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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Labour increase benefits bill. AIBU To think what’s the point in working?

1000 replies

topicalaffair · 03/02/2026 08:10

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15520831/Labours-push-lift-two-child-benefits-cap-hand-25-000-windfalls-thousands-Britains-biggest-jobless-families.html#

‘Official estimates suggest the cost of scrapping the cap will total £13.6 billion over the next five years.

The Tories said families currently affected by the cap are in line to receive windfalls worth an average £25,000 each over that period.

But the biggest families will gain far more. Thousands of families with five children will receive around £10,900 a year while those with six children will get an extra £16,600 a year.
Almost half of the families involved have no one in work.‘

Labour benefits plan 'will hand £25,000' to biggest jobless families

Ministers will bring forward legislation on Tuesday to lift the limit on benefit payments which was imposed in 2017.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15520831/Labours-push-lift-two-child-benefits-cap-hand-25-000-windfalls-thousands-Britains-biggest-jobless-families.html#

OP posts:
Vixenlover · 03/02/2026 13:26

XDownwiththissortofthingX · 03/02/2026 08:54

I’m not happy to pay benefits to sham claimants who are taking the piss

Define "sham claimant taking the piss".

By DWP's own admission the number of fraudulent claims is minuscule, so by what measure are you determining who is a "sham claimant" and who is "taking the piss"?

Claimants do not set their own eligibility criterion, that's down to the Government, so it seems to me your notion of "sham claimants taking the piss" is nothing more than your resentment for the actual people themselves showing itself, because if you actually were concerned about the cost to the exchequer then the issue there is the policy, not the claimants.

Also, since the benefits in question here are still a tiny proportion of the overall welfare bill, it's telling that the subject of every single one of these threads is either families with multiple children, or the sick and disabled.

If you really were concerned about the "cost to the taxpayer", you'd be hopping mad about the absolute nonsense of retaining the triple-lock on pensions and the fact the UK State encourages large employers to pay pittance wages by ensuring they are topped up with UC.

No, it's invariably the two child cap, or PIP, or whining about skyrocketing claims for illness and disability without ever pausing to consider just why we have such and ill and unfit population.

It is possible to be concerned about the cost to the taxpayer of the two child cap, PIP, skyrocketing claims for disability AND the triple lock you know.

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:26

Vinvertebrate · 03/02/2026 13:23

Unintended consequences, maybe. No local specialist schools means the SEN children who need them have to travel further, yet I don't see much appetite to increase the number of specialist SEN places. Many parents can't deal with the logistical impossibility of getting one to child to specialist and other(s) elsewhere. Many SEMH children are school refusers and are heavily reliant on support from trusted adults outside of the home.

DS has ended up in a school so far away from us that I would have to drive 4 hours every day to transport him. And I'd have to give up my job, which pays a significant chunk (62% at times) to HMRC.

I think I'll save my sympathy for the poor DC spending huge chunks of their childhood being ferried around because of inadequate provision for their needs by successive governments.

By making spending on SEN and Adult social care statutory, you have created your own problems.

Private Equity sees that "statutory spending" and immediately buys up care homes and specialist schools to raise prices.

Those higher prices eat up taxpayer funding, and makes it impossible for more specialist schools and care homes to be built.

Its a market failure that has been created by statute, which is why Labour is likely going to remove it.

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:29

BillieWiper · 03/02/2026 13:25

Why are you saying that all benefits claimants 'cant be arsed to earn anything'. Most UC claimants work. And pip isn't means tested so you could work and be a billionaire and still claim.

"Most UC claimants work" is false.

Its 38%.

nevernotmaybe · 03/02/2026 13:33

southerngirl10 · 03/02/2026 13:24

What? My post was about about a relative who is an asylum seeker here. I don't think I can be classed as a trust me bro. Want me to break the figures down for you?

"Trust me bro" is a reference to using anecdotes only which you just described. It's not evidence. If they are getting something, this information is available, it would be good to know because I cant find it.

Asylum seekers are under immigration control and have no rights to public funds. They do get a small amount of money, but not from the benefits system.

