The Cruelty of the UK Benefits System

[@greenghoul157]

Most people on benefits are physically disabled or have a crippling mental condition and they're being treated like scroungers, this is just bullying

[@FormulaOneFan98]

There’s also quite a lot that abuse the system who can work but choose not to.

[@linuxretrogamer]

@@FormulaOneFan98whatever system you design a minority will find a way to game it.

[@coreyc1685]

​@@FormulaOneFan98the idea that there's any kind of systemic problem with people 'choosing' not to work in a nation with a benefit system so deliberately cruel it kills thousands of sick and disabled people is preposterous. You're pretending to believe that.

[@deesmith4800]

@@FormulaOneFan98 No, they are in the minority and it's no reason to demonize everyone on benefits because of the few who are abusing it. That's like firing an entire workforce because a small percentage of people slack off.

[@brandonlee7382]

Alot of us want to work is just we need help. Once we have the right job then we won't need government money.

[@happymaskedguy1943]

For the people claiming that ‘too many people abuse it’ : Try it. Just try it. Getting benefits is difficult. Staying on them without a LOT of medical evidence is impossible.

[@Totalinternalreflection]

As someone with long term mental illness who has been absolutely terrorised by the DWP over the last few years, I thank you for making this video. I'm crying from hearing someone speak out for people like myself and from living in fear of the tiny bit I get being taken from me or threatened that it will be taken from me yet again. I could say a lot more, but I don't want to over share to explain my position or risk nasty comments any more than i already have. I want nothing more than to be able to function, but I get so sick from stress all the time just surviving, that I simply can't. I am working toward being able to at least do some volunteering, and I'm doing courses to better prepare me. Hopefully, that'll lead somewhere. It is slow progress, though, as like I said, I'm not at all well. Thanks again for the video.

[@DrNewVegas]

Thank you for this and all I'm gonna say is thank you for being you. Don't worry, if I see any nasty comments they are getting deleted.

[@christopherhoggins5008]

You are not alone, I hear you. I’m there myself. The nightmare never seems to end.

[@mikeyisdead]

Yup it's an endless fight, they seem to completely ignore anything mental health related, a doctors sick note these days doesn't mean anything... if they say you are fit to work then you are, doesn't matter if you feel like jumping off a bridge, go get a job..... so they can get their nice bonus wage.

[@christopherhoggins5008]

@@mikeyisdead This is a sad admission... When I was told I had the lungs of a 90 year old, I was actually pleased. Same with the knackered heart and arteries. I thought, "Oh good! the dwp can't argue with that." How sick and twisted is that? It's like the end of Office Space where the guy see's being hit by a truck as a lottery win. This country is Broken!

[@mikeyisdead]

@@christopherhoggins5008 Yes the entire system is completely broken

[@Fredric_Cedrich]

Ahh yes… Thatcher… thought people relied on the state to much… who had a massive pension for the rest of her life… paid for by the state…

[@NoSweat69]

Not to mention had a state funeral, sizzling in hell now though

[@safirahmed]

​@@NoSweat69 It could be said its one pit that will never close.

[@Termi325]

I was sick with a degrading condition, for years the dwp tried all sorts of horrible tactics to get me working in unsuitable jobs, they mocked the amount of money I was on, made little digs constantly during appointments, they would even sarcastically make jabs at me, but if I so much as raised my voice at them I was threatened with sanctions. Now I'm on life support three times a week and they FINALLY leave me alone, but for years they never accepted my condition for what it was and I lived on pennies whilst being pressured and abused by them for YEARS. Keep in mind I was a teenager and on top of all my medical issues I was also made homeless, so a sick kid trying to get by in life and honestly all I got was grief the dwp are sick and there needs to be people willing to go under cover and expose it all. The problem is, they treat people differently, my dads friend went in and was treated perfectly fine, another female friend went in and got away with bloody murderer meanwhile some people are treated like scum.

