Can any Tory voters justify cuts to disability benefits?

[malificent7]

Or are any Tory voters actually disabled and in receipt of pip?
Just interested to find out.

Just want to add I am not a Tory voter !

I think it's horrendous that people who genuinely need benefits don't get them.
I grew up in a house were my mother scammed disability and got away with it.
It does not decide my vote. It is one policy. I don't agree with them all ( fox hunting being another) but it won't sway my vote

Why jump on others whose priority isn't disability benefits? There's nothing in it for them so they are obviously going to vote for something that is in their own interests?

Why do you think you can get annoyed?

Do really people value others life's so little that they feel " there is nothing in it for them? "

Just wanted to add that I didn't mean the OP didn't start the thread genuinely wanting a conversation about this issues, but that doesn't seem to be the way it's going.

Everyone votes for what is best for them and their family.

Yup. Me. I get PIP. Dd gets DLA. I vote Conservative.

I must have missed the memo that says disabled folk are not allowed to vote Conservative, mind you, according to some folk I'm obviously just ignorant and racist anyway

Christ, I can't wait for all this election shite to be over and done with.

Well said @SootSprite

No, benefits are not being better targeting. People that are genuinely and severely disabled are losing benefits.

Also - one cut that a lot of people don't mention much is social service budgets. I have a budget that pays for a carer - you know, someone to help me out of bed, dress, take me to the doctors, make dinner, etc. I now have to contribute hundreds to that budget a month despite being on ESA income based.

My DLA is spent ten times over on all the additional costs of being disabled already, and I have nothing left.

Also - if my electric wheelchair ever breaks, which obviously it won't last forever - no one will fund a new one for me. It cost £6k.

I already use my DLA mobility to fund an adapted car with a hoist, because without either the car or wheelchair, I couldn't leave the house.

Labour haven't always done amazing things for disabled people, but there wasn't this total fear of every letter when they were in charge. I have a panic attack now before I open brown envelopes wondering what the next hit will be.

That is what being disabled now is like - living in fear.

Why jump on others whose priority isn't disability benefits? There's nothing in it for them so they are obviously going to vote for something that is in their own interests

For me, it's about recognising that yes life might be ok for me but it isn't okay for other people. I have a roof over my head and me and my family are healthy.

It doesn't take much for that to be taken away. And I hate the idea of swathes of society being written off and left to suffer because it isn't a priority for me.

A priority for me is to ensure that we live in a society where the gains of the country can be shared by all of us. Most of us can and should contribute to society. And we should hold the hands of those who can't until either a) they can contribute or b) for as long as they need it. It's about responsibility and respect.

I don't buy the idea that people on benefits are scroungers. In every section of society, you get people who want to take advantage and play the system. From tax dodgers to benefit cheats. However I believe that they are in the minority and I don't let them drive my politics.
That is why I would never vote Tory.

I don't think labour caused the global financial crash did they?

No they didn't, why do you ask? Did somebody mention the global financial crisis being the problem?

I hope you're not going to pretend it is, because the issue I was talking about was the deficit we had when it hit, after a period of growth so favourable we should arguably not have even been running one at all.

You know, because of economic profligacy and all.

Nor did they implement austerity measures which stifled economic growth.

And in fact brought the deficit down to the level it was at before the financial crisis, and hopefully will continue to take it down.

By the middle of the 2020s, we may be close to resolving the deficit Labour created. That means it will be possible to get debt going down by 2030, that is how long it will take us to rid ourselves of the consequences of the last Labour government.

I just don't understand this rhetoric that labour is shit with the economy.

Don't you? Weird. They left us with a deficit that looks likely to run longer and deeper than EVER in the economic history of Great Britain, including both world wars and the days of the British Empire, and they created this situation from a starting position and economic conditions that could have left us with a surplus even with quite heavy handed spending.

The way it was at teh time of Liam Byrne's note, was simply unsustainable, it was impossible to even tread water and had put us on a long slow dive to a Dickensian-style country with no safety net at all, leaving the rest of the country facing the consequences while Labour cackled from the sidelines about how poorly the "other side" fought the fire and painting a narrative (which is complete bollocks, by the way) where the rest of us "want" to hurt disabled people because that's our "ideology".

I don't actually have a great deal of respect for any political party, but if we give the Labour Party more chances right now, if tthey manage to double the deficit we might end up cutting EVERY disabled person's benefits/NHS access. No doubt while Labour pretend that Tory/Lib Dem voters are cutting stuff because they like it.

