Edwina Currie on UC being cut

[Fizbosshoes]

This week I heard Edwina Currie on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2. (I know I am being unreasonable for listening to proffessional shit stirrer JV but the radio is on at work)

There was a single mum (who's partner had been killed in a car crash.) She worked ft and had 2 kids but was going to struggle without the £20 uplift.

Edwina Currie said she sympathised as she remembered how it was when her kids were small juggling budgeting and childcare...
She was an MP and her husband was an accountant- I doubt they were struggling!

Then she said that people should tell their employer they're looking for a job elsewhere and the employer would probably want to keep them on and give them a payrise...

When challenged that a lot of the jobs available were not suitable for a single parent with childcare to sort out (eg shifts, overnight work in a warehouse etc) she said people needed to be "creative" (wtf does than mean in this instance?) and that most grandparents would love to help.
Then there was a pile on of callers telling people that they were scroungers and "to get a job".

Its literally like they're willfully not listening or sticking their fingers in their ears and saying "la la la la la not listening" and just coming out with patronising BS.

The original caller did work full time and was still struggling.
Not everyone has grandparents...at all ...or nearby, or maybe the GPS are working themselves...or don't want to do full time, or overnight childcare (not unreasonable). And where are all the employers falling over themselves to give people a payrise...? Some businesses pay NMW to cut costs, other businesses won't be able to afford payrises after covid and brexit.

And the assumption that people are sitting around waiting for handouts and that if they could just "upskill" or "better themselves" it would solve the problem....
How can they not hear what people are saying...?

For time immemorial for people like Edwina it has always been some moral failing that makes the poor, poor. The “if I were in their shoes I could sort this issue out so easily”. Pure ignorance.

@MoreAloneTime

There are many people who love the workshy narrative so much that no amount of evidence to the contrary will change their views.

They shouldn't be allowed to repeat this made up bollocks all over the media unchallenged though. A decent journalist making a responsible program would have a few basic facts to challenge such blatent bullshit.

Sadly this is Jeremy Vine so no chance of that.

digitalsynopsis.com/inspiration/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris/

Sums up exactly how the Edwina Curries of the world think

I think there is a point to be made though - plenty of people on UC are in work, but is it the 16 hours per week or is it full time work? I'm a single mum too, I know plenty of people who choose to work around 16 hours per week and they could easily do more.

If someone works full time then fair enough, there's not much more they can contribute!

I have a disabled child with limited family support, recently widowed, I have no ideas how I am going to manage. I don’t qualify for carers as I earn just more than the threshold
The death of my dh counts as a change in circumstances so I can’t claim my legacy benefits anymore. Fortunately I am going to get some life insurance but cannot claim us until I have less than £16k which won’t take long but you are screwed all ways

I listened to that Jeremy Vine programme with Edwina Currie, while dh and I were in the car going across to see my 84 year old dad.

Poor dh, he got a sore ear from my ranting as I was apoplectic at her complete and utter insensitivity 

Your summary was very good @Fizbosshoes but you missed out the wee gem of "check your qualifications as you may have something that you're not using" so as to get better paid and her lovely gem of a closing comment to "be proud as in years to come you'll be able to look back with pride that you got through this"

I mention my dad's age, as even though we are "older" parents (I was 38 when I had ds), my parents were very young parents (mum was 20, dad was 23), so simple maths demonstrates that they wouldn't have been at retirement age when ds was a baby. As it was a) I was well paid and was able to afford ft child care and b) they'd taken early retirement and were around as back up.

Most people with young kids will have grandparents who are still working especially with retirement age going up and up

When ds2 was 6 my mum was 80. My dad and mil and fil were all gone. No other family for 300 miles. Dh worked shifts. I had to work and not pay childcare so i managed to get work round the kids. Min wage and shit, frankly. And only a few hours a week to start with. And even now, im doing more hours but not much more money. We never had the support i seen all around me. And dh earns just over 23k so we didn't have one big wage coming in that softened the blow. It was bloody hard going. Still is really.
How people like Currie can patronise others not in her shoes is utterly beyond me. Not being able to see further than your own nose is a failing to me, but it seems to be an attribute to the tories. "Im all right jack"...and they manage to convince others without their advantages that they are right.

It blows my mind.

@prettybird
Your summary was very good@Fizbosshoesbut you missed out the wee gem of "check your qualifications as you may have something that you're not using" so as to get better paidand herlovelygem of a closing comment to"be proud as in years to come you'll be able to look back with pride that you got through this"

Oh yes how could I forget those helpful comments!!

I imagine there are lots of people over qualified for their jobs because they can't get a job in their field or that their degree was years ago and don't have the experience employers are looking for. There will also be people doing NMW jobs because they dont have other qualifications or experience! The way she phrased it was that people might have forgotten they're a qualified surveyor or lawyer, but have accidentally ended up on a zero hours contract in sports direct!!

My mum was 59 when she became a grandparent. She helped when she could but she had already left her job because she had terminal cancer, so she would not have been able to look after my DC full time (and my dad was busy taking her to appointments, at some points daily)
Other GPS were more elderly and lived too far away to be of regular help.

