Writer, blogger and activist. My basic question is: how do we make a world that works for everyone?
You can read my other work on New Internationalist, openDemocracy, and Occupy News Network.
This blog exists to tell the big stories behind the news; to challenge the neoliberal status quo.
I hope you will learn, laugh and link with campaigns that help make the world a better place…all by reading this blog. Please be active, carry on the discussion by commenting, and ofcourse share it.
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Scriptonite Daily 
You need to look at the law.
Social Security Administration Act 1992/section 187
187Certain benefit to be inalienable.(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, every assignment of or charge on— .
(a)benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act; .
(b)any income-related benefit; or .
(c)child benefit, .
and every agreement to assign or charge such benefit shall be void; and, on the bankruptcy of a beneficiary, such benefit shall not pass to any trustee or other person acting on behalf of his creditors.
(2)In the application of subsection (1) above to Scotland— .
(a)the reference to assignment of benefit shall be read as a reference to assignation, “assign” being construed accordingly; .
(b)the reference to a beneficiary’s bankruptcy shall be read as a reference to the sequestration of his estate or the appointment on his estate of a judicial factor under section 41 of the [1980 c. 46.] Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. .
(3)In calculating for the purposes of section 5 of the [1869 c. 62.] Debtors Act 1869 or section 4 of the [1882 c. 42.] Civil Imprisonment (Scotland) Act 1882 the means of any beneficiary, no account shall be taken of any increase of disablement benefit in respect of a child or of industrial death benefit.
Good luck.
I love your blog and have nominated you for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award”! I hope you accept. Here’s the link: http://stylishheath.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1168&action=edit
Dear Scriptonite,
I in no way want to diminish your work because I agree with it wholeheartedly and respect your incredible courage. Also I want to apologize in advance for this very lengthy comment and I won’t expect an immediate reply.
I just wanted to ask you for your opinion on certain lofty questions and issues that I hope won’t be too much of a pain or burden for you to consider, as they are complex and touch on psychological, sociological, philosophical and political issues..
Basically put, I think that, to a large extent, one’s politics is based on one’s identity and, in turn, one’s identity is informed by one’s background but also by one’s place in society (status) and also one’s overall personality type (sensitive, emotional, introspective/introverted or otherwise) and basic life experience (the good and the bad).
For much of my life I have been on the conservative side but that was mainly because I was afraid of not “fitting in” and being an “outcast”, stigmatized and even ostracized by many people, including people in positions of power such as employers etc but also because, for a time, I suffered from a deplorable superiority complex. Even at school I remember subscribing to a mobbish group mentality only so that I should not be the one who is bullied for being different.
In addition, in part but not only because of this inner conflict, I developed serious mental health problems which led to my current situation (claiming disability benefits) but I am the first to admit that the humbling experience of ending up in the “looney bin” and being in a relatively excluded group taught me a lot, not only about how society works, but also that “fitting in”, at least for some of us, is well-nigh impossible and that employers, who in my experience often take a dislike to independent-minded-looking people, never let you forget your place and your “scrounger” status.
Anyway, I’m writing this small biography only to point out that, in life, it is crucial to find one’s tribe, even from a pure survival standpoint; indeed my main reason for reading your blog is that I’m seeking like-minded people and am a little weary of putting on masks for fear of being stigmatized, which, for me at least, is almost a daily necessity and basically as part of an ethic of conforming for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary stress.
And the question is, I’m just curious about what kind of tribe, us Scriptonite Daily readers and left-thinking folk, “misfit” or not, we are and how this informs our views and how we can gain credibility with people outside the tribe? I mean, looking at it this way, Cameron, Osborn and co form a sociological tribe that is defined by the schools they attended, their financial resources and their general outlook on the world.
My concern is that, unlike them, we should, as a tribe, be transparent about our place in society and be honest with ourselves and why we hold our particular views and preferences. Like everyone, we are in part motivated by our own survival and that compels us to work together and share feedback for each other. This leads to the question, were we to have power, say if the Green Party ever got elected, would we lose our integrity, forced to play the dirty tricks of politics and influencing the public mind and seek to extent our power? Or are we more of an anarchist temperament and think that power corrupts and the only solution is to express power on a cooperative or even individual basis?
My point, in other words, is what kind of people are we? What makes us think like we do, what drives us and what our our motivations, and are these motivations in any way impure (as conformists would have us believe)? I personally don’t think that they are impure but how can we convince others outside of us that we don’t have an agenda apart from the good of most people? How can we shun the accusation of demagogy? Does society really work in terms of tribes and factions fighting each other? Is that an unchangeable fact of life (and nature)?
