Sick and Disabled People Feel Like Second Class Citizens Under Conservative Government
Jeremy Hunt new plans to get disabled and ill people into work has been described as dangerous. Some people fear that it will result in some people becoming homeless while others worry that it could result in a higher suicide rate.
Jeremy Hunt has been accused of attacking disabled and sick people after announcing the “biggest welfare reforms in a decade”. Some charities have warned the new reforms could plunge vulnerable people into homelessness.
The Chancellor plan aims to drive 200,000 people, including those who are sick and disabled, into work.
The proposed reforms include mandatory work placements for benefits claimants, potential denial of free prescriptions, and the suspension of benefits for those unable to secure employment.
Jeremy Hunt argues that this approach will address the issue of wasted potential and reduce poverty by promoting work as the best path to financial stability.
Leading charities have voiced their concerns about the potential impact of these welfare reforms.
Oxfam Domestic Poverty Lead, Dr Silvia Galandini, argues that harsher benefits conditionality and sanctions will only push vulnerable individuals further into poverty.
She emphasizes that penalizing those unable to work due to caring responsibilities, disabilities, or illness is both morally and economically wrong.
James Taylor, director of strategy at disability charity Scope, said: “Today the chancellor doubled down on a plan that will ramp up sanctions and demonises disabled people. It was a missed opportunity to set out how disabled people can thrive. Instead, now many will be thinking how they will survive.”
Anela Anwar, chief executive of Z2K, said: “Despite near-unanimous opposition, government has chosen to go ahead with dangerous and unevidenced proposals that will deny many seriously ill and disabled people the financial support they need, and put some at serious risk of harm.
“Working fully from home is simply not an option in many sectors – and low-paid workers are less likely to do so than higher-paid workers. The Department for Work and Pensions has also given no thought whatsoever to whether people have the skills or equipment to work remotely, or even a suitable place or home environment to work in.
“Disabled people are already more likely to live in poverty than non-disabled households, and two thirds of people in destitution are disabled. Ministers should treat this as the scandal it is, alongside focusing on the causes of rising ill health. Instead, government has responded with the tired and ineffective approach of yet more cuts and threats. It must think again and put disabled people themselves at the heart of future policymaking.”
The government’s plans have faced widespread criticism from various organizations and experts. The New Economics Foundation argues that harsher sanctions will not help people find employment. They emphasize the need for support rather than punishment, describing the proposed reforms as a cruel attack on the ill and disabled.
Tom Pollard, Head of Social Policy at the think-tank, warns that cutting financial support and increasing threats of sanctions will likely have adverse effects, causing additional stress and anxiety.
Many disabled people have always felt they are being punished under a Conservative Government, and the new plans by Jeremy Hunt is going to do nothing to sway those opinions.
Since the new crackdown on Disabled and ill people was announced in the Autumn Statement, we have had more than 1,200 messages from disabled people around the UK including in London, Skegness, Manchester, Liverpool, Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Morecombe, Lincoln, and Boston.
More than 90% of those people believe they are being treated like second class citizens and worry about what the future holds.
One of the biggest questions that has been asked is, why is the Government spending more than £6million a day on housing migrants while attacking disabled people?
Rishi Sunak is doing himself no favours in attacking disabled people, especially before a General Election. But, even if Labour gets in at the next General Election, disabled people have been warned that they are not safe under a Labour Government.
