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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think that no one will ever vote conservative again

544 replies

rogersmellyonthetelly · 09/08/2012 09:40

At least in anyone in living memory of the current government and their immoral targeting of the most vulnerable members of society.
I voted conservative at the last election to my eternal shame, I won't make the same mistake twice.

OP posts:
NovackNGood · 09/08/2012 19:07

And a disabled person gets all their care too on the NHS.

Glitterknickaz · 09/08/2012 19:07

So you're saying the amount of evidence I've had to send in myself when claiming for my children was entirely unnecessary?

Mynotfinkso.

If you don't supply the medical reports yourself it holds things up whilst they wait for medical evidence.

Also I'm overweight, why don't I get it?

yellowraincoat · 09/08/2012 19:09

They do write to your doctor and anyone else involved in your care when you fill in the DLA form. It is so hard to get. I was signed off for nearly a year with mental health problems and I couldn't get it.

Glitterknickaz · 09/08/2012 19:09

Oh fuck me... can't have people having their health needs met can we?
I know.... let's euthanise them.

FFS.

Disability costs extra. Disability is not a lifestyle choice.

Here's me thinking we were a civilised society. Evidently not.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:09

Mrbojangles. The form has to be verified by the doctor.
As for very overweight people, how do you know that they're not in need, you have just assumed that they overeat through greed.
Steriods for asthma and many other conditions pile on weight. Epilepsy drugs are known for piling on weight. Some people have conditions like mine, rare and unusual, and although I can lose weight, I will never be slender as my body stores fat just beneath the skin.

Many, many pain relievers cause weight gain too.

yellowraincoat · 09/08/2012 19:11

If being on benefits and disabled is such a piss-easy lifestyle, why don't we all just, I don't know, hack a leg off or something?

Vagaceratops · 09/08/2012 19:12

NovackNGood

Sorry, I would laugh, but its tragic!

My DS is not toilet trained. We are provided 4 nappies a day and I have to buy the rest. We havent seen a paed in 6 months because the last one went on ML and her workload hasnt been covered. Our referral to CaMHS is somewhere in the system and has been for 7 months. My DS has a 2+ year speech delay and we last saw our SALT in January. We have been turned down for NHS OT because they are not seeing children with 'less complex problems' like my DS - yet he cannot feed himself, dress himself or hold a pencil.

Vagaceratops · 09/08/2012 19:14

And I know we are getting off lightly compared to others.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:15

And a disabled person gets all their care too on the NHS.
Then why do I have to pay for my dds wheelchair?

NovackNGood · 09/08/2012 19:18

Were you assessed for one Dawndonna?

Sparks1 · 09/08/2012 19:19

*Sparks1 I don't know how much of a grip you have on economics. If you vote for the Tories, probably not a great one, I imagine. It's quite hard to talk about economics unless you actually understand it.

Do you really think the Tories don't waste money, or spend it in unhelpful ways? Take the example I mentioned earlier about selling off council housing stock. Now we are left with a huge HB bill which we can't afford.

It has been shown time and time again that austerity measures do not work in reviving an economy like ours. And yet they still push on with them, because they know that taking money off benefits budgets is a sure-fire vote winner.

They say we need to look at sport and how it is played in state schools. They then sell off 20 sports fields belonging to state schools. It might earn money in the short term, but long term, the money spent on the NHS on obesity, heart conditions etc caused by lack of exercise will be more.

And besides all that, I don't really care if the government spends a lot of money, IF the country then works. Countries like Germany or Sweden tax high, but by spending money on the right things, their countries function well, are more protected from recession and have happier citizens.*

You question my grip on economics and then claim you don't care how much a government spends? Wow...

Every administration has waste no matter what.

And Germany is hardly a role model. They're in the shit propping everyone else up.

And lets not forget the Tories refused the Euro, we'd be far worse off if we'd entered that.

And you can't spend money you don't have, that's a basic economic principal.

