Petition: Do NOT remove all the benefits of convicted London rioters.

[LadyDeliah]

Removing the benefits from marginalised people will not make things better, in fact this could push the UK into becoming a more dangerous and divided country.

If you agree that removing benefits is not the answer to the problems we have witnessed the past week, then please sign the petition below:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/7925

Thank you

[peterstorm1985]

I'm amused that someone thought it worth creating this petition but I won't be signing it, simply because it would take so many changes in legislation to remove benefits that it cannot possibly happen.

If there was a petition to ask that all benefits should be handed out on a daily basis at 08:30 in the morning, thereby giving the recipients at least an idea of what life should be like, then I'd sign that.

[StraferJack]

epetitions didn't become any less silly of an idea the moment I started to see some I agreed with

[LadyDeliah]

I think it's important to counter the right wing hysteria that erupted after the riots and I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the ability of the government to suspend or remove benefits.

The usual way they get this kind of thing through is to whip up public support for it in exactly the way that we have witnessed the past week and bully politicians into voting for it be pointing out that they will lose votes if they vote against.

That is why I think it is important for people who do not agree with the current agenda, to make their voices heard too, or we just get drowned out by the right wingers.

Epetitions are just another way of counting votes really.

[Loz]

Strangely worded: "Do NOT remove all the benefits of convicted London rioters".

What? Only remove *some* of their benefits?

[LadyDeliah]

Another way the right try to sway public opinion is to pay people to join online forums and encourage the right wing hysteria. How many of the hang em and flog em posters joined just after the riots, posted prolifically and then dissolved back into the ether?

[LadyDeliah]

True, and why only London? lol

Only one I could find and don't want to split the support by writing another one.

[peterstorm1985]

LadyDeliah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> That is why I think it is important for people who

> do not agree with the current agenda, to make

> their voices heard too, or we just get drowned out

> by the right wingers.

>

Most 'right wingers' have no desire whatsoever for benefits to be removed as it's far too obvious what would happen if they were. (I thought you might have guessed by the second sentence of my post above, that I'm pretty right wing myself)

[LadyDeliah]

Yes that was obvious, but it appears the extreme right wing have been drowning out the more moderately right wing opinions of late.

[ianr]

I'm far from sure of the truth of at least one of its constituent assertions -- "the root cause of the riots being mainly financial in nature" -- and so couldn't honestly subscribe to it. So I won't.

[Loz]

LadyDeliah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yes that was obvious, but it appears the extreme right wing have been drowning out the more

> moderately right wing opinions of late.

I don't think that is true as such. There has been a noticeable swing to a more right-wing stance across the community. That is a usual response to such events and will calm down over time.

[Ted Max]

If there was a petition to ask that all benefits should be handed out on a daily basis at 08:30 in the morning, thereby giving the recipients at least an idea of what life should be like, then I'd sign that.

What life should be like and what it unfortunately has to be like, for the majority of us, are surely different things.

But yes, an insight into the unrelenting drudgery the rest of us endure is sure to do the trick for those who are unwilling, rather than merely unable, to get a job.

Perhaps if we could get someone to appraise them in a half-assed fashion every six months and explain to them that their benefits have been frozen for another year due to the poor performance of "that lot in sales", then they'd really get inspired.

[StraferJack]

"it appears the extreme right wing have been drowning out the more

> moderately right wing opinions of late."

and do remember folks, extreme left-wing opinions are available also

I see a pretty decent consensus across right and left wing people on this issue - the intelligent ones anyway. But some of the recent "sign up to have a rant" people, not to mention the endless vox pops on phone in shows scare me as much as the idiots on the streets - i don't think (emotionally) they are that far from cracking and doing something stupid either.

[LadyDeliah]

True SJ, maybe this is a bit of a bollox way to address the issue after all!

In any case, if the benefits are removed, then I think we may be one step closer to a revolution, so I change my mind - don't sign it!

[Otta]

I had a realisation yesterday.

There are a lot of good, decent, and intelligent right leaning people, and the same for the left.

The problem with this country, is that thick people seem to be right wing by default.

[BrandNewGuy]

In which case, you've never come across GROLIES before. I have...

No reason to think thick people aren't spread all along the political spectrum.

[richardbach]

the rihgt wigrersare comlpianing but i don t understadn why they wann a soceity where teh indvidaul is teh soul dertiminat of there own destiny an teh acumluation of persnal proprty is regrdd as a goood thing an a bit ofget up an goe is where we shuold aim to be at but wen teh ki9ds show a bit of initaitive an seeke to do a bit of privete propty chattels acumlation and get of there backsdies and saerch uot oportunies then they go to jial do not pas go do not get a wiedscreen tely do not get nike airmax wiht the tags stil atached lol if them librtarians they like fre entrpise so much tehn why don they go to somarlia where thier expansiv bent can run roit in a soceity where rules are a bit radnom unless of cuorse greede is good as long as their are are enuogh rules to axualy kepe proprty out of teh hands of those they don wanna alow to hav proprty lol they should be mbracing teh roits as it justifies there entire rerason de etre lol

[Alex K]

Posts from richardbach make my eyes jump around too much. NOT SWIVEL, just "jump around"...

Speaking of benefit recipients, WHERE HAS THE QUEEN BEEN DURING ALL THIS? It's her country, in Peckham it's even her road, for Heaven's sake. Shouldn't we be circulating a petition that asks her to emerge from whatever palace she's in and to console her subjects? "Your people need you, Ma'am!" What a wonderful impression it would give if she fired up the Roller and crossed the river to visit Poundland. "One loves Peckham". I can see the royal post-it now.

[SimonM]

Tut. "One loves Peckham" would be Princess Anne. For Her Madge it'd be "We love Peckham". Off to the Tower you go...

[Ted Max]

Or maybe a strategic looting of Buck House, so that the Windsors can look the East End in the eye again.

throughout the Second World War Queen Elizabeth and her children shared the dangers and difficulties of the rest of the nation, including rationing and 'digging for victory'. She was in Buckingham Palace when it was bombed in September 1940, announcing afterwards that she would now be able to look the East End in the eye.

[Ridgley]

If they remove all benefits, this will not work if anything this will make the situation worse these are knee- jerk reactions they need to look at this long term.

[Loz]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I had a realisation yesterday.

>

> There are a lot of good, decent, and intelligent

> right leaning people, and the same for the left.

>

> The problem with this country, is that thick

> people seem to be right wing by default.

I don't think that is quite true, but I suspect thick lefties are usually holed up in a squat somewhere and emerge only at night and every fortnight to collect their benefits. Ringing into LBC radio isn't big on the agenda.

[Otta]

You could be right, perhaps it's justthat thick righties just feel the need to shout a lot.

[Otta]

Watch from 26m30s

Thick.

[Loz]

The bloke at 27.13 is a bit a of a beauty as well. Take everything they own? Riiiight. That won't cause any ongoing issues, will it...

It's where the right/left thing breaks down a bit (and leads to my long-held belief that the political spectrum is circular and extreme far left and right converge at some point). These sorts of opinions are standard right of centre views, but are also generally espoused by your life-long working-class lefty labour voter type.