These are private matters, we have been told over the past 10 days, as the men running the world have been put under scrutiny to explain how their private finances might interlink with our public services, social goods and, ultimately, our private matters. The Panama Papers have exposed the private dealings of the elites and their love of offshore tax havens. Since then, as calls grow for more transparency in political and corporate life, there has been a conveyor belt of Tory MPs and business leaders indignantly, and often with very red faces, denouncing the idea that the great unwashed may have a right to know who is using them.
As a working-class woman, watching their anguish has been amusing. I have laughed as I have watched them standing outside Westminster being questioned about their private affairs. Well it’s a bloody good job they weren’t born working-class women. Having grown up and lived on a council estate most of my life, I have been part of many conversations about making ends meet and getting by. Getting by comes in different forms, from knowing where you can buy the cheapest chicken to how to handle the many government agencies you may have to deal with. As a poor working-class woman it is important to know what to say in answer to certain questions – answering wrongly can have harsh consequences. There is no such thing as a “private matter” when dealing with the welfare system.
When I was small, my mum asked for financial support from what was then National Assistance after my grandparents died. She was the sole carer for her younger brother and sister as well as me. When the adviser asked her if she had anything she could sell, my mother wrongly answered “yes” and so the help she received was a suggestion that she could sell her clothes and records first. Full story...
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As a working-class woman, watching their anguish has been amusing. I have laughed as I have watched them standing outside Westminster being questioned about their private affairs. Well it’s a bloody good job they weren’t born working-class women. Having grown up and lived on a council estate most of my life, I have been part of many conversations about making ends meet and getting by. Getting by comes in different forms, from knowing where you can buy the cheapest chicken to how to handle the many government agencies you may have to deal with. As a poor working-class woman it is important to know what to say in answer to certain questions – answering wrongly can have harsh consequences. There is no such thing as a “private matter” when dealing with the welfare system.
When I was small, my mum asked for financial support from what was then National Assistance after my grandparents died. She was the sole carer for her younger brother and sister as well as me. When the adviser asked her if she had anything she could sell, my mother wrongly answered “yes” and so the help she received was a suggestion that she could sell her clothes and records first. Full story...
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