Disability benefit cuts - It is time to send a strong message to your local Conservative MP

Lets get a few facts straight. Contrary to what some think not all  Conservatives are completely callous individuals who have no cares about anything other than lining their pocket. The vast majority of Conservative voters do so because they believe the Tories will provide the most competemt stewardship of the UK economy. The vast majority do not believe that people who are disabled are scroungers or malingerers, whatever they think of people who are out of work. The vasy majority of Conservative voters are not millionaires, but are ordinary people who are just trying to get by.

This is massively important when considering the current proposals to cut disability benefits. The reason this is important is because Conservative MP's don't listen to loud left wing protestors and activists. They view them as a dog whistle pack, who will rally to any cause, no matter how ridiculous. The attitude of most Tory MP's is that if their local bunch of Labour activists oppose a proposal, it means that the Tories must by definition be correct.

In the London Borough of Barnet, we've organised a string of highly successful campaigns to reverse the policies of the local Conservative council. The most well known are the back down on abolition of Pay and Display, The back down on CPZ parking hikes and the reopening of Friern Barnet library.

All of these campaigns were won, not because the Tories listened to the arguments of local left wing activists. They buckled when they realised that their core Tory vote had deserted them. In the 2012 GLA election, Brian Coleman, then the incumbent Tory didn't  listen to his own core voters and got kicked out in spectacular style, seeing a 20,000 majority reversed.

The current proposals to cut DLA are equally unpopular. Last night on BBC QT, Tory minister Nicky Morgan showed the first signs that the Tories are waking up to the fact that kicking the disabled is a disasterous policy. This is demostrated by the latest opinion poll, tweeted this morning

1. Britain Elects ‏@britainelects 9h9 hours ago Yorkshire and The Humber, England

   Westminster voting intention: LAB: 34% (+4) CON: 33% (-4) UKIP: 16% (-) LDEM: 6% (-) (via YouGov)

This is the first poll I've seen that has put Labour neck and neck with the Tories and flies in the face of the press stories that Labour is unelectable under Jeremy Corbyn. Of course we are years away from a general election, but it shows just how unpopular the Tories are becoming. Even worse for them, George Osborne, who is likely to be Camerons succerssor (if Brexit is averted) is viewed as the architect of the DLA cut.

My advice to all of the Conservative voters who are reasonable and decent people, who don't support the DLA cut and think it is a cut too far. Write to your MP and tell them that youc an't support them if they vote for the cut. They are not stupid. The cut will save £1.9 billion. This is chickenfeed in the countries finances. The Tories were elected in 2010 claiming they'd have a bonfire of the Quangos, saving billions. They've gone very quiet on these jobs for the boys. Quangos cvost over £30 billion a year. It may be worh reminding your MP of that.

If you really are a committed Tory and you don't want to see a Labour revival, if I were you I'd get on the blower to your MP ASAP. When Gordon Brown replaced Blair, he orignally seemed invincible, but when the public decided they didn't like the cut of his jib, Labour were doomed. I suspect the same could happen to the Tories if they don't change tack.