We can live without billionaires but not without bedrooms
Guest blog by Ellie Mae O'Hagan

What do we learn from the top ten names on the Sunday Times Rich List 2012? We learn that the richest people living in the UK are all men. We learn that their wealth is increasing. We learn that the vast majority of them made their money by selling us the basics we need to survive like property or energy, or simply the hazy process of moving money around – ‘investment’ as they call it.

We learn that not one of them, despite the billions of pounds they have between them and their opulent multiple homes, will be taxed for having too much. None of them will be told by the government ‘I’m sorry, but this country is in recession, and we need your money to help us get out of it.’ That conversation will be reserved for single mothers and people with disabilities.
 
The situation is now worse than the government freezing benefits, though that’s bad enough. Now they’re going after people’s homes. Make no mistake about it: the upcoming cap on housing benefit coupled with the bedroom tax will make people in this country, the fifth most prosperous in the world and residence of all those billionaires, homeless.  

What does one say about a government that enables this? Is it uncivilised? Is it incompetent? Is it cruel? Maybe some people reading this will think that it is none of those things. After all, they will think, we can’t take money from those billionaires to prevent the poor from having to leave their homes. If we do that, the billionaires will punish us by taking what little they give us away. Well, if that’s true, what does that say about the rich? It makes them sound like sociopaths. Are these billionaires, some of whom delight in calling themselves philanthropists, happy that the government depicts them in such a way?

When the government of a wealthy country is enacting policies that make people homeless, we can’t stand by and let them. We need to take action – a day of action, if you like. We need to bring these cuts home to the people making them. So let’s do that on April 13th. Let’s pay this wealthy government a visit. See you on the streets.

On 1st April, the government plans to introduce the bedroom tax, making 670,000 people worse off for the crime of having a spare room, even if it’s for a disabled partner or child, or foster children to sleep in. If that wasn’t bad enough, the cabinet of millionaire men will then add insult to injury by imposing a devastatingly low housing benefit cap, which will leave people unable to live in their homes and will lead to thousands of evictions.

Westminster Council expects to evict 5,000 families – and evictions are happening almost everywhere.

It’s time to ramp up the resistance to this brutal agenda. So on Saturday, 13th April, UK Uncut will be bringing the cuts home to millionaire misery-makers.

We will take the power of our creative civil disobedience straight to the people who are directly pushing and benefiting from these cuts.

We know that spending cuts are going to devastate people’s lives up and down the country. We know they are being pushed by politicians and powerful private interests who are hell-bent on making the poorest pay for a crisis caused by the banks. We know that people on benefits are not to blame, but they’re being targeted to distract people from the greed of banks and rich tax avoiders who are again being let off the hook.

People are beyond angry – they are outraged. We have already seen lots of protests around the country opposing these horrific cuts. But this government is pushing ahead with what it does best – punishing the poorest people while making the rich richer. We won’t stand for it – it’s time for civil disobedience around the country.

In London we will target a politician who has been a key architect of austerity – in the knowledge that his many spare bedrooms will be safe. In Sheffield a group is already thinking up plans to target one of the key players from big business who will benefit hugely from austerity.

So who is your local millionaire misery maker? Which architects of austerity are living in your neighbourhood? Who is pushing and benefitting from the cuts? It’s time to get planning your target and your action for Saturday 13th April. Across the country people will be taking our protests home to those responsible for the cuts. We’re thinking bed (blocks), bed time stories for the kids, pillows, removal vans, to make the creative direct action that we know works.

Now’s the time to get talking to your mates, pick your target, list an action on our website and, if you need any help, check out our actions page or drop us an email- ukuncut@gmail.com.

See you on the streets!

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