"Benefit sanctions will continue under Labour as party 'reforms' Universal Credit"

"Benefit sanctions will continue under Labour as party 'reforms' Universal Credit"

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/benefit-sanctions-continue-under-labour-28921324

I'm lost for words.

This comes as no surprise to me as heard one of their cronies on the news yesterday spouting about how their address the unemployment situation.

Basically, none of them have a bloody clue what their doing. I think many will know that globally, and us more than so than others are in one almighty economic mess.

An economy filled with millions of low paid unstable jobs while people are left with huge bills. The ''elites'' idea, buy an electric car and go and retrain. Only thing wrong is 90% cant afford a bloody electric car & the training on offer; for 50+ and much younger, isn't worth toilet roll. [Ie] WPMK1, 2,3,4,5 rinse and repeat. Far easier to keep throwing billions over the years at these scams than do any real constructive thinking leading to a positive outcome. For some...it's already too late.  

I long for the day a politician of any party knocks on my door. Good to see their putting a hard shift in trying their best at waving legislation through no doubt at top speed. 'Lets stop people from striking.' Can really see where the heart ls.

It's going to be another rinse and repeat more work programmes etc.

The only hope is that Labour are just saying that to get the Tory vote. There are a lot of Tories out there sick of the Tory Party, and would vote for Labour if Labour punished the unemployed too.

Blair said similar things pre-1997 election, and never brought the policies in... or at least in a very watered down form.

As you say only time will tell? And they are only proposal's at the moment. 


   https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/10/labour-plans-overhaul-routes-work-sick-long-term-unemployed-jonathan-ashworth

Archangel wrote:The only hope is that Labour are just saying that to get the Tory vote. There are a lot of Tories out there sick of the Tory Party, and would vote for Labour if Labour punished the unemployed too.

Blair said similar things pre-1997 election, and never brought the policies in... or at least in a very watered down form.

Sadly, the only Labour leader to actually oppose the use of benefit sanctions was Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour lurched back to the right after his departure. I can see Starmer making modifications to UC like getting rid of the five week wait for example, but he's too scared to be drastically different from the Tories (or just isn't that different).

Pintel wrote:As you say only time will tell? And they are only proposal's at the moment. 


   https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/10/labour-plans-overhaul-routes-work-sick-long-term-unemployed-jonathan-ashworth

The proposals remind me of the Iain Duncan Smith years and the battle to force disabled people into work at any cost.

Gallazz wrote:

Sadly, the only Labour leader to actually oppose the use of benefit sanctions was Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour lurched back to the right after his departure. I can see Starmer making modifications to UC like getting rid of the five week wait for example, but he's too scared to be drastically different from the Tories (or just isn't that different).

Yes, I fear you are right.

Starmer will probably be harder on the unemployed than the Tories are.

I doubt that but I'd be shocked if he spoke up for us.

While these are only Labours proposals. However, one does get an idea of their thinking .

"Devolving employment support to local authorities' ..


Is this to save the DWP some money, and transfer the cost of this onto the L-A (council tax)???

"End the era of a slew of national programmes to get people into work".

Do they mean money wasted on programmes like the: New-Deal(Labour's idea), Work Program, Restart/Kickstart etc etc etc etc .

"Turn job centres into hubs for skills training and advice...."

Isn't that what the JCP are supposed to do .And what happened to the 'end of national programmes...'


But nothing about the 'guaranteed' 5x week wait for benefits. Or the dracoian Sanctions regime in operation ...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/10/labour-plans-overhaul-routes-work-sick-long-term-unemployed-jonathan-ashworth

Think so Pintel. My council up here, has a very healthy appetite for getting people BACK TO WORK! No matter what. All seem in cahoots so to speak with that delusion.


Still, Hi Techs leading the way now with 10.000 going at Microsoft, and god knows how many more in the uk at Amazon. There is a lot going on economically speaking and 90% of it is looking real bad .

"Turn job centres into hubs for skills training and advice...."

Isn't that what the JCP are supposed to do .And what happened to the 'end of national programmes...'

Best thing they can do, is to either shut those hell holes or, level the places for more tower blocks of flats. Surely must be better financially. After all, everyone on this forum by now must realise there are no jobs within those places that allow people to live a financially sustained life.Unless, they happen to still live at home with their mum and dad for instance. Or, live in a shared house. I still remember the days of going to work to make a living, not just survive hand to mouth.Dressed up by the Tories as "Your'e doing the right thing" As long as it's not them doing it.Working for nothing that is .Ain't going to happen .

That's my rant over.Another Coffee needed and better put something else in it, to calm me down

Well said #Jobber.
It seems its back to the 'Shell game' of giving the impression of doing something, while actually doing nothing...
Only time will tell. Seem to me more 'Papering over the cracks', to me with no real ideas ?

Not surprising, the Welfare Reform Act 2009 was an incredibly bad piece of legislation and the brainchild of the then Labour's Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
It was this act that introduced sanctions (and a lot of other nasty and repressive features, for instance an everlasting disqualification to receive benefits).
The Tory governments (actually a coalition) that follow simply reformatted it in the shameful Welfare Reform Act 2012, actually, at the time, toning down some of the worse aspects of the Labour made one!
Since then we all know how by bits and pieces of additional legislative measures have striven to worsen the already horrible law and its implementation.
Labour seems interested in winning elections (not too well, obviously) and if its leaders think, the way is to present themselves as more Tory than the Tory themselves, they will do it.

Brutus wrote:Not surprising, the Welfare Reform Act 2009 was an incredibly bad piece of legislation and the brainchild of the then Labour's Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
It was this act that introduced sanctions (and a lot of other nasty and repressive features, for instance an everlasting disqualification to receive benefits).
The Tory governments (actually a coalition) that follow simply reformatted it in the shameful Welfare Reform Act 2012, actually, at the time, toning down some of the worse aspects of the Labour made one!
Since then we all know how by bits and pieces of additional legislative measures have striven to worsen the already  horrible law and its implementation.
Labour seems interested in winning elections (not too well, obviously) and if its leaders think, the way is to present themselves as more Tory than the Tory themselves, they will do it.

It was the Jobseekers Act 1995 that saw the introduction of sanctions to out of work benefits. All I know off the top of my head about the Welfare Reform Act 2012 is that it massively increased the length of JSA sanctions, so any 'toning down' sounds like an anomaly.