Great Britian?

I dont want to spend the rest of my days here,but are a few things that I think makes Britain different,bearable to live here.
This to me is what makes Britian.The idea that rich or poor you have the right to be healthy,have a good education,a home,a reasonable standard of living and the chance to make a success of your life.


-education We used to have a good standard of education,from school to University it was accessible for all.
now more children are leaving secondary school unable to read or write.
they have lifted the cap on fees,and taken away grants which means the poorest students won't be able to attend university.


-NHS we had a health service for everyone.homeless to the millionaire.everyone has the right to medical attention.
The service is still there but its crumbling and there are talks of privatising.

- a welfare system that prevents homelessness,gives people the chance to work themselves out of poverty,supports the needy,sick.
Yes this gets abused but it's needed for the poorest and vulnerable.Deal with the small amount that abuse the system,don't punish the rest.

all this means the gap between the rich and poor increases.keeping the poor in a cycle of poverty.

I come from a very poor background.I was brought up on a council estate.We struggled with money,lived from pay check to pay check,never had a family holiday,wore charity shop clothes or hand me downs till we were about 12.

Through no fault of their own my parents were forced into that position.They claimed certain benefits,worked long hours and got us out.

Without the help of housing benefit I don't know how we would have survived.

Now David Cameron is talking about scrapping this benefit ( which contributes towards rent) for under 25s
380,000 under 25s are currently claiming.without it they would be much more living on the streets.

I can't decide wether this statement was just a headline grabber to distract attention or a real suggestion

Cameron " If you can't afford rent,live with your parents"

Oh what a middle class over privileged prattish thing to say.

In the real world not everybody has a stable home environment,their parents may have thrown them out,might be violence,abuse or addiction in the home
they might have even tragically passed away ( this happened to a friend of mine when she was 16. housing benefits meant she managed to live in a 1 bed flat and scrape a living till she eventually trained to become a teacher)
their parents may have followed government advice and downsized their property when their children left home meaning there is no room.

What about young families trying to make a go of things on low wages? Is he suggesting the family moves in with the in laws?

What about the people who are I'll cant work and rely on this benefit to keep a roof over their heads.I read a story about a soldier returning home,in hospital and as well as his injuries recovering from post traumatic stress disorder.
He was worrying about wether he would have somewhere to live when he recovered.

Cameron said "get a job" to the under 25's .

Ok Cameron what jobs? Thanks to your cuts and mess of handling the recession more people are being laid off ( this happened to me) and companies going out of Buisness.The competition for any job is great so how is a young person potentially under educated with not much work experience going to compete?

Without a good education how are young people going to get qualified for higher then minimum wage? and you've made it harder for them if not impossible to access higher education due to cuts of grants etc

I checked it out,min wage is about £5 a hour after tax and national insurance.
someone who works a 40 hour week will get £197.

I don't know how much renting a house would be but I imagine council tax ( which is a extra tax we pay here to our local government for up keep of the area etc) included would take a big chunk of that away.

Everyone who works hard pays tax deserves a decent standard of living,as do those who have a illness and are unable to work.
most people who claim housing benefit are working for minimum wage.

Other suggestions for you mr Cameron

- put a cap on rent which will reduce the amount the government pays out.
Private landlords especially in London charge a fortune

- pay people a liveable wage,or tax them less,tax the super rich to bridge the gap

- you say these people sponge off the state fine catch the minority that do and look at your own mps,the expenses scandal and the super rich who avoid paying tax through various loop holes.
Apparently we loose 20 times more in tax avoidance then benefit cheats.

- create jobs!


I feel a little better now that rant is over. I suppose it's like this in most countries now,it's terrible the effect all this is having on ordinary people. I actually feel a little guilty moaning about this when Greece is in a mess,I suppose I'm just disappointed we seem to have lost a little of what made me proud to be British .