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Tories tell the disabled: ‘we will track you down’
An attack video so outrageous it has already been deleted shows exactly how the mainstream political parties scapegoat disabled people for votes — and do lasting damage, explains RUTH HUNT
THREAT: Minister for disabled people Tom Pursglove in the deleted video
Trump’s economic adviser has exposed the actual strategy: forcing other countries to provide financial support for US world hegemony
Activist Angie Zelter has been arrested more than a hundred times. She’s not stopping now, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Natalia Marques looks at last week's ruling that Khalil can be deported and its implications
We are not here to advocate for the arms industry or its CEOs, writes STEVE HANDFORD, and that means we must take a stand against the government’s spending on war
Educators must fight for an inclusive, creative system that values all children
Although our sector is hearing better things from the current government, the recognition that what we do is education in its own right, rather than just childcare, is still not reflected in policy, writes LUCY COLEMAN
THERE is no mistaking that elections are near because the Tories, and to a slightly lesser amount, Labour, are back demonising benefit claimants. In a recent Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) video, now deleted, that featured the minister (supposedly) for disabled people, we can clearly see the Tories are not targeting just any benefit claimants but instead only those with disabilities.
The video showed the minister, Tom Pursglove, preparing for an early morning raid with the police. One camera shot lingered on the specially designed DWP stab vest and was accompanied by the words, “We will track you down. We will find you. And we will bring you to justice.”
For a start, we need to ask, what does that do for those with disabilities? It does nothing but cause alarm when there is so much need. A social care crisis, underfunded NHS and staff, scandal after scandal in care, especially for those with learning disabilities and mental illness, an extreme lack of accessible homes — the list goes on and on.
More from this author
By making Personal Independence Payments harder to access, Labour is creating another barrier for those already struggling with soaring care costs, workplace discrimination and prejudiced employers, argues RUTH HUNT
The NHS continues to say Covid spreads primarily through ‘droplet and touch’ while the WHO emphasises airborne transmission, meaning vulnerable patients and healthcare workers face unnecessary risks, reports RUTH HUNT
Behind the Samaritans’ promise to always listen, callers face secret restrictions and automated blocks while the charity admits setting limits without clearly warning ‘frequent’ users they risk getting cut off — or why, writes RUTH HUNT
What’s needed are more truly accessible homes, radical reform of the private sector to protect disabled tenants, and a less myopic view of the housing market focused on ‘homeowners,’ argues RUTH HUNT
