Shame that the current Tory leadership hopefuls aren't like abstinent George!

Mind you, listening to Cameron blathering on would drive anyone to ..... I love the soundtrack. One of my favourites. 

Keep Osbourne's thieving hands off our Pensions! Sign the UNISON Petition

At the same time as Tory Chancellor George Osbourne, is trying to steal jobs from steel workers, benefits from the disabled, tax credits from the working poor and homes owned by Councils, he is also trying to plunder the local government pension scheme (LGPS).

The government is seeking powers to direct Council pension funds to pay into their pet infrastructure investment schemes and even interfere in the day to day running of the £180 billion funds and make them only invest in accordance to the current UK Government's foreign policy.

Ironic for someone who claims to be a small state Conservative and is refusing to nationalise the UK steel works because he believes in "free markets" and that the government shouldn't own anything.

It may be that the local government pension funds should invest more in infrastructure but they should be the ones making that investment decision after receiving proper advice, since they will have to carry the can if it all goes wrong. There is no "Crown Promise" nor even the tender mercies of the Pension Protection Fund for these schemes if they make the wrong investments decisions and go belly up.

British foreign policy is also notorious for recognising and supporting nasty, corrupt, totalitarian regimes but putting aside any ethical issues for the moment, that doesn't mean that these countries are suitable investment choices for council pensions funds to put their members' money into. Such regimes are often economic basket cases and not safe for pensions..  
 
Since there has been no debate in Parliament on this "nationalisation" UNISON is encouraging its members to sign this Parliamentary Petition https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125475 (see below) to get a debate in the House on this matter.

5 million people rely on the LGPS to pay their pensions. Government wants powers over LGPS investment funds, but they could gamble away members’ money on infrastructure projects. This is not allowed in any other UK scheme, including the MPs'. The LGPS must be invested in members’ best interests.

Parliament must debate this issue and make the government accountable for these powers of intervention as any such direction may breach the law. Specifically Article 18 paragraph 3 of the EU Directive 41/2003 Institutions for Occupational Retire Provision: “Member States shall not require institutions located in their territory to invest in particular categories of assets.”

Sign this petition

"Dealing with debt", Osborne-style

Can someone please tell me just why the Tories have this reputation for economic competency? Hat tip Joel from Debt Resistance.

Why George Osborne is a bloody communist

It is very ironic that the Chancellor, George Osborne, is described as a Conservative "ideologically committed to cutting the state". 

Yet he has overseen almost unprecedented nationalisation and the expansion of "Big Government" since the Tory victory in May.

Let us examine the evidence that Osborne is in fact yet another rich, old Etonian, forgotten KGB "sleeper" agent. 

• He has announced the nationalisation of the £200 billion Local Government Pension Scheme. Forcing councils to merge its 89 independent and locally run funds into 6 huge funds, regulated by Government appointees. He justifies this merger in order to direct the funds in invest in UK infrastructure projects. No doubt a 5 year plan and tractor productions targets will soon be set.

• He has privatised the assets and debts of UK Housing Associations and charities putting an extra £60 billion of debt, previously held in the private sector, onto the public sector balance sheet. This has hugely increased the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (PSBR).

• As well as instructing associations to cut most of their rents for the poor but double them for those who earn less than average earning(Kulaks?), he has nationalised the private housing stock of associations, forcing them to sell properties to tenants and redistribute wealth via a discount paid for by the nationalisation and forced sale of Council homes.

• He has allowed British steel production to collapse and let companies owned and run by his chums in the Chinese Red Army to supply us with cheap "dumped" steel.

• Only French and German state nationalised industries are allowed to own and run our railways,  water utilities and power companies.

• He is interfering in the market by increasing the minimum wage and levying Business to pay for apprenticeships

• As a typical Stalinist, he is planning to outlaw strikes and ban independent trade unions, as well as cutting off funding for rival political parties.

So I think the evidence is clear and compelling. MI5 should put aside the old school ties and step in and do their duty.

Letter to the "Workers Party" on the theft of Workers Tax Credits

Picture is from this mornings programme on the BBC "Andrew Marr" Show where I saw a confident Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, pretty much destroy Tory Education Minister, Nicky Morgan, rather desperate attempts to justify the Government's proposals to rob £1000's from hardworking British "Strivers".

