A similarly idiotic comment was made by John McDonnel, MP. He was commenting, during the debate on the Welfare Bill, on the outrage he felt that his constituents who are living on benefits will be forced to manage on a mere £23,000 tax free. “For my constituents, living on benefits is not a lifestyle choice. It is a necessity. I will swim in vomit to vote against this bill”
And just where is the Hon Member’s constituency, one wonders. Some former mining town in South Wales still reeling from the devastating pit closures thirty-odd years ago? A steel town in the north which has seen, since the plant closures, deprivation that knows no parallel in the civilised world? Perhaps his constituency is full of Teuchters who have not yet recovered from the Highland Clearances.
Er…think again. Mr McDonnel is the MP for Hayes and Harlington. Yes, Hayes and Harlington. You know the place. It includes within its boundaries, Heathrow airport, which, together with its dependent businesses, is probably the largest single site of employment in the country. Plentiful connections to Central London and westwards to Slough and the hi-tech towns of Bracknell and Reading with all the employment opportunities those places provide. Hayes and Harlington – a place where unemployment has fallen by 50% since 2010.
I hope Mr McDonnel’s suit was not too badly spoiled as he battled against the effluence to vote against the bill. Fortunately his efforts were in vain and a small reduction in the wonga that his constituents receive may encourage some of them (I believe there’s about 8,000 unemployed in his patch) to look at the plentiful opportunities that they have around them.