THE CYNICAL ACT OF A DESPERATE CHANCELLOR
Chancellor George Osborne |
Consider carefully what
Osborne said. "....subsidising lifestyles like that".
How will Osborne, or
anyone else for that matter, differentiate between Philpott and his
family from Derby, and the Smith family of the same size living in
Warrington? Is there an assumption that any family with more than a
specified number of children, are automatically scroungers living on
welfare benefits? Osborne is on very thin ice when seeking to make
political capital out of this case. It was not the "welfare
state" that was responsible for this crime, nor was it the
Philpott "family" collectively. It was Mick Philpott and
two accomplices who carried out this appalling act. Specifically
describing Philpott, Judge Mrs Justice Thirlwall commented, "You
are a disturbingly dangerous man. Your guiding principle is what Mick
Philpott wants, Mick Philpott gets. You have no moral compass."
Osborne’s comments tar
all families with the same brush and moreover generate the impression
that all people within the welfare system, are of the same basic
nature. Osborne's remarks are, along with the evil headlines and
“story” peddled by the Daily Mail, designed to create divisions
within society and generate hatred between those who are within the
welfare system and those who believe that they are not. I choose
those words intentionally, because many of the comments supporting
Osborne and the Daily Mail, as contained in this article, and in
other media demonstrate a growing hostility towards claimants.
Paradoxically of course, many of the people making such comments are
themselves, within the welfare system, receiving support in the form
of tax credits, child allowance, or any of the other allowances that
a proper welfare system should and does provide. Do they consider
themselves as part of the problem? Somehow I doubt it because
politicians and media have been manifestly successful in deliberately generating
divisions between people by constantly appealing to prejudices with
anti benefit claimant propaganda of the most distorted and vile kind.
The Philpott case has
provided ammunition for the assault on the welfare system which the
Daily Mail and now Osborne have been swift to use. Making political
capital from an event such as this, is grossly cynical and worthy
only of contempt for the individuals and media outlets involved.
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