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Universal Credit isn’t the reason 1,000 more people a day are in work – no matter what McVey says

You need to keep this article handy for the next time Esther McVey falsely claims Universal Credit has put 1,000 people a day into work since mid-2010.

On October 17, she said: “We know that [Universal Credit] is working and getting people into work because our employment figures that came out yesterday show over 3.3 million more people in work since 2010.”

Shame Universal Credit only started to be inflicted on claimants in 2013 – and still has not been fully implemented across the UK.

On October 12, she said: “What we’ve done is look at the whole benefit system, how do we get people into work, 1,000 people each and every day. Those people will be on less benefit by the sheer nature that they’re now in work.”

No, those who are unfortunate enough to be on Universal Credit are on less benefit because Universal Credit pays less benefit.

In addition to that – and to what follows below – it should be noted that it only appears to be assumed that 1,000 people a day are going into work. I’ve seen no figures from employers to prove it and it seems the Tory government is assuming that this is where people are going, with no evidence.

The simple fact is that the Conservatives have legislated to make claiming benefits more trouble than it is worth, forcing people to try to find other ways of surviving.

Many fail. They are dead.

I wonder if the Conservatives have checked death statistics to make sure that their missing claimants haven’t passed away. Considering their refusal to check on the progress of sickness benefit claimants who were refused Employment and Support Allowance, I’m willing to bet that they haven’t.

So we don’t even know for sure that 1,000 people have gone into work every day since mid-2010.

Now read on…

Ms McVey, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has repeatedly linked welfare policies introduced under the Conservative and coalition governments since 2010 to there being 3 million more people in work. This is a misleading link to draw.

The total number of people aged sixteen or over and in employment increased by 3.3 million between February-April 2010 (just before the coalition government took office) and June-August 2018 in the UK. But the increase in the total population aged sixteen or over was similar: 3 million. In short, having record numbers of people in work doesn’t sound as impressive when you consider there are record numbers of people.

The “employment rate” is a better way of assessing the government’s record on increasing employment. It tells us what percentage of the population is in work, rather than the total number.

The employment rate among those aged 16-64 has increased under the coalition and Conservative governments, rising from 70% in February-April 2010 to 76% in June-August 2018. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has called the rising employment rate “remarkable”, in the context of wider economic performance in the decade since the financial crash.

But despite this rise, there is a second key problem with claiming that changing employment figures are down to welfare changes: we don’t have clear evidence for it.

If Ms McVey does mean Universal Credit when she says welfare reforms, then it certainly can’t have driven all the change in employment levels since 2010, as it was only introduced in 2013, and is still not in place across the whole of the UK.

The government also argues that this will get 200,000 more people will be in work by 2024/25 (compared to ten years earlier).

However, the National Audit Office says that, because of limitations in the methodology behind the government’s calculations, “the Department will never be able to measure whether Universal Credit actually leads to 200,000 more people in work”. They have also expressed “significant doubt” about the main benefits of Universal Credit.

The bottom line is that we can’t say with any precision what is driving changes in employment and unemployment rates.

Source: Universal Credit isn’t the reason there are 1,000 more people a day in work – Full Fact

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People with disabilities SHOULD fear losing benefits because they’re too active. Even cancer patients can’t get them

Fear: Former Paralympian Carly Tait said it was devastating to be told her Motability car could be taken away.

If this information is accurate, you can’t blame people with disabilities.

Only days ago, we learned about a woman with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a very serious form of cancer – who was denied Personal Independence Payment because she was considered not to be sick enough.

The problem is that failure to exercise, even in a rudimentary way, may affect the life expectancy of a person with a long-term illness or disability.

We’re often told exercise is good for us, after all.

So it is possible that, by doing what they think will ensure that they continue to receive benefits, these people are doing the Tory government’s dirty work for it.

It’s a particularly nasty Catch-22.

We should be glad that a future Labour government will take a good, hard look at the benefit system, with a view to restoring its original purpose as support for people in need, rather than their doom.

Disabled people avoid exercise as they fear being stripped of much-relied on benefits for appearing “too independent”, campaigners say.

