Friends and comrades, it seems there is another enemy to fight if we are truly going to take back the party for the people. The enemy is the NEC.

I have sent a letter to Iain McNicol leader.

Stating my concerns I am posting the letter on here, in the hope that you will all be aware that with the NEC election coming up you can encourage your own CLP [Constituency Labour Party] to put forward a candidate that is Pro Jeremy.

To Iain McNicol

As a member of the Labour Party and having voted Labour since the age of 18, a full 36 years in total, even through the debacle of the Blair years, I sat back and watched a party that my grandparents and parents fought for, be taken apart by a man and his cabinet and made into a pale blue tory party.

The party started to dismantle the unions; it turned its back on the working class and the poor.

I like many others thought the Labour Party was finished.

I watched as the media and his own party members demolished a good man in Ed Miliband.

Then Jeremy Corbyn came on the scene; a man of honesty, ideals and principals; unbelievable in a politician I know.

A true man of the people.

He is prepared to take on the government and win; which he is doing every week; despite the hurdles his own cabinet is putting in his way.

I feel hopeful for the first time in years.

Although the media in all forms are trying their hardest to discredit him, his shoulders are wide and his resolve is strong.

I expected opposition from The Progress part of the party and Labour First as these MP’s are careerist and want a job for life without having to work too hard on behalf of the people who voted them in with the added bonus of totally discounting the opinions of their constituents, {ergo the vote on Syria}.

They then had the audacity of calling foul when those said constituents tackled them about it; bleating to the press that they are being bullied.

At the same time, they thought it was reasonable to attack members who support Mr Corbyn, calling them Marxist, communist and other derogatory names. They chose to resign over the sacking of a man {Dugher} who had shown incredible disloyalty to his Leader and to the members.

They all think it’s reasonable to run to the press every chance they have and bleat how unfair life is to them. (They should try living in the real world and see how unfair life really can be).

Do these people not understand loyalty?

Behaving in this shabby way is not only disloyal to the leader but also to the MEMBERS.

Are we not the people that voted Jeremy Corbyn in on the biggest mandate in history and is it not a fact that more people have joined the party since he was elected on his policies?

I know in time The Progress Party will realise that it was their policies that lost us the last two elections and that the Blair ideology doesn’t sit well with the VOTERS.

The reason I am writing to you is the disloyalty the NEC and Labour First are showing to Mr Corbyn but more importantly it is the disloyalty to the members {the VOTERS}.

Having secret meetings behind the leaders' back, attacking his policies and trying to find ways and means to bring about his down fall. Only electing members who support the Progress party or are part of Labour First; having vetted where their loyalties lay first.

I was under the impression that the NEC was neutral to party politics; it would seem I was wrong.

As a powerful group within the Labour party I would have expected you to have openness and clarity and not operate under a cloak of secrecy. This is surely something that needs to be addressed at conference and the rules made fairer and more reflective of the opinions of the members.

After all isn’t that what DEMOCRACY is all about?

We have party within a party - a Progress Party. A group that calls themselves Labour First - whose aim is to cause the downfall of Mr Corbyn. And a very powerful group The NEC - whose members seem to be made up of the above two groups - who have secret meetings with the intention of blocking policies and to deliberately block any move that Mr Corbyn makes that they don’t want to go along with.

In anyone’s book that is not DEMOCRATIC.

What you all have forgotten is that the Labour Party is growing fast and becoming stronger every day, not because of Mr Corbyn but because of his policies.

• The ones that reflect the needs of the people, all people, the poor, the vulnerable and the working poor.
• The policies that will bring back into public ownership the assets this government has sold to their friends at prices way below their worth.
• The policies that will make sure our firemen, policemen and soldiers have the right equipment that will help to keep them safe, while working for their country.
• Policies that will put the NHS back on its feet and not in the hands of corporations that just bleed it dry.

When Mr Corbyn retires the movement will still be strong and will move forwards with true SOCIALIST policies.

If you do remove Mr Corbyn I and thousands of others will leave the Labour Party.

What all of you who still resist the move to the left and insist on following Blair’s ideology don’t realise is you risk losing the jobs you are all desperately clinging to.

We the members want change.

What I suggest we all do is come together and be a Party that can put this country back on its feet again, become a nation with a second to none manufacturing base, an NHS that will once again be envied by the world, where the poor, vulnerable and disabled are not considered criminals.

Together we can be Great again but if you all carry on as you are we will lose the election in 2020.