He knew that Nicky was genuinely embarrassed at the prospect of hundreds of thousands of low paid school staff - teaching assistants, admin, cooks and cleaners having a huge cut in their income at a time that the Tories are giving massive tax breaks to millionaires.

This is the letter that John has sent to Gideon:- 

"Dear George,

It has only been three months since the Summer Budget when you chose to break the promise that David Cameron made to the British people during the election – that the Tories would not touch tax credits.

We now know that you plan to cut £1,300 from over 3 million families who are in work and doing all they can to pay the bills and get to the end of each month.

Last week you said that you were “comfortable” with this decision, and David Cameron said he was “delighted”, but the British people will not be happy that you are breaking the promise David Cameron gave to them during the election campaign and that working families are having their tax credits cut to pay for tax giveaways to a few wealthy individuals.

Now, you, me and everyone else in Westminster knows that you will have to u-turn on this issue. However, you need to do it in full. It can’t be a fudge. Not some partial reversal that scores cheap headlines, yet leaves people still worse off or lands another burden on middle and low earners or the poorest in our society. You need to drop this policy completely.

I know first-hand that for politicians the fallout from changing policy can be tough. But sometimes you have to be big enough to admit you got it wrong and do the right thing.

So I am appealing to you to put the interests of these 3 million families ahead of any concerns you may have about losing face and ahead of petty party politics. If you do, I promise you personally and publicly that if you u-turn and reverse this decision fairly and in full, I will not attack you for it.

To restore faith in our political system it’s time that politicians stopped making promises at elections that they won’t keep when in power – this is the lesson the Lib Dems learnt the hard way on tuition fees.

For the sake of those 3 million families, and the British people’s trust in politics, please see sense and fully u-turn on your cuts to tax credits.

I look forward to hearing from you.  

Yours sincerely,

John"

 hat tip Kitty Jones

Remember to put your clocks back this weekend?

Don't forget to turn your clocks back this weekend! In accordance to Government edict at 02:00 on Sunday you should turn all your clocks back to 25 October 1865 to reflect the society they want to create. 

Please note that in accordance with this edict the following traditional Tory measures will be introduced (if they can get away with it) :-

• All NHS hospitals will be immediately closed and replaced with fee paying and whatever charities may provide 
• All state schools to be shut.  Your children will have to work in farms, mines and factories to pay their way. There may be some free elementary church or "ragged schools"
• Most of your children will anyway die of disease or hunger before they become adults. A million people died in Ireland from famine between 1845 and 1852
• If you are unemployed, sick or old (there will be no old age pension) then the only assistance you will get is in the workhouse concentration camps, where if you are in anyway able-bodied you will have to break rocks or go on the treadmill to get any food
• You and your family would otherwise live in a room in a private rented slum with no security, no direct sanitary arrangements or fresh water supply
• At work you will have little or no employment rights, health and safety or protection.  Trade unions are to be criminalised. You would work 12 hour days, 6 days a week, with little or no holiday
• Life expectancy for a UK male born in 1865 was 38.4 years. 

This direction of travel is what the current extremist, hard right, Conservative Government wants.

If you don't want our country to descend to this then join a trade union and join the Labour Party.

Hat tip photo @neilroytaylor1

Osborne plays a deceiving game

Hat tip to Bob S for his link to Facebook site "Fight Propaganda" who have dissected George Osborne's speech at the Tory Party Conference last week. Check the references below.

"With scores of economists indicating through open letters that Osborne is making bad financial decisions, and indicators of poverty rising sharply, It is impossible to see these parts of his speech as anything other than misleading propaganda.

Market crash not Labour: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/former-bank-of-england-governor-claims-labour-government-not-to-blame-for-last-financial-crash-9948434.html Crash started in America: http://www.economist.com/news/schoolsbrief/21584534-effects-financial-crisis-are-still-being-felt-five-years-article

More debt than every Labour Government: www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2014/06/17/the-coalition-will-leave-more-debt-than-all-labour-governmen

Slowest economic recovery since 1720: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/threecenturiesofdata.xlsx www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/britain-has-taken-longer-to-recover-from-recession-than-at-any-time-since-the-south-sea-bubble-9645218.html 

