A-Infos (en) Britain, March issue of Freedom* - March 2012 - CLAIMANTS FIGHTBACK

The recent occupation of Oxford Street in central London by a group of disabled, sick and 
elderly people, disability campaigners and anti-workfare activists was the latest protest 
against the introduction of the Welfare Reform bill currently passing through Parliament. 
The legislation seeks to impose benefits caps, mass health and disability testing 
programmes, workfare and the slashing of benefit for 20% of disabled people. ---- Groups 
are becoming more vocal, more visible and more organised in the fight against the 
victimisation and criminalisation of benefit claimants. Here we give a breakdown of some 
the groups involved: ---- • Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) formed after the 2010 
anti-austerity protests outside the Conservative Party Conference and has been at the 
forefront of the struggle against the Welfare Reform Bill since the beginning.

Recently, along with UK Uncut and others, they helped bring traffic in the West End to a 
standstill for two hours after wheelchairs users chained themselves together and blocked 
Oxford Street. More action has been promised.
Website: http://www.dpac.uk.net/

• Also increasingly active are the Black Triangle Anti-Defamation Campaign in Defence of 
Disability Rights, who attended at Oxford Street and been involved in organising against 
welfare cuts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool and Dundee.
Website: http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/

• Benefits Claimants Fightback began as a facebook group when the onslaught against 
claimants first began under Labour and aims to be a meeting place and online organising 
tool for all benefit claimants. A website of the same name attempts to keep track of 
action against benefit cuts at: http://benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/

• Boycott Workfare has organised actions and protests and is maintaining a register of 
organisations who refuse to support the government’s forced labour scheme. The next action 
is on 3rd March which has been called as a National Day of Action Against Workfare, with 
other resistance already planned in Liverpool and Brighton.
Website: http://www.boycottworkfare.org/

• Other regional groups include the Crutch Collective in Glasgow who will be continuing 
their hounding of the local Atos sharks with regular picket outside their offices. The 
long established Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty have organised countless protests and 
actions and have a wealth of information on their website at: 
http://edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/

• Winvisible (women with visible and invisible disabilities) and Single Mother’s 
Self-Defence have long been involved in supporting claimants and organised the recent 
series of lobbies and vigils outside the Lords where the debate was taking place, as well 
co-ordinating the joint letter to the BMJ and RCN expressing disgust at the activities of 
Atos Healthcare.
Website: http://www.winvisible.org/

Thanks to Johnny Void for the update: https://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/

Related articles:
National Day of Action Against Workfare 
http://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/2012/02/27/national-day-of-action-against-workfare-sat-3rd-march/
Organising Against Workfare
Who benefits from claimants? 
http://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/2011/07/03/who-benefits-from-claimants/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en