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….

More cuts!

And there will be more as time goes by cause the economy will worsen

I hope charities challenge ALL these changes proposed.

Getting rid of ESA CB it’s a big loss for the welfare state.

In other European countries if you’ve become too ill to work, and won’t be able to do so in the future, you are entitled to a significant life time pension till your death. 

(If you improve and can work, you can do so, just tell them so).

Their award is much more than a few hundred quid a month, it’s like a few thousand a month depending on your contributions.

Regardless of savings etc

IMO that’s the way to look at it. 

Our benefit awards are a pittance.

I hope these charities that fight in the name of the disabled community take this into account and legally fight to abolish this unemployment insurance, cause this change as the legal procedure is set up, can be challenged in court. Letting it go unchallenged would be a terrible mistake for the ill and disabled community.

These charities want changes and higher benefits for everyone in need (which the different governments aren’t willing to give). However very little or no mention of this new proposal insurance employment from them. 

This benefit ESA CB it’s something that we already have, it would be a major blow for our welfare state to lose it.

Finally, having seen the inner workings, corruption at work from different Unions (which was a big blow for me), I have to question these charities motivations including Scope. Only time will tell if they are really on the disabled community side.

Unfairness it’s always something worth fighting for regardless of the consequences.

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.