Attacking Disabled People
This week in the UK the Chancellor Rachel Reeves aka Rachel from Accounts - has delivered her Spring statement. Along with a Green Paper delivered earlier this week, there are going to be stinging cuts for the poorest in society. Amounting to over £5bn worth of cuts this represents a massive attack on living standards which will ripple throughout the UK economy.
This is austerity 2.0 and we have become used to it. No investing over here to get out of the debt burden, no we are making deep cuts to living standards, especially to those of disabled people to get us out of the hole of recession.
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit paid to disabled people, whether working or not, to assist them with the extra costs being disabled incurs.
Today think tank The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a report stating the average family will be £1,400 worse off annually by 2030. The poorest will have £900 less in disposable income.
Even the government department the DWP admits this will put 250,000 people and 50,000 children into poverty.
Not only will this it will undoubtedly lead to a rise in the number of suicides.
Reports into the UK's treatment of disabled people has been condemned by the United Nations in 2024 and 2025.
The fifth wealthiest country in the world and this is how it treats it's most vulnerable.
The worse thing is that the Labour Government, supposedly on the side of working people, has posited this as a "moral duty". The idea is to force people back into non-existent work.
It has served to divide the country, pitting able people v disabled in a climate where hate crimes against disabled people have been rising. Comments from MPs that people on benefits are taking the mickey and that it's a lifestyle choice, are downright inflammatory, and the politicians know it.
They talk about a broken benefits system - but the actual figures are very small. Even smaller for fraud - especially when compared to the tax fraud that goes on. Critics of disability benefits such as Reeves and Starmer keep arguing in the Tory press that disability spending is unsustainable, but evidence shows the opposite is true. Analysis in 2023 revealed that disability benefits account for 2.5% of total welfare spending £15.4 billion a year, which is a fraction of the £44 billion annual cost of economic inactivity linked to poor health. The New Economic Foundation produced economic modelling in 2023 which noted that raising disability benefits by 20% would cost £3.5 billion but generate £7 billion in economic gains through improved health and economic productivity.
By savage cuts to benefits they hope to meet their own self imposed fiscal targets. Meanwhile the real reason for the dire outlook - the rise in interest payments is never touched upon. The amount of GDP simply going to pay interest. The UK now pays 2.9% alone in interest payments. The highest since 2007. Never mentioned.
Adolescence
This is the latest TV offering on Netflix for British audiences. If you can get it where you are it's a hard watch but worth seeing. Being described as landmark TV it is all anything anybody's talking about.
A limited series over four episodes, in quick review it concerns a boy arrested for murdering a fellow pupil. It delves into social media and bullying amongst, you've guessed it adolescents.
Shot in a single take it's a no hands barred, up close and personal account following the aftermath of a stabbing.
The father is played with aplomb from the great Steven Graham and newcomer Owen Cooper is tremendous in the role as the thirteen year old arrested for the murder.
The premise being that this is a case of toxic masculinity with the central character having being influenced by Andrew Tate and the like. However, is this anything new? There have been prevailing negative attitudes to women for a long time in a patriarchal society.
I think what the show is addressing is at what age should boys come across these ideas and how does it impact them.
In interviews the director,/writer, Jack Thorne, has asked should we allow our children to have smart phones at all? However, I feel this national conversation we're having will only feed into the government's plans for "Online Safety" aka censorship.
Anyway it made for pretty gripping telly.