Homelessness up 40%: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics 

Food bank use: http://www.trusselltrust.org/stats 

Longest sustained decline in average wages since records began: www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-workers-suffering-worst-decline-in-real-wages-on-record-9789942.html 

Economist open letter: http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015/06/12/80-economists-say-osbornes-economics-make-no-sense-in-the-guardian/ 

Transcript of speech: https://www.politicshome.com/party-politics/articles/news/george-osbornes-full-speech-tory-conference"

The Common People (Remember this is what tories do)

There is huge anger tonight inside and outside Parliament about Cameron's first full Tory Queen Speech. There are also bad tempered (but tiny) protests outside Downing Street and of course lots of noise on social media. People seem genuinely shocked.

I forgot about this 2010 YouTube video during this General election campaign. Watching it tonight I wonder why anyone is at all surprised about what is happening. 

Newham Local Government Branch AGM 2015 - The threat to your pensions- "if it sounds too good to be true then..."

On Friday I was invited to speak at the annual general meeting of the Newham UNISON branch at the Town Hall in East Ham.

This was in my trade union capacity as the Chair of the London UNISON pension network. This is my written speech below.

"Thank you Gloria and Newham UNISON for inviting me to speak on this very important issue. Like many of us in the Labour movement I wear a number of different work hats but I am proud to be here today as a Unison rep on my local government pension scheme (LGPS) committee for the past 20 years or so.

I was privileged to talk to this AGM some years ago about the many advantages of joining the LGPS. I now want to speak to you today about a possible threat to your pension and that of your families and friends.

It is complicated but maybe it is best if I outline what I believe to be the problem and what I think is the solution, then throw it open to the Q&A.

Firstly, let us never forget that Pensions are a fundamental trade union issue. In fact one of the founder unions that went to form UNISON was set up specifically to argue for pensions for its members. A former manager of West Ham Council trams was instrumental in setting up that union and the LGPS.

In my grown up job as a housing officer in the East End of London, I see first hand the miserable and degrading poverty that so many of our elders live in. Too frightened to put the heating on in winter, surviving on cheap out of date foodstuffs, too poor to buy their grandchildren treats.

In many ways, the current pension future facing workers is now even worse. Millions of workers in our sector have no access to any employer pension, since they work part time or are paid too little. Millions more are being cheated by their employer with tiny and inadequate contributions. While complete untruths are said about the sustainability of defined benefit schemes such as Local Government Pension scheme and other public sector schemes.

To top it all, this Tory led government, will from next month April 6, allow thieves and con merchants to steal and feast upon our members pensions, in what I have no doubt will be the greatest ever miss-selling scandal.

From April 6 this year, this Conservative led government is about to play a huge trick on ordinary working people. People who have skimped and saved over the years to put money by for their futures. This money is being deliberately put at risk and the only ones to benefit will be the City crooks that finance the Conservative Party, as they rob our members over the age of 55 of their money and that of their spouses.

Remember the Tories hate anything that is collective, they don't want pension boards or independent trustees looking after their members money and making sure that it is safe. They would rather dismantle our person schemes and hand them over directly to big business to profit from.

Tory Chancellor, George Osborne, calls April 6 "pension freedom day". Colleagues, this is not freedom, it is an occupation, an occupation by those who see you as easy pickings; an occupation that will destroy lives and end up with many of our members retiring into and dying in poverty.

Our members in the Local Government Pension Scheme and other funded Pension schemes will be targeted by armies of thieves, spivs and charlatans, as they did under Thatcher, when millions of people were told to buy personal pensions and sell their company schemes.

Those of you here who have pension money invested in stakeholders or auto enrolment schemes will also be targeted by those wanting to steal your futures as well. Even worse, last week during the budget, the Tories announced that pensioners who have already taken out private pensions will also be able to cash them in. At the cost of a tax liability and even more rip off charges.

We must as a union save our pensions and save our members from having them stolen from them and exchanged for snake oil.

We have a responsibility to make sure that our pensions are safe. As I said before one of the reasons for forming unions was for decent secure retirements and nothing has changed since, so we must do whatever is necessary to defend our members and defend their pensions. Thank you".

