Registering my disappointment with my MP

Here's the full text of a letter I've sent my MP, Jackie Doyle-Price.

I’m extremely unhappy, but not at all surprised, with how you voted on Tim Yeo’s amendments to the Energy Bill in parliament on Tuesday. You chose to vote them down, and to stick by dirty fossil fuels over committing to a cleaner energy future now. You’ve made a mockery of the ‘greenest government ever’ tagline, and of your constituents’ views. Once again, I’d like to express my sincere disappointment in your decision.

You made a great deal of sending out an unsolicited e-mail to me on subjects you obviously thought I might care about but you never support or represent my views on any subjects I have previously e-mailed you on. Your standard response is that you don't personally believe in or support my views. What you fail to remember is that your job is to represent the views of your constituents - ALL OF THEM; what you tend to do, however, is vote with your party and take opposing views from your constituents with total disdain. I have even heard of some abusive and judgemental replies you have made to other constituents you supposedly represent.

As this e-mail began, I am disappointed by your decision to vote against the proposal but as I added, I also find myself unsurprised.

I'll post any response I get here.

Unsolicited e-mail from my MP

Here is the full text of an unsolicited e-mail from my MP, Jackie Doyle-Price.

I hope you find this latest edition of my Parliamentary Round up informative. A lot has been going on here at Westminster and thought I should bring you up to date on some of the campaigns I am running in Parliament that matter to you and I here in Thurrock.

Free school for Chafford
Michael Gove confirmed last week that our application for a new Free school in Chafford has been approved. I am delighted and would like to thank everyone who supported the campaign.

I would also like to congratulate the hard work done by the parents and the Harris Federation in putting the application together. In the space of just one year we have gone from a situation where there were insufficient school places to a position where we have the green light to set up a new school. It just illustrates what can be achieved when the community comes together and I am proud of starting the campaign and bringing everyone together to make it happen.

Proposals for a new Lower Thames Crossing
The Government last week published its plans for a new Lower Thames crossing. As predicted all three options under consideration will run through Thurrock. I am anxious to make sure that our voice is heard and I would invite you to let me know your views so that I can put them to Government in response to the consultation.

As you may be aware, I have been campaigning to make sure that any new crossing will not lead to more of Thurrock being dig up to build new motorway. I am also determined that any new crossing should not cause further congestion on Thurrock's already congested road network and that it must alleviate the congestion we currently experience as a consequence of the Dartford crossing.  I have been encouraging Government to explore options for new crossings in London and to consider future road transport needs more widely.  Put simply, there is no point in building crossings which are
just going to add further pressure to the A13 and the M25. Government needs to be exploring whether there is a need for a new outer ring road.

The options are:

Option A – at the site of the existing Dartford Thurrock Crossing

Option B – Connecting the A2 with the A1089

Option C – Connecting the M2 with the A13 and the M25 between Junctions 29 and 30

Please let me know your views. So far my post bag suggests that opinion is evenly split on whether there is any need for a new crossing, but I am keen to hear from as many people as possible, both on the need for a crossing at all and on the individual proposals.

Basildon Hospital
Following the publication of the report into the mid Staffordshire hospital, the NHS medical director, Sir Bruce Keogh is reviewing the performance of Basildon hospital due to its unusually high mortality rates. I have made my representations to Sir Bruce documenting failings in leadership, estates management, record keeping and care which have contributed to failings at Basildon.

There have been significant senior management changes at Basildon over the last year and I am hopeful that the new team will take their obligations to patients more seriously and take action where deficiencies are identified. However the Keogh review is an opportunity to highlight exactly what has gone wrong in recent years and will therefore help the management drive the change to improve performance and make sure all patients get the treatment they deserve. If you have any views you would like to express, do get in touch.

Free tolls for Thurrock residents
As you may be aware, the Government will be introducing free flow tolls on the Dartford crossing and removing the toll booths next year. I have used this opportunity to renew calls for free tolls for Thurrock residents. At a time when we are bearing the brunt of the congestion caused by what is a national piece of road infrastructure, I think it is only fair we be allowed to use the crossing for free.  

I am asking the Government to allow amend the residents discount scheme to give unlimited free crossings following annual registration.

I have also called for the residents discount scheme to be extended to small vans as well as cars.

More apprentices
Expanding the number of apprenticeships is central to our strategy for equipping people with good skills as well as tackling the long standing problem we have with our unemployment. It is working, this month youth unemployment fell to below 1million, still too high, but moving in the right direction.