New research, published by Activity Alliance, says that almost half (47%) worry the government will cut their benefit if they seem too active for a disabled person.

But almost two-thirds (65%) said they rely on benefits to maintain a healthy lifestyle and that, without support, they could not afford travel, specialist equipment and paid-for exercise.

Source: Almost Half Of Disabled People Fear Being Stripped Of Benefits For Being ‘Too Active’

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Once we were a ‘nation of shopkeepers’. Now Gove wants us to be a ‘nation of bin-divers’

“Go bin-diving for Britain!” says Michael Gove. “It’s your patriotic duty!”
After you, Pob.

We owe a debt of thanks to nincompoops like Michael Gove; they make the Conservative government’s attitude to the rest of us crystal clear.

His high-handed view is that those who don’t own as much as his ilk should root around in other people’s dustbins because, in his opinion, that’s all we’re good for.

He’ll probably try to make it sound patriotic, like Theresa May did in her conference speech. “Bin-diving for Britain!” or some such stupidity.

It is an insult to everybody the Tories have impoverished with their silly state-shrinking austerity policies that stole all our cash and tripled the income of super-rich idiots like Michael Gove.

Homeowners should be allowed to scavenge for old televisions, furniture and appliances at dumps so they can reuse them, Michael Gove has suggested.

The Environment secretary told a meeting that he wanted to change rules at council recycling centres so people can recover valuables.

Currently, many local authorities ban people from taking away anything their tips,however Mr Gove said he wanted the rules to be relaxed.

Source: Michael Gove: Let homeowners take home reusable rubbish found at council dumps

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Kiss doctor-patient confidentiality goodbye in the Tories’ latest NHS cash-saving scheme

GPs are no longer to have confidential, one-on-one interviews with patients who have certain conditions, if the Tory government has its way.

If you can’t afford private medicine, you don’t deserve to discuss your medical conditions in privacy, according to the latest crackpot Tory scheme for our cash-strapped NHS.

Having starved the service of funding and staff with a series of stupid or selfish policy decisions, they have left it incapable of coping with the demand for GP time.

So patients are to be deprived of their dignity with consultations organised for groups of up to 15 patients at a time.

The fact that people don’t want the intimate details of their medical conditions bandied around more than a dozen other people – not all of whom may be strangers – won’t enter into the Tories’ calculations.

The whole loony plan is further evidence that Conservatives consider the rest of us to be nothing more than herd animals.

Don’t forget that the Department for Work and Pensions describes benefit claimants as “stock”. Clearly that mentality has polluted the NHS as well.

GPs are to offer shared appointments for groups of up to 15 patients with similar conditions under NHS plans.

Patients who participated in a trial said they benefited from group appointments after receiving support from other participants, according to the head of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP).

Doctors reported finding the sessions effective at dealing with a variety of health issues like diabetes, arthritis and obesity as they do not have to repeat the same advice individually.

There is a UK shortage of GPs and medical staff, which has been exacerbated by a decline in EU applicants to work as nurses and some NHS staff returning to EU countries.

However medical bodies say that is not the primary motivation behind the new scheme.

Source: Group GP appointments: how NHS plans to see your GP with up to 14 people will work

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McDonnell says Labour would scrap Universal Credit – and it won’t be a moment too soon

Bravo to John McDonnell for coming out and saying that a Labour government would kill Universal Credit before it could kill any more people than it already has.

The idea of combining the six main state benefits into a single payment may have looked good in theory, but in practice it has been a long, expensive disaster.

The plan to make it entirely computerised had to be shelved after a series of technical problems that pushed the budget through the roof. In the end, the rollout was only achieved by reverting to calculations using pen and paper.

Initial payments were delayed by six weeks for no reason, forcing claimants into starvation and rent arrears. Sensing a scandal, the Tories reluctantly agreed to bring payments forward – by just one week.

And then the Tories cut the budget, making it practically impossible for anybody receiving the benefit to make ends meet.

As it stands, Universal Credit is a deathtrap and Labour is right to call for its end.

