Benefits

Unemployment is a lagging indicator.  This means it measures the effect of economic events, such as a recession. The unemployment rate doesn't rise until after a recession has already started. It also means the unemployment rate will continue to rise even after the economy has started to recover.

Well, if it's true, I'm terrified because I live alone in a two bedroom flat and I don't want anyone else to live with me.  I need the space.

It's wonderful that your work placement led to your current, ongoing role - especially given the extra challenges that gaining and staying in employment can present for us as autistic people.

On the political context, though, it's perhaps worth knowing that long-term unemployment (which you mention) was already falling rapidly under John Major's Conservative government. That fall continued after Labour took power in 1997, but levels then rose again from 2004 onwards (still Labour). Levels then fell again after the Conservatives took office in 2010, falling in 2022-23 to the lowest levels since 1993.

Sorry if this seems to be rubbing salt in after Iain's reply. It just prompted me to do some digging, so I thought I may as well share what I found!

IrishInManchesterUK said:

Labour’s proposals to have people living in council houses and/or in receipt of benefits being effectively forced to have at least one or more migrants in their homes

Do you have a link to the news article covering this please?

One thing that could have serious problems for people is Labour’s proposals to have people living in council houses and/or in receipt of benefits being effectively forced to have at least one or more migrants in their homes (which technically it’s not their home if the council owns the property) under pain of benefit sanctions and/or of being in breach of tenancy/revokation of tenancy agreement and/or eviction for refusing to have an unvetted migrant in your home - either way going forward, the tenants will eventually be forced out regardless and replaced by migrants, which is why this proposal must be resisted - aside from existing related laws, it’s highly likely that Labour will pass the relevant laws through Parliament 

I agree.

My main objecton to our current foreign policy is that it is jingoistic. (Now I've looked it up., previously I'd have used the word stupid or even perhaps "suicidal).

UKvRF at "warfare" is a match similar to me V Tyson Fury at "slaps". I was good at "slaps" but that was years ago and ,er, Tyson Fury... England was good at warfare in the 1940's Still just about handy enough to beat Argentina in 1982 but NOW?? 

We don't have raw materials, reliable soures, (of raw materials) a steel smelter, any real heavy machinery manufacturing base, and unless we've been naughty, all our submarine based nuclear deterent is "dual key" with the Americans. Will they let us launch, knowing that RF retaliatry strikes won't just be limited to us if "Dead hand" kicks in? Don't know about their "Perimitr" A.K.A. Dead Hand automated nuclear strike system? 

Our best option is to remind the RF how bloody great their korea area jets were thanks to the RR NENE and plans which we sent them, and they then freely copied. Then we can bIll 'em for the licences, and they can pay us in lpg and titanium.... 

its likely also that under labour work didnt pay as they held wages down, the wages under labour were like. ..... £2 per hour... and for young workers and apprentices? you worked free, no wage at all, slave labour.... thats what it was under labour. no young person had reason to work as labour didnt want to pay young people.

I'm not an expert on such matters, AutToFindOutMore.

However, according to what I've just read, a Bill starting in the House of Commons, or House of Lords needs to be approved by both Houses before it becomes an Act (law). The link below provides detailed information about the process involved.

Source: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/

Patriotism-fine. Jingoism- not fine.

"Jingoistic cesspit of Europe"

You say it like it's a bad thng! 

Kinda like the growing cynicism though...

The sooner everyone realises what the current deal is , the sooner we might negotiate a better one.

AutToFindOutMore said:

Labour's "New Deal" for the long term unemployed helped open a door for me by giving me a work placement, which led to a temporary job, which in turn led to my current permanent job.  The Conservatives scrapped the "New Deal" when they got into power.

I'm not a Conservative supporter by any means but I note that under Labour, youth unemployment rose steadily over their term in power and then dropped under conservative rule, so maybe the New Deal being scrapped actually helped things.

From https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/GBR/united-kingdom/youth-unemployment-rate

The vertical line shows when Labour lost power.

Pesky things facts.

I was long term unemployed when Labour came to power in 1997.  I had studied computing part time to get a computing qualification as there was said to be a shortage of people with computer skills, but without work experience I couldn't get a job.  Labour's "New Deal" for the long term unemployed helped open a door for me by giving me a work placement, which led to a temporary job, which in turn led to my current permanent job.  The Conservatives scrapped the "New Deal" when they got into power.

It would be good if Labour could do something similar for long term unemployed people now that they are back in office.

Do they have to put any proposed changes through Parliament?

I get where you are coming from.

With maximum assistance I think my longest ever employment has been 3 years. 

But there is a real value in ignorance. Before I knew I was Autistic there were things I could "just about do but was very bad at", now there are things I know I'll never be able to do satisfactorily, so why try? 

I'm never gonna win, so why play? 

I'm not playing word games here, these really are my thoughts some days, but I can't live like a subject begging for soccour from others.

To rise above my fate, to buck against the path that my Autism seeks to keep me on, to resist the "Framing" and categorisation and "boxing in" of others, does indeed seem to require that I "grow a backbone", "man up", "put some effort in", "resist the victim mindset" and generally try to find "character" where none previously existed.

For me it's just a hobby. I think if people try to force you to do that sort of thing against your will, that's bad and oppressive.