[@ALICE-m8f]

Assessments being scrapped would save loads of money and they are not needed as your doctors and specialist have all the evidence they need. The people who do the assessments are not medical professionals like they say they are and often have no knowledge of a claimants health condition of illness. The only purpose for assessments is the ask questions to trip you up and take away money as much as they can.

[@safirahmed]

The King is the world's biggest landowner.

[@fire9994]

as someone with autism, I hate dealing with this, because of the fact that I fear that any Benefits I get would be taken away if I didn't "seem autistic", a fear I've had for 5-8 years. The system feels like a joke sometimes, and I hope that it gets better soon.

[@Quuuda]

I, Daniel Blake still goes super hard and truly displays how terrifying our current benefit system is.

[@plinkleplonk]

Thank you for speaking on this. I'm chronically ill and have been since 16. I'm in my late 20s now and finally felt I could try and become self employed. I spent months asking for help with how that would work on benefits. Ringing up DWP basically weekly being given a load of places I should go to and ask about. So that's what I did, everytime they said they could not advise me as they're not the DWP. The DWP sent me to the jobcentre for the jobcentre to tell me it's a wasted trip and I need to speak to the DWP. They gave me incorrect info over and over, some that could even leave up without any benefits and also in court (thanks DWP!). Anyway it has had a massive impact on me and now I'm more ill than I ever have been while they're screaming at disabled people to get back into work but won't let me? I'm so tired I actually built something that they pulled out from beneath my feet. I have nothing left to give anymore

[@tinymoogle]

Call and ask about the work and health program. Most will not have heard about it so ask to speak to a job coach at the job centre to be put on the program. To get on it all you need is be classed as disabled, you don't even need to be getting benefits. Despite not needing to be on benefits to get on the program, you will need a job coach to access it (yet another block put in the way of people gaining the support they need to do what the gov claims they want for us - to work!). Easiest way to get a job coach is to be on UC or ESA if you are in the work related group. I know because I've done it recently and it took research on my part & me telling the DWP what I needed to finally get it. Had to switch from ESA to UC to get it as otherwise I couldn't get access to a job coach. I've started on it and so far so good. I've had a lot of helpful info and been empowered to find jobs that I could possibly do, even if I need reasonable adjustments. They even tell me what adjustments I need to be asking employers for. Really useful stuff. As for working while claiming. You can still claim ESA / UC and work, but only up to a certain amount of hours a week & a certain pay threshold. PIP (or DLA) is non-means tested so you could work full time and still claim as its there to pay for the extra costs of being disabled and alive. Good luck, I hope this helps. As one chronically ill person to another, we have to help each other out x

[@rachelstacey8389]

I have a life time medical condition, it dont stop me from working but it's makes it harder, I went from benefits to self employment so I could choose when I'm sick to stay off if needed, I didnt have anyone tell me how to do it or what to do although I did ask for my cscs test to be covered by jobcentre which they did but it's only £30 so it's the least they could do to help me get back to work amd I appreciated that, why are all these ppl expecting rewards for something they should be doing in the first place?

[@rachelstacey8389]

May I add I was a single mother with 2 children in primary school at the time, suffering with depression from long term abuse from ex partner

[@plinkleplonk]

@@tinymoogle Thank you so much for your time! I will look into what you've written and hopefully I'll be well enough to try again in the future. I will save this information for then 🤞 I can't believe they make it so hard to access... It's so infuriating and disabling in its self! I'm on legacy ESA and PIP. I was only looking for info on ESA as I was selling insects as pets. So one month I could make over the amount ESA would allow but then might make nothing for months in a row 😪

[@plinkleplonk]

@@rachelstacey8389 are you okay? Feel better for looking down on others not as able and in different circumstances as you yet?

[@jeffmunkynutz1568]

Straight out the gate, you nailed something 99% of people overlook, that tax breaks, phony contracts, etc ARE welfare for the rich. Kudos..... double kudos for the little kid voice over bit, made me lol. 🤣

[@dr_george_ordell]

Even though I I haven't dealt with the DWP yet, its rather scary to hear how callous and cruel the whole system is as someone with a friend who DOES depend on the DWP just to scrape by. Its baffling to me doctors and specialists aren't enough to "prove" one is disabled, and that often humilating tactics are used to kick desperate people off benefits they may need just not to become homeless, or to not die. Though with how the idea of the "deserving poor" is so rooted into British society historically its not surprising. The way a country treats its most vulnerable is reflective on it as a whole.

