Hardest Hit march brings disabled people out on to the streets
This is a really interesting article – I have mused a number of times about who will get the blame for cuts to services, the local authorities implementing them or the Government making them in the first place.
This story profiling a protest about the loss of benefits for the disabled suggests that the public are more switched on than I might have feared.
It explains: “If the size of the Hardest Hit march was relatively small compared with last autumn’s student demonstrations (with police estimates ranging between 3,000 and 8,000), consider the hurdles facing many of the participants – the everyday problems of inaccessible public transport, and the high cost of rail travel for those dependent on disability benefits.
“The protesters from the West Country said they were already so acutely conscious of the consequences of local authority funding shortages, and anxious about the impact of changes to the benefits system, that making the choice to come and protest was not difficult.”
We know that rural local authorities have to raise more per head in Council Tax than their urban counterparts to deliver services and I suspect some authorities will really struggle to balance the books with no scope to increase funding allowed this year from that quarter.
This story suggests they may have the ability to engage the genuine understanding and engagement of those they serve rather than just the blame!