Don't like Farage but..

[TheBlueKoala]

I do agree with him that foreign nationals shouldn't be able to claim benefits and to scrap PIP for mild mental health issues. And that the money saved should go into mental health care so that everyone with mild mental health problems can access NHS care rapidly.

1. 14 years of real terms cuts under the last government - I watched the wards close, I watched the services disappear and so people were left to get much, much worse before they finaly got help.

2. COVID and long COVID.

3. Demographics - we have an ageing population.

And apparently we could afford tax cuts that mostly benefited wealthier people, so it's about priorities.

I loathe reform for all kind of reasons a but yes I do think theres a tendency for a lot of people to have weeks and months and months off with these things and fully expect to keep their jobs just sat there , especially in public service - mind you I think Farage has actually contributed to plenty of people’s depression , certainly hasn’t helped me mentally just knowing he’s there in the wings - hate the conning arse

That's not the same thing as people on disability benefits though. They are planning to force people with anxiety and depression off benefits and back into the workplace.

Please do point to where Reform has said the words “There will be no NHS under a Reform government.”

It's not a vote winner for them to say that, is it?

https://bylinetimes.com/2026/03/30/reform-uk-promised-17-billion-in-new-healthcare-spending-but-none-of-it-is-for-the-nhs/

I’m actually a centre left voter but I do think it’s often a fine line between can’t work and won’t work - I’ve known several people claiming this for years and claiming but not so anxious they find it miraculously seems fine to go away on holiday a fair bit, or potter round as normal - the only anxiety they have isa fear of having to work - one is 30 something, one early 60s. To be honest I think Faragexwill find plenty with this mindset are actually unemployable in a tight work market and what do you do then - ? .

I'm not defending people cheating the system, not for a minute, but the logical conclusion of this argument is that anyone on disability benefits should stay at home all the time, quietly rocking backwards and forwards in the chair, and never be allowed out or go on holiday or have any kind of a life, otherwise they are somehow undeserving and/or faking. It's worth remembering that the P in PIP stands for personal and the I for independence - it's there to give people the ability to live as independent a life as possible.

I suffer from ptsd depression and anxiety. I pretty much present as "normal" as you put it. Some disabilities aren't visible. I've been very aware of this lately having been rudely told to move off a disabled seat on a bus (which I have done). I have a disabled bus pass but I don't look disabled enough for some people -and I will always give up a seat for someone who needs it more than me

Even when I was in a lot more pain from the fracture I had people on buses angrily telling me to give up the disabled seat so that people with prams could sit in the seat

If I had been forced into work 6 years ago I wouldn't have been able to hold a job down. I haven't been on benefits all the time since then but I was told several times by the dwp that I was fit to work when I was really unwell

I have ptsd. I look perfectly well - but I have been really unwell at points over the past few years

I think it's pretty sad that people think that anxiety isn't very much. It can be completely crippling - particularly if it's compounded with other mental health issues at the same time

I want a tax cut. There you go. I am fed up of subsidising people who are better off than me and who have no intention of working. And stop blaming the Tories on everything. The more money we pay out, the worse it is getting.

Wrong. We need to start pouring more money into schools. They are in a far worse state than the NHS. And get parents to take more responsibility for their children, to give them the best opportunities.

I would be very surprised if I'm currently better off than you.

What does that mean “foreign nationals”? Plenty of foreign nationals are also British citizens or are permanent residents. Why should they not be able to claim benefits if needed?

Also will foreign nationals therefore get special tax exemptions so as to not have to fund a system they cannot participate in?

That's not how it works. Do you think if Pip and lwrca was stopped the money would be "poured into schools". Disability benefits account for around 5-6 per cent of total Govt spending

I worked from the age of 23 to 50. And I have been on disability benefits for less than 18 months. I really think it's unfair that people who have mental health issues are branded as work shy and not wanting to work. If I had been well enough to work I would still be in a job. (I didn't give up a well paid job to go on benefits if anyone thinks that my last job was min wage and zero hours)

It's not the fault of people on Pip that schools and the NHS are underfunded. The biggest welfare payments are the state pension. 55 per cent of welfare spending goes on that. 6-7 per cent on disability benefits

Do people honestly think if the Government cut disability benefits from everyone currently claiming that the savings would be enough to improve schools and the NHS?

The underlying theme is that people on Pip - particularly if they have MH issues. Nothing wrong with them. All they need is a job.

Having a job didn't stop my uncle from taking his own life. It didn't improve his mental health.

My anxiety got far worse not only going through the process of trying to claim benefits but also when the dwp kept telling me that I was fit for work. I was completely terrified that I would have to take a job when I didn't feel well enough. End up sanctioned and potentially end up in rent arrears and on hardship benefits.

It's about people paying for other people. That's what it always boils down to. I paid tax for long enough. I have never sat at night thinking - my taxes are paying for other peoples benefits.

I wish I had never gone through the life events that caused me to end up on disability benefits - that's the bottom line.

People all just get tarred with the same brush don't they. Work shy. No intention of working, not really mentally unwell - "looks normal" . Lashes. Netflix, out every weekend while other people work to pay for it

Even if they’ve worked and paid taxes and national insurance etc for years?! Then what is tax for?

The Tories are part of the reason why people in poverty struggle so much. Buses de regulated. Energy companies making huge profits while prices go up year on year.

The Tories closed the steelworks in a neighbouring town to mine. The area still hasn't recovered almost 30 years on. The knock on effect to a lot of small businesses put many of them out of business

This. I’m a foreigner (!!!) who moved here in 2013 and I’ve worked since without any gaps in employment or anything. I also have clinical depression and generalised anxiety disorder and am on medication (which I pay for). So is the OP suggesting that if I ever needed help, I shouldn’t get it because I’m foreign? Then why am I paying taxes exactly? And does this stop only at PIP or should we also for example not be entitled to surgery on the NHS or GP appointments or whatever?

Not that it matters but I’ve never claimed for anything, and I’m not on minimum wage either. Maybe I should just be exempt from taxation since I’m too much of a foreigner to seek help if I ever need it?

Hmm maybe I should stop paying council tax too… You might be on to something OP, I like this ✌🏻

Depression is not a mild mental health condition. It can kill people. I'll also say this. Most people are only one traumatic event or one accident away from having to to through the process of having to claim disability benefits - unless they are very wealthy. There are already cuts being made to new claimants for lcwra as I said earlier in the thread

But don't worry. If and when Reform get in they'll make sure people like me can't claim disability benefits - and people will all be working unless they have really serious mental health issues - to be defined by Lee Anderson. The same Lee Anderson who thinks you can feed families for 30p to cut down food bank use

They pumped billions into the steel industry, but the Chinese have been able to produce steel much cheaper. Same in the car industry, clothing industry etc. Tje problem is you can’t tax your way out of a crisis. Anyone know that.

The fact is that Farage will not be able to change anything much.

Most students at our school spend more time at our school, than at home. Parents get the benefits, not the school. Then of course they want them to go on overseas school trips,as many as possible. They quote that we need to meet the pupils needs. That all staff should be trained. No staff want the responsibility, so slowly they will get less and less. If their children are able to go on overseas trips, bring caref for by non medical staff, that proves they are milking the system.And there are dozens of them.

He won’t get into power anyhow. Rupert Lowe is going to overtake him.

i have 3 jobs, one full time and 2 part time.

I have no idea what your response means tbh. You made the comments that you were fed up subsidising people who are better off than you. I assumed you meant someone like me. Someone who is on disability benefits. You have two part time jobs and a full time job and you think someone on Pip gets more money than you?