And we will be looking at the parties within a party for the loss.

We need to stop the in-fighting, debate the policies behind closed doors and at hustings and CLP meetings but not in the media.

Let’s all move forward as ONE.

Yours Sincerely. Karen Meanwell and Joanne Sinton

This was undoubtedly organised as a way of winning over middle ground voters, and maybe even as part of an effort to clean up Mr Letwin’s recently marred public image.

Ideology first

The 45 minute speech on conservative ideals was an eye opener to me, as I had never heard it straight from the source. If you aren’t aware, the concept is that we should all be striving to write the “story of our own lives” and that no-one should be held back from achieving their dreams and thus we “liberate the human spirit”. I agree, working hard and being ambitious is awesome, however, I find it even more liberating when I am also conscious to the many incredible “stories” being written around me, and indeed the greater story that we play a small part of. Conservatism, I discovered, is a little too ego-centric for my liking. I guess that makes me “left-leaning”?

Takin’ it to the man

After this speech, I was the first of the audience to raise my hand to ask a question. I put it to Mr Letwin that the government was failing to deal with our rising mental health issues.

Despite the government’s numerous promises for increased investment, all the evidence (below) is showing us that vital funding and support is not being made available to mental health services on the NHS, and that these issues are being largely neglected. That combined with the fact that the government has now stopped publishing how much it spends and where this spend is allocated (information only accessible via Freedom of Information requests), means it is now even harder to hold the government to account, when it shouldn’t be.

Mr Letwin replied typically (and disappointingly) by heralding all the great achievements done in the past to address mental health, but said that there was still a lot more to do.

You can listen to the full exchange here.

What is actually happening…

The ideas of “big society” and “opportunity for all” are noble, however they can only work in practice when we all have the same access to basic and necessary healthcare.

After six-years of a Conservative led government the signs are bleak where our NHS is concerned. Indeed, when telling us to focus on our individualistic aspirations, one has to ask where a collectivist institution like the NHS fits? Is that why we are seeing increasingly more of it sold off and privatised?

Just some of the depressing facts about our collective state of mental health:

• The number of people becoming so ill they had to be detained under the Mental Health Act leapt by 10% in the past year.
• The number of children being treated on adult mental health wards – something that the Mental Health Act rightly says should not happen at all – rose again in 2015.
• Suicide is the highest it has been since 2001.
• We are in the midst of a psychiatry recruitment crisis: there has been a 94% increase in vacant and unfilled consultant posts.

What the government is (or not) doing:

• Government has pledged to spend £600million in mental health services. However, that is only a returning on spending levels we had in 2010.
• NHS trusts’ income for mental health services has actually dropped by 8.25% in real terms over past five years.
  
• The Government committed to £250m on child and adolescent mental health services or CAMHS for 2015/16, but the Government has admitted there will be a £77m shortfall on what they have pledged.
• In 2014/15 funding for mental health trusts was cut by 20% more than that for other hospitals.
• A King’s Fund report published in November 2015 found that just 14% of people felt that they received appropriate care in a crisis.

There is even mounting evidence that government policy is harming our collective mental health:

• The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health recently concluded that the programme of reassessing people on disability benefits using the Work Capability Assessment was independently associated with an increase in suicides, self-reported mental health problems and antidepressant prescribing.
  
• 83% of people surveyed by the charity, Mind, reported that the Work Programme made their mental health condition worse.
• The latest statistics reveal that less than 9% of people with mental health problems receiving Employment and Support Allowance have been helped into a job by the Work Programme.

I was also very saddened to read just yesterday the miserable story about Frances McCormack, the latest to take her own life after the added pressures brought about by the government’s controversial “bedroom tax”.

Accountability (lack of)

Lack of accountability is also a big problem: we still have no clarity on the promised government spending. In fact you have to use a Freedom of Information request to find out how much Clinical Commissioning Groups were allocating to mental health. The findings are alarming: 67% of CCGs spent less than 10% of their budget on mental health. This is despite mental health accounting for 23% of the total burden of disease.

In 2011/12 total investment in mental health dropped for the first time in a decade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that same year the Government stopped publishing how much it invests in mental health.

It simply is not good enough. One has to wonder at what point will this government start taking our health seriously.

So…

This week's pantomime from parliament, with Mr Corbyn treat like a dastardly villain in a children's show, and speakers who followed on allowed due respect, rattled so many people in the UK that we are sending out a call to arms-not a call for violence but rather peaceful protest in a boycott of all mainstream media reporting.

