My second book was released over a week ago. It gives me chills every time I say these words for I never thought I would ever be in that position. But life gives us a continued array of choices and opportunities. All we have to do is reach out and grasp them.

The last twenty years of my life have shown me what can be achieved when we turn our hands to hard work and away from holding them out as beggars.

This new book explores the relationship between ‘givers’ and ‘takers’, and the damaging symbiotic relationship that is created. I examine the motivation of dishevelled individuals sitting on street corners holding out paper cups, as well as the intergenerational problem of welfare dependency and related poverty. Different types of beggars are highlighted such as politicians begging for votes, charities begging for donations, and even the woke begging for validation and attention. I show that it is a complicated topic, part nature - part nurture and that many engage in such behaviour unknowingly.

I use my own childhood and decades of experience working in deprived communities to showcase individual and societally mistakes and the consequences incurred. As in my first book, I use real-life examples to highlight my points. I argue that the wrong incentives encourage individuals to give up dreaming of a better tomorrow, resulting in underachievement and frustration. Unlike most authors on this topic, I explore my own history of begging from being raised in a workless household on benefits, to claiming unemployment benefits as an adult, and the journey that eventually led me to start a homeless project working on the streets.

The book begins with an explanation of what it takes to be a productive beggar in today’s society. Like many careers, some skills need to be acquired if you are to be successful. To be worthy of someone’s charity you must be seen as a pitiful victim, whether through misfortune or alleged persecution. An emotional sad story is needed to pull at heartstrings to loosen purse strings, or to change government policy through public opinion.

I then delve into the psychology of begging, including the mental gymnastics needed to create a victim mentality to negate responsibility for your own life. I argue that a contributory factor in the current rejection of personal responsibility is the elimination of societal shame, every lifestyle choice is now seen as valuable as any other. Inclusivity and tolerance are shown to be damaging traits.

Blame is placed at the feet of individuals who have made poor choices. I state this is warranted for different choices could have been made. But I look deeper and point to the role governments have played in creating such an environment where it is socially acceptable not to stand on your own two feet to provide for yourself and your family. Rights with no responsibility have not had the desired effect. Governments throw money at social problems they are not capable of understanding or solving. This has resulted in a nation of beggars that expect the state to solve their problems, and offer them free money, but never hold them accountable for their choices.

A part of the book is dedicated to highlighting the damage caused by the wrong social policies upon the very people they are supposedly designed to help. To highlight this damage is the reason why the book was written. I wish to stop the continuing damage to people through so-called compassion. There is no point-scoring or vitriol in the book, just example after example of individuals, communities and societies damaged by progressive policies that do not promote personal responsibility, aspiration or hard work.

The final chapter pulls the book together with suggestions of what needs to change to create a society that produces happy, productive citizens that run their own lives and do not rely on others. A nation of free individuals where the state does less by acknowledging it is not our master, but our servant.

Before we solve a problem we must first understand it. This book is the first step in this journey to reclaim our self-respect as a nation.

The following is the Introduction to the book.

The book is now available at all good book sellers, including Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1680536796

The Making Of A Beggar - rejecting personal responsibility

"You cannot hold your head high with your hand out." - proverb

My first book was easy to write, it just flowed. The last two chapters took a while to formulate but they came together naturally as the book developed. Starting to write on day one was easy because I had a story to tell and I wanted to tell it. The words tumbled out of me as I typed. It was therapeutic. I had been traumatised. My life had changed forever. I had been betrayed. The book was my way of seeking cheap psychiatric help to overcome my life falling apart. I wrote partly out of anger and partly to understand what had happened.

Writing this book was different. There was no anger inside me. No story that desperately needed to be told. Just me and my opinions. I knew I wanted the book to explore begging and how this act permeates throughout society, but I did not know how to start.

I made some notes on potential chapter headings, real-life case studies and my own personal experience. But a spark was missing that was needed to ignite the story. The book must be a story if I expect people to read it.

It was a cold afternoon when I found the spark. I visited my mum in South Manchester, as I do on a weekly basis - hey, I am a good son! This was always a good opportunity to call into Lidl supermarket for some shopping and to stock up on everyday items and alcohol. I live in the city centre so stocking up when possible saves me a small fortune.

