To ask you to all sign this petition asking the government to investigate 9,580 benefits-related deaths?

[BowieFan]

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/170364

The excellent Jack Monroe has started a campaign on twitter and has been collating stories of awful experiences with the DWP, Atos, Capita and Maximus. Some of the stories are heartbreaking.

Please, please sign this petition - at the very least, the families of people who died because of the DWP deserve some closure.

Take David Clapson - former soldier who died of hunger and insulin-related shock. He had been sanctioned for being late for an appointment, and couldn't afford to pay for electricity for his fridge to keep his insulin cold. The coroner said his stomach had had no food in it for upwards of three days. Nobody should be dying like that in 2016.

I recommend you check out Jack's twitter (@MxJackMonroe) and read some of the stories using the #HungerHurts hashtag. It's heartbreaking, but we need to confront this.

[BowieFan]

ComfortingKormaBalls

Well done for having a go at her personal issues. This isn't about Jack - although she is fantastic and is using her platform brilliantly. As someone who has been in the situation herself, I think she actually does care about fellow claimants. You think she's selling a book - good for you. I don't subscribe to your blinkered world view and find it quite shocking, disgusting and upsetting that you won't sign a petition asking for an investigation into 10,000 people dying just because you don't like the person who started it.

[BowieFan]

Mumzypopz

The coroner reported his death as kidney failure through lack of insulin. Also noted that he hadn't eaten for days.

Police reported finding his body next to a stack of CVs and a letter informing him how long his sanction would last.

DWP refused to accept they had caused his death. Apparently leaving a man without money so that he can't keep his insulin cold isn't there fault. Their response? "He should have filled in the forms for a hardship payment which could've been paid within fourteen working days" - absolutely heartless.

[latebreakfast]

If 'GP' was replaced by 'hospital consultant' would you still object? Should my consultant be able to overrule the ESA assessor?

A GP or consultant should provide a report that forms part of the assessment process. But making them the gatekeepers opens them up to abuse and coercion.

[PausingFlatly]

No one knows whether the number of deaths after being found Fit for Work is significant, because the DWP has only produced muddy figures which throw those in with "claim stopped because of death."

If we had the actual figures, we could compare deaths after being declared Fit for Work with figures for the working-age general population, and see if it was higher, lower or the same.

Of course with statistics there are all sorts of effects to be controlled for, even if we had suitable breakdowns.

But one construction could be that deaths in the recently-found-Fit-for-Work group should be LOWER than in the general population. Because the general population haven't just undergone a medical assessment and been declared Fit; ie the general population includes people definitely not Fit for Work but not claiming ESA (SAHP, not enough NI contributions, etc). Whereas there SHOULD be none of those people in the FFW group.

[ComfortingKormaBalls]

I'm not bringing up her personal issues, she promoted it blatantly enough herself on social media.

[e1y1]

Signed and will share.

[Dawndonnaagain]

A GP or consultant should provide a report that forms part of the assessment process. But making them the gatekeepers opens them up to abuse and coercion.
But you're quite happy to have a physiotherapist assess a client with mental health difficulties, or learning difficulties, or a paramedic assess someone on the Autistic Spectrum. Some of the assessors have little or no experience in the fields they are required to assess, how is that better than a GP or a Consultant?

[BowieFan]

You are ComfortingKormaBalls Jack being trans has nothing to do with this. Why did you feel the need to write "whatever she's called this week"?

[ComfortingKormaBalls]

But they are not assessing the condition, they are assessing someones ability (or not) to work.

[MrHannahSnell]

Isn't this a job for the Coroner?

[Dawndonnaagain]

Ahh, so somebody who knows nothing about ulcerative colitis or Asperger Syndrome can chat to me, ignore what I say and decide I'm fit for work! This is what I have to look forward to soon. I'm on 73 quid a week ffs, don't you think I'd be working if I could. I'm cold, I'm tired and I'm fed up, I don't feel well, I have to take a shit ton of medication and it's just not funny, but hey, an assessor who knows fuck all about any of my conditions can decide I'm fit to go back to work. Great.

[BeyondReasonablyDoubts]

Not a huge fan of Jack, but of course i'll bloody sign. Can't believe people would let their dislike of one albeit rather marmite sleb take presidence over asking for such an inquiry!!

