Wealthy Non-Doms Are FREELOADING on the Disabled!

Right, so the Labour government of Sir Kid Starver and Rachel Thieves are once more living up to those nicknames by unveiling a series of proposed benefit cuts that makes what the Tories did seem like a walk in the park, disproportionately targeting disabled people most of all, sparking outrage among activists, disability rights advocates, and the wider public. At the same time they are doing that though, reports have also come out that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was lobbied by the global investment giant Blackrock, to water down plans to abolish the non-dom tax status—a move that would have ensured the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share of taxes and would of course have meant that the disabled arguably, would not need to face such stringent cuts, the rich paying a bit more, but of course as we should all know by now, Labour won’t have a bar of that under the current leadership, red Tories as they absolutely are. The hypocrisy of what Labour is now doing to the disabled therefore is as hypocritical as it is unconscionably cruel: Labour, once the party of the working class, has become a party for the wealthy, a fact that should now be obvious to more people, a party that is willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable in society while protecting the interests of the elite. There can be no more depraved an act than that for a government to enact amongst its own people. Labour is proposing horrendous, potentially lethal benefit cuts, the targeting of disabled people deliberately, yet at the same time, under the influence of wealthy lobbyists, they abandon an election pledge at the behest of the wealthy, with all the devastating consequences these policies will have on millions of lives.
Right, so that was a brief clip there of Liz Kendall, the terrifying boss at the Department for Work and Pensions, defending massive £6billion cuts to the people her department oversee, those in low pay, the long term sick and disabled, justifying the attacks on the disabled there, whilst doing a dire job of trying to avoid the subject of an impact assessment being done in relation to these cuts, clearly something she hasn’t done, all the more reinforcing how little this government cares for the issues affecting the long term sick and disabled any more than the previous Tory administration did. A vile incompetent who will have blood on her hands should these cuts be pushed ahead with, there will be no forgiveness for MPs who vote them through, there must be a reckoning down the road for what is an evil and unnecessary cut being made in preference to taxing the rich. The focus of Labour’s proposed social security attacks, lets not entertain the notion these are reforms, that implies improvement and these are not that, is a series of cuts to disability benefits, particularly Personal Independence Payment, or PIP and Universal Credit. PIP is a vital benefit designed to help disabled people cover the additional costs they face in their day-to-day lives, such as mobility aids, home adaptations, and transportation. Nobody asked to be disabled, but quite obviously there are additional costs associated with disability. It is not a handout it is a lifeline that enables disabled people to live with dignity and, in many cases, access employment. It is also already spitefully difficult to claim, the hoops you have to jump through are crazy and as such it should be surprising that various organisations offer services to help people navigate through this. As a result Labour now want to make it even harder to claim, just as the Tories did, ignoring the purpose of the benefit also just as the Tories did, all in the name of more austerity, you’ve guessed it, just as the Tories did. Labour has singled out PIP for cuts and as such has singled out the disabled specifically, as if it is somehow their fault for being disabled, any of us could suffer a life-changing injury tomorrow, so this could be us one day, framing it as part of a broader effort to reduce welfare spending by £6 billion without addressing any of the reasons behind that bill, which I’ll come onto in a moment.
The government’s rhetoric around these cuts has been vile. Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall have repeatedly claimed that a life on benefits is a “lifestyle choice,” but when these cuts are falling disproportionately on the disabled, this a narrative that is not only false but downright harmful and deeply offensive. Disability rights advocates have condemned this characterisation as you might imagine they would, pointing out that many disabled people rely on benefits out of necessity, not choice because of the additional costs of managing their daily needs. The idea that anyone would choose to live in what is already poverty, the UN have told Labour as much recently and told them to ditch the two child benefit cap and raise the rate of Universal Credit in order to literally combat poverty, never mind what they claim is a lifestyle choice, whilst facing daily struggles with mobility, health, and accessibility. It is a grotesque distortion of reality that can only come from truly warped and depraved individuals.
The proposed cuts to PIP and disability related elements of Universal Credit will have devastating consequences for disabled people,
but these cuts are part of a broader pattern of hostility toward disabled people under this Labour government. Activists have accused the government of scapegoating disabled people for economic challenges, rather than addressing the root causes of inequality and poverty. The targeting of PIP, in particular, has been described as a deliberate and cruel move, designed to save money at the expense of those who can least afford it and those least able to access or engage with work even if their helath and conditions allows for that, because for many it clearly won’t, yet they will still face cuts to income.
This is of course all par for the course for Rachel From Complaints. As Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary under the previous Labour leadership of Ed Miliband, she was known for her hardline stance on benefits, having stated that Labour would be “tougher than the Tories” on welfare. This rhetoric is now literally being translated into policy, with Reeves leading the charge to cut disability benefits while refusing to rule out further reductions in the future.
