Wrecking amendments - children's lives first

I managed to get out and lobby yesterday with the Single Mother's Self Defence crew outside Parliament. There I spoke to the priest I've met a few times, a fierce campaigner of people in debt, and a Lord.

The Lord came out to tell us that they were going vote on two issues

1)Homeless households be exempt from the cuts
2) Child benefit be excluded from the caps.

The Lords were defeated on the former (so fabulous news for my child) but the Government are up in arms at being defeated on the second (truly fabulous news for all children)

To be honest,I feel SO SICK. The cap takes no account of rent, never mind living costs as a parent. You read the papers (don't don't!) and Tory ministers, like Dave, going to Asda and asking workers "Is it fair that people earn benefits of £26,000? (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090750/Welfare-reform-Labour-bishops-Lib-Dem-peers-derail-benefits-cap-plan.html)

They like to chuck around numbers to get ordinary people really riled up.

Lord Freud, the welfare reform minister, said the Labour amendments were a 'wrecking amendment.' Wrecking their wrecking plans you mean. According to Inside Housing he said:

"It is very easy to see that any local authorities could consider people threatened with homelessness or priority need as any household with children.

‘In practical terms this is the same as not having a cap at all." (http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/tenancies/defeat-for-government-on-welfare-reform-bill/6520086.article)

Laid bare for you...The caps are directed at CHILDREN. The caps are directed at families with CHILDREN. Tory wrecking amendments to children's lives as if their lives aren't already hard enough.

My child, evicted again, risks to his education flare up again and for what? Security? No! No, it's for nothing because his mother can't handle it either.

And I really wish they'd stop banging on about "a culture of worklessness" during a fucking recession where thousands are losing their jobs and hundreds are in competition with one another for one position.

This was not what I was going to write about this morning.

I will go out and lobby again tomorrow. I don't care if I'm nervous, I don't care if I'm shy. It's the Year of the Dragon and that must mean something. Roar...