Britain’s top psychiatrists warn Tory benefit cuts are making mental health conditions worse
Illness: Perhaps Iain Duncan Smith will not admit the harm caused by his reforms because he, himself, has a mental health problem?
This Writer knows from the experiences of people around me that the psychiatrists’ verdict is correct.
Iain Duncan Smith says otherwise.
But then, people who are mentally ill rarely realise that they have a problem.
Britain’s most senior psychiatrists today warn Iain Duncan Smith’s cruel benefit cuts are having a disastrous impact on people with mental health problems.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists accused the Tory Work and Pensions Secretary of “unjust and ineffective” use of “threats and sanctions” against people who cannot work due to their poor mental health.
It comes as the House of Lords prepares for a crunch vote this afternoon on IDS’s plan to slash disabled benefits by £30-a-week, making them the same as jobseekers’ allowance.
Labour and Lib Dem peers are expected to join forces in a bid to inflict another damaging defeat on the Tory Government – days after they halted plans to redefine child poverty by excluding income.
Psychiatrist Dr Jed Boardman of the Royal College said that rather than encouraging people back into work, benefit sanctions “can lead to people’s mental health conditions deteriorating, pushing them even further from work”.
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Personally, I believe the Tories know full well the harm they are doing to society as a whole and, as long as it doesn’t affect them and their privileged clique, they really don’t give a damn.
yes maximum damage is their objective.
use costly legislation and regulation which will be more costly to revoke or change by another government is their regular strategy.
I believe Cameron is a sociopath, he has no affect, hence the reason he can belabour and milk the death of his son to score political points. IDS is more a nobody who had nothing going for him but landed a plum job and is now getting even with the most vulnerable who remind him constantly of his own failure as a man. A snidy, spiteful, jealous and envious cretin taking pleasure from the harm he can inflict. In a way he is to be pitied, he will leave this government and be at the bottom of the pile again with nowhere to go dodging everyone for fear of their scathing criticism of him. Lonely and loathed, not much of a future for him is it? Hopefully, he will fall down and break his neck and live paralyzed for the remainder of his pathetic, blighted existence.
No apology for my ill will towards IDS will be forthcoming, regardless of your condemnation, I never professed to be a saint, I ain’t.
Mohandeer fully support your condemnation, the sooner it happens the better.
As stated Mike “people who are mentally ill rarely realise that they have a problem”, but their employer, in this case Cameron, should be careful about whom he employs for a specific job.
It really would be good if all the organizations and professionals who are speaking out piecemeal about the effects of the cuts on the mentally ill, infirm, elderly and disabled got together and actually DID something!
Otherwise they will continue to get away with it.
The Lords may halt a few things but they will find a way to neutralize them and then the cull will continue.
Cameron needs crazy people to implement crazy policies.
balanced people in Hitler’s era served no purpose during the holocaust. likewise in the case of Cameron and his tory party.
Their agenda is blatantly obvious. the more people they can push to suicide, the less they have to pay out. Benefits for them they save money and cant be accused of killing anyone. win win situation for them!
Which is their primary objective!
Either IDS thinks he knows better than Doctor’s or he is a psychopathic sociopath.