Terminally ill Sidmouth gran’s disability allowance slashed by more than half

Last Updated: April 17, 2016By
160417SusanWhitby

“Stressed, upset and extremely bitter”: Susan Whitby.

A terminally ill pensioner and lifelong supporter of the Conservatives has hit out at the Government for slashing her disability payment by £80 a week.

Cancer sufferer Susan Whitby’s financial support from the state has plummetted by more than half – from £135 to £55 a week – after she was reassessed for the controversial new Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The ‘stressed, upset and extremely bitter’ Sidmouth resident, told by doctors she could have months or years left, feels she has ‘lived too long’ for the Department for Work and Pensions.

Mrs Whitby, 64, said she has paid more into her pension than she will ever live to take out and, with the cash instead going ‘overseas or to the wealthy’, she will never vote for the Tories again.

She has sent an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron and East Devon MP Hugo Swire speaking out for herself and the thousands of others she says must be affected.

“The money I was on was just about enough,” said Mrs Whitby. “I’m going to be in treatment indefinitely. Apparently I’ve lived too long for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

“I’m sure there are thousands and thousands of others who don’t know what their life expectancy is.

“The Government will benefit from my pension – I won’t be here in my 80s. After all I have paid in, I deserve a little support now.”

Source: Terminally ill Sidmouth gran’s disability allowance slashed by more than half – News – Sidmouth Herald

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18 Comments

  1. jeffrey davies April 17, 2016 at 9:40 am - Reply

    hmmm “The Government will benefit from my pension – I won’t be here in my 80s. After all I have paid in, I deserve a little support now.” yet she voted con i wonder i wonder why but if she thinks its hard then whot about those who have nowt through being sanctioned its beyond belief how they got away with their aktion t4 got away with it without much of a ado jeff3

  2. Mark Waters April 17, 2016 at 10:03 am - Reply

    do Appeal Susan….

  3. Thomas Walker April 17, 2016 at 10:18 am - Reply

    Not less than the TORY deserves.

  4. philipburdekin April 17, 2016 at 11:02 am - Reply

    And are the rest of us supposed to care, really when the TORIES do this to there own supporters, if you vote Tory you vote for this treatment. Now if she was supporting the disabled people through voting other than the nasty party we might bother.

  5. Christine Cullen April 17, 2016 at 1:19 pm - Reply

    It seems that as austerity policies hit the middle classes, they are regretting voting Cameron and his spivs into government. It’s a pity it took so long. I wish this lady well in her fight both against the illness and the injustice.

  6. Florence April 17, 2016 at 2:08 pm - Reply

    This lady is so right – many even with a terminal diagnosis do not have a “die by date”. This is another facet of the systematic cruelty meted out to the sick. Anyone “fast tracked” from WRAG to Support group under current terminal illness rules are told they will be prosecuted for fraud if they survive longer than 6 months. My cousin spent her last year with terminal cancer in the WRAG group (after a dreadful WCA),. She had worked part time because of health issues before claiming, so never got the full ESA amount. She was in a constant state of anxiety that she could be asked for a current CV or called in for Work Related interviews and be sanctioned. We will never know, but the stress she suffered because of the DWP may have contributed to the speed at which her disease progressed, as she was never able to simply get on and focus on her own treatment.

  7. Jonno R April 17, 2016 at 2:09 pm - Reply

    This is sickening. I’m in the
    Same position but I can almost understand why I didn’t get pip after having a lifetime award of high rates DLA for over 10 years. My condition is rare and my appearence seems normal so the assessor who was not qualified to undrtstand my challenges decided I must be ok and since then I have been housebound as I cannot walk.
    But cancer is no mystery and this lady is obviously vulnerable. I hope that when these crimes are reviewed once this government has colapsed into its cess pit of corruption, the assessor and DM who knew exactly what they were doing to this woman have to compensate her and go to prison for hate crime where they will be warm and fed well. But when they are released , take away their DWP pensions and let them starve.

