A campaigner who fought the UK Government over the prosecution of carers is setting up a union and online forum.
Leo Cleary plans to set up the National Unpaid Carers Union and Forum.
Leo Cleary is setting up a trade union for carers after campaigning against government prosecutions of people who exceeded the earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance
Cleary, 42, who cares for his elderly mother-in-law, started a petition against Government prosecutions of carers for exceeding the earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance.
Big support
The petition attracted 51,000 supporters on change.org. After that, the Government announced plans to lift the earnings limit on Carer’s Allowance by £45 per week to £196 from April.
The Government has also launched a review of Carer’s Allowance overpayments.
The campaigner said the forum would offer carers free advice and guidance and “be a shoulder to cry on, or just an ear to listen”.
‘Next ideological step’
Cleary, from Harlow, Essex, set up the union after his June petition attracted 40,000 signatures in two days.
As well as campaigning online, Cleary says he produced several leaflets and delivered them to more than 2,000 homes.
In an email, he wrote that starting the union was the “next ideological step”. According to Cleary, the union already has 75 members, and the number is rising daily.
Seeking recognition
The campaigner says he is ready to work alongside other carers’ groups “to build a network of support and advice that blankets the whole of the UK”.
To set up the union, Cleary must seek recognition from the organisation he is opposing – the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). He has now written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to get recognition for the union.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the DWP said it had launched a review of overpayments so carers do not face “difficulties in the future”.
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Published: 19 December 2024