Refugees can access disability benefits, as they have a right to be here officially.

But I will gladly learn from new information. I can't learn from "trust me bro, but I can't prove it any other way than giving someone else's personal information for some reason".

Vinvertebrate · 03/02/2026 13:33

I absolutely agree with you about the perverse incentives @Seelybee , but I find it surprising that so many people manage to meet the criteria for DLA - which ostensibly requires so much evidence from schools and health professionals - if they are acting dishonestly.

The increase in ASC and ADHD diagnoses is probably not explained only by better detection, but it's difficult for those of us whose DC have classic (or "severe" if you prefer) autism to avoid being tarred with the same brush. (If you met DS, it would be clear that he is disabled and not just high-energy or quirky or naughty or any of the other adjectives that we used in the olden days to describe some DC!)

Agrumpyknitter · 03/02/2026 13:34

Lots of families are on universal credit because employers don’t pay them a living wage and we as tax payers subsidise those companies that do this. Those companies prioritise paying out to shareholders and big exec bonuses than they do to ordinary working people.

The biggest welfare cheats are large and medium companies who avoid paying their fair share of taxation in this country. The owner of the Dailymail is worth £1 billion pounds and has non dom status which is why he hates Labour so much as they have got rid of those protections. He holds his wealth in some overseas tax havens. Which is not illegal but is it moral?

Is it moral that billionaires such as the owner of the dailymail that the OP quotes doesn’t pay his fair share of taxes and uses his media influence to direct voters to hating on welfare claimants, many of whom work? There fixed it for you, OP this should have been your AIBU.

Caffè Nero for example should be boycotted by UK citizens because they don’t pay their share of corporation tax in this country. Perhaps we should have a boycott list of media, tech and other companies that don’t pay their fair share of taxation in this country and we by consumer power can force them into it.

EatMoreChocolate44 · 03/02/2026 13:34

ThatPerkyBiscuit · 03/02/2026 12:47

For a lot of people it is.

For a lot of people it isn't.

It depends what the job is and what standard of living you want, and what standard of living working gets you.

In fact, a lot of people think you'd be a mug to work for a living if you can live off benefits instead.

And judging by some of the posts I saw on sites discussing PIP reforms last year, there's an awful lot of people who say working in low paid, dead-end jobs caused the depression and anxiety they're now claiming benefits for; so why on earth would they want to work again?

I get it. Of course it's dependent on circumstances. I also think upbringing has a role to play in your work ethic. I've worked in minimum wage jobs and I'm now a teacher. My job is stressful and hard but equally I couldn't cope being at home all day. My mind needs to be kept busy and I am proud of what I do. But I understand why people are disillusioned.

southerngirl10 · 03/02/2026 13:34

nevernotmaybe · 03/02/2026 13:21

Interesting how the evidence isn't what you post, just "trust me bro". All while appearing to not even know the difference between asylum seekers and refugees.

There are no secret laws for benefits, post what you are claiming an asylum seeker can get if disabled or don't waste everyone's time.

Edited

Oh, I see you've just edited your post. It didn't make sense the first time, makes even less now.

BillieWiper · 03/02/2026 13:36

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:29

"Most UC claimants work" is false.

Its 38%.

Ok sorry. But why are there people on here who think of benefits claimants as one homogenous mass of identical people hell bent on never doing anything even vaguely useful to society?

It's pure prejudice. And snobbery.

ThatPerkyBiscuit · 03/02/2026 13:36

nevernotmaybe · 03/02/2026 13:19

If not being homeless is better, why are they homeless.

Clearly must be better to be homeless.

It's not necessarily that it's better to be homeless, but that for some people, they simply do not want the responsibilities that come with being housed or are not able or willing to engage with it.

They don't want rules or expectations and either won't or can't co-operate with that.

The same as some people with substance misuse issues are not willing to engage with the help available.

Same as some people who could work don't want to and won't engage with it.

And so long as the state provides the lifestyle they're willing to continue with, they never will.

