Benefits

Unfortunately New Labour did follow through with some unpleasant policies also. Which the Conservative Party continued. Such as the Work Capability assessment.  That's why I've always been on the left wing of Labour in order to try and change it.   Unfortunately the party lost elections  under the leadership i  favoured, So now the Blairites are back in charge.

I can be difficult to have these conversations on here as really the only thing that many of us have in common is our Autism.  We don''t necessarily share beliefs or backgrounds or experiences etc.

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.

I think that for political reasons they have to sound tough on people who are perceived to be workshy or gaming the benefits system, whether or not they follow through with action is another matter.

Do they have to put any proposed changes through Parliament?

Sorry to hear that. That does sound horrific. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone at all. Plus it sounds so scary. I mean that was very selfish of the person who torched they’re flat like that not thinking about the other people in the flats who could have got hurt. Hopefully they were punished for their actions. Hopefully you never have to go through that ever again. I also used to live in a high rise flat and I absolutely despise the things. They are horrible to live in. I don’t want to go into all the reasons why though. But your story is a good example of why I don’t think people should live in these tower blocks. 

I used to live in an 11th floor flat in one of the poor areas of Southend on sea. It was a mix of the  poor but respectable, and those who were  more than a little antisocial. Worst experience was a few months before my wife died. A tenant, who was being evicted, torched his/her flat. Lifts couldn't be used. There was no way my wife who had significant mobility difficulties, along with vascular dementia,could've got to safety. Luckily the fire was dealt with quite quickly, but those 30 plus minutes till  I knew we were safe that was full of a dread I never want to experience again.

It doesn’t seem to matter what party you vote for anymore they are all hell bent on crippling the British population and leaving us in abject poverty. You should see where I live I live in a very poor neighbourhood and I see a lot of terrible things from day to day. Drug deals, fights you name it. It all goes on here. There’s too much hate in this world it seems like people will never learn. We seem hell bent on destroying each other and the planet we share together. Oh well. It’s hard for me to have an open heart after the damage society has done to me and still continues to do to us disabled folks. Taking money away from people who need it is disgusting and appalling. When people will have had enough I’m not sure. But I am sure of one thing, I will keep fighting for my life in this world. If this world wants to be mean and put me down I will stand up twice as tall in defiance. The world has kicked me to the dirt so many times and I’m still here so I’m ready for it whatever comes my way I can stand through it all.

Yes I worry.  I've hated the right wing of the Labour Party since they were in power last time under Tony Blair. And their attitude towards social security policy has been one of the main drivers of that for me.  It's best not to worry though as it wont' do your mental health much good. Best to meet each challenge in life on its own terms as it approaches you.

Many of us were still able to apply for and receive benefits even under various Conservative Party administrations.  

Charities are on our side and lobby all governments on our behalf.  

Also what politicians don't tell you is that there aren't millions of jobs for new employees to go into. 

It also suits the interests of capital to have surplus labour as it drives down wages and labour costs.

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,.

I read the following on the Benefits and Work website, which relates to The King's Speech. For those who are unaware, the King's Speech is when the monarch delivers a speech written by the government at the State Opening of Parliament, and outlines the government's plans.

There do not appear to be any disability or incapacity benefit related provisions in the King's Speech.

The government can still introduce benefits legislation in the coming year that is not included in the speech, but the absence of any such content does suggest that it is not one of the main priorities for the first year of the current Labour administration.

Source: https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/king-s-speech-2024-updates

I don't think you have any cause to worry just yet, Autisticlad98.

In time, I feel it is inevitable that changes to the existing benefits system will be made. However, as with any government legislation that gets passed, it will take time to put in place and implement.