5 Jan 2016
I first published this article 4 years ago in response to planned government legislation. World-famous film director Ken Loach spoke brilliantly last night on BBC’s Newsnight programme on the evil of benefit sanctions – the immediate and summary withdrawal of benefits – and on his Twitter timeline today elaborated, including pointing out that even if every unemployed claimant did everything and found a job, there would still be a million people unemployed and over 5 million underemployed.
It reminded me of this article, which shows that, for all its rhetoric about ‘hard-working families’, this government wants unemployment. It just doesn’t want you unemployed too long.
In other words, it wants a high turnover of unemployed people – but for there always to be plenty. Of course, that doesn’t prevent them penalising those who are unfortunate enough to be unemployed at any given moment in whatever cruel ways they can think up.
Some of the numbers have changed in the last 4 years, but the reality hasn’t. Please read and share.
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8 Jan 2013:
I’ve written variously about this Tory-led government’s fetish for demonising the vulnerable in order to facilitate its attacks on their state support. Disabled people, young people, ho…
Read the rest: ‘Scroungers’ irrelevant to the welfare bill. Why Govt’s REALLY obsessed by them..
Reblogged this on sdbast.