I drove to Lidl. I stopped at the traffic lights as they were on red. I could see the supermarket opposite. A petite white woman dressed in black tracksuit bottoms and a coat was weaving in and out of the waiting cars. She had a paper cup in her hand. She walked up to the driver's windows and shook the cup while looking pitiful. I would guess she was in her late twenties, which means she was probably very early twenties or late teens. This lifestyle has an ageing effect. Begging at traffic lights was something new in Manchester. I had started to notice it about a year before. Had fewer people walking around on the streets due to Covid led to this new practice? Unintended consequences.

I remember at one of my old jobs arranging for the police to clamp down on Eastern Europeans cleaning windscreens at traffic lights in the city centre. We called them 'squeegees' after the handheld rubber tool that was used to wipe the cleaning liquid off windscreens. They were a problem and an accident waiting to happen. The police confiscated their buckets and squeezy bottles. At this time, we never had issues with people simply begging at traffic lights.

When this young woman came alongside my car window I politely shook my head and smiled. She wandered off with her paper cup to another car. I felt sad for her current situation and what she had become in life - a beggar.

The traffic lights changed to green and I moved on. I turned into the supermarket car park and found a car park space. I grabbed my heavy-duty shopping bags and made my way to the shop entrance. As usual, sitting on either side of the door were two beggars. This did not surprise me, as this was normal at almost every supermarket in Manchester. Two white males with paper cups and blankets. They did not speak so I ignored them. If they would have asked for money I would have politely refused. I never ignore someone begging. I always answer their request with a polite No. They are my fellow citizens and deserve an answer, for they are human. But they do not deserve my or your money.

I purchased my items. I gave myself a stiff talking-to concerning the amount of alcohol purchased. I placed the bags of shopping in my car and walked around the corner to my favourite takeaway to get a kebab. I need to be honest with everyone here. If it was not for the convenience of this kebab shop then I may not be so dedicated to visiting my mum every week. I am just being honest. Please do not tell her.

I walked along the main road to reach my spicy destination. I walk past four white men begging outside 4 different shops. I recognised some faces as they are regulars in this location. This neighbourhood is predominately an Asian community. Yet I see no Asian beggars, only white.

Back to my car with my kebab and I headed home. I realised I needed fuel so popped into a garage to fill up. It is my usual garage on the outskirts of the city centre, it is always one of the cheapest for fuel. I also earn points on purchases which is a bonus. I drove into an empty space next to a petrol pump.

Almost immediately I was approached by a white man with a paper cup. 'Spare change, please'. I politely shook my head and smiled. He walked away.

This was the first time I had been approached by a beggar while trying to fill my car with fuel. I had noticed that this petrol station had gained a few beggars sitting outside the kiosk entrance over the last year. The petrol station also had a cash point, so a beggar was always sitting there. On one occasion, I witnessed a beggar buying alcohol and then sitting back down outside to continue their trade. I mentioned the increase in this activity to the cashier as I paid for my fuel. She was apologetic. She explained that since the Covid lockdown fewer people were visiting the city centre, so beggars have found other places to beg. She also pointed out that a homeless hostel was only around the corner, so this location was convenient.

I drove the rest of the way home thinking about my experience that afternoon. Begging had become completely normalised and accepted. The general public did not seem to notice, or if they did, they did not care. Businesses accepted beggars as a new everyday problem that they were helpless to combat, so must be put up with.

I became angry as I drove home. Angry at the individuals who were too pathetic and weak to make a success of living in the UK. Angry at the police for not enforcing begging laws. Angry at the local government for allowing our fellow citizens to fall so low into despair.

Most of all, I was angry at society. Angry at the fools who think they are helping by handing over a few coins and sandwiches to people on the streets. Angry at people for not demanding action from the government. Where are the protests? Why does no one care about beggars, rough sleepers and the homeless?

I needed a spark to start the book, and on a winter's Sunday afternoon, I found it.

The spark was anger. Not necessarily at the individuals begging for they are broken individuals. But our willingness to help continue a negative lifestyle that damages the body and mind. A lifestyle that ruins lives.

A flurry of questions popped into my head. Do we not care? Do we see ourselves in the faces of beggars for we are also beggars? Do we envy those who have rejected their personal responsibility? Is there a difference between holding out a paper cup and receiving Universal Credit? Did the government's furlough scheme give us a taste of the life of a beggar? Or have we been going down this path for decades without ever noticing?

I started typing. I had a lot to say.