[@happymaskedguy1943]

I survived encephalitis, now have a brain injury. Tried desperately to work, lost job after job, got into debt and lost everything. I was forced to go on benefits, because I have no other choice. I wanted to go to university, to study. But my physical and mental disabilities make that impossible. An able person who loses their job can get another job. If I lose my benefits, my life is finished. It would be easier to die.

[@seashell1038]

Thank you for this. The media scapegoating of sick and disabled makes me want to scream! It's evil. Please keep on getting the truth out there.

[@paulriggall8370]

I’m one of these “scroungers” or “drains” on society, which is a lovely thought especially when I’m walking to work. My work is supporting adults with autism. I’m on benefits because I have epilepsy. I cannot begin to tell you the grief I’ve had with them. I’ve tried to increase my hours and when I did I suffered a big increase in seizures AND the extra money I earned was basically nullified because if I earn for example £100 in a month I will receive £100 less per month from universal credit. I feel as if I’m trapped in my situation financially, I would need to work around three times the amount I do to come off benefits.

[@GlynnParry-bs6xg]

You're not alone, sorry to say. I used to get ATOS assessments that said I was absolutely fine (like you have epilepsy & hemiplegia) just by looking at me...

[@Jaywolf271]

I have had Asperger's for 20 years. I look and act like any other person BUT there are a lot of struggles that I have under the surface which means that I cannot function as well as other people in the world. I'm wired differently. Because of that. I have pretty much been in 24 hour a day isolation for 20 years. So just because disabled people might not be able to work, doesn't mean that they're lazy or useless. They just struggle.

[@thequackashow619]

Glad I'm not the only isolated aspie

[@JamesWolf2001]

I took the Covid jab, developed Myopericarditis (which has left me with Sinus Arrhythmia) and now I've started Universal Credit but they are very intent on getting me back into work since I don't qualify for disability benefits. I don't want to work, I barely want to exist. Fully lost my faith in humanity. It feels like the whole system is rigged.

[@SpookySqueaks1337]

That's why I loved 'I, Daniel Blake'. I wish more people had watched that movie.

[@DrNewVegas]

I love Loach so much. His previous three films have all been amazing.

[@johnturner1073]

@@DrNewVegas Somehow, him being a full leftie, I cannot see him making a film titled 'I, Martyn Blake'...

[@RichRobinson]

Thank you for making this video. I’m currently having to re-affirm my need for benefits to the DWP and it looms over me perpetually. I worry I could have my support taken away overnight if I don’t make sure I do everything I can to bolster my case. I’d be dead without benefits and the support of my family, no doubt about it.

[@HappilyChatting]

I laughed a number of years ago, at an interview. A young woman said "I'm middle class". The interviewer said "how?" "Well" was the response "I'm on benefits and don't work, so I can't be working class...duh!!!". A very well balanced report - thank you so much.

[@timwoodger7896]

Eugenics through economics!

[@protectandsurvivelivinghis3206]

@@timwoodger7896 at least you call it out for what it is, if you're a student of history it's impossible to not draw parallels between the rhetoric employed by successive governments and the rhetoric employed by a certain mid-20th regime in Germany during their extermination campaign against disabled people, this country is heading down a very dark path

[@therealrobertbirchall]

The 'bedroom' tax really offends me.

[@oliviajayward]

I’m on pip for my autism and it is embarrassing bc I feel like people are gonna judge me. I’m studying childcare whilst volunteering at a school to try help with my independence. I hate when people ask me if i have job bc i feel ashamed.

