#broken britain

[thelandofbritain]

Broken Britain: poverty, malnutrition, foodbanks, sewage in our rivers and coastal waters, children undernourished through the fall in living standards and cost of living crisis...

Yet we can afford to "cut inheritance tax" for the rich, pay fat dividends to wealthy shareholders and huge salaries to failing executives, waste money on costly Rwanda schemes that don't work, and let some inbred old fool with a million pound hat sit on a golden throne and give us speeches about how we should live our lives.

You couldn't make it up...

[eaglesnick]

“Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.” (Martin Luther King, Jr)

So, King Charles has cancer. Being someone who also had cancer he has my sympathy: I wish him and his family a happy outcome to his worrying news. Those who do not have my support are the media who have been making up all sorts of excuses for the Palace issuing this news and the seeming sudden blackout regarding UK cancer recovery rates which are some of the worst in Europe, and which were hitting the headlines only a few weeks ago.

If you believe the media, the Palace issued the statement revealing King Charles has cancer to give hope to other cancer suffers.

“Several experts have praised the King for sharing the health condition with the public saying it will encourage others to seek help for their potential cancer symptoms.”  (Daily Express: 06/02/24)

“His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”  (Buckingham Palace statement: 05/02/24)

How knowing the King has cancer can “assist public understanding" of the disease is beyond my comprehension. Cancer Research UK tells us there are over 200 different types of cancer. All have their own levels of danger and all have their own specific treatment regimes.  Knowing the King has cancer tells us nothing other than the king has cancer.

The more likely explanation for  the Palace being  so unusually open about the King’s medical condition is it would have been nigh on impossible to hide the fact that something was seriously wrong with his health. He would have been seen visiting a hospital on a regular basis, his public engagements would have been cancelled and his physical appearance may well be affected by whatever treatment he has to undergo. In short, the Palace statement has more to do with “preventing speculation” (as it freely admits) than with promoting understanding of cancer, which had been the media’s spin.

King Charles is fortunate. He is rich and can afford private health care, and I doubt there are many people who would not also use their wealth and power to ensure the best medical treatment for cancer. Unfortunately, for the majority of us  in ‘Broken Britain’ that isn’t an option.

Only a few weeks ago the Guardian newspaper carried this headline:

“UK has some of worst cancer survival rates in developed world, report says. Rates for lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers worse than in most comparable nations." (11/01/24)

Britain ranked only  28th out of 33 countries with comparable wealth and income levels for cancer survival rates.  Not only does Britain diagnose cancers much later but treatment capacity is also below that of other countries. So, even if you are diagnosed early (which is unlikely) you will still have to join a long queue before treatment begins. Of course, if you are a King or are wealthy, this doesn’t apply and you can begin treatment almost immediately.

Britain’s media now has an opportunity to champion better cancer care for ordinary men and women and to insist that the “abysmal survival rates” that characterise our currant cancer care regime are reversed. However, the media reports I have heard regarding the Kings cancer have totally failed to mention that Britain has one of the worse cancer survival rates in Europe. If the media truly believe the Palace announcement concerning the King’s cancer is to “help others” or to “raise awareness” then they should start by revealing the shortfalls in the countries present cancer diagnosis and treatment regime and shortfall in NHS funding by successive Tory governments.

[thoughtlessarse]

Schools and health services forced to offer crisis help in the form of food, clothing, money and advice Britain’s schools and primary health services are “staggering” under the pressure of demand caused by an epidemic of extreme poverty, as desperate families unable to afford food, clothing or heating increasingly turn to them for crisis help. Teachers and GPs in England, Scotland and Wales are informally acting as emergency food providers, welfare advisers, housing officers and social workers alongside their day jobs, as they devote more and more time and resources to support struggling parents and children, new research has found. Staff routinely helped parents solve housing, visa and benefits problems, and provided them with food, clothes, and shower and washing machine facilities. They have also handed out cash for energy meters, toys and books, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) study revealed. “You feed them [pupils], you clothe them, you tell them [parents] where to go if they’re homeless. It’s literally everything. It’s not even about teaching or learning, It’s about keeping them fed, keeping a roof over their head,” a deputy head from a Bristol school told researchers. Poverty campaigners have warned that the two main parties’ election manifesto promises to improve the NHS and schools would ring hollow unless they were prepared to also urgently tackle rising poverty if elected. Katie Schmuecker, the JRF’s principal policy adviser, said: “No plan for our schools or NHS should be taken seriously if it doesn’t include tackling hardship. Primary schools and GP services are staggering under the weight of hardship – it shouldn’t fall to them to ensure families are not going hungry.” The latest official figures show 4.3 million UK children – about one in three – were in relative poverty in 2022-23. More than 1 million youngsters experienced destitution – extreme material hardship – while charity food banks gave out record numbers of emergency food parcels last year.