Frequency · 03/02/2026 13:36

southerngirl10 · 03/02/2026 13:34

Oh, I see you've just edited your post. It didn't make sense the first time, makes even less now.

Her post makes perfect sense. Yours, however, are utter bollocks and you know it.

Asylum seekers do not get any benefits, much less PIP or DLA.

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:39

Agrumpyknitter · 03/02/2026 13:34

Lots of families are on universal credit because employers don’t pay them a living wage and we as tax payers subsidise those companies that do this. Those companies prioritise paying out to shareholders and big exec bonuses than they do to ordinary working people.

The biggest welfare cheats are large and medium companies who avoid paying their fair share of taxation in this country. The owner of the Dailymail is worth £1 billion pounds and has non dom status which is why he hates Labour so much as they have got rid of those protections. He holds his wealth in some overseas tax havens. Which is not illegal but is it moral?

Is it moral that billionaires such as the owner of the dailymail that the OP quotes doesn’t pay his fair share of taxes and uses his media influence to direct voters to hating on welfare claimants, many of whom work? There fixed it for you, OP this should have been your AIBU.

Caffè Nero for example should be boycotted by UK citizens because they don’t pay their share of corporation tax in this country. Perhaps we should have a boycott list of media, tech and other companies that don’t pay their fair share of taxation in this country and we by consumer power can force them into it.

Why do people keep trotting these explanations out?

You cannot "pay people more" if they are not productive enough for it.

Businesses are not charities. They have to compete not only domestically, but also with businesses abroad.

Have you not learned anything over the last few years?

Jacking up the minimum wage with ZERO increases in productivity has led to much higher inflation and job losses at entry level (specially for young people).

Wages are a function of productivity. If you "want to be paid more" you have to invest in productivity-enhancing infrastructure.

Right now the UK doesn't. Which is why UK inflation is over 3% and in the EU it is hovering around 2%.

Vinvertebrate · 03/02/2026 13:42

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:26

By making spending on SEN and Adult social care statutory, you have created your own problems.

Private Equity sees that "statutory spending" and immediately buys up care homes and specialist schools to raise prices.

Those higher prices eat up taxpayer funding, and makes it impossible for more specialist schools and care homes to be built.

Its a market failure that has been created by statute, which is why Labour is likely going to remove it.

I'm not sure who "you" is in this context, but children (especially disabled ones) should not be paying the price for eminently foreseeable policy failures. I am appalled that Labour is trying to dismantle the legal safety net for some of the most vulnerable children in society, but heartened by their abject failure (up to now) to implement any of their welfare reforms, even the modest ones. FWIW DS' needs are so significant that I doubt he will be impacted - sadly there is now very little chance of him coping in MS or living independently.

ArrghNoJustNo · 03/02/2026 13:42

PandoraSocks · 03/02/2026 11:49

I claim a benefit. I am also a taxpayer and pay tax on the benefit I recieve.

So you're obviously not the 'some' mentioned who can't be arsed to earn anything at all and contribute.

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:44

Vinvertebrate · 03/02/2026 13:42

I'm not sure who "you" is in this context, but children (especially disabled ones) should not be paying the price for eminently foreseeable policy failures. I am appalled that Labour is trying to dismantle the legal safety net for some of the most vulnerable children in society, but heartened by their abject failure (up to now) to implement any of their welfare reforms, even the modest ones. FWIW DS' needs are so significant that I doubt he will be impacted - sadly there is now very little chance of him coping in MS or living independently.

And people wonder why the UK is floundering?

You are actually happy that welfare keeps growing unsustainably.

Amazing. I have heard it all now.

Middletoleft · 03/02/2026 13:45

XDownwiththissortofthingX · 03/02/2026 08:23

The now daily benefits moaning thread 😴

It's getting to be a bit monotonous.

I wonder if the poster works for the press office of the Tories, Reform or the Daily Mail.

WiddlinDiddlin · 03/02/2026 13:45

topicalaffair · 03/02/2026 08:38

This is the problem with people not thinking objectively - or being so blinded by cognitive bias they talk shit. .