[@DrNewVegas]

Never feel ashamed. You should be proud of what you are doing. You are studying and volunteering at the same time. You are attempting to improve yourself and should not correlate with the benefits you receive. My partner is a teacher. She got there because she had to do a whole year of her PGCE with no pay, and because she's not originally from the UK, she would have not been entitled to benefits (also they make it hard to get money when you are both an immigrant and a student!). It's ridiculous that they punish people for trying to better themselves through study. I worked a full-time job lecturing whilst studying for my PhD, in which I was doing 80 hours a week realistically to get it all done and to cover the bills. It was no life, whatsoever! It's criminal that people like yourself, clearly looking to give yourself better chances at life are being punished in doing it. You keep going and be proud because I think it's brilliant to be studying.

[@Swan7094]

You have Autism and that’s okay. People can judge but who are they? Keep strong

[@G_12385]

Excellent video. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that DWP agents get bonuses for rejecting more people for benefits like PIP. Also I’ve heard that they cut calls short due to the fact that if the call runs over into their break time, they’re allowed to end the call.

[@DrNewVegas]

I was reading about the bonuses this morning! It is confirmed that they do get bonuses for getting people into work, a sadistic method against the most vulnerable. There have been allegations of what you mentioned. It's only an allegation but we know...

[@G_12385]

@@DrNewVegasmorally bankrupt individuals. I’m currently having my agent assigned to me ignore my emails for access to work! But I’m the lazy one apparently for seeking support from the government 😳

[@heatherlinnette189]

I don’t understand how people forget. The reason we pay national insurance and tax is to pay for things like the national health service, benefits system which is meant to be a safety net. Why do people think they are being taxed? What do they think it’s paying for? You have to be insanely wealthy not to want a benefit system as a safety net.

[@Prince9743]

Absolutely agree 👍

[@christopherhoggins5008]

Thank you so much for making this and speaking out. So many of the sick and disabled are feeling terrified right now. Myself included. To pick on those that, by their nature, are incapable of fighting back is a convenient distraction. People will die because of this and it needs fighting every step of the way. Our voices are so rarely heard and when they are, they get buried under those of the ignorant or with vested interests to maintain this hideous situation. Again, thanks!

[@DrNewVegas]

Thank you for the comment. It needs to be discussed now more than ever. I've been fortunate in my life as an adult, though both my parents are ill and receive PIP, etc with me helping them. As a kid, I was one of the free school meal lot and it was a struggle to get by. I will never forget it and will never stop until one day, we will all have the ability to be truly free from this corrosive *rhetoric*

[@christopherhoggins5008]

@@DrNewVegas Thank-you for sharing that and I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up a bit reading it. you are doing tyour parents proud! I am currently writing / illustrating my experiences with the DWP to put in book form. (I've done similar with autism and housing) We do what we can, how we can. Hopefully, your video will put a few people straight and help stop the slide towards a remake of Soylent Green

[@DrNewVegas]

That's amazing! I would love to have a read/look at it when it's done, and some of your other stuff as well because that is really interesting to me. Exactly, I'm already getting the Mail readers come on here but I'm not giving them a voice. There's already enough toxicity and we need a bit of a safe space this time. Thank you for everything you do. People like yourself re-affirm my hope in this world and the people in it.

[@christopherhoggins5008]

@@DrNewVegas just google me in speech marks, it’s not a common name. I hope you don’t mind but I’m planning to embed your video in my latest blog post. The Daily Mail lot need reminding of its allegiance to a certain Austrian Charlie Chaplin tribute act… shades of the Mitchell and Webb meme.

[@DrNewVegas]

Cool, I'll have a look at some point today. Of course! Feel free to do what you like with my videos. I will have a read when it's up! Oh yes, though I do think some of them value it's origins, even if they don't realise it themselves...

[@Serpsss]

Successive govs have encouraged the public to ostracise anybody on "benefits" & weaponise language (e.g. benefits, employment support allowance va incapacity benefit, hard working people etc.) The gov just loves having this perennial scapegoat of the benefit boogeyman living it up which is why they will never take measures to genuinely help. Training & subsidising wages with a portion of what a claimant would've received anyway so it's less risk to the employer. I taught myself to code for 8+ hours a day over 3 years before giving up because it still didn't seem to offset the risk & there's always that unavoidable "why haven't you worked for x years?" question. I've forgotten so much of it now but it's hard to be motivated when there's no real help.

