<![CDATA[Cllr Paul Bell | Working for Telegraph Hill - Latest News]]>Fri, 25 May 2012 00:54:19 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Boat Race Protestor]]>Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:01:50 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2012/04/boat-race-protestor.htmlBelow I have posted the protestors blog, which contains an article on why he swam, at personal danger, into the path of the rowers. While I do not condone illegal acts, his basic premise is sound, talking about how elites take power and how ordinary people can resist. This is especially apt given his background of privilege.

http://elitismleadstotyranny.squarespace.com/
]]><![CDATA[Tories are a cancer to the NHS; Lib Dems are sell outs...]]>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:51:41 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2012/03/tories-are-a-cancer-to-the-nhs-lib-dems-are-sell-outs.htmlAs we gather later for the rally to support the NHS, to resist a government that supports wasting £3billion on reorganisation not care, remind everyone that Tories are a cancer to the NHS. And like all cancers need to be removed. We all need to resist when this legislation comes into force. Tories and Lib Dems have no democratic right to do this and we must show them that they have no future. I am angry as I need the NHS to survive. The NHS has saved my life. With American style heathcare in this country, we would lose loved ones. I know people who have been refused health care in the USA due to "pre-existing medical conditions", who have had to watch children, parents and grand-parents die because the market says they are not to be treated. Many Tory and Lib Dem MPs are supported by private health care companies. Have a loook here: http://socialinvestigations.blogspot.com/2012/02/nhs-privatisation-compilation-of.html

The fight is not over. If you live in a marginal seat remind your Tory or Lib Dem MP that you will remember their actions. I, no matter how ill I become, will never allow a Tory or Lib Dem to be associated with anything else. If they come to your door, boo them. If you see them on the street, boo them; and if they ask for your vote tell them: go and get it from your private healthcare friends. Emotive words I know, but words that need to be spoken. Tories are a cancer to the NHS. Tories are bad for your health. The Lib Dems are sell outs. ]]><![CDATA[Workfare = Workhouse? Excellent article by Tom Pride from Think Left]]>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:07:07 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2012/02/workfare-workhouse-excellent-article-by-tom-pride-from-think-left.html_
Workfare = Workhouse? Posted on February 22, 2012 by Tom Pride I’ve noticed some people have been comparing the coalition’s workfare ideas – where the unemployed have to work for free or have their benefits taken away from them – to the ideas behind the infamous Victorian workhouses.

I’m no historian, but I’ve been perusing some interesting articles about the origins of the workhouses and it may actually not be such an exaggeration after all.

The workhouses, made famous by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, were the result of an act of parliament in 1834 called the Poor Law Amendment Act.

And I’ve discovered something interesting. The reasons why Victorian politicians deemed it necessary to put the poor and the vulnerable in workhouses, are worryingly similar to the justification the government gives for modern workfare today.

These were the reasons given in 1834:

  1. the poor claim relief (help from the parish) regardless of their merits
  2. large families receive the most relief, therefore leading poor people to have more children
  3. women are able to claim for their illegitimate children, so the system encourages immorality
  4. labourers have no incentive to work hard and be thrifty, if they get relief without it being earned by honest hard work
  5. the poor have no respect for an employer when they know that their wages could be supplemented by the parish
  6. men are discouraged from providing for their families and aged parents because the old and the frail can get help from the parish
Sound familiar?

They should. Because these are exactly the same reasons the Daily Mail, the Sun etc have been giving us for the justification of the coalitions’ workfare policy in 2012:

  1. all the unemployed can claim benefits, regardless of whether they are willing to work or not
  2. large families receive the most benefits, therefore leading people to have more children so they can claim more benefits
  3. single parents are able to claim for children, so the system encourages the breakdown of the family unit
  4. workers have no incentive to work hard and save, if they can get benefits without it being earned by honest hard work
  5. people have no respect for employers if they know that their wages can be supplemented by the state with family credit etc
  6. because the old, the disabled, sick etc can get state help, people are discouraged from caring for their own family members and aged parents themselves

So the truth is – we’re not seeing a return to the bad old days of the 1980s under Thatcher as some people think.

