10,000 Cuts and Counting
On Saturday September 28, a protest in Parliament Square, entitled "10,000 Cuts and Counting," took place, organised by disability activists, the Very Rev. David Ison, the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, the MP Michael Meacher and Occupy London activists. It was described as "a ceremony of remembrance and solidarity for those who have had their lives devastated by the austerity programme, including more than 10,000 people who died shortly after undergoing the Atos Work Capability Assessment, the degrading test used by the government to assess the needs of people receiving benefits related to disability and ill health."
This was a powerful protest, with white flowers strewn in front of the stage in memory of those who have died and powerful speeches, and as part of the day's events the Dean of St. Paul's led a contingent of campaigners to 10 Downing Street to hand in "The Downing Street Demand," calling for the Work Capability Assessment to be scrapped, and for assessments to be "brought back within the NHS so that disabled people and those responsible for managing their impairments, for instance their GPs, can make fair and compassionate decisions."
Amongst the supporters of the event were the campaigners who launched the WOW Petition (the "War on Welfare" e-petition) to the British government in December 2012, which needs 100,000 signatures by December this year to be eligible for a Parliamentary debate. Please sign and share it if you're a UK citizen or resident.
For my archive of articles about the Tory-led government's assault on the disabled, see: www.andyworthington.co.uk/tag/disability/
For The Downing Street Demand, see: www.10kcuts.org/demand.html
For the WOW Petition, see: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154
For my most interesting photos, see: www.flickriver.com/photos/andyworthington/popular-interes...
10,000 Cuts and Counting
On Saturday September 28, a protest in Parliament Square, entitled "10,000 Cuts and Counting," took place, organised by disability activists, the Very Rev. David Ison, the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, the MP Michael Meacher and Occupy London activists. It was described as "a ceremony of remembrance and solidarity for those who have had their lives devastated by the austerity programme, including more than 10,000 people who died shortly after undergoing the Atos Work Capability Assessment, the degrading test used by the government to assess the needs of people receiving benefits related to disability and ill health."
This was a powerful protest, with white flowers strewn in front of the stage in memory of those who have died and powerful speeches, and as part of the day's events the Dean of St. Paul's led a contingent of campaigners to 10 Downing Street to hand in "The Downing Street Demand," calling for the Work Capability Assessment to be scrapped, and for assessments to be "brought back within the NHS so that disabled people and those responsible for managing their impairments, for instance their GPs, can make fair and compassionate decisions."
Amongst the supporters of the event were the campaigners who launched the WOW Petition (the "War on Welfare" e-petition) to the British government in December 2012, which needs 100,000 signatures by December this year to be eligible for a Parliamentary debate. Please sign and share it if you're a UK citizen or resident.
For my archive of articles about the Tory-led government's assault on the disabled, see: www.andyworthington.co.uk/tag/disability/
For The Downing Street Demand, see: www.10kcuts.org/demand.html
For the WOW Petition, see: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154
For my most interesting photos, see: www.flickriver.com/photos/andyworthington/popular-interes...