Liz Kendall says some people on sickness and disability benefits are ‘taking the mickey’

The full quote in context. She's trying to answer a leading question. I'm more bothered about her attitude to young people who might not be thrilled that all they will get shoved into jobs with poor prospects and should be grateful for it.


"I think what the survey shows today is that despite all the myths, a lot of people who are currently on sickness or disability benefits want to work."

When asked if people on benefits were "pretending they can't work", she added: "Many of them have either just lost jobs that they desperately miss, or really want to get back into to work once they've got their health condition under control.

"So I think that there are many more people who want to work. I have no doubt, as there always have been, there are people who shouldn't be on those benefits who are taking the mickey and that is not good enough - we have to end that."

The government says the number of young people aged 16 to 34 who do not work because of long-term sickness and have a mental health condition has reached 270,000.

This number increased by 60,000 (26%) in the last year, according to the DWP.
As of January, 9.3 million people aged 16 to 64 in the UK were economically inactive - a rise of 713,000 since the Covid pandemic.

Last year, the government spent £65bn on sickness benefits, external - a 25% increase from the year before the pandemic. That figure is forecast to increase to around £100bn before the next general election.
Kendall said the DWP survey, which spoke to 3,401 benefit recipients, showed the need to reform the current welfare system and encourage young people to work if they can.

The DWP secretary said: "There is genuinely a problem with many young people, particularly the Covid generation, but we can't have a situation where doing a day's work is in itself seen as stressful."

Kendall said supermarket managers had told her some young people did not understand work was "just the nature of life and that isn't stress or pressure".
 
festa5 said:
I don't think anyone approves of benefit fraud. Those doing it should be caught and prosecuted of course they should. And it should be said most are: DWP employs people who specialise in it and take it very seriously.

The problem is politicians using it to imply anyone on benefits is somehow gaming the system or workshy etc. As an issue it's a drop in the ocean compared to the amount lost to other types of fraud. Or, you know, tax evasion from millionaires including MPs (Nadim "I forgot to tell HMRC" Zahawi anyone?).

It's a classic "look over here what this lot are up to, please don't look at what our lot are up on a much bigger scale" and it demonises some of the most vulnerable people in society.
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So politicians should not raise the issue then? It is not just DWP by the way. Council Tax fraud contributes to us all paying more just like shoplifting does in stores, like I said, some naive people. Not everyone is desperate or in need, there really are people training others how to scam and they get cuts for doing so.
 
RavsFan said:
Right, so you approve of fraud, then, those folk are heroes sorry.
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I’m afraid through a previous job I have seen what a very small few spend benefits on
The irony was that in some cases they could then take a bank statement showing some of the things they spent the benefits on - and were then eligible for housing benefit too. All that was needed was seeing the benefits go in
This was under a Tory government. So it was clearly ‘allowed’ to be done
As I say it was a small minority - but happens
I haven’t looked in any detail as I’m working Friday Saturday Sunday, but as @Boro.Fur has indicated I can’t find any direct quote by her saying ‘Too many’
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
‘Taking the Mickey’ is claiming £155,176.57 on expenses for ‘accommodation’ costs since 2010 when you’ve been paid £1,055,596 in salary in the same time frame.

That’s just accommodation by the way. It doesn’t cover travel, ‘miscellaneous’ costs, VAT-free meals and drinks in the Parliament bar, etc.

These figures need to be highlighted way, way more. If she had to pay her own energy, internet, council tax and water bills you can guarantee they’d be nowhere near the levels they are currently.

Liz Kendall is an arsèhole.
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Surely all work related costs for a job that requires you to run an office in your constituency as well as attend parliament in London?

Or do we take that away and leave MP jobs to be just for the rees-moggs that can afford it as a hobby?

I can't imagine a situation where I'd entertain going to another city with work and paying my own way just because I can afford it.
 
Kendall acts shocked that there has been a rise in sickness benefits.

Nobody should be surprised at that. The government (of both colours) abandoned any attempt to mitigate covid and other respiratory viruses (except in Parliament and the Lords of course, where they have air filtration systems) leading to millions having long covid.

The NHS is in such a state that people are waiting years for treatment and can’t work in the meantime.

Nobody should find the rise in sickness benefits surprising but this government are going after those forced to claim instead of putting right the systemic wrongs.

As I said earlier, very Tory of them.
 
When you reach a certain age, you know politicians are picking on the poorest as a distraction from other more important policy failures. Mention Immigration, boat people, benefit scroungers, Local Councils, racism and cyclists on the pavements and red-lights; you can keep a Talk radio station phone-in going for months. The "News" papers and social media are full of it, backing up the false narratives.
It's a complete distraction. When the economy is in crisis and a Government is failing, out comes the same blame cards.
 
RavsFan said:
So politicians should not raise the issue then? It is not just DWP by the way. Council Tax fraud contributes to us all paying more just like shoplifting does in stores, like I said, some naive people. Not everyone is desperate or in need, there really are people training others how to scam and they get cuts for doing so.
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It's almost as if you just didn't bother reading a word I said.
 
thewanderer said:
Number of pip claiments doubled in 2022 alone. Are we really saying there were twice as many disabled people as the previous year? Doesn't pass the sniff test.
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I would be interested to see the source of evidence for this, as it seems an enormous jump. I can guess the figure has gone up due to long covid.

Some people who get PIP who would not call themselves disabled and may not pass any recognised legal test for disability (example people who are unable to leave their homes due to anxiety) - the number of people on PIP does exceed the number of disabled in the UK.
 
Piccadilly Day Tripper said:
Kendall said supermarket managers had told her some young people did not understand work was "just the nature of life and that isn't stress or pressure".
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And that, in a nutshell, describes everything that's wrong with capitalism.

Work is the very opposite of the "nature of life". Forcing people into meaningless jobs just to then pay them so little that they can't afford the basics of a decent life is a very good reason for youngsters to decide that the system isn't going to work for them.
 
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