The expansion of apprenticeships has gone a long way to achieving that, but we still need to encourage more businesses to join in. To show your support, please sign up to my campaign at www.moreapprentices.com.

I am of course always happy to hear from you on any issues you wish to raise.

Best Wishes,

Jackie Doyle-Price

And here's my reply:

Please don't send me any more unsolicited e-mails as, apart from the Basildon Hospital section, I have absolutely no interest in subjects about children (I have none) or motorist issues (I have no car).

I have sent you e-mails on subjects that I wish you to represent my views on in the past but because you do not agree with my views, you have refused to represent mine. I therefore, respectfully ask you not to contact me again in this manner unless it is a response to an e-mail I have sent you, that way both you and I do not have to waste each other's time with useless conversations like this.

I think JD-P has a real nerve sending me crap like this when she shows utter disdain for issues that I'm concerned with and interested in - the welfare 'reforms', benefit cuts, the NHS, corruption in politics, the environment.

She doesn't represent my views in Parliament and she should change her tune if she wants to get re-elected because she's in an extremely marginal seat and if everyone affected by the Bedroom Tax voted at the next election, she's out. Here's hoping!

Happy fucking birthday

At the very moment I post this entry I will become 42 years of age.

It was at 2:45am on Sunday 30th May 1971 that I was born, dragged from the darkness of non-existent and into the blinding light of a hostile, degenerate world. It is a world that does nothing but destroy a person's individuality and replace it with an unfeeling homogenous mass mind.

It is for that reason that I hate my birthday. It represents each passing year that I have been unable to destroy my personal demons or change society for the better. I see the world as it could be, as it should be, and the world as it really is. I see the enormous gulf between the two positions and I see society ruled over by the wrong type of people, those whose only goal in life is to promote their own interests and that of their peers whilst the right-thinking people who not only want their own blossoming but that of society as a whole are constantly belittled and beaten down by the selfish few and their own personal demons.

I despise each passing year that this situation persists and I despise myself for being unable to change the way things are going.

I've spent years trying to fight my personal demons and have got nowhere as whenever I have managed to destroy one it has been replaced by three or four more.

I realise that talk of demons makes me sound a little mad but what I am referring to are the negative thoughts and impulses that seek to keep an individual down, aided by the leaders of our degenerate society who seek to further their own ends at the detriment of the rest of us.

Each birthday just reminds me that I've been stuck in this shitty life for yet another soul-destroying year and I'm sick of it. I have not found the peace that I have been looking for nor have I found any reason for this God-forsaken existence. I have been dragged from the darkness of non-existence into a world of blinding light only to be thrust straight into a personal Hell, populated by demons and soul-destroying entropy.

I'd rather not celebrate the anniversary of an event that I had no say in and that means nothing to me but a constant struggle against the externally imposed darkness of society.

A little advice please

It's very close to my birthday and I really don't want to celebrate it. Unfortunately, certain members of my family are dead set on forcing me to have some kind of celebration and I thought I'd ask my loyal readers what suggestions you could give me to avoid such a horrible pointless ritual.

I don't want to have a party or presents and haven't wanted such things for the last three or four years as I don't want to commemorate the passing of another year in which I have failed to make any progress in my pathetic life.

I'm on benefits and I'm nowhere nearer finding a job. I continue to contribute blogs, news items and photos to Your Thurrock but I don't get any remuneration for my efforts. I do the odd bit of voluntary work but it neither provides money or any increased chances of getting a paying job. I'm not exactly seen as a valued member of society and I'm not in much demand for my views either.

With so little point to my life, I don't really see much reason to celebrate yet another year of existence so I'd really like to avoid the ritualistic shenanigans without upsetting the members of my family who find such pleasure in them.

If you have any ideas, could you please add them below as a comment?

Thanks.

Response to an e-Petition

Here's the text of an e-mail I received a short while ago about an e-petition I signed.

The e-petition 'Repeal the Welfare Reform Act 2012' signed by you recently reached 15,776 signatures and a response has been made to it.

As this e-petition has received more than 10,000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response: The Government believes that it should be encouraging greater responsibility and fairness in the welfare system. That means providing help for those who cannot work, and training and targeted support for those looking for work. The 2012 Welfare Reform Act introduced a wide range of reforms to make the benefits and tax credits system fairer and simpler by creating the right incentives to get more people into work, protecting the most vulnerable in our society, and delivering fairness to those claiming benefit and to the tax payer. The nation’s finances also need to be put on a more sustainable footing – while this means making difficult decisions on tax and spending, we believe it is possible to do this and help people lift themselves out of poverty, and stay out of poverty, through work and saving backed by the right support and encouragement. This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100,000 signature threshold.