What we’re really seeing, is a return to the bad old days of the 1830s under the Victorians.



]]><![CDATA[Sleep Walking into Nixon's America]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:58:12 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2012/01/sleep-walking-into-nixons-america.htmlIn these bad times, politicians and in particular the Labour Party needs to be the voice of those being attacked by a nasty Conservative led coalition. I do despair as there are some decent people in the Lib Dems, but the parliamentary Lib Dem Party are the rats being played a tune by Pied Piper Cameron. The problem is that most of us will become the victims in one way or another. Personally, I will be the victim of NHS changes, but many others will see their lives turned upside down by people who are reforming the country to expand the difference between the rich and poor; squeezing the middle class out of democracy, as why would you vote when you are worried about losing your job? We are going down the American route, but more alarmingly, the American Nixon route. 

Nixon reformed the American healthcare ‘system’ to introduce the HMO – Health Maintenance Organisations, which are insurance companies who find ways of not paying people’s claims, leaving them in desperate debt and without treatment. Without treatment…well you can fill in the blanks. As I have previously written, the chilling words are always on the lips of these less than human individuals who say, ‘pre-existing medical condition’ followed by ‘your claim has been rejected’. Children, the elderly, the sick, the disabled are left without treatment in the pursuit of profit.

I pour scorn on all those people who advocate this health-care system. It is a death sentence to people and a blight on civilisation.

You do not need to take my word for it. I would recommend you have a read of this blog: http://onegpprotest.org/

British people must start to resist more or end up blindly sleepwalking into Nixon’s America. ]]><![CDATA[Council Questions for 25th January Council Meeting: Haberdashers Free School Proposal, Drumbeat & Gun Crime]]>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:04:27 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2012/01/council-questions-for-25th-january-council-meeting-haberdashers-free-school-proposal-drumbeat-gun-crime.html_Haberdashers Free School Questions

What analysis has been undertaken on the impact of this free school proposal at Haberdasher's Askes in Telegraph Hill on St James Hatcham, Edmund Waller, Kender, Turnham and John Stainer local primary schools? If not, why not?

What consultation has taken place with other local primary schools, including the wider community in the area, to gather their opinions, before the council makes a public statement supporting the free school, as the Haberdasher’s literature suggests we do?

What assessment has been carried out to show whether there is sufficient and suitable outdoor play provision and indoor spaces/facilities that are appropriate to younger children at the proposed Haberdasher's site for a free primary school?

Drumbeat Questions

If the Council has a duty to avoid compulsory redundancies, (according to the Member’s Briefing on 5th January 2012), what evaluation has taken place to avoid compulsory redundancies from Meadowgate, Pendragon and CIT?

How has it been evaluated and determined that the current staff at the existing schools and CIT do not have the right skills and experience to work at Drumbeat?

Have the staff appraisals and/or development reviews of the existing staff demonstrated - since the proposal to setup a new school in the 2007 Special Educational Needs review - shown that the current staff do not have the right skills for the new Drumbeat school? If they have not, then how has it been determined that they do not have the right skills, hence the need for staff to apply for the posts in the new school?

Can parents of students at Meadowgate and Pendragon Schools be assured that their preferred placement will be honoured following the closure of the schools and that there will be sufficient appropriate staffing in place to meet their needs?

Why has the position changed for staff at the ASD Outreach Service, now known as the Communication and Interaction Team (CIT) when a report entitled Strengthening Specialist Provision Programme, dated 22 March 2011 and presented to the CYP Select Committee, in point 9.1.8 states: "The current plan is for the ASD outreach service, now known as the Communication and Interaction Team, to transfer to the new school when it opens". The same report also states in point 9.2.3 that the next steps are to "Progress plans to transfer CIT to the new ASD school once it opens".

