P1119177 Vigil & LobbyWelfare reform vigil (Lo Res)
Vigil as House of Lords debates Welfare Reform Bill: London, 11.01.2012
Activists from the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2KT) and Single Mothers Self-Defence (SMSD) lobbied the House of Lords and held a vigil in Old Palace Yard opposite the Lords' Entrance on 11.01.2012 as the House of Lords gave its last reading and debate of the governement's Welfare Reform Bill and Benefit caps before it passes into law. The campaigners are extremely anxious about this bill which, if passed as is, will see hundreds of thousands of children, the sick and the disabled, plunged into inescapable poverty and homelessness from which many of them will never emerge.
The Welfare Reform Bill introduces Universal Credit to replace existing benefits including income-based Jobseeker's Allowance; income-related Employment and Support Allowance; Income Support; Housing Benefit; Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. The Bill also makes provision for the Personal Independence Payment which will replace the existing Disability Living Allowance for over-16s.
The Zacchaeus 2000 Trust specialises in helping vulnerable debtors to gain justice from unfair systems and campaigns on a wide range of issues surrounding poverty, and the Single Mothers Self-Defence is a network of single mothers campaigning against benefit cuts and policies forcing single mothers on benefits to take on unwaged work.
The protesters were joined by political artist Kaya Mar, who showed his latest painting which portrays Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip on their uppers in a poverty-stricken Britain. The Queen holds two magazines promoting her Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year which will cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds and will lose many more millions of lose work hours to the economy than did the one-day strike on Nov 30th 2011!
All photos © 2012 Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter or reblog my images without my written permission.
Hi-Res versions of these files are available for license on application. NUJ rates apply.
P1119177 Vigil & LobbyWelfare reform vigil (Lo Res)
Vigil as House of Lords debates Welfare Reform Bill: London, 11.01.2012
Activists from the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2KT) and Single Mothers Self-Defence (SMSD) lobbied the House of Lords and held a vigil in Old Palace Yard opposite the Lords' Entrance on 11.01.2012 as the House of Lords gave its last reading and debate of the governement's Welfare Reform Bill and Benefit caps before it passes into law. The campaigners are extremely anxious about this bill which, if passed as is, will see hundreds of thousands of children, the sick and the disabled, plunged into inescapable poverty and homelessness from which many of them will never emerge.
The Welfare Reform Bill introduces Universal Credit to replace existing benefits including income-based Jobseeker's Allowance; income-related Employment and Support Allowance; Income Support; Housing Benefit; Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. The Bill also makes provision for the Personal Independence Payment which will replace the existing Disability Living Allowance for over-16s.
The Zacchaeus 2000 Trust specialises in helping vulnerable debtors to gain justice from unfair systems and campaigns on a wide range of issues surrounding poverty, and the Single Mothers Self-Defence is a network of single mothers campaigning against benefit cuts and policies forcing single mothers on benefits to take on unwaged work.
The protesters were joined by political artist Kaya Mar, who showed his latest painting which portrays Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip on their uppers in a poverty-stricken Britain. The Queen holds two magazines promoting her Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year which will cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds and will lose many more millions of lose work hours to the economy than did the one-day strike on Nov 30th 2011!
All photos © 2012 Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter or reblog my images without my written permission.
Hi-Res versions of these files are available for license on application. NUJ rates apply.