This election means life or death for people with long-term illnesses and disabilities

Last Updated: June 3, 2017By

Labour’s Debbie Abrahams launched the party’s ‘disability manifesto’ today (June 3). Before we go on, watch this clip:

I remember having to do the same as the lady in the clip, persuading people out of committing suicide because of the Conservative Party’s purge of sick and disabled benefit claimants – not only in May 2015 but every month since.

I won a years-long battle to make the Tories reveal the number of people who have died while claiming sickness and disability benefits (or after losing them) in August 2015. The answers I received were not complete because Tories don’t monitor what happens to people in the long-term after their benefits are taken away – the results would be too damning, I’m sure.

But I was able to show that thousands upon thousands of people have died who should be alive today.

Now try watching this lady’s account of a work capability assessment:

Yeah, the question about suicide. You know what it is?

“Why haven’t you killed yourself?”

How would you feel, if a government representative asked you that?

So the UK’s 12 or 13 million sick and disabled people should welcome Labour’s disability manifesto, launched today.

I posted a preview of the party’s policies when the full manifesto was leaked to the press a few weeks ago. Here’s a quick guide:

 

The disability manifesto itself is not available on the internet at the time of writing but I’ll put up a link when I may. In the meantime, Alice Kirby was at the launch and has been tweeting about it. Here’s what she had to say:

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870926990257336320

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870927275809808384

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870952220929515521

Carer – and friend of Vox Political – Paul Rutherford was there:

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870953365404037120

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870957888411508736

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870958243434160130

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870958717512110084

https://twitter.com/Alice__Kirby/status/870959468321923072

Last tweet is from Disability Labour as follows:

The simple fact is that, if every long-term sick and disabled person in the UK voted Labour, the party would have a landslide victory.

Failure to vote, or voting Conservative, is the equivalent of suicide.

So please, if you are long-term sick, disabled, a carer, or anyone else whose life would be improved by the policies in Labour’s disability manifesto…

Vote Labour on June 8 – for survival.

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13 Comments

  1. joanna June 3, 2017 at 2:06 pm - Reply

    I am at that stage, when I woke on the day after 2015 election I was devastated, but now I am scared they will win again because I will have no reason to go on, no-one can impress upon me that it is stupid, it is not. I have the means, the opportunity and if the Tories win I will lose my 5% of hope, that will give me the Will.

    I have no prospects in this existence, I had a voluntary job for 10 years, I lost that last month because of the cuts, and so that leaves me with nothing, I don’t have any family or relatives. At the moment only that 5% of hope is sustaining me!!!

  2. Jeffrey Davies June 3, 2017 at 2:38 pm - Reply

    there is still somethings that I don’t like universal credits is a farce that governments shouldn’t implement has these rules are so far 1700s but riding us of it rtu ids cost us far far to much

  3. Brian June 3, 2017 at 3:02 pm - Reply

    We know that some have succeeded in challenging the WC decision, don’t let this make you complacent, they will come after you again and again, for pity’s sake, vote these Tories out.

  4. dconneely2012 June 3, 2017 at 3:42 pm - Reply

    What was the death toll you were able to show from the figures the DWP provided?

  5. Thomas June 3, 2017 at 3:57 pm - Reply

    I have not yet been directly harmed by this government but if they get another term in office they will most likely go after me so I certainly will be voting Labour in this election. Corbyn’s Labour is how Labour should be.

  6. Tony Dean June 4, 2017 at 7:56 am - Reply

    I can’t find ANY mention of the disability manifesto in the media/press

  7. POLLY WINTERBOTTOM (@POLWIN12) June 6, 2017 at 4:33 pm - Reply

    When a few people told about Jewish people being gassed during WW2 no-one did anything about it. When a few hundred told, still nothing was done.
    When millions died, they said ”look at what’s been happening all this time.”

    That is the situation for sick and disabled people today in UK. Mike and AtosMiracles were some of the first to tell,then more told, then more and more
    told.

    We are trying to stop the thousands of deaths, caused by the genocidal policies of the Conservative Government of UK from turning into
    MILLIONS.

    Government has no excuse, they cannot say they didn’t know. Debbie
    Abrahams has brought it up in the House of Commons, which is filmed for
    all to see.

    I am in bits currently, crying all the time, not eating or sleeping properly and literally worried to death.

    I was treated for cancer last year, still haven’t grown my hair back, still suffering the after affects from mastectomy, chemo and radiotherapy and now am having to deal with correspondence from Maximus while just so shocked and sick I can hardly think straight.

    I have told my Dr to make sure that my suicidal thoughts due to DWP ESA process goes on my record. Should an inquest ever need to be done.

    What can we expect from a woman, professed christian who can sell arms to a country that is causing the starvation and deaths in Yemen, the same
    arms that are made in this country. We surely cannot except compassion, let alone respect or acknowledgement of our human rights.

    She should be strapped to a chair and made to LISTEN to all the stores of the suffering, the deaths, the starvation, the living in fear even after getting an ESA award. (Because we never know when another assessment will happen and next time it might be 0points that we have to fight over again, while at the same time being very ill with things like CANCER.

    • Mike Sivier June 7, 2017 at 9:32 pm - Reply

      Vote Labour on June 8, people.

  8. Brian June 8, 2017 at 12:46 pm - Reply

    Could you be the ONE, to make the difference, between another term for the Tories? One person can make a difference, together, we are legion.

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