And no, I doubt it will do anything. But it took me ten seconds to put my info into the petition - I think people's lives (even if it's only 10 in reality rather than thousands) are worth that.

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Can't bear Jack Monroe.

Will think about signing.

[Minesril]

Everyone making snarky comments about her having a new book out: erm, do you have a problem with her getting a book deal which pulled herself AND HER YOUNG SON out of poverty? Ffs. How despicable jealousy can be.

Signed.

[rainyinnovember]

Believe me I have no issue with her publishing books

But, she has an agenda.

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

Signed. I'm amazed at the hatered for Jack Monroe. Is it because she cares about the poor sick disabled and mentally ill, and doesn't crawl up the none of those Tory twits arse holes.
It's a fuckin terrifying world when we have a society who cares more about the rights of criminals than the poor sick and unemployed

[InfiniteSheldon]

She's an arse riding a bandwagon of poor statistics

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

Dawn can't you appeal

[FlyingElbows]

Ofcourse I don't have a problem with her having got herself out of poverty. I do have a problem with her appropriating other people's poverty for her own benefit.

[ItsJustNotRight]

Why are people so vile to each other? What has happened to compassion?I'd rather my taxes were spent on benefits than on bombing other countries. If that means that some defraud the system then to my mind that's a price worth paying if those in genuine need get enough to see them through. Apart from claiming unemployment benefit for about 3 months and maternity allowance & child benefit, I've never claimed anything else. I worked, paid my taxes, bought my house and saved for a pension. That's been my good fortune, some people never get the opportunity to do that. Do I want to live in a country where the sick are being denied money to survive on, no I don't. Do I want to see beggars and the homeless on the streets, no I don't. Do I want to hear that 1,000,000 are dependent on food banks, no I don't. Time and time again the stats show that unclaimed benefits far exceed the amount of fraulent claims but it is always ignored. I'm quite sickened by many of the comments on here, i find it very, very sad.

[Dawndonnaagain]

Awwlook Couldn't face it at the time. Not sure I can now, but went to CAB with new forms yesterday!

[BowieFan]

ItsJustNotRight

Completely agree. Sad thing is, Tories know benefit fraud is tiny but they and Murdoch have successfully managed to convince the electorate that it's rife and thus they can cut away what they want under the guise of "getting rid of fraudsters". They also hand massive contracts to their mates so that they can run the assessments and fraud departments. The fact people can't see that worries me, but most people don't care as long as they're alright.

[IsthisMummy]

I am a support worker for people with learning disabilities. I am one of the people (as mentioned further back on thread) who helps people with LD who have been found "fit for work"

I am currently supporting a woman who was declared fit for work by her assessor 3 months ago. This woman is 56 and has never worked in her life.

At age 7 she had a stroke. This has rendered her right arm completely unusable and her walking is badly impared due to a corresponding weakness in her right leg. She has severe anaemia, paranoia, the list goes on...

She does not have the ability to complete job searches, she cannot fill out a Job search book. I have to do it all for her. I have to support her fortnightly to sign on as she could not do it alone. Yet the DWP say this woman has the capacity to hold down a job. Yesterday she had a meltdown in the job centre due to the intense stress she is under and the security guards (because these days the JC have more security than actual staff; just to ensure the building has the appropriate level of intimidating menace for the "customers") sympathetically threatened to throw us out. This woman's GP has also had to refer her for psychological help as she is hearing voices again for the first time in years.

I truly hope that none of the people on this thread supporting the DWP ever have to go through what this woman is experiencing. It is heart breaking, humiliating and inhumane. A civilised society should protect the most vulnerable of it's members. Sometimes people do need help when they have nothing tangible to give back in return. The deliberate actions of this current government are willfully cruel and evil. It should shame us all.

[gillybeanz]

Sad thing is, Tories know benefit fraud is tiny but they and Murdoch have successfully managed to convince the electorate that it's rife and thus they can cut away what they want under the guise of "getting rid of fraudsters".

Only the thick, tory electorate believe this.
People with intelligence aren't so easily fooled, and can see that those who believe the rubbish arent generally nice people, as we often see here.

[PlayOnWurtz]

So all tory voters are thick wow aren't you nice