{"id":4892,"date":"2015-07-21T17:46:42","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T16:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=4892"},"modified":"2015-07-21T17:46:42","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T16:46:42","slug":"courage-of-their-convictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=4892","title":{"rendered":"Courage of their convictions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After the Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 proposed welfare bill, which aims to slash child tax credits and lower benefit caps among other cuts, received its second reading yesterday (July 20), nearly 50 Labour MPs voted against it.<\/p>\n

 
\nWhile interim Labour leader Harriet Harman tabled an amendment and asked the party to abstain from voting on the bill altogether, the opposing MPs joined together to take a stand against the legislation.<\/p>\n

 
\nCritics argued that the move to defy the party\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leadership weakened Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to oppose the Conservatives, but Labour leadership hopeful Jeremy Corbyn MP, who was among the 48 MPs voting against the bill, criticised this view.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOn the contrary, we strengthened [our ability to oppose the Conservatives],\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said on the Today Programme<\/a>. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt showed that there were a lot of MPs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and many of those who abstained, their hearts were in the lobby with those who voted against \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who are deeply concerned about the levels of child poverty in our society and deeply concerned about the levels of homelessness and rough sleeping.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUtterly noxious bill<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nClive Lewis MP for Norwich South told UNITElive his reasons for voting against the bill.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never defied the whip \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I would never do it casually or with a light heart,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd I do understand the idea that to be an effective part of the opposition, you have to be united.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut the welfare bill was an utterly noxious and odious one that represented one of the greatest attacks on the welfare state in our lifetimes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Lewis added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI could not in good conscience stand by and do nothing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I heard no convincing argument that supported abstention. It made absolutely no sense to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nLewis described an environment in Westminster where it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy for MPs to sometimes \u00e2\u20ac\u015bget sucked into a bubble and be bogged down by the technocratic details of a bill.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut sometimes you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to take a political and principled stand,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe case for abstention would have been understandable had this bill been about, say, land reclamation management.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe welfare bill, on the other hand, will directly affect our people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hundreds of thousands of children who will suffer,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Lewis argued. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEven if you do accept the rhetoric of welfare scroungers reliant on benefits \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this bill is in fact a direct attack on hardworking families who are in employment.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nMP for Tooting Sadiq Khan and London mayoral candidate was also among the 48 MPs who voted against the bill.<\/p>\n

 
\nKhan argued that the bill would be particularly detrimental to Londoners, who face extortionate living costs.<\/p>\n

 
\n“I came into politics to make life easier for working people not harder, to lift children from poverty, not push them into it and to have a united London, not one socially cleansed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Khan told UNITElive.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis bill is bad for Londoners and bad for Britain. The people who will be affected by this need someone to stand up for them,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Khan added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs Mayor of London that is what I would do. When we are designing a social security system for modern Britain, we need to make sure it works for Londoners, who will disproportionally affected by this Bill. If passed in its current form this bill will make life worse for Londoners and push children into poverty.”<\/p>\n

 
\nLewis went on to warn that the effects of this bill, if it were to successfully be pushed through, would be far-reaching \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it would prove a perfect opportunity for pay day loan sharks to dive in and prey on those who have fallen on hard times, further \u00e2\u20ac\u015bspeeding the beast of personal debt\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 
\nAlternative to austerity<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nLewis said that the only way forward is for the Labour party to offer an alternative to the Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 austerity agenda.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to send a clear statement and create a distinct narrative,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are other, more effective ways of reducing the deficit without attacking ordinary, hardworking people. We need to build homes to reduce the housing benefit bill. We need to stimulate the economy by giving public sector workers a proper pay rise. This is all part of having a joined up, strategic economic plan that supports growth and gets more people into secure, well-paying jobs.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nLewis railed against the idea that the Tories, after securing a slim majority in May, have a mandate to slash welfare entitlements to the bone.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey have no such mandate \u00e2\u20ac\u201c less than a quarter of the eligible electorate voted for them,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd we as the Labour party have a mandate from the millions of people who voted for us to support working people and the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrue leadership isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t about acquiescing to your opposition and accepting their positions. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about articulating a narrative, putting forward clear, distinctive policies and offering a vision that the people can believe in.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nPrincipled opposition<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary Steve Turner praised the bravery of the 48 Labour MPs who stood by their convictions and voted against the bill.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m very proud of the nearly 50 Labour MPs who took a stand for the people and opposed the draconian welfare bill that threatens to push hundreds of thousands of families into poverty, when they are just trying to get by,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe scale of the cuts to benefits this government is threatening to carry out affects those with work, and those without, disabled people, women \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who still have the most caring responsibilities, and young people,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt utterly undercuts and takes away gains made by the additional national minimum wage rate, which is in any case only available to those over 25.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only through principled opposition that we can effectively fight the Tories and their anti-worker, anti-growth policies which will send our country back to the dark ages. Yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opposition to the bill was a shining example of this.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe stakes have never been higher \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the lives of innocent children, who will be plunged into poverty as a result of this legislation, depend on our elected leaders protecting our public services and welfare state that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now so gravely at risk.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nFull list of Labour MPs voting against the welfare bill<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Diane Abbott<\/p>\n

Debbie Abrahams<\/p>\n

David Anderson<\/p>\n

Richard Burgon<\/p>\n

Dawn Butler<\/p>\n

Ann Clwyd<\/p>\n

Jeremy Corbyn<\/p>\n

Geraint Davies<\/p>\n

Peter Dowd<\/p>\n

Paul Flynn<\/p>\n

Mary Glindon<\/p>\n

Roger Godsiff<\/p>\n

Helen Goodman<\/p>\n

Margaret Greenwood<\/p>\n

Louise Haigh<\/p>\n

Carolyn Harris<\/p>\n

Sue Hayman<\/p>\n

Imran Hussain<\/p>\n

Gerald Jones<\/p>\n

Helen Jones<\/p>\n

Sir Gerald Kaufman<\/p>\n

Sadiq Khan<\/p>\n

David Lammy<\/p>\n

Ian Lavery<\/p>\n

Clive Lewis<\/p>\n

Rebecca Long Bailey<\/p>\n

Andy McDonald<\/p>\n

John McDonnell<\/p>\n

Liz McInnes<\/p>\n

Rob Marris<\/p>\n

Rachael Maskell<\/p>\n

Michael Meacher<\/p>\n

Ian Mearns<\/p>\n

Madeleine Moon<\/p>\n

Grahame Morris<\/p>\n

Kate Osamor<\/p>\n

Teresa Pearce<\/p>\n

Marie Rimmer<\/p>\n

Paula Sherriff<\/p>\n

Tulip Siddiq<\/p>\n

Dennis Skinner<\/p>\n

Cat Smith<\/p>\n

Jo Stevens<\/p>\n

Graham Stringer<\/p>\n

David Winnick<\/p>\n

Iain Wright<\/p>\n

Daniel Zeichner<\/p>\n

Kelvin Hopkins (Teller)<\/p>\n

\n

Find out more about the welfare reform and work bill here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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