[@MelissaGarrett1980]

I can’t tell you how badly I needed this tonight. I’ve been reading up on proposed changes to the WCA, and as well as causing extreme feelings of anger and impotence, it also made the old “Imposter Syndrome” rear its ugly head again. I badly needed reminding that these feelings of worthlessness and second-guessing myself are the product of DECADES of manipulation by the elites, and not on me. You’re doing great work here, and it is much appreciated.

[@christopherhoggins5008]

You are not alone in how you feel and you certainly aren’t worthless. The only people who should feel shame are this new government who are acting exactly the same as the last government.

[@MelissaGarrett1980]

@@christopherhoggins5008 Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say! I try to remind myself that I’m also an unpaid carer for my mum (although not officially, since that position is occupied by my dad), and I probably work as hard in that capacity as many paid carers . . . but the fact is that my health conditions are too unpredictable to obtain and keep even a work-from-home job. There are days when I’m fine, and days when I can do absolutely nothing. And I’m okay with that, I really am - but not when people who have never experienced chronic illness or disability act as if it’s a lifestyle choice. 😔

[@christopherhoggins5008]

@@MelissaGarrett1980 the way i describe it to people is “if I was a car, would you buy it?” No one would buy a car if it seized up when it rained and no employer would give a job to someone who might be able to turn up two days and of five but they didn’t know in advance which ones. I hate the way the government applies a twisted form of toxic positivity to our chances of employment. This isn’t a utopia full of kind bosses who don’t care about sick leave, it’s a place where my postman whose had a heart attack has his movements tracked by his pda and Amazon workers pee into bottles because their bathroom breaks are monitored.

[@RobertMunro-wb6jb]

Thank you ! I have been directly effected by lots of the things you mentioned in your video and I only wish there were more people that spoke as eloquently on this subject and also had empathy for the people of our country that have been effected by these issues!!!

[@linedwell]

I have, for several years, been highlighting and pointing out the facts behind Benefits etc. to people who spout misinformation and nonsense. I have discovered that for A LOT of people, facts and truth don't matter at all. Beliefs are all they need and only the things that support their beliefs get held onto. Someone says "there's millions that have never worked" I point out the actual number of those unemployed for longer than 12 months, they reply with, "Well I know a family that have never worked...and have holidays.. and a big telly.." I roll my eyes.. Then someone says "Some people get loads for doing nothing.." I point out that unemployment is around £390 a month and any other money they get they would have had to be assessed for before they got it.. So they reply with, "Why should my money be paid to them?" So I point out that the average tax payer actually pays about £3 a month to unemployment... "Well that's my £3..." So until my eyes and give up. Facts don't matter, only beliefs now.

[@DrNewVegas]

"Feelings don't care about your feelings or facts" - Some right-winger, probably. Thanks for sharing this. The exact same conversations I get.

[@loannaxxx8845]

Bedroom taxs is Evil 😮

[@DrNewVegas]

I'll be honest, that completely skipped over my head until people brought it up but it's really important to mention it!

[@mnky75]

My Fiancée really cannot stand the Pensioners you get on the news. Complaining about the Winter Fuel cuts, from their sprawling 6 bedroom Country House in Rural Wiltshire. Weird I know....

[@keithd26]

FYI, landlords don't get tax breaks unless they are set up as a business and that only applies if their property income takes them into the higher (40%) tax bracket. I'm making this clarification because generally those tax breaks apply to housing associations and the larger landlords rather than the couple who've moved in together after owning seperate houses. Just for reference: Income tax = 20% Corp tax = 25% Higher rate income tax = 40% So you need to be earning £83785.3 minimum in order to use the corporation tax loophole and get tax savings. Before anyone says mortgage, thats a business cost and not a tax break, only ever applies to the interest part of the mortgage, and is only 20% which means its not totally tax free if you hit the 40% bracket. And again, there is some effect on that if you change it to a business but at that point you need to start employing an accountant to deal with it. Point is, your comment about landlords only applies to big landlords and not small landlords. The higher up you go, the more you realise its stacked against you until you are well into the 6 figure bracket when you can afford an accountant and their input pays for itself.

