As I sit here in my living room half watching television on the day my daughter turned one, I find myself opening my twitter app reading posts from Conservative candidates and Tory followers. This should be a day of joy and exhilaration. Instead as I sit here looking at what these people are saying. It was like listening to a Theresa May’s Tory handbook.
When someone follows someone blindly in their opinions and is incapable of forming their own. It can be labelled a cult or a dictatorship. I believe with all my heart that everyone in this world should have their own views on things and that’s what is good about a democracy because it challenges others so that we all get a better, fairer deal that is a happy medium that we all can live with. This sadly is not the case anymore. Everywhere I look, read, see, speak. There are divided opinions everywhere. But there is something else happening now. Something I never thought would in my life time. The surge in the heartlessness of the right wing conservatives. Theresa May and her gang are imposing cuts on our elderly, on our youth and on the vulnerable. I can’t sit by and idly watch this happen and I know there are millions out there who share the same view as me on that.
Upon speaking and ‘debating’ with Tory candidates and followers in the street or on social media it is hard for me or anyone for that matter to get through to them. To help them find the error of their ways. It seems that they have a script in front of them, hand written by the Prime Minister herself and her backbenchers. It is so monotoned and transparent. On many occasions I will ask a few questions before we kick off ‘debating’. One of the questions I ask is ‘Do you support the rape clause?’ Now the rape clause is one of many of the Tory cuts that came into effect on April this year. It means that if you have a third child you will not receive any support from your Government to bring that child up. Clothe, feed, put a roof over their head. Unless you have been raped. That’s not all! You must write on documentation to prove that this is the case and send it away to the Government for investigation on which they will get back to you when or if your claim has been accepted. When I ask that question to many Tory candidates they seem to take the Ruth Davidson approach. They seem to take a long way around it and then hit back with how it can be prevented by the SNP. Now I don’t buy that. I believe that they do not support it, they do think it’s abhorrent and they feel red faced whenever they’re faced with the question. So why are they choosing to support this clause. Because they’re little minions with no opinions. They would rather walk blindly into a dictatorship with the Tories than help their fellow neighbour on the street. They would rather put their precious ‘Union’ and Queen in front of the average person on the street that is effected by these cuts.
These cuts are killing people. There will be no more housing benefit for 18-21 year olds. This will raise the number in people being homeless.
There are cuts on bereavement benefits leaving widow/widowers previously getting this benefit to support them for many years after their spouse had passed. This has been reduced to 18 months.
There are cuts on the disabled people who are claiming ESA. They’re cutting their benefits by £30 per week. That’ll be a massive £60 a fortnight less when they receive this payment.
They’re taking mobility cars from the disabled claiming that if they can walk ten yards they can work 8 hours a day.
They’re reforming the pension age of women from 64 to 66 while freezing pensions and trying to get rid of the triple lock that sees pensions rise by at least 2.5% per annum or it rises with inflation. This is affecting millions of women across Britain with complete uncertainty on their state pension age and if they need to keep working or not.
They’re doing all they can it seems to hurt and divide the people that are already hurt and divided. The people that scrape by from one day to the next. The people that rely on foodbanks or welfare funds to get them nappies for their kids and bus fare to get them to work.
If the Tory followers and candidates really are that heartless then I don’t want to be a part of this torrid union. If they really are that savage and brutal then I want everyone in ear shot to listen to me and tell them to never vote for them Tories.
The thing is. I don’t believe most of them are that heartless, brutal and savage. It’s not a game. You’re playing with people’s lives. It is not shameful of you to voice your own opinions and go against the Theresa May grain. Your voices and opinions matter too. We would welcome you and thank you if you told us how you really feel in all of this. Because ‘supporting’ these cuts are against the grace of god. Against human rights. Against what we all stand for. Do the right thing. Is your party, your union, your Queen really that important over the little person you take for granted. If that answer is yes, then you watch us go next time and you watch us create a better more prosperous place to live. And in your time of need when you find yourself unable to work or have a bad accident or your kids grow up and want their own house but can’t afford it or if your kids want a third child but are denied help in bringing up your third grandchild then we’ll be there. We’ll be there to help you, your kids, your grandkids. Because that’s who we are!