Details of the date and time of the first day of action will follow and will be accompanied by details of a tweetstorm and action on Facebook.

Please share details far and wide to ensure maximum impact.

The first event may be followed by further action.

As part of the specification for the PIP assessment service, Assessment Providers must provide sufficient suitable accommodation for face-to-face consultations. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set clear requirements in terms of geography, travel, security and the claimant experience in relation to the sites used for PIP consultations.

The DWP requirement is that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) to a consultation. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this.

The appointment letter includes a map and directions to the Assessment Centre. Where the claimant has a medical condition that makes travel difficult the claimant should discuss this with the Assessment Provider.

The DWP have specified circumstances where a home consultation will be offered, in particular where the claimant is unable to travel to a consultation as a result of their health conditions or impairments. More specifically home consultations could be offered when the claimant provides confirmation from their health professional that indicates they are unable to travel on health grounds.

When a claimant travels to a face-to-face consultation they are able to claim travel expenses for themselves and a companion, carer or young children who would otherwise be left unattended.
Payments can be made for public transport fares, travel by private motor vehicle and other costs relating to the journey to and from the consultation such as parking. There are circumstances in which taxi fares can be reimbursed. This should be discussed with the Assessment Provider before attending the consultation. Payments relating to other costs of the journey such as parking, tolls or congestion charges can also be met. Travel expenses will be reimbursed within 14 days of the claim but cannot be paid in advance or at the Assessment Centre.

Should a claimant have any difficulties attending a consultation they should discuss it with the Assessment Provider as soon as possible. If a claimant contacts the Assessment Provider in advance to advise they are unable to attend their consultation, they will be offered a second appointment. This may enable them to arrange for a companion to assist with their travel arrangements.

Justin Tomlinson MP
Minister for Disabled People

This raises an issue I’d not considered before, the DWP state “claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport”  and as Steve says, and having lived in the area for over 8 years I concur, the problem with getting to Walsall from Birmingham is not the distance, which at around 13 mile should be within the DWP criteria but the fact that “getting to Walsall for an early morning appointment is “at a best a nightmare” even when the M6 is “at its quietest”; thus as Steve points out “potentially you could lose your award because of traffic problem”.

Steve raised the case thinking of using a private car but by public transport it is an even worse problem – consider you need a use a bus to get to train station (or as close as possible) then the train journey itself and finally the bus (if there is one) to the assessment centre. This could easily take more than 90 minutes, therefore your PIP award could rely on traffic?

Just to add final insult to injury you arrive at Walsall Assessment Centre to find it is  inaccessible for disabled people!

Jayne Linney

Retirement plans have been shattered with devastating consequences.

In April 2015 NEWTEK posted the following report, shown below: New pensions bad news for many pensioners

He gives shelter to orphaned children and the destitute, free medical care, drug rehabilitation services and disaster relief. In times of trouble Edhi’s ambulances roam where even the law enforcement agencies do not. Edhi has worked selflessly for several decades in serving the people of our great nation.  

Thanks to Edhi’s efforts, supported by his equally inspirational partner and wife, Bilquis Edhi, emergency and trauma care has been transformed in Pakistan and is now available to everyone irrespective of gender, class, caste, social standing or age.

As an educator, humanitarian and social activist, I have read about the essence of humanity but have only seen true humanity in motion through the efforts of Edhi and his Foundation.

With each passing day I am only too well aware of Edhi’s failing health, which began to rapidly deteriorate over the last twelve months. With this in mind, I would like to stress the urgency in Edhi being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 in recognition of his services to the people of Pakistan.

He is not only a leading light in my home country, he is a global firebrand who will continue to lead the way in inspiring others through his legacy. Please show your support for Edhi by signing this petition and raising your voice with me for this living legend who has transformed the lives of so many and sets an example to each of us about how to live our lives.

Malala's support:
I'm signing this petition started by my father calling on our world leaders to nominate Abdul Sattar Edhi for the Nobel Peace Prize 2016. Abdul Sattar Edhi continues working tirelessly for humanity - he inspires me everyday! Edhi serves the most vulnerable, voiceless and unheard people in Pakistan.

He is a true role model for each and everyone of us. I urge you all to join me in honouring the work of Edhi and his Foundation.

Read the petition in English here Urdu here and in Pashto here.