The Conservatives have responded by saying that Labour does not have a viable replacement. But they are missing the point, which is this:

Any benefit system that a Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell would install will be better than Universal Credit – because it will not be intended to push claimants off a benefit that is starving them into work that is so poorly-paid they may well be worse-off.

The government’s flagship welfare policy faces being scrapped by Labour because it is “just not sustainable”, the shadow chancellor has said.

John McDonnell said universal credit, which merges six working-age benefits into one payment, “will have to go”.

“I think we’re at that stage now that it’s not sustainable any more. It’s not a system that can work.

“It’s not a system that’s providing the safety net that people expect when they need support.

“I think we are moving to a position now where it is just not sustainable.

“It will have to go.

“I think we are moving towards a conclusion now that you can’t save the thing, it’s got to go.”

Source: Universal credit has to go, says John McDonnell – BBC News

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Tories say claims they are cutting funding for vital services are ‘fake news’ – but they’re lying [VIDEO]

When Esther McVey refers to “fake news”, we can rely on the fact that it’s being broadcast by her.

Esther McVey made a big splash when she told the Conservative Party Conference talk of Tory cuts was “fake news”.

She was lying – we know that anyway because that’s pretty much all she ever does.

But she isn’t the only Tory to do so, and you need to understand the scope of the problem.

Here’s Peter Stefanovic:

And here’s John McDonnell with confirmation of the latest cuts:

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Crisp maker’s recycling concession to campaigners is like a red rag to a bull

Walkers crisp company is to be commended for launching a scheme to recycle its plastic packets – if not for the way it came about.

The firm only gave in to pressure from campaigners after Royal Mail stepped in, sick of people posting empty crisp packets back to the Leicester factory without envelopes.

Walkers reckons it had been in negotiations with recycling firm TerraCycle since the start of the year, after 38 Degrees raised a 330,000-signature petition.

But campaigners say the manufacturer still has a long way to go before it reaches its target of making all packaging fully recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025.

For anti-plastic, pro-recycling campaigners, the message is clear – petition firms, by all means…

But couple this with methods that make the same firms a burden on others – like the Royal Mail – and you’ll get results.

It doesn’t strike me as the most honourable way of behaving – but we’ve seen that there is no honour in the way plastic is poisoning the planet.

Campaigners can only conclude that the rule must be: Do what works.

Snack firm Walkers has announced a recycling scheme – after Royal Mail begged campaigners not to post empty crisp packets without envelopes.

From December, snack fans will be able to post used bags – in envelopes, for free – directly to a recycling company.

The company said it had been in talks about the scheme since the beginning of the year.

It will involve packets being turned into plastic items such as benches, watering cans and plant pots by recycling firm TerraCycle.

Source: Walkers crisp packets recycling scheme announced – BBC News

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Theresa May asked Labour supporters to look at her government afresh. They found a stain on their country

“We’ve had a so-called ‘Iron Lady’, but this one’s brass is tarnished beyond control.”

That was just one of the responses to Theresa May’s brazen (see what I did there?) bid to entice disenchanted Labour voters into the clutches of the Conservatives, with the complicity of the formerly left-wing Guardian/Observer. I’m guessing she thought people who believe those papers are still left-wing would be fooled.

That doesn’t seem to have worked out too well for her!

In her begging letter published by the paper, she wrote (reproduced from May’s Facebook page – if you aren’t boycotting the Guardian/Observer, you’re part of the problem):

“I believe that the principles that guide us – security for families and the country, freedom under the rule of law and opportunity for everyone – can unite our people and help build a better future for our country.”

She claimed this meant getting “the best Brexit deal for Britain, one that protects jobs and rights and makes the most of the opportunities that Brexit brings, to play a more global role, while also delivering on the domestic issues that matter to people here at home.

“We are investing in our NHS, to secure it for the future. We are driving up standards in our schools, so every child can get a good start in life. And, 10 years on from the financial crash, we are building an economy that works for everyone in our society.

“These are our Conservative solutions that will build a country that works for everyone: fixing markets, not destroying them; helping with the cost of living; ending austerity; building an economy of the future which benefits the whole country.”

