Yesterday, my dear friend Bernadette Horton set up a Funding page to help with me getting my powered wheelchair (the picture above is me testing it out yesterday). Whilst I was not aware that she was going to do this, I am deeply grateful to her for this lovely gesture and for the work she’s put in already. I feel extremely lucky to have a friend like Bernadette.

I’m aware that a couple of questions have already been put to Bernadette, and I wanted to answer them as best I could.

For those of you may be unaware, I have a number of conditions which affect my mobility.

I was born with Spastic Diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects my lower legs, and basically means that the muscles are consistently tense and tight. I have had several operations since I was 3 years old, one both legs as well as both knees to correct an issue with my kneecaps dislocating. These have, sadly, been unsuccessful, and my right knee has dislocated twice in the last fortnight, and over 30 times since I was a teenager. 

I also have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), an incurable form of chronic pain which started by affecting both my legs, but which is also affecting my left shoulder as well. It’s extremely painful on my worst days, and a constant distracting companion on it’s more restful times. 

Lastly, I have rheumatoid arthritis in both knees, which adds to the issues above. These mean that every step I take can be excruciatingly painful, and leads to fatigue, nausea and, occasionally, depression and other side affects.

I have always been aware that my legs would worsen – I was told that as a child by a Consultant – but I have always been determined to work around any ‘limitations’ that my legs may cause. I am determined that nothing will stop the work I am determined to do, both locally and further afield, for residents who need help. 

Some people have asked whether I can get assistance from my local wheelchair services, or from Access to Work. I will be speaking with the former tomorrow (Monday 22^nd August) to discuss options. As for Access to Work, my employer, Kate Green, Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston, is in the process of speaking with them to see what is available. I have had some assistance from A2W previously – office furniture and other aids to help with my work – but it’s worth asking the question. I will keep you all up to date with any forthcoming info. 

In the meantime, thank you all so very much for your amazing generosity. I’m truly humbled by the generosity already displayed from friends, colleagues and well wishers, and will do everything I can to repay your kind gestures. It means the world to me.

The GoGetFunding page can be found at:

https://gogetfunding.com/labour4wayne-waynes-powered-wheelchair-fund/. 

If you have any questions please contact me on wblackburn@outlook.com or by visiting my Facebook page.

Well, what a year 2015 has been - a year of change doesn’t even begin to cover it.  My life is so different in huge ways compared to 12 months ago, and it’s been, largely, a great year.  I’m looking forward to seeing what 2016 has in store.

January started with my new job as part time Caseworker for Kate Green​, working with Tom​, Andy, and Cat in Kate’s constituency office in Urmston.  It’s been a big learning curve and I’m still learning a lot, but I’ve loved every single minute of it and I’m very grateful for the opportunity.  I’m looking forward to 2016 in Kate’s new office.  I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone.

In May I was elected as Borough Councillor for Clover Hill, which is a tremendous privilege and I’m honoured to represent the people of Nelson.  I hope to be doing a lot more in the area in 2016, so if any residents have ideas and projects, or want to raise any problems or issues in the area with me, then please do not hesitate to contact me.  My contact details are available here.  I can also be contacted on Facebook and Twitter, as well as by sending me a message on Tumblr (see the top right of your screen for where to click).

I’m also happy to have been made Disability and Mental Health Champion for Pendle Council​ and I’ll be working with Officers and other Councillors to work on the points agreed at the last meeting, and if anyone has anything they want to raise then please do not hesitate to contact me.

I’m also hugely grateful to my Pendle Labour​ friends and colleagues, especially Yvonne​ and Russell Tennant​, Mohammed Iqbal​, Mark Porter, all the Labour Councillors and Officers from Pendle Labour Party.  Being CLP Secretary is a huge challenge and a lot more work than I had expected but it’s a challenge I’m relishing.  I’ve got ideas and plans I’ll be bringing forward in the New Year, and I look forward to discussing them with you all.

I’m also looking forward to rebalancing things a bit in 2016 and finding a little more time to myself.  I’d started archery in the summer and was enjoying immensely, but things got swamped with one thing and another, so I’m determined to get back to that in January at Phoenix Archery in Burnley. I’m also going to try and have a little more time to go to the movies - I guess you could say that the new Star Wars movie has, ahem, awoken something inside me (sorry!) - and maybe, even, a little gaming would be nice.  Yes, I’m still a geek!

I also have one other target for 2016.  It’s time I addressed my weight issues - not an easy thing for anyone to talk about but it’s a fact and I can’t hide from it.  Given that I find it difficult and painful to exercise, it’s not going to be an easy task, but I’ve proven this year that I can take on challenges that lay ahead of me, so this is my next one.  Time to curb my sugar addiction, stop comfort eating, and try to lose the weight.

