News

I saw this news story today and literally has made me very angry that this can happen in Britain 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/nobody-knows-what-to-do-with-me-what-happened-when-chloe-asked-for-help/ar-AA1C2o87

Seen something about access to work some employers are not given the money from government  and their being forced to pay for it proof their that alot of companies can't afford to take on disabled people because readjustments cost alot of employers would be forced to pay high insurance aswell as ni that's red flag  if there's no employers willing to hire disabled people where are jobs the government want to push people into also access to work applications taking to long for people even if these cuts go through primary legislation they can still be challenged and they will be these changes may get put on hold think they will go to court and  watered down could see another consultation next year  labour councillors have resigned in some places and some have voted against the cuts elections next month could lose labour loads of seats people shouldnt vote reform Tories or labour they only want power it's expected reform will win next general election that would be bad for this country to.

Just wondering if there are any countries offering asylum to British benefit claimants being persecuted by their own government 

"Rachel Reeves under fire as UK job market suffers worst downturn since the pandemic."

Over the weekend, I will be sending the following letter to Stephen Timms, and making it public online:

Dear Mr. Timms,

Following the furore over Darren Jones and Rachel Reeves’s comparison of the forthcoming disability benefit cuts to “pocket money,” it is with astonishment that I see that you have referred to being unable to cut up food, needing assistance to wash or shower, and needing supervision to use the toilet as “low level” problems that can be dealt with by “small interventions” on April 7. At the same time, you defended the decision to change the eligibility for the Daily Living element of PIP to require 4 points in at least one category.

The problem with the approach to disability benefits that you, your department, the chancellor, and the Prime Minister are taking is that you appear to be wilfully using provocative language, misinformation, and downright lies in order to persuade the public at large that those of us with problems that are spread over a wide range of daily tasks are somehow not disabled enough to be worthy of a benefit. With this in mind, I have to ask the question of why you have only come to this conclusion since you have been in the party of government. After all, on June 8th, 2016, you voted against reductions in disability benefits when you were in opposition.  The rules were the same then, so perhaps you would be good enough to tell us what has changed your mind?

But let us return to those “level level” problems, those tiny inconveniences, of not being able to wash, cut food, or go to the toilet. I am sure that I don’t have to remind you that the dozen questions on the PIP form are there for the purpose of deciding whether we should get the benefit or not. Those questions, and the answers we give to them, are not the sum of the problems we have to deal with on a daily basis.

If we need help with those basic things, it is highly likely that it is because of pain and discomfort. That does not start and end with dressing and washing. It is there for every moment of every day, from the time we get up in the morning until the time we go to bed at night. What is more, you appear to ignore the costs associated with that.

Let us look at just one example: If we can only use a microwave to prepare meals, one would assume that means eating ready meals. Two ready meals a day is around £8-10. We know that cooking from scratch is considerably cheaper than that (just ask Lee Anderson MP). So, yes, using the microwave is a “small intervention,” but it costs anyone who does that every day probably 50% more than those who don’t have to.

That’s an extra £28 a week. But you don’t want PIP to cover that? Why? THAT is what PIP is there for – to pay for the things that cost us more because we are disabled.

I might have some respect for your position if I thought that it was one that you actually believe in, but your previous voting record suggests that it isn’t. I have psoriatic arthritis. I am in pain from the moment I get up in the morning until the moment I go to bed. I suffer from fatigue, as many do who have inflammatory conditions of this kind. Beyond that, I’m taking extra strong codeine three or four times a day that makes my brain foggy and makes me generally tired. And you want me – and others like me – to go to work. My biologic medication costs the NHS £650 every four weeks. Do you really think I would be given it by my consultant if my condition wasn’t severe?

And my consultant says I shouldn’t work. But you say I should and, either way, you’re going to take my PIP away from me because I’m just not disabled enough. Oh, and when you take that, you’re also going to take my LCWRA UC when the WCA is scrapped because it’s somehow going to cause a “behavioural change” (according to Keir Starmer) and I’ll be able to go to work. What’s more, you are not even allowing those who only get the mobility element of PIP to get that higher element of UC.