I said above I’m happy to pay benefits to people who need them.

I’m not happy to pay benefits to sham claimants who are taking the piss.

And if you don’t understand the difference, I’m not quite sure how to move forward with discussing it with you.

But do you think it is acceptable that in order to avoid paying benefits to those not actually in need, some people in need will miss out?

Because that is the reality. A system strict and rigorous enough to catch out the fraudulent grifters, is so strict and rigorous it will also deny benefits to genuine claimants too.

I know which I'd rather see happen, and unfortunately there is no way of ensuring 100% genuine claims, 0% fraud.

And.. as ever, we're all being pointed to look in the wrong direction. Yes, some people are better off on benefits than they are working.

Not because benefits offer a lavish lifestyle, but because working pays very badly, with outrageous expectations (eg that you're not unwell for more than x days a year, as if anyone actually has control over that, zero hours contracts, toxic expectations and work culture), for many people.

EasternStandard · 03/02/2026 13:47

BillieWiper · 03/02/2026 13:25

Why are you saying that all benefits claimants 'cant be arsed to earn anything'. Most UC claimants work. And pip isn't means tested so you could work and be a billionaire and still claim.

Does it make sense for the last line to happen? If someone is high earning enough to pay a certain amount of tax should there be a claim?

1457bloom · 03/02/2026 13:47

We are currently paying £57 billion per year for government employee DB pensions. We need to scrap this and phase in DC pensions like they have in the private sector.

Thedownwardspiralpath · 03/02/2026 13:48

Kirbert2 · 03/02/2026 08:31

Let me guess, the daily mail completely fails to mention that there's a benefit cap which hasn't changed despite lifting the UC child element cap?

This ^^

AgentPidge · 03/02/2026 13:48

EvangelineTheNightStar · 03/02/2026 08:24

Well what say you to all the benefits claimants who are doing so rather than working?
if they’re not better off on benefits, why are they claiming benefits and not working?

Some ARE working - delivery drivers, building sites. But black market and claiming, so officially they're not working. I know this for sure because I ran up against some people like this who were friends with my ex.

1457bloom · 03/02/2026 13:50

Asylum seekers get free accommodation, free healthcare and their kids get free education all funded by workers.

bemoresloth · 03/02/2026 13:51

1457bloom · 03/02/2026 13:50

Asylum seekers get free accommodation, free healthcare and their kids get free education all funded by workers.

They are not allowed to work.

ThatPerkyBiscuit · 03/02/2026 13:52

nevernotmaybe · 03/02/2026 13:33

"Trust me bro" is a reference to using anecdotes only which you just described. It's not evidence. If they are getting something, this information is available, it would be good to know because I cant find it.

Asylum seekers are under immigration control and have no rights to public funds. They do get a small amount of money, but not from the benefits system.

Refugees can access disability benefits, as they have a right to be here officially.

But I will gladly learn from new information. I can't learn from "trust me bro, but I can't prove it any other way than giving someone else's personal information for some reason".

Asylum seekers can't claim disability benefits but they 100% receive the care they need via the NHS and their care often includes e.g social housing and other 'benefits'.

Vinvertebrate · 03/02/2026 13:52

TheThinkingEconomist · 03/02/2026 13:44

And people wonder why the UK is floundering?

You are actually happy that welfare keeps growing unsustainably.

Amazing. I have heard it all now.

No, you've misunderstood. As a taxpayer I recognise that welfare spending as a whole is unsustainable. My DC was given an independent specialist school (and related transport) because the LA had nothing else to offer him, after arguing with me for 3 years. I will fight tooth and nail to avoid further disruption to his education, because we have suffered enough at the hands of the incompetent NHS and the weaponised delays of the LA.

I believe that the UK has the worst of all worlds - high taxes, and shit services that taxpayers resent contributing towards. However, I simply do not believe that Labour will actually implement most of the SEND reform "kites" they are flying at the moment (which - selfishly - can only be a good thing for children like DS who have suffered enough at the hands of our woeful state).

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