These are lofty questions I don’t expect any easy answers but I think that my questions are not irrelevant to your and our beliefs and values and, if anything, attempting to answer them and being honest with ourselves may actually help strengthen our case and our own beliefs. What to you think?
PS. Also, as a very quick aside, are you of the opinion, like me, that the new fashionable term “hipster” is actually a concealed hate-term for left-field people who aren’t subscribing to mainstream consumerist concerns?
Thank you for this. I’ll respond by email so as not to clog up the ‘About’ page 🙂
I would be very interested in reading your response to the questions raised in this very interesting comment. I dare I’m not the only one. Would you consider posting your response as an article instead of in the comments?
Decades ago, when living in London for the second time, I went to a lot of political meetings and gatherings, of tribes of varying political colours. After a while I decided that political orientation is based, for many people, on their personality. There is research on this, confirming it, out there somewhere. But the issue of power corrupting, and of the realities of governing within the current power system forcing nasty compromises, is a serious one. Interestingly, by the way, there is research showing that being in power changes testosterone levels. Upwards of course. So what other physical changes might occur that could affect aspects of personality and attitudes, one wonders.
Hi I also came across your site via the Woolwich article, and just added you to my blogroll. Although my site appears apolitical, I like to think its existence is a rupture to discourses about femininity, blackness and identity. I’m all about getting involved not angry! As such, I hope you appreciate the descriptor.
Thank you. Welcome to the blog and will definitely we over to have a look at yours 🙂
I have impolitely added you to my blogroll without asking first. I am pretty sure you’ll say yes. Have really enjoyed ready and sharing your stuff, found first by my husband i think.
Loved and reblogged the Woolwich article and have just reblogged the DWP article of a few days ago.
Bon courage!
Hi Scriptonite,
I came across your blog via facebook – I’ve read your article titled, ‘Woolwich and Terror: We Must Resist Having Our Enemies Constructed For Us’ (23/05/2013)
I found it very interesting, honest, in line with my own thinking and inspirational. Thank you for writing it and thank you to facebook for existing and thank you to the person who shared your link.I have also shared it on my own facebook profile page.
I also write a blog regarding my daughter’s alternative life to ‘school’ – she is home educated and this has been from birth. My blog simply covers everything about our two little lives joined together to create one huge one!
I would very much like to add your blog to our blog link section. But, first I would like your permission to do so as most of the blogs I have listed are related to home education. However, from what I’ve read here today in my opinion fits very well in to ‘home education’. I hope that makes sense!
Wishing you well with your writings. I shall indeed be a regular visitor to your page. I will start with reading your existing posts.
Thank you once again.
Kind Regards.
Hi Bexxie,
Thank you for such a lovely acknowledgement! Very much appreciated. It would be wonderful for you to link to the blog from your site. Thanks again for enjoying and sharing the blog 🙂
Your blog is now linked from my site – you’re welcome to check it out, which is displayed down the right hand side of my page. Thank you for your permission to do so 🙂
Here is my blog link: http://edu-tainment-at-your-fingertips.blogspot.co.uk/
Love the blog, your style of writing really inspires me! I’m only 16 but I’m passionate about writing about things that matter, would be much appreciated if you could have a look at my blog please? http://www.merlynt.blogspot.co.uk 🙂
[…] email the responses to the email on the ‘About’ page of this blog. Together we can discover the true extent of this crime, and use this […]
Is there a way to search through the archives? I am wondering if you have written about Assisted Voluntary Return schemes for refugees and asylum seekers who either have to leave or want to leave the UK. Or anything more general on UK immigration policies recently?
I think your work is brilliant by the way, especially your recent post on Nakba day.
Thank you! I’ve not covered those topics yet. If you go to main page you can flip through past posts or search by topic. Hope that helps!
how do i email you guys??
email is on the “about” page
“My basic question is: how do we make a world that works for everyone?” – My basic question is, why would we want to?
Also, who are “we”?
Your blog has been invaluable to me, over the last few months. The way you summarise the issues whilst including sources for wider reading is brilliant. You have worked so hard and save many of us a lot of searching for information and feelings of powerlessness. I have been focussing on changing myself and my own actions recently, trying to get rid of the hypocrisies of living within the system etc. Your blog has truly been one of the biggest motivators for me to continue. Thank you 🙂
Thanks for the piece on why public services cannot be run like businesses. There is something I’m missing tho and I wonder if you can explain it to me? If you, as a blogger and activist, can work out such a conclusion, then how come the government, with all of their education, knowledge, experience and information, come to a different conclusion? Is everybody in government, in every party, and all the junior ministers and employees of Whitehall, colluding in some plan to, a) make a handful of citizens rich; and b) degrade the standard of living of every voting citizen in Britain? I mean, if its so simple to explain, why are they getting it wrong? This is the question that bothers me most.
