To our last podcast episode for this year:
This episode is about useless millennium governments that are devoted to attacking benefit claimants and cutting disability benefits for votes.
Doesn’t matter if they are so-called Labour or Tory. The (shopworn) political idea is the same across the world – if you go after people who claim benefits, people who don’t claim benefits will vote for you. Even people who claim benefits will vote for you.
Problem is: the so-called numbers on which governments perch this very shaky thesis are garbage. The argument that people who claim benefits are all pisstakers is a complete myth.
In the home country of New Zealand, for example, the conservative government has imposed tougher benefit sanctions in the last year, including a money card where 50% of your benefit is put on a card which you can only use in approved shops for approved groceries.
But – the facts are that fewer than 2% of people who claim benefits do something “wrong” and get lined up for a sanction. Doing something “wrong” often means things like missing a meeting because you hadn’t been told about it.
This 2% is a small group of people with big issues like serious literacy problems or addiction. It’s a tiny group of people who need support, not greater poverty.
It is a group that barely exists – but governments still attack people in it with sanctions.
Governments like to give the impression that harsh sanctions are needed because too many benefit claimants are gadding about instead of looking for work. Actually, more than 98% of benefit claimants in NZ do exactly as they’re told when it comes to jobsearch activities.
The truth is that anti welfare rhetoric around the world is now based on behaviour that is literally nowhere to be seen. It is only a matter of time before global governments start generating layabout benefit claimants via AI, just to keep the [fabricated] numbers up and the anti welfare playbook going.
Could not agree more.
There are also the issues of how the system is geared to putting people into review process 6 months early to put the fear of god into honest, genuine disabled people.
All recent publicity on SEND, NEETS etc missing some truths, over 700,000 young people excluded from school because they are neurodivergent, 90% of young people in fostering and adoption services live with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) yet public services refuse to recognise it at all. FASD is an organic brain injury caused by pre-natal alcohol, twice the prevalence of Autism. Poor access to education, a never-ending saga of ‘sorry you don’t fit the criteria’ and a House of Commons library citing just 2 neurodiverse conditions as psychiatric disorders. Lack of services now means that parents must decide who gives up work or reduces their hours to take care of their vulnerable young people. What on earth do politicians want families to do?
Exactly. Well said.
It’s like Neoliberalism is becoming the global religion. It’ll be interesting to see how many young people actually gain meaningful full-time employment from the new mandatory Work Placement scheme that’s about to be unleashed upon them, or how many end up on the streets after their Benefits have been Sanctioned.
I always think that if governments taxed the arses off the likes of Amazon, got stuck into regional development on the proceeds AND paid young people the same as the rest – there wouldn’t be room for work placement schemes. Who’d need them? Putting people on a work placement doesn’t miraculously create a decent-paying job in that organisation, as you say. Probably a better idea to create industry and jobs for a starter.
The public sector need to recognise the other 70% of neurodevelopmental conditions and stop wrapping it into mental health disorders. Yes it is going to take money but if we want reform, recognition of the full range of neurodivergence offers hope for the families where stigma, isolation and negative life impact are all they currently receive.
At least the new Work Placement scheme for young people will be paid this time as opposed to unpaid mandatory Work Placements under the Tories. I suppose that’s the one difference with Labour as crap as they are. I dread to think what might happen if Deform UK ever win a GE and Nigel Fromage
becomes PM, they’ll probably abolish Social Security altogether and flog the NHS to Trump.
It used to be if you had a full time job you could not claim benefits. Now almost everyone in full time works claims some sort of benefit like Working Tax Credit. So many people rely on the benefit system in work. In a job you have more rights to claim benefit, yet the benefit system was not set up for people in work. The two tear system, that people out of work for whatever reason are seen as scroungers. Labour, Welfare reform means scrapping Universal Credit.
So in effect, Social Security is being used to subsidise employers.
“DWP tells PIP and Universal Credit claimants to prepare for ‘face-to-face’ meeting in 2026”
“The Department for Work and Pensions told benefits recipients they’re drastically ramping up the number of in-person assessments….”
“These measures come alongside our plan to Get Britain Working with the most ambitious employment reforms in a generation, as well as providing TAILORED SUPPORT through the “Connect to Work programme” to help 300,000 sick or disabled people into work by the end of the parliament.”
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/dwp-tells-pip-universal-credit-33096407
So there you have it. It’s the “Connect to Work programme” consisting of “tailored support”. Yawn.
Are they bringing back the Workie Workie Advert with the purple furry monster!! Sounds like they got this policy out of the Tory dustbin to revive Workie. Why wasn’t their slogan called “Get Disabled Britain Working in a tailored suit”
God only knows. But we’ve all heard thst phrase before and know it’s total BS. Tailored support my arse. “Turn that frown upside down”. “Team work is dream work”. etc. They’ll end up sending them all to Reed again, and all they do is trawl the agencies for part time cleaning jobs and unfillable vacancies for production operatives on 12 hour shifts.
Watchdog dismisses DWP’s description of DNS editor as ‘vengeful’ and ‘vexatious’ for asking to see deaths email
By John Pring on 18th December 2025
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/watchdog-dismisses-dwps-description-of-dns-editor-as-vengeful-and-vexatious-for-asking-to-see-deaths-email/
DWP don’t take it so personal it’s only business. The DWP has already slandered themselves with their own rules & policy. It is only being highlighted with the elephant in the room brushed under the carpet leaving a big bump in the DWP Caxton House HQ Office.