‘How is it possible that the go-tos for getting money into the economy are always the most vulnerable,’ asks Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham ahead of controversial welfare reforms
Everybody wants to get people into work – it’s good for them and it’s good for the economy. But you can’t have a situation where you’re forcing people with disabilities back to work when they are unable to work.
That is not the sort of society that we want to live in. I can’t understand why we’re making these types of decisions, whether it’s winter fuel cuts or looking at taking PIP away from people with disabilities.
Why are we making those decisions prior to us looking at things like a wealth tax, prior to us looking at things like a profits tax? The richest 50 families in Britain are worth £500 billion. That’s the same as half the wealth of Britain. That’s the same as 33 million people in Britain.
How is it possible that the go-tos for getting money into the economy are always the most vulnerable? We absolutely must protect the most vulnerable in society.
You’ve got people that simply cannot work but also you’ve got the areas where people want to work but there aren’t the jobs there for them to go to. Yet again the government seems to be making the wrong choices.
We’re the sixth richest economy in the world. Why are we in a situation where we’re pitting the poorest against the poorest while the wealthiest go relatively untouched?
A lot of people are worrying about where their next meal is coming from. We should remember that about 38% of people on benefits are in work. More of a focus on making work pay is needed.
But we have to also accept as a society that some people cannot work, and often that’s the most vulnerable. We shouldn’t make them feel that they’re a drain on society and that’s unfortunately what some of the language coming from the government is beginning to make people feel.
And where are the jobs? Where is the underpinning of work for those that may be able to do some type of work? It was the same with the winter fuel allowance. We are pitting the poorest against the poorest.
What Labour is saying about growing the economy is good, what they’re saying about jobs is good. But the problem is there is no joined up thinking.
If you really want jobs, particularly for young people, then where are the apprenticeships? In order to get the apprenticeships, we have to invest in new technologies. We have to show that we are backing British manufacturing.
Some of the decisions that have been made, if you closed your eyes, you would not think it was a Labour government making them.