As for me understanding economics, i'd wager i'm more academically qualified than your good self to do so, so ta for the patronising.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:24

Of course we were, but they are so limited by budget that they can only supply a wheelchair suitable for the age. This means that if you are not the average size for that age you're up the creek. Dd is tall and slender, she couldn't move her own chair, so we had to purchase one suited to her needs because the budget constraints of the nhs could not provide. This is happening more and more often. Luckily, for the moment, she gets DLA.

londonone · 09/08/2012 19:26

DLA isn't means tested is it unlike glasses for example

ColouringIn · 09/08/2012 19:27

Mrbojangles*, I am certain that there ARE those who take the piss. Our newspaper has a case in it at the mo with £100k worth of benefit fraud.

However, calling it corrupt just because some conditions happen to be invisible is wrong.

My very best friend had a shit childhood, think of the worst kind of sexual abuse and then think of all the ways it can be done! That was her experience as a 12 year old and it continued long term.

She is now 34, she has hardly worked since the birth of her daughter when the thought of what her baby could be exposed to if she were not around sent her into a massive depression.

If you could have seen her two days ago you would have understood (suicidal and sobbing). Today on different medication she is smiling and happy. I even got her to Costa coffee. Anyone seeing her today would have said "she can work". Anyone who saw her two days ago would have understood.

AND I have another friend who claims DLA for fibromyalgia, another "invisible" condition. She works in the summer but rarely in the winter when the weather is cold and her condition flares up.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:29

Nor should it be, Londonone. There are people who would not be working without DLA, and wouldn't be able to afford to get out and about without it, despite being in work.

I know you will disagree and honestly wonder why I'm wasting my breath.

NovackNGood · 09/08/2012 19:31

Of course it should be means tested. Benefits should be the safety net for those who need them to survive.

ColouringIn · 09/08/2012 19:34

DLA is note and tested - David Cameron claimed it for his DS. It's simply a recognition that disability costs more in living expenses.

For example if I go out with DS I need to drive as he is unpredictable on the road. I don't get mobility allowance but the DLA allows for extra petrol costs, increased wear and tear on furniture and disability aids.

I claimed it while working and still claim it out of work (DS rarely sleeps long periods and needs supervising). It helps towards costs - that's all.

A friend whose son is also on the autistic spectrum does not claim DLA as her husband has a good salary. I am on my own and cannot afford not to claim it.

ColouringIn · 09/08/2012 19:35

DLA should NOT be means tested. Some people would not be working without their DLA to help with extra costs.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:37

No. Those with disabilities will have them all their lives, they should be allowed the option to purchase motability cars etc. We do not have to rely on benefits, however, I would, if it weren't for a prepayment certificate, have to pay over £50 per month for dhs prescriptions. That will be the same for dd when she finishes full time education. That has a significant impact on our monthly income and would be a struggle without DLA.

ColouringIn · 09/08/2012 19:37

Tbh anyone saying DLA should be means tested displays their ignorance about what the benefit was set up to do.

Viviennemary · 09/08/2012 19:38

I thought that Incapacity Benefit, that you would get if you cannot work through illness, and Disability Living Allowance were quite separate. I think I'm getting confused here.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:39

DLA is not an out of work benefit.
Incapacity Benefit is an out of work benefit.

Viviennemary · 09/08/2012 19:44

Thanks Dawndonna. But I sometimes think the right people are not getting enough help. And I also think the free prescriptions should be revised to take into consideration more chronic conditions. I was surprised that somebody I know had to pay for medicine for heart disease which they will always need from now on. I thought that would be free.

Denise34 · 09/08/2012 19:51

It's all very well saying "I thought that would be free" but someone has to pay for it. There comes a limit to how much working people are prepared to pay in tax.

Dawndonna · 09/08/2012 19:52

I'm afraid there are very few things that the NHS actually covers the cost of. Diabetes and Epilepsy are covered. Heart and asthma medication are not.
I have absolutely no idea why this should be.