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Since tax cuts and austerity seem to be the policy in both the Tory and Tory-lite parties, things are only going to get worse.

[themancorialist]

Piccadilly, Manchester.

[chriswhodrawsstuff]

Amateur Hour

I’ve been feeling very frustrated of late for a number or reasons and, unlike many people nowadays, the first person I look to for blame is myself. It’s important to check the basics first and it is usually much more simple to change something in you than to look for others to blame. Years of therapy have told me to be wary of being too hard on myself and I’ve had too many people in the past,…

[sanctiphera]

Sir Liar Starmer is going to recognise Palestine as a state. This is the best election present of insult to these hostages and their families and people living in jhadist-run Britaistan West Bank of the Thames.

[lochness-tess]

Watching the Tories in the past few months has been like watching the Hindenburg come down - political analysis from my boyfriend today, class

[gudamor]

[theelaggers]

Nothing I HATE more than Tory scum. Nasty cunts . GTFTO ❗❗

[thelxiepia]

shout out to the bbc for making this handy dandy little guide for who's striking when

[pointless-letters]

REASONS WHY BRITAIN IS TOTALLY RUINED THESE DAYS, NUMBER 65,536: “Adele’s knickers.”

[thelandofbritain]

Worth reading...

The article is clear and incisive, putting the repulsive Nigel Farage in true perspective on his poisonous role behind the recent race riots on Britain's streets.

[eaglesnick]

“What you call austerity is what I might call efficiency” – David Cameron.

When unelected, multi-millionaire Rishi Sunak appointed Suella Braverman as Home Secretary he was warned that he was only creating a future problem for himself and for the country at large.

“Sunak has appointed Braverman to appease the hardliners. It won’t work. Attempting to keep the Tory right-wingers at bay will only embolden them to demand more."  (Prospect Magazine: 26/10/22)

And

“The reappointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary - after she broke ministerial rules - sets "a dangerous precedent", MPs have said. (BBC NEWS: 02/12/22)

Sunak’s judgement when it comes to government appointees is clearly flawed and no more so than in his desperate attempt to shore up his premiership by bringing unelected Lord David Cameron back into government.

Cameron, together with his pal George Osborne, was the architect of Austerity, a financial policy that saw ALL of our public services cruelly starved of funds. Today's “Broken Britain” is a direct result of the Cameron-Osborne years: a crippled NHS, a chronic housing crisis, a dysfunctional justice system, a depleted police force, crumbling schools, rising poverty and homelessness…the list goes on and on.

Here are some frightening figures that can be laid at the door of Lord David Cameron.

“More than 330,000 excess deaths in Great Britain in recent years can be attributed to spending cuts to public services and benefits introduced by a UK government pursuing austerity policies, according to an academic study.”  (Guardian:05/10/22)

No lesser paper than the Financial Times has this to say:

“The Tories' austerity programme made deep and lasting cuts to public spending, especially investment, eroding Britain’s state capacity" (FT: 23/12/22)

Wages below where they were 18 years ago, life expectancy down, avoidable mortality the highest in Europe, healthcare infrastructure halved, cuts to housing and community budgets causing deaths among children, are all the direct result of Cameron's and Osborne’s policy of austerity. ”Lives lost, earnings lost, years lost. Unlike Trussonomics, austerity is a slow and silent killer. For the best part of twelve years, the Conservatives sowed the seeds. This year they’re reaping the harvest.” (Financial Times: 23/12/22)

The sooner Rishi Sunak and his self serving government are ejected form office the better for all of us.

[willcodehtmlforfood]

"You called in the bailiffs on November 1 last year, and in mid-December you asked them what had happened. Had they succeeded in collecting your money? The bailiffs replied: 'This was paid on November 15. If you have not received the money, you need to contact Kingston County Court. The bailiffs' office does not deal with payments out.'

You emailed the court on December 13 and again the next day. Nobody replied. The bailiffs told you to expect a response within ten working days, failing which you should try writing to the court. You wrote on January 9. Nobody replied."

[chriswhodrawsstuff]

Changes Part 2

It’s January the 31st 2020 and I’m walking back from town. It was unusually sunny which came as a massive relief and I even got chips on the way home… Home? I remember that word, although I don’t use it any more in context of myself, I remember what that felt like. I opened the street door and a bunch of hand written envelopes were lined up on the stairs to each resident. The world…

[apanthropydotorg]

The Top 25 Splits/EPs of 1987

Disclaimer: Please don’t unleash years of suppressed anger and throw a hot cup of coffee in your dog’s face if you don’t see (insert band name) at (insert position) or any such situation. This feature is based on the opinions of an author that writes, primarily, based on experiences and makes no claims that the collection of releases you’re going to be reading about is certified by God, Satan,…