scribblerpen.bsky.social
Writer, editor, analyst. Disability employment rights advocate.
Trade union disability rep. Arts, science and languages nerd, internationalist, hiker, nature lover. Could really do without Long Covid
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But it's hard not to think that if Gordon Brown as PM had had the foresight 15 years ago of what is a hindsight now, the swathe of cruelty coming to ill and disabled people would not have started under the last Labour government.
www.theguardian.com/society/joep...
Time to learn from past mistakes.
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What a beautiful tribute.
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It's here, a thread that went up after the Spending Review statememt.
x.com/Keir_Starmer...
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It's nonsense and posturing: disability welfare contributes more to the economy than it costs (£1.48 for each £1, according to the Treasury's Green Book), cuts to it cost the economy more than they save.
But this kind of posturing is why disability rights and welfare were enshrined in law post-WWII.
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The Chancellor doesn't mention #PIP or #DisabilityBenefits at all in reply but talks about "difficult choices made in the Autumn" that enable today's spending. What this means for the not-so-difficult choices made in Spring to cut disability support, that won't enable anyone or anything, is unclear.
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Officials have also held talks about putting the bill through a “committee of the whole house,” preventing lengthy evidence sessions that could question experts and campaigners.
...But one Labour official said: “The welfare vote will blow it all up again. I think at least one minister will resign."
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I remember having this conversation
on the night of October 9 and 10.
Then began a campaign of annihilation,
and the conversation ended then.
Personal ambitions of one man
rarely speak for an entire nation.
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Especially if trying to cosplay Reform at the same time.
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Trump appears to be using the National Guard the way Putin uses the Russian national guard — as his personal troops assembled for the purposes of intimidating his own citizens.
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Is it very cynical to see this as a comms strategy: make Reform look bigger than they are, so there's a stalking horse to scare voters away from Lib Dems, Greens or national parties? "Vote for us, or you'll get Reform."
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More on the disability benefits bill, why it's increasing:
neweconomics.org/2025/05/what...
and why cuts to disability welfare are counter-productive:
pbe.co.uk/more-than-mo...
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Also, the bill is not "unsustainable" — that's a narrative pushed by ministers. Even the DWP's own evidence debunks the idea that it's driven by anything other than genuine ill health: www.gov.uk/government/p... The UK spends less of its GDP on disability welfare than most OECD countries.
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The story used to sell the cuts is "young people with mental health diagnosis" (as if MH is fake). In reality, conditions facing most PIP eligibility cuts are physical:
questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques..., most claimants facing cuts are 50-60+:
www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/pip_...
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Not really. Defence's purpose is to protect lives — disabled or not. We don't sacrifice disabled lives as first resort when things get tricky.
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I volunteer at CAB and have regularly encountered the shame that some feel when they come to us for help to claim benefits.
Some people's circumstances are heartbreaking enough without adding shame to their emotions.
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Agree. Welfare or social security is better. "Benefit" suggests it confers some sort of bonus or advantage, when it's social support that somewhat reduces inequality.
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Sounds like a good thing. Clover will suppress weeds and feed your pollinators. If you ever get fed up with it and want your grass back, it's a nitrogen fixer, dig it in, and it'll return nutrients to the soil.
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Yes, we should prepare for Trump not being an ally — or being Putin's ally.
But not by cutting disability welfare: a) this won't in practice raise money, b) poverty and misery would be exploited in a hybrid war, again, c) if we can't look after disabled members of our society, what are we defending?
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Also asking: if each £1 of health-related welfare spending generates almost £1.50 for the economy (Treasury's Green Book), is cutting it by £5-6bn a net saving — or loss to the economy? The cost of disability would still be there, in the NHS, councils, but not the income. Will that fund defence? No.
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Thank you. Yes, I do believe the UK needs to take down Brexit trade barriers and reverse that GDP loss, to afford higher defence spending. There are other options incl. borrowing, raising more tax from higher non-work income, rebalancing spending, asking: can we afford some white elephants e.g. CCS?