Michael Lambert: Sadistic Bully Braverman Targets the Weakest

Nov 11, 2023 | As winter approaches, it is said that around 10,000 homeless people in this country are living on the streets and sleeping rough. I ask why it is, when we are so clever and so advanced, why it is that, despite being so we are unable to find a way of solving the problem of the homeless.

Similarly, it seems impossible to understand, looking at the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, how resolution of conflict cannot be solved other than with military force.

It seems so wrong that so many innocent children should have to suffer the consequences of war.

Earlier this week, King Charles, when opening Parliament, seemed to treat all that he was reading with contempt. He made it very clear that he has no time for the Sunak government or their programme.

Finally, both Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman appear to be making important decisions based, not upon the nation's interests but upon their personal political futures. I believe that Braverman's description of homelessness as a lifestyle choice was crass, insensitive and stupid and that in saying so, she may well have ruined any chances of becoming Tory leader.

Charities Criticise Suella Braverman for Claim Homelessness Is ‘Lifestyle Choice’

GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL: Crisis, St Mungo’s and other groups write to home secretary to say blaming people for being on the streets increases their risk of harm

Union Street, Birmingham. A letter to the home secretary from charities said homelessness is caused by poverty, which is caused by policy decisions. Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian
Homelessness charities have criticised the home secretary after she described sleeping rough as a “lifestyle choice”, sparking a widespread backlash.

Organisations including Crisis, Centrepoint, St Mungo’s and Pathway responded to Suella Braverman’s purported plans to crack down on the pitching of tents in urban areas, which she largely blamed on individuals “from abroad”.

A letter from the charities reads: “Sleeping on the street is not a lifestyle choice. Laying blame with people forced to sleep rough will only push people further away from help into poverty, putting them at risk of exploitation. At the extreme end, we will see an increase in deaths and fatalities, which are totally preventable.

“People sleeping rough frequently experience violence and abuse. The impact on their physical and mental health is significant. The average age of death for people experiencing homelessness is just 45 for men and 43 for women. This is not a life people choose.” » | Tom Ambrose | Sunday, November 5, 2023

Suella Braverman is a heartless, uncaring, unfeeling woman of privilege! She should be thoroughly and utterly ashamed of herself! That woman should be sacked! If Rishi Sunak had gonads, she would be – forthwith! Were I to be in Sunak’s position, she’d be gone!

These poor homeless people are living on the streets because they have fallen on very hard times, in large part, I would imagine, because of harsh, Tory policies of austerity which were introduced by those two ultra-privileged gits, Cameron and Osborne! They are the ones who started the welfare-slashing fest!

Had this prime minister anything about him, were he to have any political nous, he would devise a strategy to get these people off the streets by giving them a little start in life. That would be the compassionate thing to do, the Christian thing to do, the humane thing to do!

This Tory government is a disgrace. It needs to be kicked out of office! A.S.A.P. This is the very same government that is itching to slash taxes for the super-rich!

If God really does exist, it is to be hoped that the fires of Hell are already being stoked in preparation for these cruel, political fraudsters. – © Mark Alexander

Soaring Number of Rough Sleepers in London ‘Extremely Alarming’

THE GUARDIAN: GLA data reveals over 1,700 more people on the streets compared with last year amid cost of living crisis

Rough sleeping is soaring in London, with over 1,700 more people on the streets than last year – a 21% rise, according to figures from the Greater London Authority (GLA).

The increase from 8,329 people seen sleeping rough in 2021-22 to 10,053 in 2022-23 was described as “categorically terrible” by Rick Henderson, the chief executive of the Homeless Link frontline charity, and “extremely alarming” by Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Good God! The Tories have made a bloody mess of the United Kingdom! It’s an omnishambles! – © Mark Alexander

California Governor Declares Homeless Crisis ‘a Disgrace’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Vulnerable to the charge that the problem has exploded under Democratic rule, Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with legislators to take action.

SAN FRANCISCO — With tens of thousands of people living on the streets of California, the homelessness crisis has become the state’s defining issue. For Gov. Gavin Newsom, the emergency had become so dire that he devoted his entire State of the State address on Wednesday to the 150,000 Californians without homes.

“Let’s call it what it is: It’s a disgrace that the richest state in the richest nation, succeeding across so many sectors, is falling so far behind to properly house, heal and humanely treat so many of its own people,” Mr. Newsom told lawmakers in Sacramento. “Every day, the California dream is dimmed by the wrenching reality of families and children and seniors living unfed on a concrete bed.”

Vulnerable to the charge that the problem has exploded under Democratic rule in California, Mr. Newsom, a former mayor of San Francisco, pleaded with — and at times admonished — legislators to take action.

“The hard truth is for too long we’ve ignored this problem,” Mr. Newsom said. “We turned away.” » | Thomas Fuller | Wednesday, February 19, 2020