So, I’ve enjoyed some time off over this Christmas and New Year, but come Saturday it’s back to work for me.  So, to all, my lovely family, my friends whom I cherish, and colleagues who I’m proud to work with, I wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year.  I hope 2016 is your year in whatever endeavours may be ahead of you.

As many of you are no doubt aware, New Approach’s very own Bolshie Bear, Jane Bence, has decided to step away from the campaign for a while and take some time for her and her family.

Jane has been a driving force behind the New Approach campaign, as she was with the WOW Petition before it.  Without her passion and commitment to making the lives of disabled people better for all, I strongly believe both campaigns would not have been where they are today.  She has been a leading voice behind the scenes since I became involved in campaigning, and has been a true source of inspiration for me.

I would like to put on record my enormous gratitude and upmost respect for a lady who has been sorely overlooked by many in the community.  I wish her every happiness and success in the future, and hope it’s not too long before we see the Bolshie Bear back on social media and elsewhere.

Wayne Blackburn

Original post can be seen here.

As you will no doubt be aware, I blogged my open letter to Mr. Cooney last Thursday. It is important to note that Mr. Cooney replied late on Thursday evening and, in the interests of balance and fairness, he has agreed to let me share his reply with you all.

Firstly apologies for not replying sooner it’s been a rather hectic day.

I’ve read your letter and firstly can I say it absolutely wasn’t directed at you, until I read your letter I didn’t know you had been out and about with the local Labour Party.

If it has caused you any personal offence I sincerely apologise.

The origin of the tweet came from a general discussion I’d had earlier in the day.

While our politics may be different I’m not in the business of personally attacking people, especially someone that is prepared to get involved in local issues.

Again if you felt my tweet was directed at you please accept my sincere apology.

I am grateful to Mr. Cooney for his prompt reply. I maintain my position that the tweet was ill judged and uncalled for, regardless of whether it was aimed at myself or not, but I appreciate his response.

Note:  Joe Cooney is a Conservative Party Councillor and Leader of Pendle Borough Council.

Dear Mr Cooney,

On May 21st, 2015 you tweeted the following to your 1,547 followers on Twitter:

At first glance, some might say that it was a reasonably innocuous tweet, although obviously politically motivated.  I find it something more.  In fact, I find it distasteful and insulting.

Allow me to explain why.

Your tweet doesn’t name anyone, but the accusation you have made is quite serious.  You have accused this person of being dishonest about their health condition, despite the fact that you have no knowledge of their condition or the effects that anything they do has on them.  You also mention that this person is “able to actively campaign for a political party” but say nothing about how they were politically active.  When I challenged you on Twitter, you replied the following:

So we’ve narrowed this person’s actions to “knocking on doors”, and this is why I believe that you are actually referring to myself.  On Monday, Pendle Labour Party were joined by Graham Jones, MP for Haslingden and Hyndburn, and Jonathan Ashworth, MP for Leicester South, as campaigning for the Local and European elections on Thursday continued.  As part of their visit, it was asked that Labour supporters join the team for canvassing and a picture being taken, which was this one (I’m second on the left, in between Graham Jones and Pendle Labour Parliamentary Candidate Azhar Ali - you may be able to see me using my walking stick):

So how much canvassing was I able to do?  None is the answer.  Not a single door was knocked on by me, nor did I accompany anyone to a door.  I walked a very short distance from my car, stopping several times as I did so, then was promptly sent home by the team after this picture was taken because they were concerned for my health.  I was with them, perhaps, 10 minutes in total, and spent the rest of the day at home resting and recovering.

What annoys me most about your tweet, and why I’ve been so keen to point it out, is that you have absolutely no idea what a person dealing with a condition goes through in order to do something like this.  Even if it isn’t a tweet about me, what gives you the right to judge that “knocking on doors” equates to being able to work?  Are you medically qualified to be able to make that judgement?

As you are very well aware from discussions we’ve personally had previously, I would dearly love to be in a position to work.  It’s something I’m working towards, despite the barriers my condition is currently putting in my way.  In fact, you were not so concerned about me campaigning about disability issues when I was discussing them with you in the past, were you?

Ill and disabled people have a right to be involved in all aspects of the political process, from simply supporting their chosen Party to campaigning for them and, of course, being able to stand as a candidate.  That’s something I aspire to, and for someone in your position to tweet something like this is extremely disappointing.  It is insulting not just to myself but to other disabled people who wish to be a part of politics, as have been shown by the subsequent replies you’ve had.

At a time when political engagement is at such a low ebb, shown by the turnout from yesterday’s elections, I would have thought that any engagement in political matters should be encouraged, not demeaned in this way.  It is for that reason that I will submitting this open letter as part of a complaint to Pendle Borough Council as well as passing on my concerns to the Elections Ombudsman for their consideration.