Gun Crime Questions

On 3rd January, there was an armed robbery on the Honor Oak Estate and yet again ward councillors were not told of a gun incident and had to learn about it when out knocking on doors. Would the relevant cabinet member please explain why Telegraph Hill Ward councillors were not told and why? ]]><![CDATA[Discounted and Free Insulation from Lewisham Council]]>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:00:06 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2012/01/discounted-and-free-insulation-from-lewisham-council.html_There is a borough-wide insulation partnership scheme which launched at the start of September last year.  Telegraph Hill Ward is now eligible and officers will contacting residents to try and make sure as many people as possible find out about and take up the scheme.   

They are working in partnership with Saving Energy Ltd to offer Lewisham residents discounted rates for insulation, cavity wall insulation is free and loft insulation is free if the home has less than 60mm of insulation, otherwise it is £179.  These costs are flat rates irrespective of the size of the property, resident circumstances or current energy supplier.  

The partnership is scheduled to run until September this year.  We will be door-knocking in each ward for a couple of weeks, with the potential to adjust this if take-up is higher or lower in each ward than anticipated.  Qualified surveyors will be going around each ward putting a letter through the door of properties they think could benefit from loft or cavity wall insulation. 

The letter has information on how to sign up if people would like an appointment, or they don’t want to be contacted again.  If Saving Energy Ltd haven’t been contacted, they will go back a couple of days later and door knock properties so they can talk to residents, explain how the scheme works and either do a survey of the property there and then or arrange a date and time to come back. 

Information will also be circulated through borough-wide communications methods and if people are in a different ward they can also call up and make an appointment, there's no need to wait until we reach their ward.   

Lewisham Council is keen to make sure that as many residents as possible get their homes insulated to help them reduce the cost of their energy bills and reduce the environmental impact of their home.  Attached is a flyer which has the freephone number - 0800 954 9689 - to call for people to get a free survey to assess how much insulation is needed.
lip_flyer.pdf
File Size: 628 kb
File Type: pdf
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]]><![CDATA[Exploding the Myths around Public Sector Pensions]]>Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:05:56 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2011/11/exploding-the-myths-around-public-sector-pensions.html
Picture
I need say nothing here, as the TUC has said all that needs to be said. For an informed view, click HERE.
]]><![CDATA[Pledge Card - Against Sainsbury's Local in New Cross]]>Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:20:49 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2011/10/pledge-card-against-sainsburys-local-in-new-cross.htmlTake a look at the Pledge Card to stop a Sainsbury's Local on Lewisham Way.
pledgecard.pdf
File Size: 437 kb
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Download File
]]><![CDATA[Barack Obama's Stepmother Owes Her Life to the NHS]]>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:02:37 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2011/10/barack-obamas-stepmother-owes-her-life-to-the-nhs.htmlBarack Obama's stepmother joined in the debate, saying that she owed her life to the NHS. Kezia Obama, 66, who now lives in Bracknell, Berkshire, suffered chronic kidney failure on a visit to the UK seven years ago.

She told the News of the World: "I was very down at the time but luckily I was here in Britain, in what was then a foreign country to me, where the doctors, nurses and surgeons cared for me like I was their own child. It's very simple. I owe my life to the NHS. If it wasn't for the NHS I wouldn't have been alive to see our family's greatest moment – when Barack became president and was sworn into the White House."

This story was first reported in 2009.

]]><![CDATA[Write to the Queen to ask that she does not give Royal Assent to the Health & Social Care Bill]]>Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:16:24 +0000http://www.paulbell.org/1/post/2011/10/write-to-the-queen-to-ask-that-she-does-not-give-royal-assent-to-the-health-social-care-bill.htmlThis government has no electoral mandate to make changes to the NHS. This is especially true if you consider that the World Health Organisation last year rated the NHS as one of the most efficient and best health services in the world.

Therefore, please write to Her Majesty and ask her to refrain from giving Royal Assent to the bill if it passes the Parliamentary stages.

The address to write to the Queen is:

Her Majesty The Queen, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA ]]>