Economic inactivity: welfare and long-term sickness Oral evidence live 3pm 12/11/24

@JonnycJonny

Thank you.

I will be watching it.

link to complete committee video if anyone wants to watch

(I really don’t want to listen and report back on 2 hrs of this stuff - I know a lot of this stuff is not easy to understand but any member can watch the below link and write down the time stamp to any part that they need explaining, clarifying or an second opinion on because what’s been said has worried you) - I always feel compelled to do it as so much misinformation is posted on scope and I know that I will try and find the direct source rather than a media report

https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/a3b3d338-fd31-4b72-ab5f-e5c926544e32

nearest to a summary that I could find without listening to the whole video - screenshots from twitter

i make nothing of it i will have forgot what i have read by tomorrow no good fretting over what could or could not happen till it happens

I’m only an hr in, got another hr to listen to on and off the rest of this evening

I’ll post timestamps corresponding to specific topics later

I will say that I think I’m going to have to play devils advocate later on if this committee continues down the same tone the last hour.

I don’t think many people on the scope forum are looking at the bigger long term picture of all this

Some Members begged the rest of us to blindly vote Labour regardless of the risk of a huge majority and now are less willing to take the consequences

the reality is that if the kemikaze/stride ticket last till the next Ge they have a good chance of winning (and/or reform could make huge gains) as Labour have upset 100’s of thousands of voters with the autumn budget and 1st 100 days and honestly I don’t know if they be forgiven by the next GE

There is one thing I’m 100% - a kemikaze/stride and/or farage gov will threaten the lives of countless disabled ppl and make starmer/reeves/kendall viewpoints and policy look like child’s play imo

In my mind as things stand political party current leadership wise the disabled will still be better off next ge with a Labour gov or Labour/lib Dem(+greens) coalition

But Labour need to win back the trust of voters and that’s probably coming down to 3 controversial areas they need to improve if they have any chance:

1. the migrant/boat situation needs to significantly lower
2. The nhs needs to improve and run properly (and still free of use for the most part)
3. the welfare bill needs to go significantly down

now Many of the public want disabled to be hit with massive benefit cuts and/or kicked off altogether and unfortunately many papers are stirring up this blood spiting viewpoint as huge amounts of those in work suffered from the autumn budget but on paper it looks like those on welfare (those claiming to be ‘disabled’) got off stock free (though we know the truth is our time is coming and we weren’t forgotten at all) - which isn’t ‘fair’ as all uk citizens should be equally miserable

the question is can Labour come up with a way to lower the welfare bill without threatening mass poverty, ill health or worse?

It comes down to what price is each disabled person willing to pay to keep the Tory’s/reform out at the next GE in 2028/29 and actually have a chance of an okay existence?

Reading around the forum I do think many scope posters are being unrealistic in saying there’s zero they can contribute to society (but still want to receive welfare no q’s asked) and unwilling to recognise the moments when what a politican is saying may have truth in it and may be perceived as reasonable if carry out the ‘right’ way

I’ll comment on the whole video once I’ve viewed it all but I do think the disabled community needs to figure out where to compromise, what asks from Kendall & co could be possible under the right circumstances and what battles we need to direct our energies to