Reeves’ apparent disdain for benefit claimants however, has exposed her gut-churning levels of hypocrisy with regards to those with next to nothing, struggling to get by and now being forced it seems to struggle even more, versus the super-rich who she clearly has a great deal more fondness for.
You see, it’s been reported by OpenDemocracy that with regards to the now abandoned election pledge to clamp down on tax avoidance and abolish the non dom tax status, Reeves was lobbied by Blackrock to soften her stance on the abolition of the non-dom tax status, an excerpt of which reads:
‘Rachel Reeves changed the government’s position on non-doms weeks after one of the world’s most powerful financiers asked her personally not to increase the tax burden on the super rich.
Documents released to openDemocracy under the Freedom of Information Act reveal Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of leading asset manager Blackstone, raised “concerns” with Reeves about her plans to reform the tax treatment of non-domiciled individuals at a meeting in Downing Street in December.
The chancellor had previously used the autumn Budget in late October to re-commit to Labour’s manifesto promise to abolish the non-dom tax regime, which allows wealthy individuals who live in the UK to be domiciled elsewhere for tax purposes.
But around a month after meeting with Schwarzman, Reeves watered down this commitment.’
So we have an immoral chancellor therefore who has prioritised the interests of the ultra-wealthy over those of disabled people and a paper trail demonstrated it it seems and serves as a damning indictment of Labour’s values—or the complete lack thereof.
The non-dom status is a controversial tax loophole that enables the ultra-wealthy to avoid paying taxes on income earned outside the UK. Abolishing this loophole would generate significant revenue, would be popular with ordinary working class people, but instead it shows who’s side Labour is on. It is a pot of cash which could be used to fund essential services like the NHS and social care. Instead, Reeves has chosen to protect the interests of those wealthy enough to abuse the tax system and chooses instead to targeted disabled people for cuts.
Coming back to the point about why the welfare bill is going up however, one elephant in the room that has to be addressed is Labour’s approach to and the simultaneous cuts being levied on the NHS. Under consideration here are a proposed £7 billion in cuts to address a growing spending deficit, however these cuts will inevitably end up leading to longer waiting times – another broken election pledge - reduced access to care, and worsening health outcomes for millions of people. For disabled people, who already face significant barriers to accessing healthcare, these cuts will be particularly devastating and it is particularly worth noting that many people on disability and long-term sick benefits are in this position precisely because of delays and inadequacies in NHS services. Chronic underfunding of the NHS has left many people without the support they need to manage their conditions and return to work. Rather than addressing these systemic issues, Labour has chosen to punish disabled people for the failures of the healthcare system here as well therefore.
Labour’s proposed benefit cuts have been met with widespread condemnation from activists and disability rights advocates. Organizations such as Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and the Disability Rights UK have accused the government of perpetuating the same punitive policies as the Conservatives, but with even greater severity. As reported by ITV News, critics argue that the cuts will push disabled people further into poverty and isolation, undermining their ability to participate in society.
The government’s claim that a life on benefits is a “lifestyle choice” has been particularly galling to advocates, who point out that disabled people are already among the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups in society. The idea that they are somehow responsible for their own plight is obscene.
The Labour government’s proposed benefit cuts and its willingness to cater to wealthy lobbyists means the party is absolutely no better than the Conservatives. In fact, some argue that Labour could be even more lethal to the long-term sick and disabled than the Tories were. The Conservatives’ austerity policies caused immense harm to disabled people, but Labour’s cuts are being implemented with a veneer of progressive rhetoric, making them all the more insidious.
The fact that Labour is proposing these cuts just eight months into its tenure is a stark reminder of how far the party has strayed from its roots and how quickly. Once the party of the working class, Labour has become a party for the wealthy, willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable in society to protect the interests of the elite.
Labour’s proposed benefit cuts represent a profound betrayal of the party’s values and the people it claims to represent. By targeting disabled people for cuts while catering to the demands of wealthy lobbyists, the Labour government has revealed its true priorities: protecting the interests of the elite at the expense of the vulnerable. If it walks like a Tory and talks like a Tory, it is a Tory. Reeves might not like being called a Tory, but that’s only because the truth hurts. These policies will have devastating consequences for millions of people, pushing them further into poverty and isolation and we as a society should not stand for it. As I said before, this could be any of us tomorrow and this is how little you’re valued by this rancid Labour in name only shambles.
Of course another set of lies that undermines all of these claims in needing to tighten our belts is the fact Starmer and Reeves are still bleating about a £22billion fiscal black hole which needs filling, another reason to justify these cuts to disability benefits of course, but then there is the small matter of having given Ukraine £8.3billion as well. Who knew the disabled were paying for most of that eh? Does that seem fair? Is that the right resource to tap? I don’t think so, but the hypocrisy of pleading poverty whilst always finding money for war doesn’t wash either. Get all the details of Labour being caught out for lying again in this video recommendation as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like, share and subscribe as well if you haven’t done so already so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new content published daily, as well as helping to support the channel which is very much appreciated, holding power to account for working class people and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.