I will add information as it becomes available. The livestream itself is currently on Tahir Square for the moment.
London Livestream is back up!
Events in London are still unfolding.
: 20 people in wheelchairs still chained in road at Oxford Circus; over 200 supporters too! Traffic backlog right up Regent St. Scrap the #WRB
5:12 AM PT: The livestream is now on Tahir Square right now. Not sure what happened to London.
I will wait and see if they are just changing batteries right now.
Vicious cuts have already led to at least 31 disabled people committing suicide. #wrb #spartacusreport
Vicious cuts'
The Disability Living Allowance would be replaced with a new allowance, Personal Independence Payments. This would involve upfront medical tests and regular assessments for working people aged 16 to 24.
Campaign group Disabled People Against Cuts said the changes would mean some single disabled people living in London would be left with £25 a week after paying rent.
Richard Whitehurst, from the group, said: "These vicious cuts have already led to at least 31 disabled people committing suicide and many more are now talking about it as they feel they have no future.
"In the 21st Century, in one of the richest nations in the world, disabled people should not be forced to live in fear every day of their lives."
5:22 AM PT: There is someone with livestream capability arriving at the London Protest shortly.
“Austerity won’t even prevent the next crisis, let alone solve the current one,” the Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz told The Huffington Post.
Cutting government spending in times of economic weakness further reduces demand for goods and services, he said, which reduces incentives for businesses to invest and hire -- a self-reinforcing dynamic of diminishing fortunes.
In a lunch address earlier this week, the billionaire investor George Soros delivered a withering critique of austerity, one that has become something of an official minority view among those concerned about the current policy trajectory. Warning that the continued embrace of austerity could result in many years of wrenching pain, Soros singled out Germany for imposing harsh fiscal discipline on its fellow eurozone members -- not least, Greece -- as condition for financial support needed to prevent default.
Press release: Disabled activists joined by UK Uncut for ‘disruptive’ protest against 'unfair and unnecessary' Welfare Reform Bill
Posted on Sat 28th Jan 2012, 10:04am
A group of people from Disabled People Against Cuts(1) and Disabled People’s Direct Action Network(2) will today be joined by UK Uncut(3) to occupy an area of central London in a ‘daring and disruptive’ act of civil disobedience in opposition to the government’s Welfare Reform Bill.
The action has been called by people directly affected by the Welfare Reform Bill. Disabled people have travelled from Manchester and Edinburgh to London to take part in the protest, which has received increasing attention online in recent days. They will be supported by people from other groups including UK Uncut, Occupy London and Black Triangle. The action will also be supported by many more from home, who are unable to attend the protest due to disability or illness.
The target of the action remains secret, with UK Uncut calling on people to meet at Holborn tube station in central London at 11.30am, ready to travel to a secret location. They will use social media to guide people to the target.
People protesting say that the Welfare reform bill is 'unfair, unnecessary and unpopular' and are calling for it to be scrapped. Recent reports have shown that as a result of the bill 500,000 families stand to lose their homes while others will become ‘imprisoned in them’(4). Nearly half a million people would lose their Disability Living Allowance, including disabled children(5). People with terminal illnesses would be forced into work, and 3.2 million will be put through demanding tests that have already pushed some to take their own lives(6). The government's own research admits that this flagship reform will push 100,000 children into poverty(7).
The bill has this week stalled on its progress through parliament, following publication of the 'Spartacus report' which was written, researched and funded by disabled campaigners, and which claims that the government misled the public and 'broke its own code of consultation'(8).
The government has defended the bill on the grounds that it needs to cut the deficit. However, those protesting point out that much greater amounts of money are lost through tax dodging by the super-rich each year, money which could instead continue current welfare provision.
In January, Private Eye revealed a further £2 billion tax dodge by Vodafone, in addition to the £6 billion scam revealed in 2010(9). The most recent dodge by Vodafone is greater than the cuts to Disability Living Allowance, which will affect half a million people.
DPAC supporter Cerys Williams said "Bankers are continuing to reap massive bonuses and over £25 billion is uncollected in taxes. We say that disabled people should not be forced to pay the price of these austerity cuts"
"There are over £16 billion in unclaimed benefits and we have some of the lowest benefit levels in Europe. We question why this government is forcing through further draconian cuts to the safety net of the welfare state on which all of us who are not millionaire politicians depend at some stage in our lives."
Cheryl Thomson of UK Uncut said: “This bill is both cruel and unnecessary and is another example of a government choosing to pick on marginalised and socially disadvantaged people whilst continuing to let those who caused this crisis off the hook. The government could collect at least £25bn more each year if they were serious about cracking down on tax avoidance by rich companies and individuals – far more than will be saved by this bill. Instead they are choosing to destroy the welfare state that has formed such an important part of our society for over 60 years.
“The campaign against the Welfare Reform Bill has been gaining momentum and together we can defeat it. I am excited to support such a strong campaign, that has been led by disabled people for many months and that is essential for all of us”