Terrible new cuts are the deepest
THE latest welfare benefit changes, sorry cuts, will have a dramatic effect on the bereaved, the disabled and children. I would like to see reform that takes into account the needs of the many, not the few. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening any time soon.
Having been a benefits adviser for 20 years I think I am well placed to criticise the Government for its appalling treatment and degradation of benefits claimants.
Yes, systems need to change but with billions going unclaimed, incorrect decisions being overturned on appeal – costing many more millions – and the overall effect of stagnant payments, poverty is not just a dirty word, it is outrageous in an economy like the UK’s. Just don’t be ill or unemployed in Tory Britain. Gary Martin, East London
Ministers have broken up for the long Easter recess, but while they are enjoying their break, hundreds of thousands of disabled people on Employment Support Allowance (ESA) will have their income slashed from £102.15 a week to £73.10, supposedly as an incentive for them to find work. Ministers say cutting £29.05 a week from their benefit will help disabled claimants find jobs quicker, but the politicians who make these decisions all claim generous expenses to help them in their work. The fact is, when Theresa May stood outside No 10 and declared she would Stephen Dixon, Redcar, Cleveland
Homelessness is increasing, the disabled are seeing their benefits cut and people can’t feed their families because of this Government’s cruel welfare cuts. The Tories are trying to send us back to Dickensian times and the people of this country need to wake up, or next they will bring back the workhouse. build “a fairer Britain” she didn’t mean a single word of it. Dave Mellor, Warrington, Cheshire
Single parents and children will suffer under this Tory Government’s cruel programme of cuts which came into force last week, as well as the disabled and the very poorest. Yet the perks and tax breaks continue for the very richest in our society. Welcome to Tory Britain. DJ Sewell, Redcar, Cleveland
The unprecedented welfare cuts are the biggest attack on the poor, the sick, the bereaved and the homeless we have ever witnessed in this country. The Opposition simply cannot sit back and twiddle their thumbs while the Tories dismantle “our” welfare state. Michael Elias, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire
In the week when the poorest in the land suffered cuts to their benefits, certain Labour MPs preferred to attack the left of the party over anti-semitism. This crowd of cowards will stop at nothing until they bring down Jeremy Corbyn instead of focusing on helping those suffering under the Tory cuts. William Allen, Coventry
I believe in the next 10-20 years nobody in Britain will seek to live for free once the welfare system has been reversed and no longer unintentionally promotes idleness. Shaun Watson, Carlisle, Cumbria