Are you REALLY of the belief that those who can’t walk more than one metre are not disabled enough to get the health element of UC?

What you are suggesting is insane. It has no basis in reality. The disabled community knows this. The medical profession know this. And the worst of it all is that YOU know this. So does Liz Kendall, and Darren Jones, and Rachel Reeves, and Keir Starmer, and every member of your party who doesn’t have the guts to stand up for those of us that need their help right now.

What you are suggesting isn’t just insane, it’s insulting. It is patronising, pathetic, and puerile, and it is trivialising what we, the disabled community, have to go through every day of our lives, and through no fault of our own.

How dare you tell us that what we have are merely “multiple low-level functioning needs” that need a “small intervention,” just because your government has decided that we are collateral damage for your budgetary failures.

Your position is no better than that of Boris Johnson who thought that Covid was “nature’s way of dealing with old people.” In the future, people will look back and view what you are doing as the Labour government’s way of dealing with the disabled. The results will be the same. People will die. 

"The most harmful proposals are being introduced instead in the new government bill, without any consultation." - From DNS. Legal action against primary legislation leads into mirky waters, most of the main legal actions will be taken against the Green Paper/White Paper.

Can we oppose this green proposal

My mental health has deteriorated substantially since these cuts were announced.

Anyway, more news stories from today:

so much for wanting disabled people in employment. Please see the link below from the BBC news website

THIS is the kind of reputation the government has on getting disabled people into work. And we’re supposed to believe their promises of shiny new all-singing-all-dancing support from first class work coaches? 

Labour’s welfare cuts consultation called a ‘sham’ as PIP changes not up for discussion.

Here's hoping 

I think this has been planned for long time ive read forums from a few year back saying they were changing benefits system in 2025 so I think whatever government we got were going to do something with sickness benefits and when the Tories Got beat by not consulting with public in proper manner labour have done just that and believe they Will get the votes they need to make it law it's very sad I'm an amputee and severe rheumatoid arthritis changing goal posts like taking away daily care but leaving mobility in place very clever meaning you will still get your blue badge but lose others ways basically taking other support off you leaving people with no choice to look for work I can't get me head round it all it's like been set up too fail terrible it's the harsh reality of it all they Will be seeing what you can't do and what can do and that is what I was reading back in 2023 I'm just going to accept what is coming I'm dreading it 

Am I the only one who thinks that disabled people as a whole could benefit from a single social media account that retweets all the news stories, petitions, etc, that are being published from dozens of different sites and accounts.  I realise that's exactly what is happening on this site - but it doesn't get anything like the amount of traffic as X or Facebook or even Bluesky.   

Well Done gingin

Can you sign and share this link please 

This idea that disabled and sick people are scroungers and it is costing the tax payers money while they work is a disingenuous one designed to take away your own protection and rights. Nobody will live forever and nobody can predict what will happen to them during the course of their lives or those of the lives of their friends and families. You may get cancer, have a heart attack or end up with a incurable disease and then you will be left on your own to die or eke out a meagre living because others will then say you are a scrounger and are costing them too much while not realising their own human frailty. If you are not rich but an average person you will suffer and end up in abject poverty and despair because you will have cut the very protections there are for your own self and those of your own children, parents, and friends and make this a much poorer and worse society where every person is out for themselves in a dog eat dog world.

When you attack the people who are sick and disabled you are in fact attacking yourself because like everybody you are frail and you can never predict what could happen in the future. Perhaps you may have an accident, or have a stroke, or a heart attack, or develop depression, or even have a mishap during a medical procedure. You just don't know. By attacking the very system that protects you, you will unwittingly end up paying for it one way or the other. So don't listen to our politicians as they are soothsayers who speak not for you but the very rich and will get rid of your rights and protection in order to do what they please to you!

"At least three legal firms are examining ways in which they could support disabled people and their organisations to challenge some of the government’s proposed cuts to disability benefits in the courts."

From Disabled People Against Cuts Facebook site 
Official Petition please share widely