And she couldn’t resist making a swipe at Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party – getting it into the second paragraph of her begging letter: “Millions of people who have supported Labour all their lives are appalled by what has happened to a once-great party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Antisemitism has grown, the party’s response to threats to our country’s security has become equivocal, and moderate Labour MPs have become targets for deselection and harassment. These are all alien to Labour’s best traditions.”

Theresa May wouldn’t know any “best traditions” if they had been drilled into her by her priestly father, of course.

On Twitter, she wrote:

“I want” doesn’t get, of course – and the responses online have shown that her bid for acceptance by the people of the country has flopped badly.

The people of the UK told Mrs May in no uncertain terms that her NHS privatisation policies were a disaster for those who needed its help, with waiting times at Accident & Emergency departments now so long that people had died before being seen by a doctor.

They pointed out that NHS trials of drugs that could help the British people were being halted, and that nurses were quitting, because of Brexit.

They denied her claim to be investing in schools, pointing out that teachers have had to appeal to parents for the cost of the pens that pupils need to write down their work. It has also been revealed that a teachers’ pay rise cannot be fully funded by the cash Mrs May has provided, meaning schools must force some staff out of their jobs in order to pay others – or cut the number of hours their teachers work.

They mocked her party’s economic ineptitude, pointing at low growth, the weakness of the Pound, high inflation, low wages and the fact that millions of people now have less than £100 in savings.

They said they were not fooled by her plan for social housing as Conservative policies have forced thousands of families out of their homes – many of them with nowhere to go but the streets, and highlighted the fact that rents were so high that many people had been forced to move away from their communities.

They reminded her that her idea of help with the cost of living, for people who are out of work, sick or disabled, is to slash value of benefits to the point where people fall into debt and despair, with knock-on effects on their mental health that may lead to suicide attempts. Many thousands of people have died.

They pointed out that her idea of help with the cost of living, for women aged in their 60s who have been denied a pension for six years because of Conservative policies, was to become apprentices (if they could get any firm to take them on at that age).

And they said her idea of help with the cost of living, even for people in work, was to send them to a food bank.

They said her foreign policy in general – and Brexit in particular – had made her government an international laughing-stock.

And as for protecting jobs and rights – they pointed at her racist “hostile environment” policy and the effect it had on the Windrush generation. The obvious question is: Who’ll be next to feel the Tory pinch?

They pointed out that racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are rife in the Conservative Party.

And they raised the issue of burning injustices (remember Mrs May’s promise to end those) that she had not mentioned:

  • The fact that she had bribed the Democratic Unionist Power to help her stay in office after she threw away her Parliamentary majority in the 2017 general election.
  • The fact that she had cut police numbers by more than 20,000, leading to a catastrophic crimewave.
  • The fact that her government had managed to avoid prosecutions in scandal after scandal.
  • And the fact that she had lied – again – when she said austerity was over at this year’s Conservative Party Conference; more cuts are on the way and she has absolutely no intention to restore funding for essential services.

They summed it all up by saying they had taken her advice and looked at her government afresh…

And all that they found was a stain on the nation.

See for yourself. Here is just a sample of the responses she received:

https://twitter.com/Kimmari88214930/status/1048875339802402818

https://twitter.com/GRANNYMUGGER/status/1048876864876564481

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Why are the media so quiet about genuine anti-Semitism in the Conservative Party?

See the gang of buffoons in the picture directly above these words?

Much has been made of the slogans this group of young Conservatives from the University of Plymouth daubed on themselves – particularly “F*** the NHS” and the Hitler-style moustache on the man at the far left.

Owen Jones commented on it…

… but then he also noticed the far worse examples of anti-Semitism.

The guy who wrote “Jude” on himself was invoking a particularly nasty memory of the Nazi holocaust, and one that should outrage every single Jewish person seeing it, no matter what their political leanings.

