Benefits v Defence Lord Robertson

[Wednesdayschild87]

Lord Robertson’s Speech… seriously does anyone care?? He’s laid out the fact that as a nation we can’t carry on like this… he said we can’t afford to keep throwing money at benefits whilst leaving our country defences I’m actually shocked no one has come out and spoken on this matter before. I’m incredulous.

The whole thing is bound to collapse. I know it is said all the time but it is completely unsustainable. Workers are sick of being taken for mugs. The mid-earners are dropping days and not going for promotions as it just isn't worth it. A friend just had a bonus and lost half of it in tax. They aren't rich - just have a decent, stressful job. One average house, one average car. They're wondering why do they bother.

They dont they get benefits for how the conditon impacts them HTH.

That doesn't make sense?

We've bared the brunt of cuts over the last 14 years:
DLA to PIP
Legacy benefits to universal credit
LCWRA cur and frozen for baby new claimants
LCW being the same as basic UC

Read it again - you don't get benefits because you have a diagnosis of something. You get benefits because of the impact it has

Yes, the NHS is getting stripped to the bone, education, social care....the only thing that seems to be getting more and more put into it is the welfare pot.

It's like no ones considered that funding the NHS properly and getting people seen in a timely manner would mean that more people are able to return to work and don't need to rely on welfare

It probably would help however there will always be more and more people holding out their hands for more benefits.

But there are people living in these houses, they havent just vanished. Yes, they arent under social housing but they are still housing.
The biggest contributions to our housing crisis are
-immigration, with often large families. Working in an outer London borough I have several families on my caseload who have 5 or more children (Parents all born abroad). These require a larger property, and there is usually only 1 working adult, so their only option is social housing, they could never afford a suitable property on private market. We have 2 families with 8+ where 2 houses had to be knocked together each time to house them

• taxes and costs of moving. Many elderly won't downsize as after costs, they won't be any better off, so single people living in bigger properties
• foreign investors pushing up prices
• breakdown of relationships - when a couple seperate they need 2 properties rather than one, so pushing up demand

We conscript the unemployed

Regarding incentives to people from overseas to join the military. A large number of our regiments have recruits from the Carribbean and other parts of the commonwealth.
The US in the 1960s offered a serve in the military for so many years and you'll get US citizenship. True, there was a very good chance of a working holiday in SE Asia but citizenship at the end.

Also a massive rise in family homes being taken out of the residential market and used as holiday lets/Air BNBs.

Also the rise in students going to Uni has drained the local housing stock around Unis, with family homes being converted to HMO's to house students. New buildings being built at custom built student flats instead of flats for local people wanting homes.

What's worse, is that in both cases, the lost "homes" aren't even occupied 52 weeks per year. Lots of homes are left mostly empty outside the tourist seasons and student flats are unoccupied during the Summer.

Not to mention homes left empty for years whilst the owner resides in care homes etc, never to return home, but which aren't sold until long after the owner has died - sometimes empty for 10-20 or more years.

Then all the empty/unoccupied premises above high street shops which used to be residential homes for the shop owner, but then left as storage etc as the chain stores moved in, and now completely abandoned, as is the boarded up shop at street level due to the collapse of high street retail. Again, empty for 10/20 years is pretty commonplace. Councils don't help as they've usually designated the shopping streets as "retail" so routinely refuse planning permission for change of use to residential, not to mention the "flats" upstairs not passing modern building regulations without major modification which, again, requires planning permission, usually refused.

I also wonder if the increase in divorce over the years has contributed to less available homes. Where previously, one home would house mum, dad and kids. Now 2 homes are needed.

Where the difference between net income from going to work and from receiving benefits is low or in some cases negative, the reality is that many people will logically choose not to work.

There are many threads where people have stated that after tax, childcare costs and commuting costs that they would be only marginally better off going to work.

This is bonkers and unworkable.

Only someone with no clue how the forces work would suggest it.

Fix housing and the NHS.

Really?

You are unable to grasp that some disabled can't work at all?

Or that many employers will not employ people with long tern disabilities or long term health conditions?

Or that any decent society should not allow disabled people to live in poverty?

Or that we have an aging population and that we are all more likely to develop long tern health issues as we get older?

What is it that you find so hard to understand?

Sounds like a real vote winner in an election manifesto 🙄

Only marginally financially, but imagine the less stress! No nightmare school/work run, getting to go to all school plays/events!
not having to find holiday care?!

He’s absolutely right. We can’t go on like this with the benefits bill for more reasons than just defence.

Maybe the NEETs should be sent to armed forces.

How would that help pay for more aircraft and ships, which is what we need?

I do think some people should be fast tracked for treatment. Some trades are hard on the body - carpet fitting must be terrible for knees for instance - and a carpet fitter with arthritis ought to be pushed up the queue for knee replacements.

We need to seriously look at why so many people are claiming sickness benefits - the cost is unmanageable - 4.4 million as of 2025 an increase of 9% . We need to ask why and how can we encourage those who can work, to work. I know people hit hard times I have been there, many years ago and the safety net is essential but long term benefits claims are not a healthy way to contribute to society and I don't just mean financially.
Also agree the government should be seeking the big Corporations shirking there tax responsibilities - yes you Starbucks and numerous other.
The working/middle class & small businesses have been targeted for too long, they are easy pickings for taxes with nothing to show for it - poor infrastructure, underfunded education & health services. I'm fed up of working my socks off without a seeing any changes

so is the benefits bill, level of unemployment and the looming threat of war so please don’t accuse somebody who you don’t know of knowing nothing about the Armed Forces. National Service worked in the past; it can and should work again.

We need to seriously look at why so many people are claiming sickness benefits - the cost is unmanageable - 4.4 million as of 2025 an increase of 9% . We need to ask why and how can we encourage those who can work, to work. I know people hit hard times I have been there, many years ago and the safety net is essential but long term benefits claims are not a healthy way to contribute to society and I don't just mean financially
this, there should be a change to how benefits are assessed, people shouldn’t be going on line to get tips on how to make sure their claim gets accepted…. No more “what’s the phrases I need to use?” Those whose lives are never going to recover to level to work shouldn’t have to keep submitting evidence