(picture Newham UNISON Chair Gloria Hanson, regional officer Dan Peppiat and area organiser Sally Tsoukaris - by coincidence today there was a feature on crooks planning to fleece pensioners)

Labour v Tories 2015: It's ideological

Last week I watched Ed Balls give a typically combative speech at the RSA about Tory spending and taxation plans if they won the next election.

On Sunday morning I again saw Ed interviewed on the BBC Andrew Marr programme who then went on to interview Tory Chancellor, George Osborne.

Ed's message on both occasions was not just an anti-Tory rant. I thought that he made an convincing case that in this election there was a clear economic ideological battle going on between Labour and the Conservatives.

Labour are planning to eliminate the deficit by making cuts but also by increasing wages and making sure that the rich pay their fair share in taxes.

The Tories are not only planning to make massive cuts to public spending to clear the deficit, they have announced plans to go even further and reduce government spending to the same share of national wealth as in the 1930s (35% of GDP). When interviewed by Andrew Marr, Osborne did not deny these plans. The Tories are cutting not because they need to but because they want to.

This is an resumption of an age old fundamental ideological battle between the left and the right in British Politics. Ed argues persuasively that the only way that a future Tory Government would be able to reduce public spending to the level of the 1930s, is not only to further slash and burn public services but they will have to something even more damaging, such as introducing charges for the NHS. No other country only spends 35% of GDP on public services without charging for health services.

On this point Labour financial plans are more credible than the Tories. There is clear red water between Labour and the Tories. A battle of ideas between those of us who believe in fairness and equality and that the role of the state is to enable such change and those who think the state has little or no such role and that such things are better left to the "market".

So the choice is clear. People must decide what sort of society they want to live in and they must vote or note vote accordingly and then live with the consequences.

Protecting our Pensions from Tory Con Trick

UNISON Housing Association delegate, Mitsy Harman, speaking at the regional AGM last week on our motion "Protect our Pensions" (see link here for text). This is an early draft of her speech.

"Council, from April 6 this year, this Conservative led government is about to play a huge con trick on ordinary working people.  People who have skimped and saved over the years to put money by for their futures.

Council, this money is being deliberately put at risk and the only ones to benefit will be the City crooks that finance the Conservative Party, as they rob our members over the age of 55 of their money and that of their spouses.

Remember the Tories hate anything that is collective, they don't want pension boards or independent trustees looking after their members money and making sure that it is safe. They would rather dismantle our person schemes and hand them over directly to big business to profit from.

Tory Chancellor, George Osborne, calls April 6 "pension freedom day". Council, this is not freedom, it is an occupation, an occupation by those who see you as easy pickings; an occupation that will destroy lives and end up with many of our members retiring into and dieing in poverty.

Our members in the Local Government Pension Scheme and other funded schemes such as the Pension Trust and the Social Housing Pension fund will be targeted by armies of thieves, spivs and charlatans, as they did under Thatcher, when millions of people were told to buy personal pensions and sell their company schemes.

Those of you here who have pension money invested in stakeholders or auto enrolment will also be targeted by those wanting to steal your futures as well.

We must as a union save our pensions and save our members from having them stolen and exchanged for snake oil. We have a responsibility to make sure that our pensions are safe. One of the reasons for forming unions was for decent secure retirements and we must do whatever is necessary to defend our members and their pensions.

Please support this motion, Council, I move". It was passed unanimously.

"Protect Our Pensions" - Tories latest attempt to destroy peoples futures

While driving today I listened to "Money Box" on Radio 4. The programme was about investing a windfall. Experts warned about all the financial rogues and con merchants out there who will rob people out of their money. It reminded of the motion below that my branch has sent to next year's UNISON London Regional Council AGM.

In a piece of blatant electioneering and extreme right wing ideology, Tory Chancellor George Osborne, is putting the retirement of millions in jeopardy. Unions have got to wake and warn our members about the threat to their futures.

"New Government provisions enabling pension fund members to cash in their pensions on retirement come into play from April 2015. These apply to all funded schemes – including the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

This Regional Council expresses deep concern regarding these proposals. Not only will members retiring be exposed to misguided enticement to cash in their hard earned savings early, thereby potentially jeopardising their future financial security – but a surfeit of members wishing to take advantage of these provisions could endanger the future stability of the scheme itself.

