Letter to Jackie Doyle-Price (MH debate)

Below is the full text of my latest letter to my local MP, Jackie Doyle-Price.  I shall, of course, post any reply I get - right here on my blog!

Dear Ms Doyle-Price,

I am writing to you, as my representative in Parliament, asking you to attend the debate on mental health due to be held on Thursday 14 June.  Mental health is an important issue for society with one in four people falling foul of some kind of mental ill health.  This is, I believe, a very conservative estimate, as there are many people who fail to seek help due to the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.  I, myself, have experience of mental ill health, having suffered with major depression for the last 34 years.

My illness came upon me at the age of seven years old and I was left undiagnosed until I was 26 when I had a breakdown at work.  My full diagnosis is Recurrent Depressive Disorder and Adjustment Disorder (Depressive Type).  I have been out of work since a further crisis came upon me in 2005.  I have not, however, been idle in that time, having undertaken courses and voluntary work to improve my job prospects and to keep busy.  Unfortunately, the voluntary work I have undertaken to make me more employable has made me toxic to most employers because I cannot hide my mental health problem from them as prospective employers can Google my name and find video clips and articles associating me with mental health.  The statistics bear out the fact that most employers would turn me down for a job even if I were the best candidate and that mental health sufferers are the group who are the least likely to be in paid employment despite being the group who are most eager to find work.

You may not have experience of depression yourself and it is difficult to express how it affects a sufferer to someone who is not a sufferer but I will try to do so.  Imagine how you would feel if you had lost someone very close to you, now imagine that feeling magnified a thousand times.  That feeling never leaves me for a single moment and, on top of that, add the feeling of utter hopelessness you would feel if you saw someone you loved dying very slowly and painfully.  Imagine all of that with the feeling of utter darkness and despair and the feeling that things will never improve no matter how hard you try to make them change.  That is depression.  That is what I, and many others, have to live with.

The following list covers the points most needing of being covered in the debate (in my opinion):

• Mental health service
• At the moment, mental health services are at their most needed and, therefore, need more funding to cope with the demand; however, they are being forced to make cuts they can ill afford to make.  Mental health has always been the least well funded sector in the NHS and will probably always be the poor relation because most mental health service users are the least likely to make a fuss.
• In Thurrock, Grays Hall has the highest staff turnover in the whole of the region covered by SEPT, the local NHS provider.  High staff turnover means that the service suffers and is a key indicator of a sick organisation.
• Giving more money to the mental health service providers will actually save money as there will be fewer suicide attempts and fewer hospitalisations due to better community-based care.
• Benefits
• The changes to the benefits system and the associated cuts in the welfare budget are causing a huge amount of fear, stress and anxiety to people already in a highly sensitive state of mind.
• Every brown envelope that comes through the letterbox only heightens the fear that a mental health service user feels.  These people already struggle to survive day-to-day on what little welfare they receive and the thought of losing even that lifeline is almost paralysing.
• There are very few, if any, people with mental health issues who are getting more than the very basic amount of money on welfare and considerably less than someone on the National Minimum Wage.
• The fear, stress and anxiety generated by the changes and cuts in the benefits system will only make the mentally unwell less able to find paid employment.  This will end up costing the country more in NHS treatment and benefits than it will save with the proposed cuts.
• The Work Capability Assessment
• The WCA has been unanimously condemned by GPs as not fit for purpose as it is heavily weighted towards physical disabilities and takes little, or no, account for the mental health issues that are just as debilitating but are unseen.
• Many mental health service users are being found able to work by the WCA but are soon back on benefits due to a crisis brought on by work.
• If the WCA is not changed to reflect the debilitating nature of an individual’s mental health problem, the strain on the mental health service will be even greater as more and more people fall to mental ill health.
• Stigma and Discrimination
• Funds are needed to educate the general public and employers about mental health problems so that the stigma and discrimination faced by mental health service users is dispelled.
• The media need to be encouraged to portray people with mental health issues more realistically and with fewer negative stereotypes.  This needs to be supported by Government.
• Employers should be encouraged to employ people with mental health issues and to offer flexible working hours, time off for hospital and therapy appointments and offer in-work support.
• The Disability Discrimination Act does cover people with mental ill health but it does little to protect them properly because it is so easy for employers to find other excuses to get rid of mentally unwell employees or to deny an opportunity to an unemployed person with a history of mental ill health.