Despite being involved with disability benefits in my line of work I will base who I vote for on many different issues. Security of the nation, Brexit, education are all issues that personally affect me personally.

I'm voting Tory, I don't want to see disability benefits cut but I think the Tories are better placed to deliver a stronger economy post Brexit and to deal with extreme Islamist terror attacks than the other parties. For me those are my priorities so that's why I am voting for them.

there are other issues which I see as more urgent at the present

Don't mean to jump on your comment there, nothing personal, but I do feel that this sentence pretty much sums up peoples' attitudes to voting for the Conservatives. It's just not top priority for them
Unfortunately for them, disability doesn't discriminate and a lot of people who vote Tory may well find themselves jumping through these hoops, facing these difficulties and cuts which they did not regard as Very Important, one day soon or maybe not.
So it's rather short-sighted to not prioritise it, imo.

I'm voting Labour - I never vote Tory, but I do not consider disability benefit as the most urgent policy.
Firstly, because MOST people aren't disabled, and none of my family are. People vote for issues that concern themselves primarily.
Secondly, Brexit is the biggest issue facing the UK in 70 years. Nothing is as important as Brexit.

I'm not saying disability benefit is a non-issue, but it's not the MAIN issue for many.

People vote for many complicated reasons. A single policy rarely sways swathes of the electorate.

Actually, I am going to post further. So if we are supposed to prioritise other people's issues over our own (and can I just politely remind that pp know nothing about me or my life), then why is all your anger (those who are berating any Tories who dare give their views) aimed at Tory voters? Why not at all the very wealthy people who vote Labour? They could redistribute some of their wealth to less well off people if they wanted to and if they really thought they should prioritise other people's needs.

Crossword, can I ask how you feel the tories are doing at the moment re terrorism and Islam radicalisation? As you said this is something you are concerned about.

cross my comment wasn't suppose to do anything other than point out the element of privilege.

It genuinely IS a privilege to care about Brexit, borders, or even scottish independence.

I am not voting in the best interests of my family, because they can (currently) look after themselves. I am voting in the what I believe are the best interests of people who don't have as many choices as an able bodied person with high levels of training and employability such as myself has.

It is still selfish in the sense that I know I and my family are one random car accident away from being reliant on the state.

It baffles me that other people can't work out that they are too.

it's not about not valuing other peoples' lives, there are so many issues and some people will be affected more than others by certain policy decisions. You have to make a decision based on your current situation and what you believe are the most pressing issues affecting you and your family. I would love to cherry pick from both labour and conservative manifestos but sadly this isn't an option.

Of course I can see that I may end up disabled, but it's not the most important issue for me to be voting on at the moment - you don't seem to be able to understand that others have different priorities.

The bit I struggle to understand some is after 5 years of Corbyn et al, with the debt doubled, our top people having left the country having been squeezed & rubbish left on our streets, who will pay for the benefits then? It's happened before & will happen again. I think Corbyn talks a great game but, obviously hates success and will promise anything to bribe people to vote for Labour

My daughter is disabled, I am her carer. I am voting Tory. She will always be disabled, she will need help throughout her life, especially when I am no longer here to care for her.

I could vote Labour and have a nice little windfall but then it would be spent and I will be leaving my daughter and her generation to pay it back. I would rather have what I have now than gamble on her future.

Can anyone expand on what benefits exactly are being cut apart from the loss of some disability premiums under Universal credit ?

Its madness to hear people say they think the tories will be better on terrorism and islamic extremism. How the hell does that work whem she cut police and security services so drastically, qhich led to the many complaints against the terrorists BEFORE they attacked, not being followed up. The tories have not kept us safe and are selling arms to the extremists in Saudi

Benefits are not better targeted at all.

Do you know what the difference between being placed in the support group of esa and the wrag group or esa is? 1 point. 1 point can make the difference between people losing a significant chunk of their money.

Don't even get me started on the bonkers PIP decisions.

Sootsprite you can vote how you like with no reproach from me. I believe in a democracy where people can vote for the bloody dolphin if they want. I just won't be.

i can't justify the conservative treatment of the disabled, i won't attempt to. All I can say is that labour's policies are likely to cause unemployment and hours cuts for people and I'm making the least worst choice as i see it, because in FPTP, it has to be conservative or labour.

I wish we had better choices, and a better voting system as we're having to choose between 2 polar opposites with the conservative/labour offering - massive state expansion that we can't afford or the cuts the conservatives are making.

It does worry me - family are in receipt of disability benefits.