Regional Council is fully committed to ensuring our members get a fair deal in their retirement and supporting the LGPS. To this end we call on the NEC to organise a high profile member information campaign which explains the pros and cons of cashing in pension fund savings and where possible promotes the benefits of remaining in the LGPS once retired".

(This motion to be considered for NDC and if successful the wording to be changed according)

#WakeUpGeorge: Decent pay. Good for workers, our economy & the Treasury

"Today, @LocalGovPay will be tweeting George Osborne at his twitter account: @George_Osborne to mark the day of protest against cuts to local government funding which are causing job losses, service cuts and the pay freeze.

We will be calling on him to wake up to the fact that decent pay for local government workers makes good economic sense with the following tweet:

#WakeupGeorge Decent pay - good for local government, our economy and the Treasury. @George_Osborne #LGprotest

Getting wet & furious on route to Great Tory Train Robbery Protest

As I walked to join the #GreatToryTrainRobbery protest at Stratford Station early on Monday morning, I was listening on earphones to Chancellor George Osbourn, being interviewed on Radio 4 news "Today".

Osborne blithely announced a further £25 billion in welfare cuts after 2015. When it was suggested that since payments to pensioners  cost half of all such welfare spending he should be cutting winter fuel allowances to wealthy pensioners, he said that this would only save a few millions. He suggested instead the savings will be made by further cuts to young people's housing benefit and by charging more to Council tenants who earn £60-70k per year.

It was raining quite hard at the time and was too windy to put up an umbrella (not the best day to start fulfilling a New Years Resolution to walk everywhere) but this helped cool me down while listening to this nonsense.

The Government has already restricted housing benefit to a room in a shared house for those under 26? Not all kids have middle class parents with spare beds to fall back on if they become unemployed or sick. Remember who introduced bedroom tax and got rid of spare bedrooms?

There is a tiny, tiny number of Council tenants (why only Council tenants? what about housing association tenants? Does someone like him know there is a difference?) who earn that amount of money. There is an argument about increasing their rent levels but I thought Tories were against means testing? Housing Associations have been given the power to charge variable rents but have, by and large, decided that it would be more costly and bureaucratic to implement than they would gain.

Frankly we need more better paid tenants living in social housing. We don't want benefit ghettos or private gated estates - we want genuine mixed communities with headteachers, entrepreneurs and doctors living alongside the retired, the low paid and the unemployed.

None of above is going to save £25 billion. The "Today" presenter gave Osbourne a hard time over his claims but like nearly everyone in the media, seems to accept that there is no alternative to cuts, cuts, cuts? What about increase in taxation for those wealthy enough to pay?

I had cooled down by the time I got to Stratford (aka soaked).  West Ham Labour Party CLP had organised leaflet protests against train and bus fare increases outside Stratford, Forest Gate, Canning Town and Royal Docks stations (see photo collage).

London has the highest public transport costs in the world. Fares under Tory Mayor Boris are rising 3 times more than wages. He is also getting rid of the staff who keep passengers safe late at night. This year's protest was at stations all over London and the South East.

It was also the first day back to work after the holiday for many workers. Fittingly, it is called "Blue Monday". I hope people in this years May election remember Osborne and the Tory fare increases of Blue Monday and vote Red.

George Osbourne - Benefit Scounger

hat tip https://www.facebook.com/si.farlow

Save Our Pensions (Do you want to be Old and Cold?)

This is one of my branch motions to the UNISON Community conference in March 2013. Which was amended at the last weekends Service Group Executive meeting at York (see last point).

"This conference notes:-

That the Social Housing Pension Fund and the Pension Trust have announced plans to stop many Community employers from offering a decent defined benefit scheme to our members.

They are also trying to massively increase pension contributions to such an extent that many employers are planning to close schemes to future service or pass on these contribution rises onto members. This will make them unaffordable and members will be forced to leave the schemes which will in turn then fail.

The reasons given for taking this action by SHPS and the Pension Trust are that they must protect the fund against rising “pension liabilities”. This is a completely nonsensical argument. It is well known that due to outdated and deficient rules called “Mark to Market” accounting, the “costs” of defined benefit pensions have risen in a totally artificial manner. Schemes usually have to price their costs according to the return on Government loans called gilts. Due to the abnormal economic conditions these gilts currently have negative returns and are at a 200 year all time low. This has meant that pension schemes appear to have high deficits when in fact this has nothing to do with their underlying strengths or weaknesses.

