This week I began a series of articles in response to Sir Philip Alstons visit to the UK next month, to investigate the UN’s 80+ concerns about Poverty and Disability abuses in the UK here

Sir Philip’s visit is an opportunity to peel back the facade of what the UK claims to do and what is really happening in the real world in the UK.

It is an opportunity for the UN to reinforce the need for the The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to be fully incorporated into UK law. The UK Government recognises the CRPD as International Law but cherry picks which bits it wants to incorporate into UK Law.

Beneath the surface of the fake news and “Government Initiatives” our rights under the CRPD are being abused as are those living in poverty.

Access to financial support with or without a disability is patchy at best and there is no equality of support and services between conditions.

The proposed Liberty Protection Safeguard and the new BMA guidance being circulated to some members about dehydrating, starving and sedating people to their deaths, but for which there will be no public consultation

The cynical side of me feels that the Recent Global Disability and Mental Health Summits and the coming interim announcement for the Long Term NHS plan which just happens to be being published just as Sir Philip Alston visits the UK, are just a smokescreen to deflect from what is really going on.

Peel back the surface and you will find more barriers than could be found in Paris during the French Revolution.

The ever increasing number and size of forms to access entitlements, the inhospitable assessments carried out by persons who may not have enough knowledge of the conditions they are assessing, who write assessments that bear no resemblance to the person they are assessing and the 1930’s attitudes of the media and society where the young shouldn’t pay for the old, those in poverty and the disabled are a drain on society…

The private companies paid to do what NHS staff are more than capable of doing, which can only benefit the fat cat pay, shareholders and profits of these companies instead of using that money for the benefit of people and the NHS.

The privatisation of the NHS is not a new phenomenon, under Margaret Thatcher, “Care in the Community” led to the selling off of council run care homes and institutions, new Labour introduced a more hostile benefits system with things like the Work Capability Assessments and outsourcing Benefit Assessments, public property is now run for profit.

While prices rise and the number of billionaires grow, more people live in poverty or experience discrimination.

The Disabled, LBGT and BAME communities all experience the abuse of their rights.

The 20th Century could be seen as a time of fighting against injustice, inequality and rights abuses.

The 21st Century appears to be a hostile war led by politicians, media and society against, justice, equality and rights.

Is this really the 21st Century Britain we all want.