Following today’s news six major disability charities have warned the government about its use of ‘scrounger’ rhetoric, we look at how widespread it has become.
Six leading disability charities have spoken out against the government’s ‘scrounger’ rhetoric on welfare cuts, saying it fuels abuse of disabled people.
The Guardian reports:
While the charities speaking out – Scope, Mencap, Leonard Cheshire Disability, the National Autistic Society, Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), and Disability Alliance – say inflammatory media coverage has played a role in this, they primarily blame ministers and civil servants for repeatedly highlighting the supposed mass abuse of the disability benefits system, much of which is unfounded…
Scope’s regular polling of people with disabilities shows that in September two-thirds said they had experienced recent hostility or taunts, up from 41 per cent four months before. In the last poll almost half said attitudes towards them had deteriorated in the past year.
Left Foot Forward reported about the tabloid attacks on disabled people back in June last year, following the results of an appalling survey carried out by Scope which revealed that half of London respondents said they experienced discrimination on a daily or weekly basis, and that 63 per cent of people with disabilities in London thought others did not believe they were disabled.
Dominic Browne wrote:
Many journalists cultivate the perception that if you are on a disability benefit you are either, a drug addict, a cheat, have to be forced into work, or should stop moaning because disability can be good for you. The second to last link, taken from the Mail, has a picture caption reading:
“Feet up: Claimants will lose their disability benefits as the public spending cuts bite (Posed by model).”
For an article about disabled people having their benefits cut we have a completely staged photo of a able-bodied man sitting on a sofa smoking a cigarette.
And of course just last week, Left Foot Forward reported on Rod Liddle’s disgusting – if unsurprising – attack on the ‘fake disabled’, in which he wrote:
My New Year’s resolution for 2012 was to become disabled. Nothing too serious, maybe just a bit of a bad back or one of those newly invented illnesses which make you a bit peaky for decades – fibromyalgia, or M.E…
Just the day after, James Dellingpole joined in the attack, blaming “the fake disabled” for “crippling our economy”.
But although the tabloids are doing the dirty work, the DWP is not innocent in this peddling of slurs. They routinely misrepresent their own statistics in a manner guaranteed to generate negative coverage of disabled people – and, surely coincidentally, ease the passage of their legislation.
As Steve Griffiths wrote for us last month:
The DWP press release opens with a mis-statement of the legislation:
‘The figures also show that a further 17 per cent can do some work with the right help and support’.
This interprets those assessed as belonging to the ESA work related activity group are as having been found ‘fit for work’. Yet the legislation states clearly that people qualify for ESA, including the work related activity group, because it is ‘unreasonable to expect them to work’ because of their ‘physical or mental condition’.
It is a misrepresentation that goes unchallenged almost daily.
Secondly, the 36 per cent whose claim was ‘abandoned’ before their assessment was complete are routinely represented as found ‘fit for work’.
Peddling the scrounger myth was only ever going to have one result. The DWP will have seen this coming, and the fact that they did it anyway is a disgrace.
See also:
• Look Left – The hate-filled Right hone in on their next target: Disabled people – Shamik Das, January 27th 2012
• Liddle’s latest outrage shouldn’t surprise us – Alex Hern, January 26th 2012
• It’s nearly time for the DWP’s quarterly love-in with the tabloids – Steve Griffiths, January 20th 2012
• Aggression is a fact of life for the disabled in London, as the tabloids continue to attack – Dominic Browne, June 13th 2011
• Society and the media are failing the sick and disabled – Sue Marsh, May 13th 2011
58 Responses to “The DWP’s ‘scrounger’ rhetoric is causing real harm”
Anonymous
Not at all.
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c6ccc516-7322-4d33-9d06-be1484237f58%40sessionmgr11&vid=4&hid=6
[If the link works. If not the reference is]
MCVICAR, D. (2008) Why have UK disability benefit rolls grown so much? Journal of
Economic Surveys, 22, 1, 114-139.
Lots of research.
Unfortunately for many, they have been a victim of fraud. Labelled as disabled, they haven’t done as well as those in work.
Now, the government is stopping the hidden unemployment fraud (its fault), and those wrongly labeled, are going to have to rejoin the market place for work.
There is a lot of other research out there on why the disabled have grown from 1 million to 2.5, and its not that people are being crippled.
However, if you think the 0.5% fraud rates by claimants is correct, explain why so many who are currently claiming don’t want to be tested. Obvious explanation, they might not want to be tested because they would be found out.
Anonymous
It’s government fraud hiding the unemployed.
What should be done about that?
Deny the 1 million genuine claimants, so you can have your gold plated pension?
MARY HALL
RT @leftfootfwd: The DWP’s ‘scrounger’ rhetoric is causing real harm http://t.co/UK1JYjOU
Fiona
RT @leftfootfwd: The DWP’s ‘scrounger’ rhetoric is causing real harm http://t.co/UK1JYjOU
Davidsonp45
Hello People. So the hard working Tax payer is being taunted to shift the blame yet again. Now let’s go back in time in my life and the causes of some of my disabilities which as a Media Volunteer I have well documented. at 3 years old flung in to a smouldering fire. At 7 year a banger dropped down the back of my T.Shirt at 10 years a shooting starrocket was fire close range in to my throat. so even at 10 years A meaningful life was never to be for me Inever asked to be so horrificly abused. I also endured so much violent and emotional abuse in all my school years even in the home. I was taunted picked on at school because I looked and acted differently an easy target for those wishing to vent their anger of sort’s their frustration’s our were they all just plain bad. but all were members of the public. picking on a vulnerable helpless withdrawn child in deep deep trauma P.T.S.D. Even as a teenager I had my back slashed several times for no reason other than they saw an easy target. and as an adult I endured many more violent attack’s mocking taunt’s around a physical disability I have had all my life this by so called friend’s members of the public and those I worked with. When I lost my baby son in 1998 All my traumas shot to the front of my mind in one go that led me to scream loud inthe street’s for years. Non of these traumas were of my making they just happened yet while in trauma over the loss of my son I would feel the need to jump off various Bridges if only you had of witnessed the various taunt’s of Go on then ”JUMP’). They were not aware I had disabilities they just asumed I was Mad in some way and thought I should die and they had a right to abuse me.
So being a Media Campaigner I tried so hard to help change attitudes. with over 20 Media Interview’s behind me I hoped I at least made a little difference. And I sure critisized Peter Haine. Remember Him Folk’s and his comment’s. (I lovemy sofa me ). But not the ogonising pain that makes me lounge about on it all day. Even when Mr Blair was in Power I would complain about Govwrnment rhetoric that demonised the undeserving unwaged. So it’s no surprise to me it has esculated with the present Government Winsconsin Style with their own particular venomous zeal. Jo Public Beware they dont need ”YOU” if and when YOU” Become the damned sick note Jo.