On an interesting tangent, I recently heard an interview with Paul McCartney in which he discussed the Beatles’ single Hey Jude, saying that the band had owned a clothing store at the time – due to a passing interest in fashion – and put a sign saying “Hey Jude”, to advertise the song, in the window. It resulted in outrage from members of the Jewish community as it was reminiscent of the “Juden raus” signs written in whitewashed German windows, accompanied by the Star of David.

The Star of David is, of course, visible on the bodies of several of the young Conservatives in the image. “Hitler moustache” has it on his throat, as does the man at centre rear, and the blonde woman at centre front.

Notice also that the “Jude” chap – his name is Ross Horton, it seems – is also making an offensive hand gesture.

It’s a “White Power” sign he’s making – highly racist.

And let’s not hear any suggestions that these creeps don’t have the support and confidence of senior Conservative MPs:

This is the face of young Conservatism.

I understand the individuals in the image are facing disciplinary action by the university, and the Conservative Party itself may throw them out in a pretence of opposition to the sentiments they expressed.

But the mainstream, mass media organisations who rejoiced in broadcasting fake news about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party have nothing to say about it. Why?

We know Theresa May is a racist – we have the Windrush scandal and the “hostile environment” policy to prove it.

We know Boris Johnson is a racist – we have his comment about “piccaninnies with watermelon smiles” to prove that.

I could go through a few of the others, but you get the idea.

And nothing from their media lackeys. Perhaps they should be challenged about that. How do you fancy it?

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Benefits assessor told woman with stage 4 cancer: ‘You’re not sick enough’

Paige Garratt: She managed to recover from Hodgkin’s Lympoma despite the attentions of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Paige Garratt may very well be the one that got away, as far as the Department for Work and Pensions is concerned.

Diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma – advanced cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and lungs – the 22-year-old from Flintshire found herself fighting for her life.

Her fight was made much more difficult by the DWP – which, as regular readers of This Site will know, exists to make life as difficult as possible for the sick and vulnerable.

Advised that she would be entitled to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – the benefit that we are told is intended to help people with a long-term health condition or disability with the extra cost of living- Ms Garratt was hoping the money would pay for travel costs as she was having to visit the hospital three times a week.

But the assessor sent by the DWP decided that she was not sick enough to receive the benefit.

At the time of her interview, Ms Garratt was couchbound after a chemotherapy round, bald and so lethargic that she had to rest her head on the sofa arm or in her hands, but the assessor said she was physically able to take care of herself – and this person seemed to believe that her mental health was fine, even though she never asked any questions about it.

The conclusion regarding mental health is unsurprising because the PIP assessment never pays any attention to a claimant’s mental well-being. The revelation that no questions were asked about Ms Garratt’s mentality is surprising; I have attended several PIP interviews and it was discussed at length in those. But the decision letters made no reference to those discussions and PIP claimants certainly do not get any points if they are mentally ill.

More worrying still is the lack of attention paid to Ms Garratt’s physical condition. It seems the PIP assessment, a series of tick-box questions with yes/no answers – one example asks whether a claimant can prepare food alone – does not work for people with cancer.

And most worrying of all is the claim that Ms Garratt was not lethargic, when she could not even lift her head. That’s a flat lie – the kind of lie the DWP keeps claiming its assessors don’t make any more.

Put it all together and it seems clear that the intent was to deny Ms Garratt the benefits she was owed, thereby adding to the mental stress and physical incapacity caused by her illness.

Other claimants have been known to die after receiving this kind of treatment – although the DWP insists we are not to suggest that any fatalities are caused by its chequebook euthanasia-style behaviour.

Fortunately for Ms Garratt, the DWP’s best efforts proved to be in vain. Helped by a social worker, she successfully appealed against the decision and was awarded PIP in May this year – two months after she finished her chemotherapy.

A scan has shown she is now cancer-free, so I wonder how long she will be allowed to continue drawing the benefit.

And the DWP? It came out with the usual load of old flannel. “We have never spent more on benefits for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, totalling over £50bn a year – up £7bn since 2010.” This is a lie.

Still, the announcement that the DWP will pilot video recording of assessments may well lead to improved confidence in the process.

For now, Ms Garratt should consider herself lucky to be alive – in spite of the Department for Work and Pensions.

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