Sue Marsh from Diary of a Benefit Scrounger, reports on a concerted effort in the right-wing press to prevent any real debate over benefits.
Sue Marsh blogs at Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Today, the Daily Express and Daily Mail are full of cheating, scrounging sick people.
The Express screams: “Blitz on Britain’s benefits madness”, contrasting those on “sickness handouts” with “hard working taxpayers”.
According to the the Express, Tory MP Philip Davies joined the outcry, saying:
“People are sick to the back teeth of being taken for a ride by people sponging and scrounging and abusing the system.”
While the Mail screams:
“Scandal of 80,000 on sickness benefits for minor ailments… including diarrhoea.”
To accompany the claim that “drug addicts” have been allowed to claim, they included a picture of someone snorting white powder through a rolled up note.
The papers go on to list “blisters”, “headaches”, “depression”, and “problems with scholastic skills” as evidence that there are hundreds of thousands of people living the good life at “taxpayers” expense who have nothing really wrong with them.
For a moment, let’s forget the fact that only the first ailment a person lists on their claim form is taken into account in these figures. Let’s ignore the fact that someone with “nail disorders” might also have cancer or kidney failure. Let’s ignore the fact that someone classified under “drug abuse” might also suffer from schizophrenia or multiple sclerosis..
I have “diarrhoea” but why? Well, because of the 32 growths I’ve had to have removed from my guts and the seven major operations to remove rotten lengths of bowel, leaving me with half as much intestine as your average ill-informed hack.
My friend has “blisters.” She suffers from the rare skin disease Epidermolysis Bullosa. Her skin blisters and comes away at the lightest touch, leaving her scarred and in constant, terrible pain.
“Headaches?” Cluster headaches (also referred to as “suicide headaches”) are thought to be one of the worst pains known to man, not something to be confused with a hangover.
I could go on, but I’m sure you’re beginning to see why these horrible articles, fuelled by “statements” today from Chris Grayling, minister for Work and Pensions and our very own prime minister, only serve to turn a sensitive, delicate subject into a form of attack. They aim to pitch one condition against another whilst asking more fortunate citizens to view those who are unwell with mistrust and contempt.
Perhaps there is a legitimate debate to be had over which conditions “hard working tax-payers” are willing to support. There is certainly some validity in the claim that many sick or disabled people would love help and support to find a job.
However, surely none of us agree that this is the way in which to conduct that debate? Surely allowing our politicians and our media to whip up hate and prejudice against a particular group of society is something we should all be ashamed of?
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148 Responses to “Right-wing hate campaign clouds debate on benefits”
joe kane
#54
“You can rant and rave about about markets and waffle on about Reagan blah blah.”
– I wouldn’t expect any other response but such animal noises from someone like mouse, who because they can’t understand simple arguments about the effects of decades of Reaganite-Thatcherite neoliberal economics and social problems associate with them, can’t answer arguments based on such simple correlations.
“You can even use sixth form student terms like ConDems (please) but the facts speak for themselves and minimum wage workers like myself have more of our money than we did under Labour.”
– If your facts speak for themselves then where are they to prove that economic inequality in the UK has, all of a sudden, reversed itself under the ConDem Government after decades of growth, and economic stagnation for most people, since Thatcher and Reagan?
ps
Just to remind the ever forgetful mouse, that the Tory Party in Scotland is on barely more than 10% of the vote. It used to get 50% once upon a time.
So much for other parties getting a ‘cane’ from the SNP when your own has been effectively destroyed in Scotland and the Labour Party is three times more popular. I think the Scottish Tories would be quite satisfied with the kind of support the Labour Party gets in Scotland.
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – The only animal noises I hear are the low groans of disbelief at your remarks regarding Reagan and the fact that he turned round the US economy with his ideas – Reaganomics if you like (Along with finishing the hated Soviet Union by putting arms along their borders).
Whilst you complain about that system – capitalism basically – why aren’t you livid that Labour, with the kind of majority governments can only dream of, continued along that path?
Being a Labour voter I was more than happy up until 2001 when it became apparent that Labour didn’t actually have a clue on the economy. Not just from continuing the hopeless PFI or increasing public services beyond any economic sustainability, or even the selling of our gold reserves at a historic low but because of the blatant lies from the terminally useless Gordon Brown.
This country was lead on a merry dance by Brown with the support of the right wing press (Daily Mail in particular) and crazy comments like “Ending Boom and Bust” along with rewarding more financial “experts” with honours than any government in history says it all.
Any complaints you have regarding your “neoliberal economics” should be aimed directly at Labour and their lack of ideas about how to run an economy.
“ConDem” is just childish – almost as much as your comment about “economic stagnation” – what planet are you living on joe kane? Did you actually miss the economic bubble the world has just gone through?
PS Just to remind the ever delusional joe kane of two easy statistics. In either the UK government or the Scottish government Labour is not in power and with the leaders in each party it is unlikely they will be. As a (now) Lib Dem supporter I really don’t care what the Tories in Scotland poll just the fact he is more popular than the hapless Ed Miliband:
“Ed Miliband (36%) is less popular than Nick Clegg (41%)! They’re both equal on 51% for the proportion of the public who do not like them. The common narrative is that Nick Clegg is the most reviled man in Britain – this poll tells a different story”
The link is: http://www.totalpolitics.com/blog/153397/eyebrow-raising-poll-figures-for-ed-miliband-and-george-osborne.thtml
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