It was exhausting emotionally, but also exhilarating to watch the passionate, compassionate arguments from peers like Lord N Patel, Baroness Meacher, Lord McKenzie and others who last night voted to defeat three especially vicious aspects of the Coalition government's Welfare Reform Bill. The "Spartacus Report" and its tenacious disabled champions were instrumental in fighting for what's morally right over what is mean and mendacious.
It was dispiriting to find that the BBC was still obdurate in refusing to mention the Spartacus Report in any major bulletin, and its failure to report the government defeats in the Lords in more than a dismissive side note, way down the running order on News at Ten, with obvious spin to scupper the impact.
Even more devastating to hear that Lord Freud had tried "dirty tricks" tactics to override the earlier defeats in an unprecedented late night vote. And that he actually got away with it.
I managed two emails while adrenalin was driving my indignation last evening. Spoons have to be expended while the iron is hot, sometimes, even if it leads to crash and post exertional payback. Many noble disabled campaigners like Sue Marsh, Kaliya Franklin and many others, have fought altruistically for us all, and also made their own conditions worse in the process for the common good. They inspire us all.
I noted that Baroness Benjamin voted with the government, even after I lobbied her politely about ESA last month and the House of Lords sent me a postcard to say she had noted my letter. My fond memories of her on "Play School" are a bit tainted now, but never mind. She was on the losing side!
The first transcript here is a copy of a second email I have sent to my MP Kevin Barron, following the response I got on sending him a copy of the Spartacus Report on Monday, when he emailed me to say:
I have read the report this morning and I will do all I can to let the Government know of its conclusions.
Yours
Kevin Barron MP
I hoped to encourage him to build on the result of the Lords vote and maintain this impetus when the Bill comes back to the Commons:
Dear Mr Barron,
Thank you for your email reply yesterday and for your promise to do all you can to let the government know of its conclusions.
In line with the research and conclusions in the Responsible Reform Report, genuinely disabled citizens, including many of your own constituents here in Rother Valley, have been relieved and encouraged by today’s defeat of the government in the House of Lords in three votes on various key amendments: namely
-to retain automatic eligibility for ESA for young disabled people who are unable to work
-to impose a two year time limit for ESA claimants, overriding the government’s proposal that claimants be reassessed after 12 months
-to exempt cancer patients from the proposed ESA limit
I hope you will see, from the wise, compassionate and reasonable arguments raised today in the Lords against the demeaning and immoral nature of the current proposals for Welfare Reform, that it is vital such remarkable victories of civilised action are upheld and strengthened when they come back to the Commons. I look forward to seeing your continued support at that stage if you are able.
Thank you again for your support and help for the most vulnerable in our society,
your sincerely, etc
Then, to Chris Patten, BBC Chairman, to express concern at lack of coverage:
Dear Mr Patten,
Many people on the social networks this evening have been pointing out the obvious pro-Coalition bias of the ‘BBC News at Ten’ coverage of the Welfare Reform Bill currently being voted on in the House of Lords. It seemed pretty blatant, after the government suffered a triple defeat on amendments to protect young disabled people, cancer sufferers and to extend the period of time limited ESA, that the news item was being deliberately pushed down the order in order to “sink” the bad news. It was clear that papers were being shuffled and Huw Edwards was being fed questions to bias the reportage. Instead of the actual newsworthy defeat, viewers were treated to a smoke and mirrors whitewash making the whole thing seem like an embarrassing little blip. Somehow the piece was “spun” to blame the deficit on the disabled people affected, then to imply such a vote shows a need for reform of the House of Lords!
Exasperating as this is, it is a bias we see from the Corporation most of the time, and have reluctantly learned at least to tolerate. What is more chilling is the way the BBC News has deliberately failed to give any coverage to the “Responsible Reform” Report (popularly known as the “Spartacus Report”) released this week, revealing the Coalition’s mendacious misleading of the public on the facts of the Welfare Reform Bill. Why is this? The inflated license fee we pay for an ever diminishing handful of watchable “flagship” dramas and HD documentaries should surely buy us the basic right to expect coverage of issues the rest of the country can’t ignore? Just because some of these come in the wrong party colours, don’t toe the party line, or reveal the outright lies being fed to voters, surely this is hardly a valid reason for pretending they don’t exist in the rarefied air of BBC current affairs?
with thanks,
yours sincerely etc
One battle's sort of won. But the war's very far from over.
What we can never achieve alone, we can do together. Cos we are disabled, and we are Spartacus!
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