These are only a few of the issues that need to be debated on Thursday.  I hope you will attend the debate and put some of these points across on behalf of all the mental health service users in your constituency.

I am happy to talk to you about any of these issues with you should there be any other future Parliamentary debates on this subject.

Regards,

Myles Cook

Letter for a friend

Here's the full text (anonymised) of a letter I wrote for a friend.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to you to ask you to reconsider your decision, if you have not already done so, not to prosecute the case regarding the act of arson that claimed the lives of four canines and destroyed the home and possessions of Ms __________.

Although Ms _____ is a friend, I am writing as an animal lover and as an advocate for justice.  I believe that this case should be prosecuted because, as a species, the human race has a special duty to protect the lesser species we have domesticated and made our pets and companions.  The loss of home and possessions is a tragedy but they can be replaced over time; the loss of an animal cannot.  Individuals who take animals into their homes as companions form deeper attachments with them than they do with their human family as they have chosen those specific animals and those pets have as great a need for their owner as a child does for a parent.  Ms _____ did not just lose her home and possessions that day; she also lost four members of her family, just as dear as any human family she may possess.

It is distressing to think that the four dogs died in fear and pain, their fur burning and their flesh seared, unable to escape from a place in which they had felt safe in the past and had the right to feel safe and secure.  Even if Ms _____’s dogs had survived the cowardly act of arson of which they were victims, they would have been unable to demand justice for themselves so it is the duty of your office to be their voice as it would be for any victim of murder or manslaughter.

I realise that there are financial considerations regarding which cases you can or cannot prosecute; however, for justice to be done, there are some cases that must be prosecuted.  This case is one such case.  It is not whether you win or lose the case, it is whether, morally and ethically, you fight the case to send a message to the world that acts of animal cruelty are abhorrent to us as a species, that spiteful and cowardly acts such as this are not to be tolerated by society.  It is only by fighting such cases that society’s ethical and moral standing can be raised to the point that crimes such as these are eradicated.

As a society and as a species, we must show that animals we have domesticated have a special place in our culture and must therefore be given certain inalienable rights befitting that place.  If the victims of this crime had been human children, the case would have gone to court.  Ms _____’s dogs have a right to justice, equal to any human victim and perhaps more so, because of our responsibility to them as their guardians.

I hope this letter will change your decision and that you will prosecute the person accused of this heinous crime.  Be the voice of the innocent victims of this tragic event.  Be the true agents of justice that you entered your profession to be.  Win or lose be damned; do what is right, morally and ethically, and justice will be done.

Regards,

Myles Cook (Mr)

And here's the reply...

Thank you for your input. The decision not to pursue this case is based entirely on the law, applicable to the admissible evidence - and the fact that animals perished does not change the rules of evidence, or the law.

Our decisions are based on facts, evidence that is admissible under the rules of evidence, and the existing law - not emotion. The decision will not be reconsidered.

Gary Beatty

Birthday blues

I really do not like my birthday.  Like most men in their late 30s and early 40s, I get the blues around the very thought of my birthday and the reflection on one’s lack of achievements.  I wanted to have achieved so much by now and I have achieved very little.  Each birthday just brings that lack of forward momentum into full focus, in crystal clarity so that even the most unobservant person could not fail to miss it.  As a result, I do not bother celebrating my birthday.  My family are not so obliging though and I am forced to sit through a ‘party’ and the gift-giving that I have expressly asked they do not do.

It is nice to see the birthday greetings on my Facebook profile, simply as it is recognition that I have somehow made it onto someone’s radar as a blip worthy of noting, but Facebook is the exception to the rule.  I find some comfort in the fact that I have been acknowledged in some small way but, although I am not against people knowing of my birthday, I would rather the event be ignored by everyone.  Perhaps one day, when I have earned some acclaim, I will change my stance because my birthday will not be such a glaring display of my complete failure in life; for now though, let me be the miserable old fart who hates his birthday.

Until next time…

An Open Letter To The Leaders Of The Three Main Political Parties

Here's the full text of a letter I have sent to a number of UK newspapers, Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband. I couldn't find an e-mail address for Mr Cameron.  I will, of course, post any replies I get right here!