  8. Jim Round April 17, 2016 at 2:18 pm - Reply

    It is interesting to read the comments underneath the story, many saying that as a Conservative voter, she has reaped what she has sown.
    I wouldn’t wish terminal illness in anyone, but it does show major the problem of the “I’m alright Jack” attitude that we have in this country.

  9. James Kemp (@Belthrud) April 17, 2016 at 3:36 pm - Reply

    I want to be compassionate to the poor lady but voting Tory what did she expect? I whould suggest she fight what can she lose now! Never let them get away with a inch and just writing to Cameron will be filed in the waste paper basket by some staffer he will never know or care.

  10. Joanna April 17, 2016 at 4:01 pm - Reply

    Although it is sad that she is dying and for that I feel sympathy for her, but and this is going to sound harsh, but I have no sympathy at all for her financial situation, she has voted at around 15 elections and it only now occurs to her what everyone else is going through, some are going through worse!!

    Funny how she didn’t mind before they cut her money!!

    also I thought PIP was a top-up benefit like DLA was. She has bought a house so PIP can’t be the only income she has coming in. It galls me that she is saying she wants more when lots of other people are barely surviving!!!

  11. Joanna April 17, 2016 at 4:14 pm - Reply

    Also what about all the poor people who have lost their lives by their own hand or not, they won’t benefit from their pensions either, private or state.

  12. Art April 17, 2016 at 7:53 pm - Reply

    I wonder if this lady felt sorry for those hit by the bedroom tax or benefit cap. Sadly most people couldn’t give a monkey’s about the suffering of others until they themselves are affected. The lady was a lifelong Conservative supporter until her own benefits were unfairly and unreasonably.

  13. Joanna April 17, 2016 at 9:04 pm - Reply

    Hi Mike have I done something wrong? it’s just that you don’t seem to moderate my comments, I know I can be irrelevant and a bit of an idiot sometimes, but I have never meant anything bad!
    Your site has taught me so much and I still have a lot to learn! I know you have thousands of comments to look at but it is a really good way that I can measure my opinions in a really safe way, and apart from your brother’s site, yours is the only site I have, and would subscribe to, I won’t even have a face book or twitter account because I am too scared!!!

    I work voluntarily for a teacher who was a staunch Conservative, or seems to be, unless she plays devils advocate, but because of you, I have been able to discuss points that she has brought up that I have a different opinion to, such as, she believes that every adult in the UK can do some sort of work, but they rely too much on the benefits system, which has got so out of control, because of you and your site I can sometimes win a tiny argument or two.

    If I win my case against the social services, I plan on making a donation because your site is incredibly important to me!!

    I don’t expect you to put up this comment but my email address is [email protected].

    Please please don’t be offended by anything I have said wrong?!

    I wish you and Mrs Mike well!! As always!!

    jo

    • Mike Sivier April 19, 2016 at 12:32 pm - Reply

      I don’t know that anybody has done anything spectacularly wrong – I’ve simply been overwhelmingly busy lately and haven’t had time to go through comments.
      I’m trying to get through them all today (Tuesday) but will have to see how that goes.

  14. steven mcguire April 17, 2016 at 10:55 pm - Reply

    welcome to the real world

  15. Steve Chapman April 18, 2016 at 4:40 pm - Reply

    Turkeys voting for Christmas

  16. NMac April 19, 2016 at 7:33 am - Reply

    As a “lifelong supporter” of the Tories, what on earth did she think they were all about? I suspect she had the “they won’t come for me” syndrome and didn’t overmuch care about the others they persecuted.

  17. mrmarcpc April 21, 2016 at 2:39 pm - Reply

    What did the silly old bag expect from the tories, fairness, compassion, that’s not in their dna, they screw everyone, even their own voters, ah well darling, you’ve learnt the hard way and the truth about what they’ve been doing to the rest of us!

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