UPDATE – Since this blog was published the total has reached 98,236 – we are so close.
The WowPetition has been created by Francesca Martinez and calls ‘for a Cumulative Impact Assessment of Welfare Reform, and a New Deal for sick & disabled people based on their needs, abilities and ambitions’
Martinez has explained her reasons thus “As a disabled person in the media, I want to help give this issue a voice. It’s morally wrong for the government to target those in need instead of saving money by targeting the real causes of this crisis – and close tax loopholes and regulate the financial sector. To me, it’s a human rights issue.”
You may have heard of the WOWPetition but have not signed it because you are not disabled and therefore do not think that this will impact upon you. I beg you to reconsider.
Disability doesn’t care if you are in work or out of work. It will show you no favours whichever party you vote for, be it Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat or UKIP. Disability can strike anyone, including YOU!
If you, or a member of your family, became seriously ill or disabled wouldn’t you want help to be there when you needed it? You have nothing to lose by lending your name to the WOWPetition but you may well have everything to gain by doing so – the protection of your future social security.
This is a Government whose welfare policies have been criticised and condemned by Amnesty International UK and the United Nations. An increasing number of people are having to use Food Banks and, for the first time since the Second World War, the Red Cross are to launch an emergency food aid programme for the United Kingdom.
This Coalition is imposing the widest series of changes, reforms and cuts to the welfare system since its creation, this is YOUR social security, and it is doing so without taking stock of the impact it will have upon you or your family. Don’t you think that it is simple natural justice that the impact be assessed so as to alleviate any potential harm? Isn’t that what any responsible Government would do as a matter of principle?
It could be argued that the Coalition Government doesn’t want to carry out an assessment of the impact of their reforms, and are desperate to avoid one at all costs, because they already know that the conclusion of such a report would prove detrimental to their intent. Despite successful challenges in the Courts, the Coalition, with a level of arrogance that betrays their dangerous contempt for the health of the British people, want to steamroll through their policies without hindrance and are doing so without a mandate.
The WOWPetition closes on the 12th December 2013 and, as of the date of this article, the total is 94,279 but we (and that includes YOU) need 100,000 signatures for it to be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee and Government.
We are so close to the total needed, don’t let it fail for the want of YOUR vote.
When it comes to our health, or that of our family members, we never truly know what is around the corner, so take action to protect both them and yourself. Sign the WOWPetition today!
Upon signing, please remember to check your email to verify your signature or your vote will not be counted.
If I could ask one more thing of you. After having signed the WOWPetition, please ask a friend to do so.
Thank you.
Christopher John Ball is, along with Dean Sipling, co-author of the play Throwing Stones – ‘What’s in your family album?’ Order your copy today from Amazon
“Mid-life male photographer meets young, nubile female student-cum-artistic muse – so far it’s old hat. But photographer turned playwright Christopher John Ball and co-writer Dean Sipling, whose background is film and television, bring the pairing into a thoroughly contemporary world of intercepted emails, sinister insinuation and sharp retorts. Their ‘guilty until proved innocent’ plot … is thoroughly watchable and believable – perhaps as a result of Ball’s professional insights and DS Dom Lucas’ services as police advisor to the production” Barbara Lewis – The Stage
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