Dear Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband,

I am writing to try to convince you all to put aside your ideological differences and work together to solve the financial crisis that the country finds itself in at the present time.

I am sure that I am not alone in being sick and tired of the constant blame game, buck-passing and excuses that the political parties in this country engage in.  They do nothing but stall any hope of getting any real progress made.  Yes, Labour left a financial mess when they left office but it was not all their fault as the major global banking crisis too its toll as well.  It would be nice if Labour held their hands up and accepted some responsibility but I believe we are passed the point of apportioning blame.

It angers me that the Coalition keeps on blaming Labour for the financial mess they left when the country has been under Coalition control for two years and the country has dropped into the double-dip recession the austerity measures were meant to avoid.  The Coalition cannot blame Labour for their own measures being ineffective; that is the Coalition’s fault and their fault alone.

Is it any wonder that the voters of this country are disaffected with politicians?  All you seem to do is compound each other’s errors and barrack each other like schoolchildren, playing the blame game and making excuses.

Surely, in a time of crisis such as the one the country finds itself in at present, you could forget your petty differences, look at the expertise within all the political parties and offer individuals with specialist knowledge or interests positions within a larger Coalition encompassing all political creeds?

I am not suggesting that members of opposition parties are given ministerial positions; it is only right and proper that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrat Coalition takes the lead.  I am suggesting, however, that members of opposition parties may have knowledge and ideas that may be of great value in solving the country’s troubles.  I am suggesting that even the smallest parties should be utilised in the collaborative undertaking; for instance, Green MP Caroline Lucas could be offered an advisory position on energy and environmental issues.

I believe that there is a time for party politics and there is a time to put party politics aside.  The current crisis is a case for the latter.  The electorate is disaffected with politicians and the only way to re-engage voters in the political process is showing them that, when it really counts, you can work collaboratively in the interests of the entire population.  Only then can you start to address the trust issues the electorate have with politicians as a group.  Only then, will the public start to engage with politics again.

I am not a politician.  I am not an expert in politics. I am an ordinary member of the public who is tired of this country as a whole suffering, of the poor and disadvantaged suffering whilst the rich prosper.  I am an individual who finds it distasteful that politicians deal in the politics of fear and scape goating instead of dealing in the politics of aspiration for all.  I am a man who wants to have respect in the people who are supposed to represent me and my views in Government.  I am a person who sees what UK society is and what it could be and weeps to see the enormous gulf in-between caused by the inability of politicians to put aside their ideological differences for the greater good.

Yours sincerely,

Myles Cook (Mr), Grays, Essex

At last! Jackie Doyle-Price replies.

Here are the scans of the replies I got from Jackie Doyle-Price on the last three subjects I e-mailed her on.  The only thing missing is my address and that is because I get enough hate mail in the mail as it is! LOL



Make of them what you will...

Until next time...

The Royal Question

Last week I was asked by a Facebook friend for my views on the Monarchy.  I dutifully gave a short answer with a promise of a longer response to be posted here.  This is that answer.

Actually, the question cropped up at an opportune moment as I had been running through my addled brain some ideas of where, if at all, the Monarchy would fit into The Enlightenment Project’s political group’s discussions.  I am not exactly a fence-sitter on the subject of the Royal family, despite not really liking or disliking them.  I personally think that they still have a place in British society; I just think that it is not the same place that they have held in the past.

I will probably surprise some readers with my belief in the need Britain has for the Monarchy.  They bring a great deal of tourists to the UK, being only one of a small handful of Western countries that still has a monarchy, and the UK needs the revenue that such tourist trade brings in.  However, more than this, Britain needs to keep the Monarchy for the link to its own history; for good and for bad, the Monarchy is inextricably linked with everything the UK has become.  Monarchs have given a true sense of majesty to this country’s history and have even brought about changes in the way religion was observed.  Was it not Henry VIII who gave us the Church of England to get around the tricky subject of divorce when the Pope refused to grant him one?  Without Henry VIII, England, at least, would be a Catholic country and our unwanted troubles with Ireland would never have occurred; a whole generation of British citizens could have had much less eventful lives, free of the fear of terrorist bombings by the IRA.

