Nearly two million people in families with a disabled member were forced into poverty by Tories
Conservative government policies have forced nearly two million people – in families that have a disabled member – into poverty, according to figures published by the Labour Party.
Its report, Poverty Britain, highlights government figures that show the number of individuals in families that include a disabled person and were in relative poverty (after housing costs) increased from 4.3 million in 2010-11 to 5.5 million in 2017-18, an increase of 1.2 million.
And the number of individuals in families that include a disabled person and were in absolute poverty (after housing costs) rose by 700,000, from 4.3 million to five million people, over the same period.
It also quotes Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) research that found disabled people had been disproportionately affected by austerity measures introduced by successive Tory-led governments between 2010 and 2017.
It found that the impact of tax and benefit changes on families that included a disabled adult would reduce their income by about £2,500 per year, on average; if the family also included a disabled child, the impact would be more than £5,500 per year.
It also referred to a report by the UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities, which found in November 2016 that the UK government was guilty of “grave” and “systematic” violations of disabled people’s rights.
Labour has promised a series of measures to end the political impoverishment of disabled people.
For further information, see: Election 2019: ‘Tories forced a million members of disabled families into poverty’ – Disability News Service
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Nearly two million people in families with a disabled member were forced into poverty by [the] Tories AND Swinson’s LibDems
It’s called aktion T4 culling the stock through benefits denial
all part of rtu ids regime culling the stock through benefits denial aktion t4 rolling along without much of a ado jeff3
I don’t care what it sounds like, the only difference between this government and WW2 era Germany is that they did it via camps, our lot does it by fiscal means, but it is the same result, people die in an unnecessary and horrific manner not befitting a so called civilised country in the 21st century and nobody seems to want to talk about it.
120,000 and counting.
The organizations set up to help people aren’t even aloud to talk about it, because many of them sign agreements with the government under duress of punitive measures such as loss of funding.
I look after a close family member as an alternative to them moving into an ATU (which would of meant a death sentence) their parents aren’t able to care (one passed on, one is in care themselves now due to age).
Ironically enough it costs the NHS around 5 grand per placement (per week) to house vulnerable people in these units. I scrape by on less than this in a year.
My home is small/modest but I own it outright having previously worked. I made sacrifices in my own life to get to this point and have never taken a holiday before, I hit the ground running at a young age and worked hard for what I have, I put off having a family and do not smoke/drink etc.
I barely keep the bills paid, I keep cared for person healthy/out of hospital and ensure they are clean, safe, fed and happy (as they could be, they are severely disabled)
You’d think we were well off but we barely survive. I don’t eat well, I can’t properly afford to clothe myself properly (I have had one coat in 10 years). My own health is deteriorating for reasons outside of being a carer but the 100+ hour weeks aren’t doing any favours. I can’t get a doctors appointment because the few practices in the local area are heavily over subscribed and I can’t get cover for my charge when I attend.
Social services might well not exist for the “use” they are. The department is corrupt, putting political and financial motivations over protecting the most vulnerable on society.
The care and disability acts are supposed to protect us but through lack of enforcement is not fit for wiping my backside, the organizations set up to support carers are politically under the thumb, lack teeth and at an executive level out of touch with the reality of adversity the millions of us around the country are faced with. Those with disabilities face the same and worse. Its no wonder disability related hate crime is through the roof. Society is cannibalising itself to survive and has gone feral.
We get told we should look after and protect the ones we care about yet for my efforts we are treated like scum and a burden to be shouldered
Welcome to 21st Century Britain
It’s a lot more than 120,000 deaths!
I think we will need an independent inquiry into the deaths of benefit claimants during the years of Conservative government, as soon as we can get a different party into office.
I guess their austerity attack on all vulnerable was an easy kill for additional cash which the Cons can distribute as if it was and is their generosity. Their chums still get away with tax savings as a result of very tame attacks on multi country blue chips playing statistical accounting games which is an easy tax win. That’s before the rich individuals being led into crafty tax avoidance scams by accounting firms that seem worthless from the number of failures in big business and usual job losses.
Mike – I have a question. After reading the above, it begs the question ‘What is the definition of poverty in terms of actual monetary figures?’
I did a quick bit of research online after reading this article and came up with various formulae, but no actual £’s per household, or £’s per person.
At the moment, I am sitting in the same room as a guy with a degree in Maths, and many years working as a Project Manager in IT – a very bright guy – he is as puzzled as I am.
Mike – do you have any answers as to these figures? I am not asking for exact answers to the nearest penny/£ per week/year, just some idea what is meant by ‘poverty’.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Thank you Mike. At least I now know it is not just me who does not understand. I always knew that the Tory claim of ‘helping working people out of poverty’ was a load of c…