is the worst day… in the world.
  • When you sleep, you can hear Stephen Fry behind your eyelids, asking you about the significance of the march hare to the Aztecs. You say that they worshipped them. Klaxons blare from all around.

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David Cameron just made John Whittingdale the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Whilst not as harmful, he is also anti-BBC to quite a large extent, so the prospect of constant ads interrupting your favourite shows and a less neutral line in the news programmes suddenly got a lot higher.

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atthefinishline:

People of Tumblr,
We (the d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing Community) in the UK desperately need your help.
With the riots going on in central London, everyone is having a say in it, but nobody is mentioning the disabled community who are going to be affected the most.

Since our General Election, it has been announced that David Cameron and the Conservative government want to abolish a number of services that are completely essential and vital to us to be able to live.

What the hell is going on? What are you talking about?
Basically, in short:
The Department for Work and Pensions want to make getting DLA (Disability Living Allowance) / PIP (Personal Independent Payment, believe ti’s called this now) even more harder to be accepted, and many d/Deaf/HoH users will lose their payments, or will no longer be granted to receive it.
(I’m 22. I’m severely profound, and each time I’ve applied for this, I’m repeatedly denied entitlement because I’m ‘not deaf enough’!! The money I would have got from this would have went towards the funds to buying the kit that I need to support my every day life. At the moment, all the kit I need works out to about £1500. I can’t afford that with my current job that I work in.)

There is a scheme called Access to Work, which enables funds/grants to purchase equipment and interpreters. They’re wanting to scrap it completely. This is a complete NIGHTMARE for d/Deaf/HoH users. Why?
Some users speak only using BSL (British Sign Language), they need interpreters to communicate.
Some users need specialist equipment (loop systems/radio aids) to be able to work effectively in the work place.
Some users require advice, and don’t know who to turn to. Access to Work are meant to be there to help them out. (Though, in all honesty, many users have had a bad experience with them. I put an application in over a year ago, and it’s never been looked at… What does that say, ey?)

And… Lastly.. They want to privatise the NHS. Many of us d/Deaf/HoH users need the NHS to be able to get check ups on our hearing, for repair services, replacement services for our hearing aids/cochlear implants/bahas, and of course replacement mould impressions to stop our ears from hurting.
You used to be able to go into a walk in clinic and get all of these done within 20-30 minutes, but now you have to book an appointment (which most of the time they only offer you appointments 3-6 weeks ahead, not great in emergencies.) and even when you’re there, nothing gets done about it.
Yes, these services are free.. But they won’t be for long.
A friend of mine got a cochlear implant fitted for free, but decided after a couple of years they wished to get the other side done… Only for the NHS to turn around and say ‘You have to pay £33,000 to get the other side fitted.’ As a 20 year old University student, there is NO way they can afford that, to make a change to their lives.

I could go on forever with all the reasons why we are at greater risk, because we need these services to be available and free to us to be able to live.
Now that this government are still in power, our chances to get jobs, get money we’re rightfully entitled to to aid our everyday needs, get the right access and support through careers and medically are going to be taken away from us.
We need our voices to be heard. We may be the ‘silent’ community, but we have a loud voice.
Help us out. There’s petitions that need signing, and I’ve included a few links to back up the latest stories in the news about this.
Was hoping to plan a peaceful d/Deaf/HoH protest regarding this, but can’t do it on my own. If anyone wishes to help join me in London to get our voices heard, please do message me.

Sources:
Petition: Stop Changes to Access to Work

Access to Work cap criticised for being a “cap on the aspirations of deaf young people”


Whoever wins the election needs to stop the DWP bullying deaf employees


DWP releases document on cuts to disabled work access scheme hours after election result

This may sound incredibly stupid but what exactly is austerity?

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jenprocrastinating:

marxistbarbie:

Not stupid in the slightest, especially if you aren’t from the UK.

Austerity is the fancy name given to David Cameron’s policy of cutting funding from the most vulnerable in British society in an attempt to fix the deficit that the rich created. 

Austerity entails cutting disability benefits, job seeker’s allowance, child benefits, pensions and mental health funding amongst many other things. It also includes a new bizarre set of requirements for you to even be considered for these now greatly reduces benefits. For example, if the government decides you aren’t looking hard enough for a job your benefits will be cut entirely, people have starved to death because of this. 

Austerity accompanies the Bedroom Tax in which people with “too many” bedrooms in their council houses have to pay extra tax, this has made disabled people homeless. 

Another aspect of austerity is the closing down of GP offices and the implementation of a scandalous ‘10 minute’ limit to doctor’s appointments. Whereby if you go over 10 minutes when talking to your doctor they have to cut you off and send you on your way, even if you were about to tell them something that could help them diagnose and treat you for something serious. Doctor’s have protested this legislation and have said that the new system is failing patients.

Austerity also includes selling council houses cheaply to tenants so that the government doesn’t have to pay for their upkeep, this sounds good in practice (my own mother benefitted from this scheme by buying our council house) but in the longterm it has created a shortage of council houses. Leaving many in hostels or on the street. (My best friend had to declare herself homeless to be given a council house for her and her baby and it included a compulsory week stay at a hostel, my heavily pregnant best friend asked me to stay with her and trust me you would rather be on the street than in a government hostel in the UK. The sheets were blood and shit stained, there were used needles on the floor, the plumbing did not work. Those places are inhumane.) Having to put people in this kind temporary housing is costing taxpayers £2bn a year. 

As a result of Austerity thousands of rape crisis shelters, women’s shelters, homeless shelters and community areas have been closed down. 3.5 million children now live below the poverty line and an expected 1 million people will join those currently relying on food banks to survive. The Royal Mail was sold to a private company but the Conservatives botched it so it ended up costing taxpayers 1 billion pounds. Some areas of the NHS have also been sold leaving people in poor care in hospitals and depriving some of treatment. 

Meanwhile, the middle and upper middle classes continue to get tax breaks, banker’s continue receiving their bonuses and tax evasion is left ignored despite it being one of the largest strains to the public purse. 

And even after all that, UK national debt is increasing all the time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_national_debt

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