There is absolutely no place for tweets like this in politics, and I am extremely disappointed that you, as someone in a position of leadership, as well as someone I’ve considered genuine in previous discussions personally, would tweet this.  I hope that by me publishing this letter publicly you will consider your actions carefully and understand the hurt and anger it has caused.

Yours sincerely,

Wayne Blackburn

As many of you already no doubt are aware, Maria Miller, Conservative MP and Culture Secretary, was today slapped rather tamely on the wrist, ordered to apologise and repay £5,800 after being found to have overclaimed the money on her mortgage in 2009.  Despite a hugely critical report by Kathryn Hudson, Standards Commissioner, Ms. Miller is still in her job and in the Cabinet.

Needless to say, I think the decision is ridiculous and Maria Miller, at the very least, should be resigning immediately from both the Cabinet and Parliament.  But what really astounds me is that the decision was made by a group of her peers - ie. other MPs who sit on the House of Commons Committee on Standards, and not an independent body or the Police.  It’s frankly ludicrous that this group was allowed to decide on this matter.  So it got me wondering, who exactly sat on this Committee?

Well, thanks to this document (Page 5) I can tell you that the current membership of the Committee is as follows:

For some reason that I cannot explain, the list set off some alarms bells in the deep recesses of my brain.  Whether is was something I’d read during the expenses scandal, or something more recent, I’m not sure, but a couple of the names jumped out at me.  So, at a little after midnight this evening, I decided to do a little Googling and see what I could find on these members of the “Standards Committee”.

And I was astounded at what I found.  Let’s go through them one by one, shall we?

Rt Hon Kevin Barron MP (Chair)

Mr Barron claimed £1500 a month to rent from a colleague, as reported by the Telegraph here.  This is the man who sits as CHAIR of the Standards Committee, and yet is found to be doing this.

Sir Paul Beresford MP

Sir Paul, one of the most influential dentists in the country, designated his West London home, which included his surgery, as his second home on his parliamentary expenses.  He claimed thousands on this “second home” according to the Telegraph here.

Mr Robert Buckland MP

Mr Buckland was elected to the House of Commons in 2010.  This, of course, means he was not part of the expenses scandal that we all saw in 2009.  He has, however, been criticised for claiming energy bills on expenses (see the comments at the bottom for details of his claim).

Mr Christopher Chope MP

Well, where to start?  Mr Chope not only claimed over £800 to strip down and recover a sofa, he also claimed £10,000 to re-roof a property owned jointly with his wife.  He claimed £136,992 in 2007/08. The report is here.  And he sits on the Standards Committee??

Rt Hon Mr Tom Clarke MP

Mr Clarke designated the Sloane Club in Chelsea as second home, and claimed about £1,500 a month while in London. Claimed £400 a month for food, according to the Telegraph.

Mr Geoffrey Cox MP

Whilst Mr Cox has been quite open and transparent regarding his expenses claims, questions have been raised about the amount of money Mr Cox earns from his second job.

Sir Nick Harvey MP

Sir Nicholas Barton Harvey claimed money for renting a property in London whilst also renting out his own property, as the Huffington Post revealed here.  He also, shamefully, accepted £7.20 in expenses for attending a Rememberance Sunday parade.

Fiona O'Donnell MP

In 2010 Ms. O'Donnell had to defend expenses that were the highest in Scotland, with over £14,500 in a three-and-a-half month period.  She was elected in 2010.

Heather Wheeler MP

Mrs Wheeler was elected in 2010.  She was criticised over claiming energy bills last year.

Dr Alan Whitehead MP

Dr Whitehead claimed mortgage interest payments of up to £730 per month on his second home in London. Also claimed £1,942.98 for a replacement boiler according to the Telegraph.

Annette Brooke MP

Mrs Brooke has been criticised in her local press for having the highest expenses claims in Dorset.  She also claimed expenses for fizzy drinks and chocolates, despite leading a fight against obesity.

So, despite a couple of notable exceptions, all of the so-called House of Commons Committee on Standards have previously had their own issues with expenses and parliamentary standards.  Not exactly the impartial group you’d want to be conducting this sort of investigation into one of their peers, is it?  And it’s also noteworthy that over half the Committee are Coalition members, who I have absolutely no doubt will have wanted to support their colleague.

It’s simply not good enough, and there are definite questions that need to be answered here.  

Not least being why the hell is the Committee on Standards made up of people who have fallen so badly foul themselves of the rules on standards themselves?

Dear Mr. Miliband,

I write today with a real sense of sadness, following the Parliamentary Party’s decision to support the so-called “Welfare Cap” put forward by this Government in the Budget on 19^th March, 2014.