View the response to the e-petition

Thanks,

HM Government e-petitions http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

All they really needed to say was "We hear what you're saying but don't really give a fuck about a bunch of skivers because we're a bunch of taxpayer-funded scrounging strivers".

What they neglect to say is that their reforms are killing up to 73 people a week, causing untold suffering and financial hardship amongst the section of the community that depends on benefits for survival and throwing more people into poverty and onto the scrapheap than even Thatcher did during her reign of terror.

As one picture circulating on Facebook puts it "reform suggests improvement" and these reforms are doing nothing but harm.

Censorship

I've just had an interesting debate on Twitter over censorship and offensive remarks following an incident where one of my newer Followers made an offensive remark about Romany Gypsies.

The remark was about how 'filthy' Romany Gypsies were to be found on Park Lane and the surrounding areas. I ignored the offensive part of his remark and replied only to say that I didn't know that Park Lane had any gypsies. Unfortunately, one of my other Followers is a Romany, a fact of which I was unaware at the time.

He did not take offence at my reply to the comment but simply commented on his origins which led to the debate. The debate widened to include another Follower who took exception to my decision not to block the offending Tweeter.

I made the point that I support free speech and that I sometimes write what some may deem offensive Tweets. I also made the point that if I censor one person, I would feel obliged to censor everyone and that doesn't sit well with my personal conviction.

I have always allowed people, both on this blog and my Your Thurrock column, to say whatever they like about my work and at times they have offended me. I have, however, not blocked them or asked for comments to be removed as that would be at odds with my belief in free speech.

I can see people's point of view that offensive remarks may harm my readers but my blogs, Facebook and Twitter are public forums so shouldn't people expect some offensive views? A lot of my Tweets and personal blog entries are full of expletives and some have views and comments that Tories would find offensive so if everyone blocked me I wouldn't have any readers at all.

The particular Follower in question has only used one offensive statement in his interactions with me so I see no reason to block him as 1) he may be mentally unwell and may be mortified when he becomes well enough to read back his Tweets, recognising his offensive remarks for what they are, 2) a singular offense is not grounds for blocking someone, 3) although I don't agree with the offensive part of his statement so long as I am not endorsing his remark I am allowing free speech and 4) by retaining him as a Follower I can lead by example by not engaging with offensive remarks and making sure I never use them myself and the debate I had on the subject of censorship will educate others.

I've worked with the mentally unwell and know how easy it is to say something offensive when you're ill that you wouldn't say otherwise. I also try not to use racial or religious slurs. I will, however, heap offensive remarks on Tories but that's because they deserve everything they get but only if they have harmed me or my fellow disabled, sick or poor peers.

I also don't censor people because, with some of the things I've said over the years, I can't hold the moral high ground on this issue.

I judge people on their interactions with me personally, not on what they've said elsewhere. If the offending Follower makes another offensive remark, I will reconsider my decision but, until then, I must follow my conscience and not censor my Twitter feed, block Followers or otherwise engage in any activity that affects a person's freedom of speech even if that means losing the odd Follower or reader.

The Tory shame of Britain

Here's a status update from Facebook that I totally agree with and just had to share with my readers.

The status is from a group called The last person to enter parliament with honest intentions was Guy Fawkes.

If using your deceased, disabled son for sympathy votes doesn't show how much of a wretched human being you are, I don't know what does.

How he can even have the audacity to act like he's in support of people with disabilities or illness in any way, shape or form is beyond me. Look at their welfare "reform" which is really welfare withdrawal. Taking much needed and vital support from the most vulnerable people in our society.

Look at ATOS and how they consistently declare people who are clearly crippled due to ill health, fit for work. Many going on to die before ever getting anywhere near a workplace and having the tiny financial help they had yanked away from them in their last days, thus making their suffering far greater.

Look at their austerity measures which are creating more economic chaos than they're stopping. Look at them making cuts to the NHS when they promised they wouldn't. Look at their attempts to start privatising it
when everyone knows that anything that was once a national asset that was then privatised, becomes a national disgrace and another fist up the arse of the British public!

He is a disgrace and so is his rabble. Don't be fooled by this nonsense, people. A lot of people were stupid enough to vote Tony B-liar back in even after engaging in the most
horrendous and illegal acts of recent times. Don't be sucked in again. This man is filth. He is corrupt and so are his party.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215672/Samantha-Cameron-moved-tears-husband-David-tells-packed-Tory-­party-conference-used-feel-pushing-late-disabled-son-Ivan-wheelchair.html