The other obvious advantage of keeping the Monarchy is the fact that we would otherwise be in the inevitable position of having a Presidential-style leader.  Would many people want to visit here if we had President Cameron, for example?  I would hazard a guess that the answer would be a resounding no.  Yes, it is true that we are, in fact, ruled by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers but the Queen is our figurehead leader and her family, for good or for bad, are our constants in an ever changing landscape.

The Queen is also the UK’s most respected and hard-working ambassador.  There is no party political agenda behind her as, regardless of her own political views, she acts in a non-partisan way; it would be difficult, if not impossible, for her to act in any other way with the regular changes in the administration of Government.  Queen Elizabeth II is respected by world leaders around the globe and it would be ridiculous to divest ourselves of her now.

That said, however, there is a real need for the Monarchy to change, especially in these times of austerity.  The Royal family is a drain on the public purse despite having some of the richest people in the country in their ranks; this is hardly fair on the poor and middle income families who are struggling to make ends meet.  One example of this financial drain is the £10,000 or so spent on decorating the university dorm of Prince Andrew’s daughter.  Why could she not have gone to Homebase or some such DIY supply store and buy some paint with some of her father’s cash?  I want my house redecorated but I am pretty sure that the public purse will not pay for it.

It is time for the Royal family to live off the riches they have stored away and the income from their business ventures so that the public funds they currently receive goes to the people and institutions that need the money.

There is a compelling argument for getting rid of the Monarchy and that is the fact that most of the Royals are now more of an embarrassment to the UK than a positive.  In fact, Queen Elizabeth II is probably the last of the truly ‘royal’ Royals.  She conducts herself with dignity, quite a mean feat considering the constant embarrassment doled out by her children and husband.  The Queen is someone who would probably have made an excellent ruler in the absence of an elected Parliament, someone you could look up to as a role model, but sadly that was never on the cards.

The change that the Monarchy must undergo is one of instilling the regal-ness and majesty that is currently lacking in the younger members of the Royal family, especially those closest to the throne.  The high jinks that Prince Harry gets up to may be quite normal for a young man of his age but are quite out of the question for a young man in his position; his mistakes, easily swept under the carpet by an ‘ordinary’ person, make headlines and erode the respect we should have in ‘our’ Royals.  All Royals should be groomed, as was Queen Elizabeth II, into the roles for which, one day, they may be called.

If the Monarchy is to remain a part of British society, they must start to live on their private funds and regain the respect they once had in the past or forever remain buried there, an anachronistic institution.

Until next time…

Another dark day

I am getting rather sick of apparently wasting my time posting the wisdom that runs around in my head and it reaching so few people.  I would dearly like to see huge numbers reading my stuff in the hope that it may actually change things for the better.  My last Your Thurrock blog about the case for political change ended up being posted here as I was sick and tired of waiting for it to be posted on YT whilst a blog by a new columnist called Thomas got posted.  I will not go into whether I thought it was a well-written piece or not but I will say this, it was a column about why he did not vote in the local election and covered a lot of the same ground that I have covered in my YT column.  This would not be so bad if it were not for the amount of readers who commented that it was a good piece and highlighted some of the problems in the field of politics.  This seems like a slap in the face to me, seeing as how I have been saying all of this in my column for months and got nothing for it except a personal attack.  Where is the justice in that?

As I said in an earlier posting, May is not the best month for me because of the reasons I gave in that posting.  I now have even more reason to hate this month – my cat, Merlin, is ill again.  He has been throwing up a lot and he has now had to be put on a prescription only diet food for cats with kidney problems that is so expensive that he will actually be eating better than anyone else in the family.  Money is getting extremely tight and I am frightened every time a brown envelope hits the doormat as all I can think about is the fact that my benefit will be stopped or reduced due to the cuts in public spending that are actually doing nothing to solve the problem of the national debt crisis.  Each trip to the front door makes me so nervous that it is a wonder that I can actually make it every day.

I am beginning to think that my life is never going to improve, that whatever I do to try to improve it will blow up in my bloody face and just make things worse.  I just want something good to be able to cling to, something to make my journey through life just a little less dark.  Is that really too much to ask?

Until next time…