Green Paper Discussion (from 24th March, 2025)

The thing is, they didn't win by a landslide. The Tory vote collapsed, and first past the post did what it does.

I seem to recall that Corbyn in 2017, he actually got more votes than Starmer did in 2024.

Ranald, I was medically retired from my job and I was quite unwell from all the stress I’d gone through with office bitching and backstabbing. I didn’t get any universal credit for 8 months and they didn’t tell me about legacy benefits. I, had to go in for weekly job coach meetings, for months as they took 1 1/2 years to give me LCWRA…..They kept trying to get me to go to a puzzle group. One day I barfed all over their carpet and I was on phone interviews after that….

It's terrifying. I ask myself just how much harder they can hit us but I feel that they'll just continue this torture until a future government is prepared to raise taxes. The cuts so far will impact on the NHS and councils massively.

https://news.sky.com/story/chancellor-rachel-reeves-expected-to-announce-further-welfare-cuts-in-spring-statement-13335729

"Ms Reeves is now expected to announce that universal credit (UC) incapacity benefits for new claimants, which were halved under the original plan, will also be frozen until 2030 rather than rising in line with inflation.
As originally reported by The Times, there will also be a small reduction in the basic rate of UC in 2029, with the new measures expected to raise £500m."

I really don't think they derive any enjoyment out of all this, really I don't. That doesn't mean I approve of hitting the disabled to meet targets.

I think it shows how they've got no moral fibre whatsoever. Sadly, I think we'll see that the back benchers have no backbone.

I often think I've got little in the way of courage but I'm wrong, I have. In the 90s I stood up to the new CEO in the boardroom in front of c 30 employees after we'd seen dozens of colleagues frogmarched out of the building by security (40 years service some of them) treated disgustingly, all of us being given a 'pep talk' by the new 'top man' daring to lecture us about how it's necessary bla bla too and about our continued loyalty etc. The word loyalty set me off and I when asked if we had any questions I said loud and clear (I'm like a mouse ordinarily) I do, don't you think our loyalty might depend on how we see our colleagues being treated? He and the other board members were fuming with the finance man uttering some nonsensical answer. Was so pleased to see his ex wife completely wipe the floor with him in the High Courts for c £30million. Anyway, I digress sorry.. sorry, I just cannot abide people with absolutely no moral fibre and who try to ride roughshod over others.

What we should ALL remember here is that dealing with the illnesses and disabilities that we have, day in, day out, takes courage, in buckets full. So we've still all got that no matter how vulnerable we are made to feel. We can use that to our advantage. I cannot go out to protest but as my lovely dad used to say, 'the pen is mightier than the sword'. I intend to use that ink well and profusely.

She picks on the vunerable for her failings.

Blaming desperate people isn't the answer. We mustn't go down that road. HMG have a series of choices, and kicking those at the bottom is one of them. This is on them.