[quote Fizbosshoes]@prettybird
Your summary was very good@Fizbosshoesbut you missed out the wee gem of "check your qualifications as you may have something that you're not using" so as to get better paidand herlovelygem of a closing comment to"be proud as in years to come you'll be able to look back with pride that you got through this"

Oh yes how could I forget those helpful comments!!

I imagine there are lots of people over qualified for their jobs because they can't get a job in their field or that their degree was years ago and don't have the experience employers are looking for. There will also be people doing NMW jobs because they dont have other qualifications or experience! The way she phrased it was that people might have forgotten they're a qualified surveyor or lawyer, but have accidentally ended up on a zero hours contract in sports direct!!

My mum was 59 when she became a grandparent. She helped when she could but she had already left her job because she had terminal cancer, so she would not have been able to look after my DC full time (and my dad was busy taking her to appointments, at some points daily)
Other GPS were more elderly and lived too far away to be of regular help.[/quote]
Well, off the back of this I just found my forgotten MA in political in a drawer in the kitchen under some old minimum wage pay slips!
Yay, think I'll turn up at Westminster Monday, and I'm sure they'll let me in and pay me £82k?

She’s a Tory. What do you expect?

@BlackeyedSusan

gosh, I am sure the care home will not notice two autistic children staying overnight with my mum...

it's that or the graveyard with my dad, or the mountain side where pils ashes were scattered...

sometimes they just try to defend the indefensible.

That’s just it. It is indefensible and talk around it us just BS.

Disgusting, I'm a single mum working full time and struggling. My dd grandparents are either dead or in a care home brilliant suggestion from the out of touch tories as usual.

@Maverickess I applaud your creative way of upskilliing but you’ll find you’ll struggle as an MP on £82k www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gofundme-page-tory-mp-salary-b1934030.html?amp

Most employers would get arsey if they thought you wanted to leave and make your job miserable (I've seen that happen to other people). You certainly don't get a pay rise for asking 🤣.

Currie isn't very bright and has clearly never held down a real job.

My tax credits and housing benefit have been dramatically cut because I've had a tiny pay rise of £20 per month. It's ludicrous

Haven't RTFT but why is there no pressure in these firms who make millions in profit to pay a decent wage?

If you look at the voting record of individual Tory MPs you will see how they consistently voted against policies which would improve the lives of people needing UC. Even the “better” Tory MPs, if there is such a person. Then you have the party as a whole. But they keep winning elections because they manipulate the people: it’s the fault of the benefit scroungers, the single mums, east European immigrants, teacher bashing, GP bashing, the greedy farmers etc etc. They give everyone someone to hate and blame. Then they swan through yet another election and screw everyone over again. That’s in response to why there’s no pressure on a decent living wage.

I work with young people leaving care, they live in their own places and are expected to live off £59.20 a week. It’s a joke!

@vickibee

I have a disabled child with limited family support, recently widowed, I have no ideas how I am going to manage. I don’t qualify for carers as I earn just more than the threshold The death of my dh counts as a change in circumstances so I can’t claim my legacy benefits anymore. Fortunately I am going to get some life insurance but cannot claim us until I have less than £16k which won’t take long but you are screwed all ways

@vickibee I know it's not the point of your post, but have you applied for bereavement support payment? I didn't know about it until 9 months after my husband died. I missed out on a lot of money as they only backdate 3 months. It's not means tested. So sorry about your husband.

@vickibee

I have a disabled child with limited family support, recently widowed, I have no ideas how I am going to manage. I don’t qualify for carers as I earn just more than the threshold The death of my dh counts as a change in circumstances so I can’t claim my legacy benefits anymore. Fortunately I am going to get some life insurance but cannot claim us until I have less than £16k which won’t take long but you are screwed all ways

Have you claimed bereavement support payments?

I liked the bit when she suggested you should ask your employer to buy you a car. I actually burst out laughing and the 'let them eat cake'-ness of it. Can you imagine that if you're a teaching assistant or on the tills in Tesco or in most jobs for that matter? These people have no connection with reality. They also seem to think that an employee can just ask for overtime and their employer will automatically have the extra work to give them.

Those of us working in education admin can't ask our employer for a pay rise as the govt has frozen the education pay scales. I guess its too much to expect the Tories to see how it's actually them we'd be asking for a pay rise and they've already said no....

The only thing the Torys did wrong was to give the up lift in the first place, What do people think should be a min figure in pounds for people to be given ?

I have never understood the hostility towards those on benefits.

When I was working full time I wasn’t sitting around seething towards those less fortunate than me.
Now I’m on benefits I really don’t understand all the kicking down people are so keen to do.

My situation is shit. I’m well aware of that. I don’t need constant reminding that people resent me for being in shit circumstances.

Its funny how only poor people are encouraged to "be creative" and make better choices and manage their money better. MPs get subsided food, travel allowances as well as other expenses on top of 82k salary. Why aren't they thinking creatively how they could pay for their own food and travel out of 82k....or do more hours, or take one of the million other jobs that keep being advertised if they're finding themselves struggling..?