- This would likely not work in the Netherlands because of its utterly insane system of regulations that strangle people to death, for example the utterly bonkers Dutch address thing which functions like a noose. These regulations now also strangle each other as a result of which the country is grinding to a halt; formally left-wing political party D66 agrees with me on that (but it also wants age-related euthanasia for the over-75s so I detest this party – and Hans van Mierlo would surely be turning in his grave if he knew about this).
How Amnesty International describes the UK’s social security system below also largely applies to the Dutch system; according to an investigation by the Dutch National Ombudsman, only single parents are able to receive adequate financial support.
Amnesty International UK:
| Here are 3 things you should know about the UK’s social security system: |
| It isn’t enough to live on It punishes people for needing help It’s built to be hard to access |
| Our social security system should be a secure and stable foundation. But for too many people, that foundation is crumbling. Life’s challenges: a missed payday, your landlord raising your rent, getting ill, can quickly create a domino effect. One setback leads to another, making it harder to keep up with rent, stay healthy, or move forward in life. The reality is that people in the UK are facing unprecedented levels of poverty, homelessness and food insecurity. You can join Amnesty International on Thursday 8 May 2025 at 6.30pm, either in-person in Manchester or online to hear about Amnesty International UK’s new report, Social Insecurity. A panel of expert speakers, including people who have been affected directly, will discuss the following: |
| Why social security is a human right – not a political gift. Why – when that right is violated – it impacts so many of your other human rights.If the UK’s social security system meets international human rights standards. Why poverty is a political choice (Philip Alston has said that too) and what can be done about it |
How to access:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-devastating-human-rights-impact-of-social-security-failures-in-the-uk-tickets-1303976150769
About retaliation versus the lack thereof, as the UN did not crucify Alston (which by contrast national and local government does tend to do):
Human rights special rapporteur says UN’s refusal to accept responsibility for 2010 outbreak ‘makes a mockery’ of efforts to hold others to account“
Also posted by Amnesty International a few hours ago:
This is what I have said, among many other things:
In England, Labour is the new Conservative. A few years ago, I was able to attend a 1-on-1 online event for a fairly small audience which consisted of a young person talking with Keir Starmer. I was disgusted by what Starmer presented at the time, how he weasily simply said what he thought these young people wanted to hear, saying the opposite elsewhere, either before or just one or two days later. I am so immensely disappointed that my impression of him was spot on. I would have loved to have been really really wrong about him, but he is just another Tory. Then again, so was Tony Blair. (Gordon Brown is a very different story. I didn’t know a thing about him back then when he was PM, but I do now and I really like Brown.)
That said, I’ve never voted Labour. I voted LibDem until I got sick of them and when I first voted Green, I felt very strongly that I was finally doing the right thing. I was a member of the Greens for a year and did some leafleting for them. The local Greens unfortunately had little presence imo and largely just emulated the other local parties and campaigned on mostly the same issues. There is only one Caroline Lucas; we need more Carolines in the UK.