Many thanks
Tony
Thanks Tony. Excellent question. I think there are two most likely options…1) they believe their own fairytale as it justifies their own selfishness and excess while removing any obligation to support those less fortunate as it makes it ‘their fault’, or 2) They are deliberately transforming the economy and social structure to create a sort of neo-feudal scenario. I think both are actually as dangerous as the other as the ultimate end game, if unopposed, will be the latter anyway.
Thanks for your quick reply 🙂 When you say ‘they’ who do you mean? The government? And when you say ‘deliberately transforming the economy’ into a ‘neo-feudal scenario,’ do you mean there is a plan for a few people to disenfranchise everyone who doesn’t belong to a select group? How many people are in this select group of ‘they’? It sounds really worrying!
They = government, many in parliament, and a general international corporate class. And yes that’s the correct definition of what I was referring too. It is deeply worrying and why we need to get clued up and support mass protests
Maybe we should alert the media, the TV stations and newspapers, and get them to tell the masses what the government has in store for us. Then everyone would protest! Wouldn’t that be the best course of action?
Fair point Anonymous. My partner and I tried to get the BBC, the Independent and the Guardian to acknowledge the destruction of the NHS through the passing of ‘section 75’ through the house of lords. We’ve heard nothing back and given that facebook essentially censored this blog, we have to assume that they are being controlled or at least strongly influenced by the orchestrators of this travesty and many others.
The general apathy amongst the population is such that I don’t think many people would lift a finger. Do they put something in the water, do you think?
… and also work together to reduce our dependency on “them”. While we cannot live without them, they have total control.
“They” cannot live without us either Goldfish. They depend on our absorbing what they inform us on and believe it!
Personally I wouldn’t overestimate their knowledge – they filter out much that does not fit their world view. It is not that they are getting it wrong – it is right in their view. There is always a tendency I think for groups or classes in power to, even unconsciously, make sure that potential competition is kept down. Hence the lack of movement upwards between classes. They entrench themselves, look after their own, become more isolated within their own milieu and its accompanying ideology. But I do believe there are those among them who know full well what they are doing, and are carrying out their agenda callously and cynically, with every intention of taking society back to the pre-WW2 situation, or worse. And of course with modern surveillance techniques and today’s knowledge and skill in manipulating masses of people, it is not easy to counteract this. I live in an area of ordinary housing adjacent to a very wealthy area, so in one way or another come across the attitudes our rich neighbours have towards us middle and lower class folk. It comes as quite a shock, I can tell you. The nearest parallel I can think of is the worst view the white British had to the peoples whose countries they took over in the days of Empire. It is as though we are very inferior aliens of some kind, not who they want to have living not far away, or even to see. And these inferior people are just ordinary people with ordinary jobs. Lawyers, nurses, playrights, actors, van drivers, skilled tradespeople, teachers, web designers, and so-on. If those with money and power feel such a huge degree of separation from the rest of the population, they will find it easy to justify what they are doing.
Very interesting piece on the impact of Scottish oil on the economy. Thank you
[…] About […]
I’ve put a link to your blog from mine. Hope that’s ok.
More people should know what is going on There appears to be no Protests in the Hampshire/Dorset area’s unless you know different.?Enjoyed the read
Hi … What is your policy on reposting? We would like to post the “Myth of the Free Market” on Climate & Capitalism — with credit and a link to your site, of course.
Thanks very much for asking and more than happy for you to repost with a credit. Glad you got something from the post and great to see it being shared.
Hey there, just found this blog-looks v good indeed! Have just read your article “Capitalism’s top 1%” and thouguht you might like to take a look at this fella as he appears to be on similar lines to you in a philosophical sense. Some people don’t like his delivery which is fair enough, but I don’t think you can argue with the links that he makes (that are similar to your own).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P772Eb63qIY&list=PL70BDDF8810782C37
Either way, please keep up the good work, is great to see that people are finally seeing the truth behind our reality! I still find is strange that people think we no longer live under feudalism without an aristocracy. Well what’s a mortgage-do you actually own your house? As for the latter point, last time I checked our aristocracy still had all of their historical land and keep the profits. So much for getting rid of them…
Write it!
I have been asking the same question.How can We have a World that works for Everyone for a long time.Is it Possible?
I am white,straight and aged.I’ll have a cup of that coffee.
Fantastic! Welcome to the blog and hope you enjoy it. Wonderful to know there are other asking the same question…anything is possible 😉
P.S. That coffee was wonderful, but sadly is no more….