For over 2,000 years medics cut people open or applied leaches to remove blood from people suffering from diseases ranging from cancer to haemorrhoids. With the wrong diagnosis and a dangerous treatment, it is not surprising that the medics didn’t do any good. The practice remained popular because …
Poverty and Inequality
10 Reasons to Celebrate 2016
With #annushorribilis and #worstyearever becoming increasingly popular hashtags on Twitter, many people are breathing sighs of relief that 2016 is nearly over. But whether 2016 has been your worst year ever or joyful from start to finish, we think there are things to rejoice over. So here it is, …
Mr Cameron: Stop saying disabled people are exempted from the Bedroom Tax – they are not.
During Prime Ministers questions David Cameron was asked about the impact of the Bedroom Tax (also called removal of the Spare Room Subsidy) on disabled people. The answer he gave was straight forwardly untrue: “Obviously, what we have done is to exempt disabled people who need an extra room.” …
How does the Benefit Cap remain so popular?
The Benefit Cap – a cap placed on the amount of benefit a family can receive – is an extraordinarily difficult policy to argue against. This is not because it has merits – it is in almost every respect terrible – but because it so beautifully taps into negative beliefs about the benefits system and …
After Iain Duncan Smith’s Resignation
Iain Duncan Smith has resigned. There have been celebrations in some places and tears in others. The media is full of political analysis about how this will affect the internals of the Government and there appears to be a fight underway about how the man will be remembered. Although I have a view I …
#Enough: One More Card at Christmas
Thank you to everyone who sent a Christmas Card to Iain Duncan Smith highlighting the need for every child to have #enough. Christmas is over but the Bill that breaks the link between a families needs and the level of support it can recieve from the benefit system is still moving through …
You don’t get to call it a Living Wage unless you can live on it
Today’s budget ended with the Chancellor announcing a “National Living Wage”. The name was right, the marketing was cunning but sadly the policy bears no resemblance to a Living Wage. The Living Wage is an ethical principle converted into a wage rate; today’s “National Living Wage” is a welcome …
#rethinksanctions:Responding to your MP
Hundreds of people have contacted their MP about Benefit Sanctions. Some of the replies have been positive. The replies which have been less positive have used a shared set of arguments. Below are the arguments used in support of the sanctions regime and our response to them. We hope this may help …
#rethinksanctions: How I lost my income for a month
Below is a blog post by a colleague who has been sanctioned. It is not the most egregious story nor is it particularly unusual but it is by a person who had good jobs and after a short spell being unemployed went on to get a good job. He contributes taxes, worked hard at finding a new job and is …
Personal Tax Summary: Redefining the words “Tax”, & “Welfare” while shaming the word “transparency”
In the story of the widow’s mite the authorities praise the rich man, while the widow, who gives proportionately much more of her money, is shunned. The Personal Tax Summaries due to be sent to 24 million people look like a modern day retelling of that story. By design the Personal Tax Summary …