General Election 2024: What are the biggest issues you're facing?

Meg24 said:

onlymeagain said:

Meg24 said:

I want the WCA changes to be scrapped and LCWRA not to be tied to receiving PIP. Also UC rates to be brought in line with current legacy rates to remove the horrendous problem of the erosion of transistional protection which will see us so much worse off in just a few years. As it stands, if the Tory's plans are put into practice I will not be able to claim LCWRA when I am reassessed (which we all will be at some point, see benefitsandwork) and I will not be able to afford to pay my rent contribution on the home I have lived in for 16 years. I also will not be able to afford my dogs. Losing my home and my only companions will destroy me, I will not survive it. The WCA changes will mean I will not be found to have LCWRA, even though I have been in the support group for 15 years. This is not just a pressing issue for me, it is life or death.

I haven't heard of LCWRA being tied with PIP before. My middle son is on LCWRA but doesn't receive PIP.

The Tories plan to abolish the WCA and make the current LCWRA element only available to people on PIP. At the same time they want to remove LCWRA from most people with mobility or MH issues. They say it's only going to affect new claims, but in the same breath admit that it will also include people who get reassessed, which is everyone eventually. They also plan to allow work coaches to be in full control of conditionality for everyone, meaning that even if you do get PIP, you still might be pressured to undertake work preparation and could be sanctioned if you don't. Because these decisions will be made by work coaches rather than a WCA, there will be no legal appeal route, so no more tribunals which as we know, have a high success rate currently. They paint all this as 'helping' the disabled into work when all it is is a horrendously dangerous cost cutting exercise. The Tories must go and Labour must stop this.

It will be interesting to see how many employees will be happy to wipe his backside for him. And since he cannot go out alone, they may have to collect and drop him home after too.

What scares me is the constant hostile rhetoric from seemingly ALL the major political parties towards the sick/disabled who are on disability benefit. I've never felt more victimized by the government in my entire life.

Only recently Labour's own 'Liz Kendall' was quoted as saying ''Life on benefits will not be an option under Labour'', then went on to say ''When you're in work it improves mental health and is better for you, the NHS and for taxpayers'', etc, etc, this may be true for some, but not all, I feel the people in government are trying too hard to create a false illusion that all sickness/disabilities can be magically cured by work and it seems the government is going to push this narrative as a cost-cutting measure for the welfare budget. 

The government seem to be taking no consideration towards individuals needs/struggles/restrictions and just act like we all fit into a 'one size fits all' catagory where all the sick/disabled people's problems can be 'fixed' very simply.. I also strongly object to how they also call us names like ''Economically inactive'' - which I feel is very dehumanizing and vile.

They also seem to be very aggressive lately towards people with mental illness, they've said about 'bringing in thousands of therapy appointments' as if a couple of therapy appointments per person will magically cure people with serious mental illness and get them straight into work. This is an issue close to my heart as I've lost 3 family members to suicide since the 1990s and it would have broken my heart even more if those family members who I've lost were being harassed/hounded by the DWP into work prior to their deaths. 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is not all of us can work, whether it's due to physical or mental illness/disability, if some sick/disabled people feel they can work then it should be THEIR choice and I fully support them in their journey and I hope it's an empowering experience.. However the government needs to realise and respect that not ALL of us can work and they must understand that, all the constant government posturing, coersion-into-work and forceful dialogue about overhauling the disability benefit system is very cruel, people who are on disability benefit should be able to focus on their health without having to live in a daily constant fear that some day soon they're going to be kicked off their meagre benefit and either forced into work or forced into poverty/starvation, one or the other.

Albus_Scope said:

I see where you're coming from @Remina, I personally think the current working style is full of so many stressors its causing more people to be signed off with mental health issues and stress, especially since covid.  But they're not focusing on the root problems and instead waving around the usual "just do some yoga" approach which they think will "fix" everyone. If they're wanting to pump lots more funding into the mental health sector though, that is a good thing, just not all as talking therapies.

As for the current "Disabled people want to work" attitude, I do get that, many do. But many are unable to work and I think they may get caught in the crossfire between parties. 

Hello Albus. I just get so tired of everyday with the mainstream media, I see constant articles that are bashing disability benefit claimants, it's so tiring being in the firing line every single day.. I opened the news today and there's an article with the headline ''The challenge of the workless millions that shames Britain... As Labour promises a benefits crackdown'', then a couple of weeks ago I saw an article called ''Generation sicknote'' which was just full of cruel rhetoric against people on disability benefit.. It just feels like we're constantly under attack and I'm fed up of it. We suffer enough already behind closed doors with trying to cope with our sickness/disability on a daily basis without also being verbally attacked and humiliated every day by the mainstream media and our own government who call us 'scroungers', 'lazy' and 'economically inactive'. It's so evil. 

