Thousands Protest the UK Government's Brutal Austerity

[Purveyor]

Britain's government has introduced sweeping changes to the country's welfare, justice, health and tax systems, including a "bedroom tax" that will reduce housing subsidies that primarily benefit poor people. The levy ostensibly aims to "tackle overcrowding and encourage a more efficient use of social housing," resulting in an estimated million "social housing" households losing 14-25 percent of their housing benefits.

The Guardian:

Critics say it is an inefficient policy as in the north of England, families with a spare rooms outnumber overcrowded families by three to one, so thousands will be hit with the tax when there is no local need for them to move. Two-thirds of the people hit by the bedroom tax are disabled.

Thousands of trade unions, advocates for the disabled, leading churches, and anti-poverty protesters held marches against the changes over the weekend, calling the cuts "unjust." In a joint report released over the weekend, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Church of Scotland criticized the government of perpetuating myths about poverty in an attempt to justify the cuts.

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http://www.thenation.com/blog/173602/thousands-protest-uk-governments-brutal-austerity#

[Smilo]

1. Talking to family in the UK

this really is terrible.

Britain seems to have succeeded in dividing everyone - he has/she has, he wants/she wants............

But don't worry the millionaires will be well taken care off, while the disabled, elderly and poor will be lucky to have a roof over their heads.

And what is really scary about this is how they are chopping up and going forward with trying to privatize the NHS - a once sacred entity that everyone held up high and were proud of.