The government has committed to act on this issue but has just failed to do so. The Pension minister Steve Webb promised to do something about what he called this "nightmare" which is "killing" perfectly good pension schemes and that he would "not idly stand by" and let this happen.

Properly run and regulated defined benefit pension schemes are as affordable today as they have ever been. Most defined contributions schemes will not result in members getting adequate benefits when they retire. Our members will die in poverty and the taxpayers will have to subsidise bad employers for their poverty pensions.

Auto enrolling of pension is an organising opportunity for the union as well as a means to fight for better pension provision. .

This Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive:-

To lead a campaign to save our pension schemes from closure. To encourage our employers to stand up to the Pension Trust and SHPS and make them understand that they do not have to destroy peoples pension futures to safe guard the scheme. To also reopen existing closed schemes.

To lead a campaign to ensure that if employers do not stand up to the Pension Trust and SHPS then they should pay the extra contributions which the schemes are unreasonably asking for and not staff.

To lobby the Pension Trust and SHPS to modernise their schemes. For example why does the better off pay less (after higher rate tax) in pension contributions then basic rate taxpayers?

To lobby the Government to change “Mark to Market” accounting.

To examine the case for employers to be encouraged to seek alternative defined benefit provision in our sector and what role the Labour movement can play in this provision. In many other countries trade unions provide pensions.

To consider how to organise effectively around auto-enrolment in our sector and ensure that any defined contribution schemes match NAPF Quality standards plus".

SGE Amendment:

"New point 8

"To campaign for all Community employers and pension providers currently proposing to close their defined benefit schemes or raise contributions, to suspend changes following the announcement by the Chancellor George Osborne in the Autumn Statement of a government enquiry into new ways of valuing pension fund deficits. Some commentators believe this could lead to a reduction in deficits by up to 40%".

My 2012 Olympic Highlights: George Osborne getting booed at the Paralympics:)

Just thinking of some of my highlights of the Olympic 2012 year.

 

nuff said.

The one spark of possible good news for Pension funds (buried amongst the misery of Osborne's statement)

"Discount rate consultation decision could be a lifeline for DB schemes says the AMNT"

The Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) has expressed its full backing of the decision of the Department for Work and Pensions to move forward with a consultation on discount rate smoothing, announced in yesterday’s statement by Chancellor George Osborne.

Janice Turner, co-chair of AMNT, said: “This has been one of the key campaigns run by the AMNT throughout the two years of its existence and is what long-suffering DB pension scheme trustees have been desperate to hear. The prolonged recession has left trustees and employers facing unprecedented circumstances with deficits so volatile that countless DB schemes have closed and, in some cases, even toppled their sponsor company into closure.

“It is very pleasing that Steve Webb has been the first Pensions Minister to grasp this particularly painful nettle, where others before would not. It is now important, however, that the process should not be dragged out as a stalling mechanism whilst more open DB schemes close. The AMNT will now be working very hard in the coming months to put forward and argue strongly for a responsible alternative to the current unworkable regulations.

Turner continued: “The result of this consultation could be that billions are wiped away from DB pension scheme deficits leaving companies better able to invest in their own businesses. It could be a lifeline for DB pension schemes and aid the recovery of the British economy. For this reason we hope that those thinking about scheme closure will seriously consider awaiting the results of this consultation before taking any permanent decisions on the future of their scheme.”
-ENDS –

Updated AMNT press release. 

My take on this is that it is estimated that the introduction of smoothing and other measures proposed could improve the funding position of defined benefit pensions schemes by 20-30%.  So it is inconceivable that any pension fund should carry on with any plans for closures until the enquiry is concluded. 

Separated at Birth?

Hat tip "I support Public Service don't let the Con Dems destroy them"

London Paralympics Boos for Osborne & Cameron : Cheers for Brown & Robbins!

I got a message last night from a UNISON colleague who was at the Paralympic Games yesterday and witnessed Tory Chancellor George Osborne being booed by the crowd at the stadium.

It was also reported that Prime Minster Cameron was also booed while former PM Gordon Brown was cheered and clapped when he appeared.

Picture is of the stadium clapping Labour Leader of London Paralympic Borough Waltham Forest, Chris Robbins.