As I said before I've lost family members to suicide, my mother was one of them back in the 1990s, she was in-and-out of the local psychiatric hospital for years, talking therapies didn't help, nor did the medication she was on, she was only in her mid 20s when she took her own life, she tried so hard to get help but nothing worked, so it irritates me when this government/media acts like some talking therapy will magically fix everything for everyone. Everyone is unique and as you say there are root problems to address, there isn't a one-size-fits-all quick fix for everyone. 

I agree though that funding should be pumped in to the NHS to help sick/disabled people and initiatives in place to help gently encourage them and help if they are able to or want to find work, but the current (or the next) government need to understand that for some of us, we can not work, it's a struggle just to get through each day and survive daily life as it is. 

I just wish they'd leave the genuinely sick/disabled alone so we can focus on bettering our health and maintaining a daily routine as best as we can.. I'm sick of feeling under-attack and scared every single day that I'm going to one-day lose my disability benefit, be unable to support myself, unable to work, then be faced with poverty or worse. They call us ''Economically inactive'' - NO. I call us ''Human beings with sickness/disability who are just trying to survive/cope as best as we can..''

I guess I'm just frustrated and scared, sorry.. 

They are all definitely gunning for people with MH problems. What's terrifying is the lack of understanding or sympathy about non-psychotic MH issues, there ia still this prevailing attitude that unless you have schizophrenia or some other actively psychotic illness, that your MH is simply a matter of having a strong enough will or positive attitude. Unfortunately this is also a misunderstanding of the modern obsession with mindfulness and CBT, which is what they are talking about when they say they are expanding talking therapies. They read a bit about how CBT is about 'changing your mindset' read a few misleading statistics about it's effectiveness (highly debatable especially long term or for complex & severe MH) and they think that everybody who is depressed or has a personality disorder just needs to be 'given the right message' 

It's pervasive, even within the psychiatric services, this idea that if you don't improve with what they call treatment, that you're being willful.

Insight is not magic, I've had 20+ years of psychotherapy and I have great insight, it just isn't always enough when something is really deep. Then of course you have people with severe clinical depression for whom therapy might not work at all! 

The whole thing smacks of scapegoating, ignorance and prejudice and it's appalling that Labour is pedalling it too.

Yes the media, well the media on the right of politics are running attack lines on disabled benefits claimants constantly, I never noticed this in the past because I worked and studied so I was oblivious but now it's "othering" territory the amount of hatred being pushed.

Something happened since 2020 as to why more and more people are claiming benefits especially PIP and LCW/LCWRA. The Covid situation, cost of living, standard of living dropping and other issues are why there is a mental health crisis in Britain, this really should be addressed by the Government, you cannot wave a magic wand and pretend everything is fine. Then the Long Covid situation has just been ignored too.

The attack or negative narrative of disabled benefits claimants is the last throw of the dice for the Tories and it won't work, I hold the belief that there are too many compassionate people in Britain to allow such nasty, spiteful, hate filled scapegoating to take root into their minds.

 

Interestingly John Pring at Disability News Service has been challenging the government's figures on the supposed increase in disability benefit claim. He is currently in the process of this and you can follow his efforts on the website. I for one would not be surprised if it turns out to be a twisting of facts to suit their agenda.

Meg24 said:

They are all definitely gunning for people with MH problems. What's terrifying is the lack of understanding or sympathy about non-psychotic MH issues, there ia still this prevailing attitude that unless you have schizophrenia or some other actively psychotic illness, that your MH is simply a matter of having a strong enough will or positive attitude. Unfortunately this is also a misunderstanding of the modern obsession with mindfulness and CBT, which is what they are talking about when they say they are expanding talking therapies. They read a bit about how CBT is about 'changing your mindset' read a few misleading statistics about it's effectiveness (highly debatable especially long term or for complex & severe MH) and they think that everybody who is depressed or has a personality disorder just needs to be 'given the right message'

Tell me about it   The situation in my family case is ME/CFS, where for decades it was alleged that CBT (and Graded Exercise Therapy) was a "cure", or at least a "treatment" for it. As a result, I have a family member whose condition deteriorated greatly beyond where they were pre-"treatment", rather than getting better!  Thankfully, NICE eventually looked at the real evidence and has now issued guidelines which prohibit CBT (and GET) as "treatments", although CBT is still allowed in some cases as a sort of "coping strategy" to help you cope with the associated difficulties.

Post Diagnostic Autism assessments to determine level of autism for autistic adults and appropriate support required must be made much more widely available on the NHS and other state bodies without “red tape” such as GP referrals and there must be a far more understanding and compassionate approach taken by the DWP towards autism issues