Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Dave Reid
It’s a cloudy Monday March morning in Merthyr and on the streets there are a steady flow of people going about their Monday morning business. Merthyr has received a bad press as the “benefit capital of Britain” and The Mirror pointed out the average male life expectancy on one of the estates is lower than Haiti’s, but its a friendly town despite the problems.
We set up our stall against Universal Credit next to the bus station close to the café and people start approaching the stall as soon as our posters go up “Scrap Universal Credit”.
Lisa signs straight away. She has a young child and because her partner is working she doesn’t get out of work benefits. But she’s worried that when Universal Credit hits they will lose tax credits and her dad has been evicted because of Universal Credit. “He’s sofa surfing now” she says “59 and nowhere to live”. He lost his flat because the DWP held up his benefits for so long that the private landlord lost patience and turfed him out onto the street.
A couple of well to do types in posh suits walk past shaking their heads – they agree with Universal Credit.
Sonya comes up to the stall questioning “Scrap Universal Credit?” she asks “what will people live on?” “No” we explain “we want new benefits people can live on”. “Right!” she says and signs our petition. It turns out Sonya has fallen foul of the strict rules on tax credits. She works for McDonalds and ensured she was contracted for 16 hours a week so she qualified for tax credits to top up her pay.
But then she got a letter for the DWP who had checked with McDonalds and found out that she had a 15 minute unpaid break every day so technically she did not work 16 hours a week but 13½ hours a week and had never qualified for tax credits. They demanded she return over £3000 in overpayments. “I couldn’t pay that back!” she said so they settled for £10 a week for six years! “I suppose I just have to put up with it” she sighs. A sigh that spoke for millions.
Then Gwyn comes up to sign: “they’re cruel bastards, aye” he says as he leans his stick on the stall. Gwyn has worked in Merthyr Vale colliery and then bricklaying after the pits closed. His knees are shot. The Welsh NHS sent him for a new knee to the Bupa hospital but it all went wrong and he has to have another one to replace it. Now the other knee has gone and that will have to be replaced too.
But Capita found him fit to work even though he can hardly walk. So the DWP cut off all his benefits and then an administrative error delayed his appeal so he had to resubmit it. He and his wife have not had a penny since October. His appeal is due next week, but he’s in such a bad state he might be in hospital then and have to delay the appeal again. They have held off eviction by the housing association so far but can only live with their family helping out. He’s worried how his wife can get by while he’s in hospital.
Gwyn is a tough but gentle man: “I’m not religious, but if there is a hell that’s where Ian Duncan Smith is going” he says with unsmiling passion. “How can he treat people like this?”.
The café owner comes out to clean the tables outside and offers us a cup of tea or coffee. “They’re all talking about that inside” she says. “Everyone hates it.”. Sure enough as the café empties a queue forms at our stall. Everyone has a story – either their own or a family member, shaking their heads at the injustice of it all.
And we remind them that the Tories have given the rich nearly £20 billion a year in cuts to Corporation Tax alone*, paid for by the suffering of the people at the bottom. They nod when I say they’re trying to drive us into the ground. But I’m not sure they believe the scale of the tax cuts to the rich – it can’t be true can it? But they all leave our stall with a copy of The Socialist – everyone knows the Tories don’t care about us.
While the Tories are in turmoil over Brexit we should never forget the cold cruelty with which they have had ruined the lives of millions of people. Nor the Blairites who refused to vote against the Welfare Act. Universal Credit must be scrapped and benefits paid to those who need them.
Universal Credit must be scrapped and replaced with benefits that provide enough to live – paid to those who need them. And there should be investment in a mass scheme of job creation – providing decent jobs to working-class people, with a minimum wage of at least £10 an hour.
These are policies Corbyn should be loudly championing amid the current parliamentary shambles. This misery must end.
*What’s been happening to corporation tax? by Helen Miller Institute for Fiscal Studies 10 May 2017
