People's Assembly Against Austerity

www.guardian.co.uk/society2013/mar/19/uk-families-helped-by-save-the-children

And as a point of information, 60% of welfare benefits are pension related, of the rest, the majority are paid to people in low paid work. And only 0.7% of benefits are claimed fraudulently.

The headline names have a fine track record working for social justice, that is, working for a more equal and just society. The ways and means may differ but these people have put their efforts where their mouths are.

Is this an offshoot of The Assembly of the People Against Austerity?

Oh, and the list also has a lawyer and a (former) catholic priest. Scary eh?

Sorry - it sounds too left wing to be practicable in the UK.

What struggles do you mean?

Ana what did you expect - CEOs of FTSE 100 companies - bankers?

Oh my goodness! The combination of those who are not interested in protesting against the coalition and j08 having a less than tiptop day makes bizarre reading.
One of the strange aspects of GN behaviour. Someone starts a thread on something like, say:
Country Dancing
and half a dozen people feel compelled to chip in to say how so not interested they are in country dancing, or dancing of any kind.

j08 bluebell By "struggle" I'm not talking about people taking to the streets, chucking bricks around and causing general mayhem.

The Dagenham Ford women car workers were involved in a struggle to get equal pay for equal work. This triggered further actions and protests and eventually led to the Equal Pay Act.

JessM That's just what I was trying to say - I merely posted something that I thought some gransnetters might be interested in.

I was asking J08 what she meant by 'struggles' - I absolutely agree with everything you've said Eloethan and Jess was right on the money as well re the reaction

But if no one chipped in, it'd fall of the end of 'Active' before anyone had read it.

only 0.7% of benefits are claimed fraudulently?
That's still £7million per £1billion!!
What's the welfare bill again ??

JessM that is a ridiculous post! You know quite well threads are for anyone to join in. Or was the original post just meant to advertise the event? I don't think that is what GN is for.

And thank you for your concern, but I have, in fact, had an excellent day.

0.7% of the welfare bill. Absolute peanuts compared to the bailout for RBS and the rest of the banks.

Yes MiceElf, but two wrongs don't make a right do they?
Are you saying that the RBS scandal absolves ordinary people from behaving decently and honestly, or that the government should not seek to reduce benefit fraud?

Of course I'm not. I'm simply trying to put the sensationalist and fraudulent reporting of some sections of the press into context. The banks bailout has cost £1.2 trillion. Not an insignificant sum.

True!

jane Nobody is saying benefit fraud is OK - it isn't. But if people are caught defrauding the benefit system, they are punished.

The many banking scandals involved several of our previously trusted institutions, run by highly respected "establishment" figures who were chummy with politicians on all sides and who were supposed to be experts in the field of finance. Yet they denied knowing anything about the criminal manipulation of various parts of the banking system, which, coincidentally of course, enriched them and the various banks' top earners, at the expense of account holders (including small businesses), their own lower paid staff and their shareholders. Ultimately the whole UK economy was destabilised because of their actions. Sir Fred got his knighthood taken away and a bit of flack in the press for a few weeks but we have seen scandal after scandal. and have any of them been properly held to account for what happened?

No. And people are now having their housing benefit cut. Most of them are working people.

If I am not mistaken didn't Gordon Brown do a speech at a meeting of The People's Assembly during the last general election campaign?

'IF' it is the same, it is a left wing/communist ideological group.

Each to their own I agree. The OP does only state it is taking place and where.

POGS You are mistaken. This Assembly was only proposed through the Guardian letters column on 5 February this year.

I was intrigued by your recollection and did a bit of research. Gordon Brown did deliver a speech in May 2010 to Citizens UK - an alliance of local community organizations bringing together churches, synagogues and mosques, schools, colleges, universities, GP surgeries, etc., etc. Perhaps this was what you recall.

By the way, "left wing" does not equal "communist" - not that I've got anything against communists but I'm sure most people who see themselves as politically on the left would not describe themselves as communists.

Eloethan

I am quite happy to be corrected if I am wrong. You could well be right.

Looking at the list of people you mentioned in your OP it can hardly be deemed as a centre left group of folks though can it. I reiterate my comment, "each to his own".

If you go I hope you enjoy your day.

If I lived in the UK I would love to go to that conference. Social justice is so very important, and we could do without our efforts to bring about a fairer society being labeled communist. Meeting the likes of Benn, Loach and Pilger would be a bonus!!

Here in Australia I am part of the movement to fight against asset-sales and privatisation: these dreadful right wing policies cause so much harm, and once government assets are sold, the damage cannot be undone.

My long experience of watching politics has shown me that right wing policies are destructive and harmful.

On April 1st we will no longer have our NHS--all of it will be put out to tender. This is not an April Fool joke.Our Health Service has been deliberately run down and rubbished and now it is being asset stripped by people like Richard Branson.Why oh why are so many women (and men ) so politically illiterate that they fail to understand what is happening.

Please, try and see the documentary The Spirit of 45--- it spells it all out for you. How our water/gas/coal/ BT has been grabbed by the greedy. Most stood by and let it happen. People don't wish to strike it takes courage.It just takes hot air to bleat "leftie" or "communist".

What will happen to our grandchildren when they get sick and there is no credit left on the card? We have paid NI and Tax for years and years--that was to protect us from ill health and poverty in old age. Where has all that money gone? Invading other peoples countries and killing women and children.

We have to get off our knees and open our eyes and listen.

I saw that Ken Loach film last week, blueskies. It was being simultaneously shown in dozens of cinemas across the country. It might just as well have been called 'The rise and fall of the welfare state'. I also highly recommend it.

Yes,annodomini,it was inspiring. It was a three hour round trip for us because our buses no longer run on Sundays but it was worth it. We came away with hope. It is through forums such as this that we can educate others; we are not getting information from the press or radio/tv.

If we let our precious resources go without a struggle what a legacy that will leave our grandchildren.