Budget 2015 says "people who are unable to work deserve nothing"

You have probably all heard a lot about the budget from the government which was revealed yesterday. Perhaps you think that it all sounds promising. Maybe you will be better off because of the changes being made. However, there are millions of people who will not.

A “budget for working people” is certainly what the government want to highlight. They want everyone to think they are being fair by rewarding hard work. They are not being fair, they are dividing society more and more.

All the GDP figures that are thrown around, all the numbers and predicted results of the changes mean nothing. GDP is all about corporate profits. These numbers they keep spewing fail to take into account that there are things more important than money – people’s lives. The predicted GDP ignores the increase in people having to use food banks, the increase in homelessness and the suicides caused by austerity measures.

Will this budget benefit you? Well, if you are wealthy then yes. If not wealthy, then either things will not change for you personally or they will get a whole lot worse. Let’s stop just thinking selfishly about the impact on ourselves and look at the bigger picture.

The government is certainly continuing with their spiel about giving back to hard working people. I mean, obviously those who have more money work harder, right? Corporation tax is set to be cut because those poor huge businesses need that money so desperately. The threshold for inheritance tax has risen which is great if your mummy and daddy are planning to leave you their half a million pound house.

They want people to think that they are not favouring the rich over the poor. They do aim to save£5bn from tax avoidance after all. Tax avoidance is often a crime of the very wealthy. But, when it comes to welfare, the number increases to £12bn. The priorities here seem a bit off to me. It is estimated that there is way over £12bn in unpaid and avoided tax yet the government are choosing to cut money for those who really need it instead of telling their buddies to pay up. Quite frankly, it is a joke.

If you are disabled, mentally ill, and unable to work for any number of reasons then you will be affected in a bad way. The threshold for tax credits, for example, is set to drop meaning less people will be eligible to claim and if they do, they can only receive it for their first two children. There are families who rely heavily on money like this. Single parent families, parents with mental illnesses or any other disability that means they are unable to work for their income.

There are plans to reduce the benefits cap to £20,000 per year outside of London. Now, this might sound like enough money to live on. But when you factor in children, bills and numerous other expenses, this money will go pretty quickly.

Again, hitting those who cannot work, ESA is set to be reduced to the level of JSA. If someone has never been able to work, they might have no savings. Whereas, someone claiming JSA with the ability to work might have money put aside for periods of unemployment. Do you see where I’m going here? The government is essentially shitting on disabled/mentally ill people.

After the increase in tuition fees from the coalition, young people might have hoped to get through this budget relatively safe. No. Higher maintenance grants for poorer students? Fantastic! But, now they won’t be grants, they will be loans which you will be expected to pay back. Personally, I would have been unable to go to university if this was the situation when I applied a few years ago. Plus, 18-21 year olds could lose out on housing benefit entitlement. So many people come out of education and rely on housing benefit to keep a roof over their head whilst they look for work. The government doesn’t seem to like this which could easily lead to increasing numbers of homeless young people.

The government plan to increase the national living wage. In theory, this sounds like a great idea. But, think about it a bit more and cracks appear. If you’re under 25 then this will not apply to you so young people are being screwed over again. If you run a small business then you might struggle to increase wages and have to lose staff leading to increasing unemployment. Who will this benefit then? Why, surprise, the big business that the government is so fond of will be happy! They can afford to pay staff more, they currently choose not to. It will probably be nothing to them and they can continue with making lots of profit.

Whether or not this budget is going to be detrimental to you, please do not be fooled into thinking that this government cares about its people. This budget just highlights the unfair and widening inequality that is present throughout society. Surely you can’t be okay with that?

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

If you've ever had to wait for any sort of health treatment then you probably understand how frustrating it is. Mind have published a report on waiting times for mental health treatments, specifically psychological treatments. Its findings are pretty scary. Of course, we all appreciate that we have access to free health care on the NHS in Britain. But, we also have expectations of the services provided to us. 

One in ten people wait over a year for treatment. In that year, a person with mental health problems could end up being in a very vulnerable state. Without treatment, that person's mental state could deteriorate making the need for therapy even more urgent. These people may become desperate and without someone to talk to, may be in a very dangerous mind set. Around 1 in 6 people who commit suicide are on waiting lists for help. That's a pretty terrifying thought, right? Imagine the amount of people whose lives might be saved if waiting lists were shorter, if people got help sooner.

Of course therapy does not work for everyone but it is very effective in treating a number of mental illnesses. My doctor recommended that I self referred to talking therapies. I did so three times before I heard anything. Then I was told that my problems were "too complex" and referred to the local complex needs service. After filling out some questionnaires and sending them off, I have yet to hear anything. It has been 6 months so far. In that time, my depression has got worse. There are so many people like me having trouble like this and something needs to be done.

Yes, there will be some limits on access to therapies due to the numbers seeking them. However, addressing this needs to be a priority. The next government has to take this seriously. Something needs to be done to stop struggling people being put in a more difficult position with little or no help.

How can you help? Write to your local MP asking what they will be doing to improve mental health services. Make sure that these issues are on their radar.

Engage and vote

People get bored by talking about politics as well as confused. Political leaders use big words and complicated phrases and it makes it difficult for the everyday person on the street to engage with politics. So if you want to understand, if you want to know who/what you're really voting for then where do you start?

There's plenty of online quizzes which give a good indication of where your views might lie in relation to political ideologies. This was my result, for example:

Essentially, these sorts of things can show you the basics of ideals that you might like to follow. It's a good starting point to understanding politics of today.

In the UK, we have some main political parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Green, BNP. They all throw around promises and crap to try and get votes. It's no wonder that a lot of people do not bother voting, they're tired of hearing false promises from white middle class men as leaders who cannot relate to the average population. It's frustrating! What can we do though? Well, we need to get people engaged with politics again. We need to help people learn about politics in a simple way. If more of us can engage then there is more of a chance for a wider variety of people to eventually get into power. Choosing not to vote is just another way of letting parties win that you do not want.

So take some time to do a little research. Use Google, use books, understand all the parties as well as you can. If you do not like any of them, then pick the one which is most aligned to your views. Do not let a lack of good choice leave you thinking you have no choice. If we continue, as a country, to not bother with voting then we will not be living in a true democracy and the government will never reflect our views. 

The situation we are in is not ideal. But we are fortunate enough to have the right to vote when a lot of people do not get that. So when the time comes, use it. And if you're really fed up with the parties then look into starting your own!

Politics might seem dull and something only for middle class men. It will continue to be this way unless more people engage and take an interest. It can change but it will take a whole lot of people to take action.