The Chancellor fails to understand Welfare Reform Act?!

/ jaynel62

I am totally unsurprised, albeit perturbed,  that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury George Osborne, has demonstrated his total lack of understanding of the Welfare Reform Act. In his Conference speech he announced ‘working-age benefits will be frozen for two years after 2015’ with  an added proviso that “the elderly and the disabled will be protected”.

He then confirmed Cameron’s statement of yesterday, of a £3,000 reduction in the Benefits Cap; and this is where confusion arises. Despite his promise of protection for disabled people, individuals in receipt of the work-related activity component of ESA will be included in the cap. Clearly Osborne has failed to notice that many disabled people are in receipt of precisely this benefit; and frequently these are the same people awaiting mandatory reconsiderations, and or, Tribunals.

This situation is indicative of a Political Party that has made more blunders in the past 4 years, than I’ve had the proverbial number of hot dinners; but these inaccuracies, whether through oversight or error, create untenable positions for the disabled people who are forced to live with them. How can we as disabled people, or the civil servants expected to deliver the associated policies manage, when the Government of the day has created legislation they themselves fail to comprehend?

This is an impossible place to be in, and if for no other reason, No One in receipt of benefits can Trust the Tories. We owe it to ourselves to do everything we can, to make sure they are not in Government this time next year.

25 thoughts on “The Chancellor fails to understand Welfare Reform Act?!”

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  4. when it comes to increases, for example, only the support top-up of ESA (currently £7) will get the full increase, the rest of ESA (currently £101.15) will be subject to the 1% cap on increases, because this is how the DWP supports the most vulnerable.

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  6. People in the Support Group were only partially protected under the 1% cap (it was only the Support Group component, which forms about 1/3 of the total ESA payment, that was protected). I assume that the same (lack of) principle applies with this policy.

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  8. The pre-2010 coverage of Osborne spelt it out – the man is a stupid wealthy stooge for the Bullingdon boys (Bully club nickname “Oik” because he didn’t go to Eton or Harrow, who would be held up by his ankles and asked “who are you”, and was repeatedly dropped on his head until he replied “I’m am despicable ****”. The bully boys include, of course Cameron & Boris.) he was widely criticised by his own university mates, as well a tory grandees, supporters and political commentators as being totally unsuitable for the job, and as the shadow chancellor during the Banking Crisis uttered such crap that the Tory economists said “He wasn’t so much as behind the curve, as behind the curtains”. (See http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/george-osborne—the-tories-little-199507)

    Osborne hasn’t changed. He’s just reported differently. We need to refresh ourselves about who these monsters are, where they are from, and what they want for the rest of us. They are weak, pathetic stooges for their class. I think the wider electorate is beginning to see this now.

    I share you outrage that they are proposing policies that make no sense, and contradict each other – recall the Cameron repeated lies to the HoC that the bedroom tax wouldn’t be levied on disabled? To expect otherwise, though……..

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  11. The current lot need removing, sure, but I remain to be convinced that Labour will be any better either in their policies (can’t remember Reeves announcing any last week) or implementation. Things simply won’t get better for us after election day and it would be foolhardy to expect otherwise.

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  12. Pingback: Chancellor fails to understand Welfare Reform Act – Jayne Linney | Vox Political

  13. we can only hope… surely after the things Ed’s been announcing lately ,SOMETHING will change. if he only manages to stop a couple of things. (ideally bedroom tax/assessments/ possibly council tax for those on benefits.) but doesn’t implement similar or worse, then its a win situation isn’t it? and he has to do something.he knows that after the shower we’ve got in now, who even now might face UN prosecution,he has to deliver if he doesn’t want to go same way. hes not been born with a silver spoon. known poverty etc. and knows about the Hitler thing almost first hand through his family’s troubles in ww2 n the reason for him being in Britain too. i cannot see him being the same as long as he keeps a tight rein on Ed balls (or sacks him from that job…hes hopeless both as a Mp for his constituents (i know from first hand) and as a shadow treasurer….he leans too far to the right for my liking.)

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