AIBU to think that this is not what Labour promised ?

[Rosscameasdoody]

There is an article in the online news service regarding the consultation on proposed changes to disability benefits - link is below. The consultation is being called a sham because the main proposal likely to pay for 85% of the projected savings - namely the cut to PIP requiring 4 points minimum in any one daily living category - is not up for discussion in the consultation document. In addition half of the proposals for other benefits likely to affect the disabled aren’t up for discussion either.

There are various organisations including Disability Rights UK and Amnesty International lobbying the government to comply with the law on consultation. The Tory proposals were thrown out as illegal and Labour severely criticised them for the way in which the consultation was designed. Now it seems Labour are following suit and not presenting an honest consultation - so much for working with disabled people and giving them a voice.

I would urge anyone on any sickness or disability benefits to look at the link below and then contact Disability Rights UK or any other disability organisation or charity they belong to, to ask what they are doing about this. Labour promised a full root and branch reform to PIP, to make it fairer and more transparent. They promised to consult fully and that changes would be based on full consultation with disabled people and taking their opinion into account. Am I being unreasonable to think that this is not that ?

https://apple.news/AOwMH_xQ4Rt-60MVbDqK9LQ

In hindsight, who would you vote for? I voted Tory, but wasn’t unduly upset Labour got in. I didn’t mind KS but the hypocrisy has been an eye opener.

Nope. The right to disability benefits is enshrined in UK law, as in all countries signed up to the ECHR.

I’m surprised that Labour are seemingly doing more than the conservatives on these issues. I don’t disagree with them completely though. We can’t carry on like this. I’m glad they are getting rid of NHS England and putting money into frontline services. I’ll be glad if they get people back to work. I think mental health problems linked to benefits are over diagnosed.

Everyone's an expert.

I can't believe I voted Labour im so disgusted with them

Do/did you see furlough as a human right?

You are entirely unreasonable to expect politicians not to lie. They all do, red, white or blue. I must admit, I expected Labour to fuck up the economy but I am surprised that they’ve turned on their power base so much? People who voted for Labour absolutely did not expect this. And if the current Cabinet cannot see how this will play out at the next election? More fool them.

As far as I am concerned the Tories and Labour are 2 cheeks of the same arse.

I didn’t vote for either of them.

I actually think, bizarrely, only a Labour government can do this - as a Tory government would be attacked more severely for it.

The problem is… very difficult though it is… there is no easy solution to the rapidly growing welfare bill. It will bankrupt the country within a decade if not addressed - it is already bankrupting our councils.

Things cannot continue as they are, it is not affordable.

My personal belief is that everyone needs to be paying more tax, and that in-work benefits for all need to be removed. We also need the over-65s to pay national insurance, government pensions to be massively reduced, and some form of wealth tax.

I keep repeatedly saying it on every thread why are they not helping people who can work, work part time why have they gone for an all or nothing approach. Expecting disabled people to work a 50 hour week isn't realistic but if they can work something then surely that's great for everyone. Also their not taking into account there are more people out of work then there are jobs and companies will not hire a disabled person over an able body person. Maybe if they brought retirement age down there would be more jobs

If it’s anything like the ‘consultation’ they held on VAT on private school fees, they are running it for show. They actually give zero fucks what anyone thinks and will just plough on regardless. I can’t stand Labour, and like a PP I knew they’d screw up the economy, but I’m aghast at how they’ve treated pensioners and now the disabled. It’s inhumane how they’re behaving. The problem as I see it, is there is no real opposition to hold them to account.

We spend about the same percentage of GDP as comparable countries. The difference is (a) we have severe structural inequality, some of the worst in Europe, and (b) we have a fiercely right wing press which is used to convince much of the population that the social security (not "welfare", we don't have that) budget is out of control.
Fix inequality, low pay, the housing crisis, the lack of a properly functioning health service and watch the cost of disability benefits tumble. But what right of centre late stage capitalist government in thrall to business and big money is going to do that? Better to get rid of some of us "useless eaters" and set an example to the rest.

I agree it’s not surprising

@TheFastTraybake the UK has seen the fastest growth of people claiming disability support in the developed world, since 2019.

Between 2019-23 the numbers claiming increased by a quarter.

The number of working age people claiming PIP has doubled since 2019.

The problem the UK faces is that a growing number of the population aren’t working, and are claiming some form of enhanced welfare benefit. Plus of course the ageing population.

As I said in my previous post, that's really not the problem. Apart from anything else we don't have the number of job vacancies, let alone appropriate jobs for all the disabled people and carers who will lose their vital benefits. And PIP isn't an out of work benefit despite what the government nudges us towards believing, so cutting PIP will actually put people out of work by depriving them of the support they need to be able to maintain their jobs. These cuts will increase structural inequality, not lessen it, and save absolutely nothing - the cost will just be borne by medical, social care, emergency housing and social services departments instead. The cuts are both pointless and cruel. We expected that from the Tories. Now we also have it from LINO who refuse to question why people without access to a functioning health service, living on poverty pay or below subsistence benefits in a permanent cost of living crisis may become eligible for sickness and disability support.

the UK has seen the fastest growth of people claiming disability support in the developed world, since 2019

Why do you think that is?

I’m puzzled as to how and why they have stepped in to save the Scunthorpe steel plant, it’s making a £700,000 loss per day. Where in the hell is the money coming from!! Do they want to take more away from the disabled to pay for this?

Exactly obviously disability went up after a pandemic the same will happen after the next pandemic. I was hospitalised for over a month with covid nearly died and just never fully recovered

The UK wasn’t the only country that was impacted by the pandemic…

It really is the problem - read any (proper) article about these cuts and this is the governments reason for doing it.

There is not a bottomless pit of money. The number of taxpayers is dwindling, and the number of people claiming welfare from the state is growing (the biggest cohort here old age pensioners).

We all want to support the most vulnerable in our society. That model cannot work when the most vulnerable in our society are 25%+ of the population, supported by a shrinking number of tax payers.

If this is not kept under control, it will bankrupt the country. The state cannot just channel every penny it gets into a growing welfare bill.

And - regarding keeping people in work, the government have outlined that their intention is to get more people in work and stop what they see as cycle of reliance on benefits.

After being battered by Brexit, before a lengthy CoL crisis, a decade and a half of "austerity", a patchy health service...
Are you trying to say that the UK is uniquely full of workshy scroungers with their hands out? Hard to see what else you could mean at this point.

Zero need to patronise people when you have no idea of their background. Did you just see I said I was disabled and decided I'm a bit hard of thinking and don't read stuff?

Very odd to try and put words into my mouth, which I quite clearly haven’t said.

As the stat I shared above showed, actually a lot of the growth in people claiming eg PIP is people in worn. So not ‘lazy workshy scroungers’ (your words).

I think it would be interesting to assess the UK system vs similar nations to understand the growth in numbers. That is not something I have any data or research on.

No, and again - you are making assumptions about me and putting words in my mouth. I had no idea you had a disability.

You said ‘that’s really not the problem’ - I am saying, it is, here is the evidence.

Well no.