Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole

[newnametoday1]

Did anyone watch this?

No. Was it good/sympathetic?

Or an evil blood sucking Tory/Mail fest of hatred, bile and jobies?

more the latter - they did have section on Peter Rolfe (he of 15 partners and 26 kids fame). While not all will agree with his lifestyle he came across as very inoffensive and a good dad that was trying to genuinely do the best for his family.

I like the Brummie girl. She really seems to want to put back into the support she is receiving now. It's was rather sensationalised, I think the others were the exception than the rule. Most people that I know struggle on benefits and aren't out to cash in. But the other types do exist, of course.

yes Brummie lady good too. She was a v organised mum. Can't believe she cant get bigger house - she should not be expected to share her own bed with 3 children.

Tricky though, Dad was only paying £100 a month and she already get £500 a week in benefits. That's a lot of money. I know working parents that had to stop at two because they can't afford any more. Dad should have some responsibility here, not just the welfare...

I was cringing at the mum from Ipswich who was holding her tiny baby with a fag in he mouth and the little tots with come in their bottles.

come in their bottles? I hope that was a typo!

I liked brummie too, however if I was her I would have convereted the spare front room into another bedroom

I kind of shamefully liked isle of wight dad too, god knows why!!!

I think they are small fish and the vitroil and hatred they get shames us all TBH

There houses were making my skin crawl, dirty buggers.

The brummie mum seemed like a realy good mum to be fair.

to be fair no idea how you would keep a house with such huge overcrowding (like in isle of wight) clean. They all seemed happy there though and they were bring brought u with manners and being told off if they misbehaved. I did not think they were so different to normal family just much bigger and related issues to this.

Yeah fair enough.

^coke in their bottles most definitely a typo

As usual they find people that will make the public omg as that's makes good tv .......

I hated seeing the mum from Ipswich who held her baby while smoking a fag and hate seeing children who walk /talk with bottles - let alone with coke in it

The dad with lots of kids - think he tried hard but why have so many

Watching this on Ch 5 now, and I don't understand how Birmingham lady can be described as a single parent yet all her children have the same dad, who has obviously been on the scene somewhere for the last 15 years. Why isn't he paying towards his kids if he has an ongoing relationship with the mother?

I'm watching it now and I'm afraid I must be of the 'evil blood sucking' type because it's making my blood boil. My sister has a 5 year old DC and desperately wants a second child but as she works as a Teaching Assistant and her husband is a commercial seaman they can't afford to either move out of the two bedroomed terrace they live in or have a second child. Why should their tax money fund the lifestyle of other people who have no intention or desire to work but are able to have large families and homes at the expense of tax payers. These programmes obviously pick the most extreme examples but there is definitely something wrong with the Welfare State in Britain when we have generations of people who see living on benefits as a lifestyle choice.

I thought exactly that Anne, that made me think she was playing the system somewhat and pretending to be single dishonestly. Her youngest was only 6 months old. She seemed like a reasonably good parent (a damn sight better than the feckless 'absent' father!!) but this made me lose sympathy for her.

Any bloke whose reasoning behind having so many kids is "a standing cock has no conscience" is an utter twonk if you ask me.

As for them being 'normal' families? If that's what people perceive as normality then my god, things are a lot worse than I thought.

Anyone watching tonight??

Is anyone watching this tonight? I'm not sure what I think of the lifestyles but why won't that woman put her bloody dog on a lead, the poor thing will end up wreaking havoc and suffering for it because of her poor behaviour.

Forgot it was on, so have just switched over.

Steph the single mums attitude stinks so does her friends

OH MY GOD, the way she just spoke to those people who were in the right. She's lucky they didn't get out of the car and smack her. How can you be so stupid about dogs and children.

What are the children's names I can't catch what they are?

at least they are finally showing a bit of the other side, how horrible it really is for the majority of claimants. But those bloody women and that dog

The women on tonight are total cliches, but I think the "my money - treat myself, benefit money - bills" is an attitude that whilst is understandable it also traps them in their situation.

The children are corben - something and something -kenzie