Rochdale Councillor proposes cashless society . . .

  many locals  are there already!

by Anonymous 

24/05/2019  

IN the current edition of Manchester Confidential  the 'economist & Labour councillor' John Blundell argues with some conviction, (and no little irony I feel), that : 

'There is a whole industry involved in the printing, moving and securing of the nation’s cash and hundreds of millions of pounds will be saved by its eradication. Surely this money can be put to better use by helping those excluded from what should be a human right: access to a bank account and access to credit.

Further to this, strict privacy laws must be introduced to stop the government from peering into the accounts of people trying to obtain benefits. This is so that the long term unemployed, those in unstable employment or people without great means can have rainy day funds that aren’t eaten up by the benefits office when signing on, or for any other reason one might need a private cushion.'

A 'private cushion' indeed ?  For too many of our local citizens a hand to mouth existence is little more than soggy piece of cardboard to sit on as their only cushion for the economic reality of a cruel & brutal  economic system .  

'Some Groups', Blundell continues enthusiastically , 'mainly the very young and the old, will find it difficult to adapt and will need greater support. Sweden – that country famed for its uncaring laws and state – expects to go cashless by 2023 and is sorting out the ills of its society now so that the poor, the old and the disadvantaged don’t have to be at the sharp end of cash’s demise.' 

https://confidentials.com/manchester/cash-vs-cashless-daft-and-discriminatory-or-smart-and-inevitable

Councillor Blundell appears oblivious to the fact that for many in Rochdale the  'cashless society' is already a daily reality.  Particularly for those sanctioned by the DWP or in the midst of the interminable six week wait for Universal Credit.  As my contribution to the ongoing debate on the demonization and criminalisation of the Boroughs homeless & vulnerable by elements within Rochdale Labour Party who appear to have little or no clear understanding of the national homeless crisis could I take this opportunity to urge Councillor Blundell to open his eyes and urge his fellow Labour Councillors to affiliate to the national Labour Homeless Campaign an excellent and humane organisation who's web page proudly proclaims , that :

' Labour Homelessness Campaign have met and heard the stories of people on the streets across the country.  In Manchester, we met Jess – pregnant, homeless, and with no access to homeless services. Within 10 minutes we met four more people experiencing rough sleeping. They described being ‘harassed’ by the police and being fined and taken to court under the Vagrancy Act.

Labour Homelessness Campaign are calling for an end to this draconian policy and the criminalisation of homeless people. The mistreatment of homeless people is everywhere. As Labour members, we need to tackle this within our own party, first by working where Labour are already in power to ensure shelter for all.

An inhumane ‘move them along’ mentality is growing. In Westminster, rough sleepers have been moved on from the little warmth they have found, as it is suggested they disturb MPs getting to work. Two policies are in effect to this end: the Vagrancy Act, and Public Service Protection Orders (PSPO’s).

A study by the charity Crisis showed that 73% of rough sleepers experienced criminalisation in the last year. Between 2014 and 2017, 6,518 people were found guilty under the nearly 200-year-old Vagrancy Act and punishments can range from a fine to up to six months’ imprisonment. There is little that feels so blaringly idiotic as fining those who are homeless for being on the street.

Much like this outdated policy, PSPOs also allow councils to fine people. At least 60 councils have them in place. When Manchester City Council recently launched their PSPO consultation Andy Burnham claimed “it’s not about criminalising people who are sleeping rough or people who have got nowhere else to go.” Yet it explicitly identifies “putting up tents, seeking charity and other behaviour associated with rough sleeping” as reason to be served a PSPO – behaviour that is inevitable for many experiencing homelessness.

Slapping fines on people experiencing homelessness is never the answer. Rather than driving people out of city centres with PSPOs, Labour local authorities should be defending the rights of rough sleepers to exist in public spaces like anyone else. As the Labour Homelessness Campaign, we advocate for an approach of care, not criminalisation.

Empty properties serve no value to society. We should be helping lives, not landlords. Homeless people need homes and the right to exist in public spaces. What is really damaging society after all: a tent for temporary accommodation, or 597 homeless people dying on our streets whilst houses stay empty? 

