It’s been a bit of a week. I feel like I say that every week, but last week has been exceptional. I spent a day being photographed playing with Small Boy for a national poverty campaign, then a day cooking for the Telegraphs food writer and accompanying photographer, and three Council scrutiny meetings in the evening, and then a night interviewing fab socialist rhythm n blues band Thee Faction at the Railway Hotel. Then I got a Council Tax bill and am back down to earth with a thump, punching figures into my Excel spreadsheet and wondering what else I can cut back on. It was all going so well. And now, it isn’t.
But funnily enough, all of these things are connected. The Council Tax bill comes as the central Government budget for Council Tax Benefit is slashed by 10%. Ten percent probably doesn’t sound a lot to most people, but in real terms, it means that people who were previously exempted from paying Council Tax due to having a disability, being elderly, being poor, unemployed, or on low incomes – some of those people are now going to have a Council Tax bill through their letterboxes. People like me. I’ve taken it on the chin; having to find £160 a month plus £50 a month in backdated payments from some cock-up last year, means the first thing I’ve done is pull Small Boy out of nursery. The knock-on effect of this is that it is 1 o clock in the afternoon and I’ve got sod all work done, because I have a crying child hanging off my leg who wants to go to nursery.
“Sweetheart, go and play in your room for a little while, because Mummy has to work” quickly turned into “WILL YOU GO AND PLAY IN YOUR ROOM BECAUSE MUMMY HAS GOT WORK TO DO. AND IF MUMMY DOESN’T WORK, WE DON’T HAVE A HOME. AND WE DON’T HAVE FOOD. AND RIGHT NOW WE ONLY *JUST* HAVE A HOME AND WE ONLY *JUST* HAVE FOOD, SO WILL YOU *PLEASE* LEAVE ME ALONE FOR *TEN* MINUTES SO I CAN JUST *FINISH* WHAT I’M DOING?”
And thus, just before his third birthday, Small Boy learns a quick and bellowed lesson about economics, and the failure of the welfare state.
I wanted to write a happy column this week. Business has been going well, photos were selling down at the gallery, I had some orders for cross stitch pictures and some orders for cufflinks and the Excel spreadsheet upon which I do my household finances was looking good. And then BAM. One Council Tax bill and a follow-up phonecall later and the happy green numbers are angry red numbers, and I’m writing the apologetic email to the nursery saying that Small Boy will no longer be attending because I can’t afford the 30% top up on his fees that weren’t covered by Child and Working Tax Credits, and I won’t be able to afford them again for the foreseeable future.
I went to see Les Mis at the cinema a couple of weeks ago, a treat from a friend. I sat there through the two and a half hours wondering what on earth it will take for a revolution in this country. As I said the other night at the Railway; ‘we have a day of riots, and then it all dies down. A day of strikes, and then we all go back to work. Another march, and even before its over, they’re sweeping it all up and fixing the broken windows while the Police stand on guard outside Starbucks and Fortnum and Mason. Everything goes back to normal; only this isn’t normal. The demonization of the poor and the low-paid workers and the elderly and the disabled isn’t normal, but it’s accepted. So where’s the revolution?”
Jack Monroe. Twitter: @MsJackMonroe
Categories: Comment
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hi my hart goes out to you i wish you luck i sometime feel the same but some english lack the passion of the french we all should be out on streets haveing our say and showing our pain and hurt keep up the good work and keep fighing (((hugs)))
Hi. I saw the film last night and like you wished that the audience would rise up at the end of One More Day (the stirring end to the first act in the stage show AFAIR) and march off to the council offices. But as it doesn’t end that well for the revolutionaries, who are all really the bourgeois ‘schoolboys’ Javert accuses them of being, maybe we are all too scared of ending up on barricades in heaven to follow through on the surge of emotion it provokes.
Thinking about it though the musical doesn’t really deal with the rich and their iniquities, more the poor turning on each other, either when like Javert and the soldiers they enforce the state, or when the factory girls jealously condemn a woman for having an illegitamite child, or the bartender and his wife, steal from their patrons. Those two did remind me a bit of the David and George show, where David/Madame distracts us with gay marriage/dangerous Libyan jaunts/EU referendum (Dave’s obvious cleavage if you will!) while George dips into our pockets like monsieur – anyone else expecting the looking in the mirror tax bill to be announced any day now!
The message that the rich maintain the status quo whilst turning us all on each other (closed morning curtain speech anyone!) is a parallel we can draw and maybe our barricade building/marching will start when/if we ever realise the smoke and mirrors trick the Toryniers are pulling off!
First time I have posted on a blog Jack, really admire yours and am so relieved to see people are keeping the real facts about the current cuts in the public eye.
I loved reading this! And Thankyou for your comment, I was thinking of doing a Les Mis/coalition comparison in more detail, so I’ll start from here!
Thanks! I’m looking forward to reading that – was just thinking this is just one more of the many times in the last two and a half years I have wished for a new series of Spitting Image (I know this was probably way before your time!) they would have done such a good sketch about this. Sure you will be able to express it equally brilliantly!
Do you know what annoys me about this country, they will take off people like us, honest, hardworking folk. And give to others, who have no right to be here. Like you we are facing the pinch. I have a disabled husband, despite a horrible disabilty which can only get worse not better. He still works, he is a grafter and he loves his job so much, he often will stay back if he can. We are about to lose our benefits. Which is shocking as we boh work in good jobs, But I am facing losing my job thanks to overspending. But we will battle on!
Will you be remembering the 5th novermber in London, i’m urging more and more people to walk the walk. Maybe this time it will get noticed
You hang in there cookie, you’ve always made it through the tough times and you have always come out alright.
I’m hanging in, thanks lovely. And yes I’ll be walking the walk this year. X
hiya in the nursery my lil one attends the get 10hrs a week funded place offered through surestart link worker if you recieve certain benefits or earn less than 16000 a year. Do you not have a similar scheme near to you? i know its only ten hrs until they turn three and then you get 15hrs but ten hrs may help you get some work done childfree. hope you find a way through.
Hi Dawn, I don’t qualify for the 2 year old funding but will qualify for the 3 year old funding soon so hopefully that will help!
i qualify for the three year funding come september, i will be better off when this day arrives too. Shame you dont qualify for two year old funding it always seems to miss the people it was put in place to help.