The Tories will always be wrong about Universal Credit and ‘scaremongering’

Last Updated: December 8, 2017By

Wendy Morton MP: Either she doesn’t understand her own party’s policy on benefits, or she is trying to deceive the electorate. What do you think?

Sue Jones reminds us of the reasons Conservative policy towards those on benefits is nonsense:

Conservative MP Wendy Morton says Universal Credit ‘helps’ people into work and criticises opposition MPs for ‘scaremongering.’

However, the new benefit has pushed people into debt and rent arrears, with some forced to rely on food banks to survive. It’s difficult to see precisely how a social security benefit that creates those circumstances could possibly help people into work.

The introduction of Universal Credit was aimed at ‘incentivising’ people into work and to work longer hours, by ensuring that for those needing to claim welfare support, the experience was as uncomfortable as possible.

Under the Conservatives, social security has been transformed into a system that metes out discipline, coercing citizens into compliance with state-defined economic outcomes, rather than serving as a national insurance-funded provision to meet people’s basic necessities, should they need it – which was the original intention behind the welfare state.

The introduction of ordeals and harsh conditionality in the process of welfare administration was designed to ensure that no-one felt secure or ‘entitled’ to claim support.

However, much research… has indicated that unless people are secure in being able to meet their basic needs… then it is highly unlikely they will be able to fulfil higher level psychosocial needs, including looking for work.

It’s therefore simply not possible to punish people out of being poor. The problem of poverty is structural and material, it doesn’t arise because of some kind of moral, character or behavioural deficit on the part of poor people.

Source: Conservative MPs accuse citizens of ‘scaremongering stories’ about experiences of Universal Credit. – Politics and Insights


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One Comment

  1. chrisfowler08 December 8, 2017 at 7:20 pm - Reply

    This Tory MP does not live in the world of disabled people.She is either ignorant or
    just a mouthpiece for this terrible government and the DWP. More should be done to highlight in the meidia and social media as to what is really going on.People are desparate. People are dying due to this government’s policies.
    This should not happen in Britain today.

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