Perhaps  John and his fellow 'socialists ' in Rochdale CLP can after listening to informed opinion finally show some solidarity with the  Borough's homeless & dispossessed victims of over a decade of Tory Austerity and add their names to the Labour Homeless Campaigns Open Letter ? Which states :

End the criminalisation of the homeless

As Labour Party members, and supporters, we welcome the announcement by the Labour leadership that it will repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act once the Labour party is in government, but more needs to be done to end criminalisation of homelessness. The Vagrancy Act makes it a crime to sleep 'in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart of waggon, not having any visible means of subsistence'. People can be fined up to £1,000 and given a two-year criminal record under an act which specifically targets the most marginalised in our society, and thousands face arrest every year. 

The Vagrancy Act is just one segment of a system of criminalisation of people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping. Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) can make it illegal to beg or sleep rough within a given area. A raft of other ‘anti-social behaviour’ measures, from Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) to dispersal orders, give police and councils powers to move rough sleepers on, or give them a hefty fine. A study by the charity Crisis showed that 73% of rough sleepers experienced some kind of criminalisation in the last year. People experiencing homelessness can be intensely vulnerable. Too often these measures trap people in a cycle, faced with fines they cannot pay and with a growing mistrust of those official council services they should be turning to for help. 

No more can we threaten to fine people who have nothing. No more can we accept legislation which targets rough sleepers as criminals, when they are far more likely to be victims of harassment, violence and abuse. We're calling for an end to the Vagrancy Act, and for councils and police forces to cease using all measures which ban begging and rough sleeping or target those experiencing homelessness. 

Homelessness is effectively a criminal offence. We’re demanding a different approach.'  

On the day that Britain's 'Plastic Thatcher' was forced from office the history books will recall no doubt less the crocodile tears of a failed PM but the shaming statistics published within hours of the Premiers resignation speech ,stating : 'child homelessness has increased by a staggering 80% since the Conservative Party came to power in 2010 ' (The Independent ) and that:

'Thirteen of the 15 local authorities worst affected by homelessness are run by Labour.

 'Labour councils are faced with an enormous challenge but also an opportunity for radical, empowering, socialist homelessness policies. This is an opportunity to show what socialism in power can mean.' (The Fabian ).  

History is as we know an unruly and at times unpredictable student. However their can be little doubt that the future - if there is to be one - will not look back with grace or particular favour on the outdated attitudes and actions of many within our local political class who will be held up to critical scrutiny & opprobrium for their inoffensive & insensitive views on the homeless in the same way we look in contempt with those in the past who were apologists for the hated means test , the Workhouse and the dumping of the poor or the infirm on the other side of the County Parish Boundary. It really is time Rochdale Council got with the programme and heeded calls from progressive voices such as Labour Councillor Shaista Aziz who wrote in the latest edition of The Fabian :  
'The Labour Homelessness Campaign is a grassroots group of Labour members who are acting in solidarity with people experiencing homelessness. We’ve seen the incredible work that’s being done on the ground by overstretched homelessness services. But we’ve also identified a problem: for many experiencing homelessness, there has been a breakdown of trust with officialdom.

As a Labour councillor, it has been saddening for me to speak to rough sleepers who do not believe their Labour council or official homelessness services are on their side.  It has been maddening to talk to grassroots homelessness campaigners around the country who have found themselves campaigning against the policies of their Labour council.  While I know as well as anyone the incredible pressure austerity has put on council budgets, it’s time for us to start listening to these voices.

People on the streets are often treated like criminals, all too often by Labour councils.  The 1824 Vagrancy Act means rough sleepers or those begging can be fined up to £1,000, imprisoned and given a criminal record.  Thousands of people are prosecuted under the act every year – most for ‘aggressive begging’.  The definition of ‘aggressive begging’ in some local authorities includes begging within 10 metres of an ATM.

In addition to this, a raft of antisocial behaviour legislation is used against people experiencing homelessness. Public space protection orders (PSPOs) can make it illegal to sleep rough or beg in certain areas.  We’ve worked with people handed community protection notices (CPNs) threatening £20,000 fines for sleeping rough.  Criminal behaviour orders (CBOs) and dispersal orders can also be used by councils and police to drive rough sleepers out of certain areas. Seventy per cent of criminalisation experienced by rough sleepers isn’t formal application of these criminal orders but rather informal ‘moving-on’ or threats of further action.  When we use these orders we are driving the very people who have nowhere else to go out of our public spaces.

This is why the Labour Homelessness Campaign is campaigning for an end to all forms of homelessness criminalisation.,

When we wonder will the penny finally ever drop with Rochdale Councillors like Blundell and those like him ?

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