Rishi Sunak talking shite

[MyopicBunny]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-benefits-national-insurance-b2510044.html

Now this is the bit I really take issue with.

We now sign off three times as many people to be out of work than we did a decade ago. That just doesn’t strike me as a system that’s working properly.”

This makes no sense. A decade ago, Covid had not happened yet. There are a lot of people who now can't work because they have long Covid and can't walk. I personally know two people between the ages of 18 and 50 who now rely on mobility scooters, thanks to long Covid. They were both fit and healthy before.

According to this out of touch prime minister who has no idea how ordinary people live, years of austerity have not cut the welfare bill like the Tories said it was going to. And if it didn't then maybe that's because austerity made people sick!

Not to mention that the hoops you have to jump through in order to be signed off work and not be looking for work are very considerable. I know this because I am appointee for my 22 year old dd who is severely mentally impaired. She receives 2:1 care 24/7. I had to provide a great deal of evidence to show that this was indeed the case.

People aren't able to get signed off work just because they feel like staying at home. I am sick of the disingenuous bollocks coming from this lying government.

There are a lot of people who now can't work because they have long Covid and can't walk.

There really aren't.

Me neither. But I would bet the people on this thread who say this isn't the governments fault have private healthcare so they don't even have first hand experience of the NHS.

Waiting far too long for treatment is causing complications and worsening of symptoms. My daughter unfortunately is one of these statistics, she doesn’t want to be ill. She’s in terrible pain is under a neuro surgeon due to having a benign brain tumour and waiting for an appointment with neurology, but told there’s a long wait. They won’t remove the tumour immediately as the operation is so dangerous, it’s wait and see how much it grows. This is also affecting her mental health and causing more issues that need addressing, it’s never ending.

So for that little prick in trousers that are too short to think that he can cut down the welfare bill, really. He needs to sort out the chuffing health service so it functions adequately and treats people before they deteriorate to a level that causes more damage, he’s a joke!

Well they’ve coming back so don’t worry, can’t wait to see it all get magically better under Labour again.

I’m an additional rate taxpayer, so I’m sure I’ll be paying more for it, but bring it on, as long as it benefits those unable to work, I’ll be delighted to work 59 hours a week to pay for it

@Snippit I'm so sorry to hear what is happening to your daughter. This just wouldn't have happened in the 00s. It is shocking that something like this can't be a priority.

My mum has what the doctors think is a basal carcinoma but it's probably going to take a long time to get that removed.

I was signed off work for several months last year as I was completely debilitated thanks to a worsening condition that I was on a waiting list for 18 months for (not to mention the three previous years it took to jump through hoops to even get on the waiting list). If I hadn't taken out a loan to have the operation privately, it would have been the end of my career (or worse, as I was suicidal). Sunak can fuck off, the smug, over-privileged, gaslighting wanker.

Sunak of course has no form for lying.
The man of details that he is, of course was utterly surprised that attending parties that he and his boss had made illegal was against the law.

Gaslighting is exactly what it is yes!

I'm waiting for this to be fact checked because I'm pretty sure it's bollocks

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388245/uk-sick-leave-figures/

We have a lot higher population than we did ten years ago for starters.

Anyway rather than bullying sick people he could start by fixing the NHS and dealing with the CoL crisis?

To be honest I'm waiting for them to bring back work houses.

@MyopicBunny Why single lit the USA? Why not say we could be like Australia? After all, it has loads of our left leaning doctors working there in their insurance based system! We are an utterly stupid country. No one has our system. Germany, France or any Scandinavian country. All do better than we do. Money from the government following poor practices won’t improve anything.

Hard pressed young families whose mortgages are increasing by £££ in the future cannot afford it. They will go off sick too! There are better off pensioners who could pay more. If they earn money, they should pay NI. They are the ones who need the NHS in vast numbers. I realise some people are struggling with their health but the numbers are far more than is acceptable and some of it is undoubtedly not that bad.

Thanks for that graph, @AdamRyan .

Of course figures fluctuate naturally as well, but there's a very visible dip at 2013-2014 – exactly the period I was talking about – followed by a correction in 2015-2916!

And of course 2014 is exactly the point Sunak has chosen as his comparator. Fancy that!

Quite.
If you read the analysis it's quite clear long covid is a factor too - 1.8m additional sick because of that.

I'm also a bit confused as I thought the Tories had sorted all this out with their updated ESA thingummy

I realise some people are struggling with their health but the numbers are far more than is acceptable and some of it is undoubtedly not that bad.

What do you mean the numbers are far more than is acceptable?! If that is the case it's because people can't get healthcare.

Do you suppose that some kind of magical thinking will make it better?

What evidence do you have that some people are 'not that bad'?. You cannot get signed off being liable to look for work unless you have a very severe condition and you have to provide a great deal of evidence.

I have first hand experience of the above so I know how the system works. Do you?

I think I know the answer.
It is all those fit young men who are coming here as migrants, who take our jobs and live the life of riley on benefits that are claiming sick pay.

Thank you, yes you’re right it shouldn’t be happening. We’ve also paid for a lot of private consultants, that’s how the tumour was discovered during an MRI, otherwise she wouldn’t have a clue and it can kill. Not everyone has the money and we shouldn’t have to pay for answers. Her symptoms were dismissed by the NHS and told it didn’t fit their criteria, unbelievable.

I would like to see a healthier nation.
Austerity definitely contributed to the increase.
Yes,many of them would be working had the Tories not implemented the disaster that was Austerity.

I'm fairly sure the Disability White Paper had something to do with the increase in PIP claims, suggesting that in the future health premiums(extra cash for disabled people paid to UC claimants)would only be paid to PIP claimants getting UC, resulting in those people claiming PIP out of a fear of losing £300+ a month from their UC payments. Many people wouldn't of bothered claiming it otherwise. Claims tripled after the announcement.

Government shot themselves in the foot and made the situation worst and as PIP can potentially pay more than the Health Premiums inflated the benefits bill.

Most people are signed off with mental health problems. Almost all, depression and anxiety. The worst thing you can do with such people is to isolate them further at home. They need to be working if only part time.

True, been back and forth to my gp because my long term medical conditions and medications make it easier for me to get diabetes, but they aren’t interested in helping me until I actually get diabetes.

I'm off with anxiety after an embolism in Jan likely caused by hyperthyroidism and hypertension that has been undiagnosed for goodness knows how long but I've apparently had anxiety for years (no face to face with doc for a long time). 1 month after diagnosis and I'm still not medicated despite bloods showing clearly what it is because endochrinologist has a 2 month waiting list. Of course the lack of any consultation (5 calls from different GPs) hasn't helped the anxiety or the chronic issue when they seem to be unable to medicate me for some unknown reason. Anxiety and depression aren't always what they seem and now I am bed bound most days for something treatable but chronic and haven't even had a consult on it.

If you read the analysis it's 1.8m people self-reporting Long Covid of any sort, no matter how mild. Not how many have been signed off work because of it, which is going to be a much smaller number.