Man sanctioned for a heart attack.

This is way beyond the pale.

A Man is sanctioned for having a heart attack!

There seems no point in expressing exasperation or anger at the utter depravity of British politicians.  It is not simply the Conservatives, although they are possibly the very worst, because the other parties are going along with their agenda every step of the way.  If your country is really in dire straits financially it is reasonable that everyone pulls together but there is not even the slightest pretence of that in Britain.

I would try to explain the simple reality that when some people have exactly enough to live on, and no more, there is nothing reasonable about taking their money.  And when others are awash with more money than they can handle they should reasonably help out.  But we all know that anyway.  I am dismayed at the constant stream of 'explanations' of what is wrong as if you can 'explain'  to your rapist that they are hurting you.  This government is enacting, by relative stealth at this stage, the most frightening and insidious cull of the population imaginable.

I thought I would compile a list of the damage being caused ranging from articles on the subject such as one in the Guardian entitled  "Mental health experts warn against pace of incapacity benefit cuts" to known cases of suicide such as Stephanie Bottrill and Peter Williams.  I began a provisional search for related information and was shocked at the scale and insanity of the problem.

But I came across one case so ridiculous I thought I would pop it on my blog as a sample.  Remember there are thousands - maybe millions - of cases like this and worse.

A man was in one of the infamous Atos Healthcare assessments.  The medical examiner told him he was having a heart attack and should go home.  That is ridiculous enough but some weeks later he received a letter stating that he was being sanctioned (a euphemism for being robbed by the government) because he had "withdrawn from the assessment".

Make no mistake about it these things are happening all the time up and down the country.  You won't hear of most of them because they are people without voices and you are deafened by your busy life and the likes of Facebook and [un]reality TV.  And so when you do hear of it you think it is an exception and probably an exaggeration anyway.  "There must have been something else going on."  Stop burying your heads in the sand because it never saved an ostrich and you do rather present a provocative target for the abusers.

Here is the authentic source of this particular case.  You can read the original transcript on the House of Commons own web site.

In the House of Commons on 19 Mar 2013 in the Second Reading of the Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill Debbie Abrahams, Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth said (amongst other things) at approximately 14:46 hrs:

"For example, one of my constituents was a beneficiary of employment and support allowance after they had retired on grounds of ill health as a result of a heart problem. He was required to attend a work capability assessment with Atos. During the assessment, he was told that he was having a heart attack and the nurse said that she had to stop the assessment. He got a letter a couple of weeks later saying that he had withdrawn from the assessment and, as such, was being sanctioned. That beggars belief. I have other examples, as I am sure do colleagues."

And if you want a taste of other utterly cruel insanity try "A Selection Of Especially Stupid Sanctions" on the Birmingham Against The Cuts blog site.

Thanks to an anonymous contributor for the brilliant art work.  If you want recognition or the work removing just let me know.