I joined the Labour Party last September, following the pledges at the Party Conference that the Labour Party would abolish the Bedroom Tax and sack Atos from the Work Capability Assessment. I had considered these measures particularly important due to the misery and hardship they have been causing – in no small part to my own family. The decision to join was not an easy one, indeed I had struggled with it for several months before I finally felt I could “take the plunge”. I felt, however, that I could now believe that the Labour Party had “turned a corner” on social security and were willing to stand up for claimants where they hadn’t done in the past.

Today, I am questioning whether I made the correct decision.

I believe very strongly in Social Security – I hate the term “welfare” - and the “safety net” it provides to millions of people. As a disabled man who has struggled over the past few years, I am immensely grateful to that safety net, without which I, and my wife, would not have survived. That safety net, however, is being steadily eroded by this Coalition and those of us who have to live with it are being demonised by the daily rhetoric coming from politicians from all parties.

The “welfare cap” can only add to this erosion of the safety net and increase the demonisation of claimants. Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, has already stated that it will push low income families into poverty, saying, “Capping only the few benefits selected by ministers means it will be the poor, sick and disabled who face having their support cut… A cap which deliberately targets support for the working poor and has little room for manoeuvre could put even greater pressure on low income families.” She, of course, is not the only person voicing concern. Save The Children believe the cap will push 345,000 children into poverty in four years. Is that really something the Labour party should be supporting?

What Labour should be doing is leading the conversation on social security, not allowing the Conservatives to dictate the debate and us fall into their traps. We should be pointing out the facts on social security instead of being afraid of the name calling from Osborne and Cameron. Diane Abbott – who was one of the 13 Labour members who proudly voted against the cap last week – listed the following on her blog:

“The public thinks that 41% of the benefits bill goes to the unemployed. In fact, it is only 3% of the benefits bill. The public thinks that 27% of benefits are claimed fraudulently. In fact, only 0.7% is so claimed. The truth is that 80% of the people who claim jobseekers allowance—those so-called “Benefits Street” layabouts—only claim it for less than a year.”

The misconceptions surrounding social security need to be challenged, and Labour could lead the way on this. The website In Actual Fact is a fantastic resource for sample facts against the current rhetoric, and one I would highly recommend. Labour can do much more in tackling these misconceptions, and I believe very strongly Mr. Miliband that you could lead the way in this battle.

Ms. Abbott went on to say, “This benefits cap is arbitrary and bears no relationship to need, as our benefits system should. It does not allow for changing circumstances—rents going up and population rising—and will make inequality harder to tackle.” I could not agree with her more. And George Osborne has already proved that the cap is a disaster waiting to happen, by being on course to spend £13 billion more on social security than he had originally planned. Surely that just goes to show how unworkable a policy this really is?

I had a Twitter “conversation” with John McTernan in the last few days, who stated to me that “Tougher on welfare is where Labour voters want us to be.” Perhaps it is, but is that really surprising given the public’s misconceptions surrounding social security? Once again, we must show the reality to the public, not the lies and misinformation being pushed by the Coalition.

I joined Labour because I wanted to make a difference, and I still do. Despite my health problems I have ambitions to go into politics at local and national level, but to do so I will not change my views and I certainly will not go silent over these issues. With the rise of Left Unity – a group I am watching with great interest – the voices of those on the “Left” are, thankfully, increasing, and I intend to be one of those voices. I truly hope that those voices on the Left can continue to be heard within Labour – the last thing this Party needs is a return to “New Labour”.

Yours sincerely,

Wayne Blackburn

After 15 months of campaigning, and the success of the online e-petition getting over 100,000 signatures, the WOW (War on Welfare) Petition is heading to the Main Chamber of the House of Commons on Thursday 27th February, 2014.

The debate, which is scheduled to start at 11.30am and is graciously being presented on behalf of the campaign by John Mcdonnell MP, is looking at “Effects of welfare reform on sick and disabled people” and will follow Business Questions.  The timetable can be seen here.

If you wish to get involved, there will be a gathering outside the Houses Of Parliament at 10.30 to show support for ill and disabled people and to let politicians know how important this debate is.  If you’re able to join us we’d love to see you.

If you’re not able to get down to London, you can follow the debate in the following ways:

On Parliament TV:  http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Live.aspx

BBC Parliament:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/bbcparliament/live

You can also follow the debate on Twitter by following https://twitter.com/WOWpetition and using the hashtag #WOWdebate2014, where we’ll be doing our best to keep you up to date with any developments.

And, if you’re unable to follow us, I’ll be updating afterwards on the days’ events.

And finally, if you’re wondering what the WOW Petition is all about, here’s an analysis of the petition from the WOW Petition blog.

Thankyou for your support so far and we’ll see you on Thursday!