Getting back to social benefits, they do come at a cost, which varies depending on which ethno/social subset you happen to be, and obtaining and maintaining them does seem to become a full time occupation in and of itself. 

In my opinion I need some serious social beneft money given to me just to let me get on and do my thing, but in the opinion of many, many other people I need nothing at all. not even free good quality dentistry, so that what I get. MY g/f who is fantastically rich by my standards gives me 100 quid a month, but she'd really rather I didn't spend it on tobacco so I have to find extra money throuugh crime or hard work.

Lucrative crime where I don't have to hurt anyone directly by my actions, AKA government work is really thin on the ground for people like me, the last time I got any was during covid decding whather the ventilators and parts that your tax money paid for went to scrap, disposal or auction...     

So mostly I repair gardening equipment that I buy for thirty quid a unit, then thrash it for many years until it gets stolen, and THAT pays for my vices.  

I considered being an assassin, but after a bit of quick research I discovered that the average human life is so cheap now, that you have to do a LOT to make a decent crust.... And it's a very steep learning curve...

Still better than claming benefits from my perspective.. (Which I'm only offering because I have one)

As I have felt like a victim, on several things, throughout my life, I thought I'd been clear that I wasn't saying the original poster was a victim in any way, just that I'd found it unhelpful to think of myself as a victim. My flat was burgled: thinking of myself as a victim meant I was scared to sleep with the light off, and often only slept every 2 or 3 nights when I was so exhausted from vigilance; thinking of myself as a survivor allowed me to sleep at night once I'd taken the proper precautions. It wasn't 'simplistic', it was traumatic and complicated, took a lot of work over a few years, but because of the way I was brought up I was never expected to reach out for help, that had its own trauma too. I had to do it all myself because there was nobody I could ask for help. I think you projected your own simplicity to my words, and created your own alarm bells where none were intended.

This reframing has also helped a number of people I've supported in the past. I'm sorry if this doesn't work for you, but the forum is open to diverse opinions. I'm comfortable to disagree with you, as we all have valid opinions in a discussion.

I won't get into a competition here, but if I'm not 'showing' I'm autistic, then I am hiding all the struggles that get me through the day to my safe space at home to decompress. We don't know what each other is going through. We don't know what each other is dealing with under the surface. So we can't assume. I prefer to learn from each other than assume I know what someone else's life is like. I only really know what my own is like, because I live it every day. The more I hear how other people do things, the more I learn about diversity.

Since the original poster said they were signed off work, to me this implies they had been working at something to be signed off from it, so there may be some desire to get back to doing something similar. If I have misread the post, then I apologise for my responding to a misunderstood comment.

I Sperg said:

Find work anyway, and reclaim your independence.

That and Fiona's post shows what a diverse group of people we are within sharing an autism diagnosis.Some of us have had good careers and then there are people like myself  who never had a paid job due to never having the help, and support, needed to make that a realistic outcome. Contrary to the decision to lump us all together, under an ASC/ASD  dx , we have little in common with each other outside of that shared diagnosis. If your autism is comparatively  mild enough that you can hold down a job, that's great. When people start using simplistic  terms like 'victim mindset', alarm bells start ringing in my mind. It's unhelpful and smacks of 'you just need to grow a backbone' rhetoric.

There are different payments for different things (not sure I like calling them 'benefits' it gives the wrong impression) some are means-tested, some are function-tested.

I get some help for things associated with my multiple disabilities, but I have only had income from the government when I was made redundant from work, which adds up to about 7 months over 38 years. Other than that, I've worked since I was 16, apart from sickness absence due to operations, and paid my way since I was 18. Mostly, I look at the disability payment as a rebate on the tax I pay.

It wouldn't occur to me to be on government income permanently, I'm an independent adult who can work (albeit with some boundaries I need to keep in place to sustain that). So I'd be focusing on what you want to achieve out of life. 

The uncertainty - I think the disability assessment and rules go a major overhaul every 10 - 20 years, so if I was sensitive to change, I'd make myself aware that change is inevitable, that I have no power over the government, so I'd try to minimise the impact on me before it happens. Try not to get into the 'victim' mindset, it is a hard one to break out of. (I'm not saying that you are.... just that it would be understandable for people in general to think like that, that they are a victim to the things that happen to them. Many people including myself take things too personally when we shouldn't. So I would try not to feel like a victim and turn it around somehow.)

I think that might have to do with when to do it rather than not wanting to do it.  Having said that- I'm not a Corbyn supporter. I increasingly don't trust Labour over their attitude towards the disabled and vulnerable. The Tories can go f*** themselves. The Lib dems are cynical opportunists. Reform want to turn the UK into the jingoistic cesspit of Europe.

Find work anyway, and reclaim your independence.

"Benefits" are corrosive and best avoided if you can.

Being hooked on them never looks good in court... ;c) 

AND work can be FUN as well as pay your money, if you play your cards right.

I think this is just highlighting that the new Labour party are little more than Conservative Lite as they have lost most pretence at being the party of the working person.

They know there is not enough money to meet current rates of expenditure so disability is an easy way to claw some back - we are typically less able to make a fuss about it that will cause them any concern.

I also note they voted against scrapping the 2 child benefit cap to be able to let larger, poorer families from claiming benefit:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c978m6z3egno

On its own it would be bad but I noticed they punished 7 of the party members who rebelled and held true to their working class values in making the benefits available to families with more children,.