[@DrNewVegas]

Sure, I didn't say all landlords but merely pointing out that landlords do get tax breaks, particularly rich ones.

[@oliviajayward]

the government makes me sick. also, don’t forget how they blame it on immigrants too even though immigrants are the ones who are working.

[@DrNewVegas]

I've already had a few of those comments. You might notice they disappeared 😂 Got no time for that rubbish.

[@oliviajayward]

@@DrNewVegas im not surprised.

[@Luna-_9-m4i]

@@DrNewVegas Im on benefits & a hard worker too it doesn’t matter how hard you work whatsoever because they still don’t care at all, they say young people don’t want to work but then don’t let us work

[@dannevirkenz]

The argument I think about benefits that should also be made is the economic one. A friend of mine who was an economic modeller in NZ once destroyed my benefit bashing argument by pointing out that giving money to beneficiaries is the fastest and most effective way to get money into the economy. He also pointed out it typically goes through ten or more pairs of hands so providing jobs and boosting the high street. The unemployed also provide the benefit of keeping wages down which is why successive governments have done little to reduce it.

[@famesx2885]

And what is Starmer doing to help people

[@DrNewVegas]

Absolutely nothing and it infuriates me.

[@incredibleflameboy]

One of my biggest complaints about the benefit system is that I have to justify my disability. How do I argue that becoming profoundly deaf, as in absolutely no awareness of sound around me, has turned me into a person that has to rely on my wife and children for anything that's going to need communicating with other people? The DWP aren't asking if I am disabled, they're demanding that I tell them why my massive anxiety, to the point of being completely paralyzed and crying in the street, means I can't work. It doesn't just leave me living in fear of having to communicate with others, it leaves me in fear of losing any support that they give. I would argue that I'm unemployable at the moment because I'd have to sit and interview, an interview that I wouldn't be able to answer any questions in because nobody uses sign and it takes me a while to learn how someone speaks before lip reading. I'd point out that the self assessment questionnaire doesn't take into account a workplace environment, it asks about risks around home which I score massively on because things like smoke alarms and even a kettle whistling don't work for me (I get that this seems minor to a lot of people but it's huge when you have to live with it 24/7) but the questionnaire doesn't come into account that I can't use a phone, I can't work in a warehouse where risks like moving vehicles could be used and I can't hear others giving instructions or warnings of danger, these environments increase dangers exponentially but it never gets considered. I want to work because I want to be normal again, I want to be able to have friends again but I know it won't happen and all the while the DWP will degrade me by putting me in embarrassing situations until they get their way. People have died over this omission and realistically the individual assessors should be held liable since (by my understanding) it's those people alone that make the decision.

[@DrNewVegas]

This is the "posturing" companies do to pretend that they are accommodating to people, including state services like DWP, then don't have the foggiest clue on how the world works for disabilities. If it were my way, I would have trade union officials and healthcare in the DWP, rather than the careerist civil servants that exist there now. They would be able to properly assess the situation and be able to give you resources to help with accessibility. It's simple, little things like that which is far more beneficial to people whilst also giving people an affordable amount whilst that transition happens.

[@incredibleflameboy]

@@DrNewVegas they really are better suited to it. When I lost my hearing I was working in healthcare so it was a surprise to me to find that healthcare professionals don't have any input. It's not a difficult change as you say and would realistically create jobs but then we're just the little people being chewed up by the machine so why would government care.

[@goblin457]

Thanks for this video as someone who is disabled after breaking my neck in an accident it's nice to know not everyone thinks we're scroungers and work shy

[@DrNewVegas]

The only true scroungers are the billionaires in my eyes!

[@goblin457]

​@@DrNewVegasUnfortunately many of the public think the opposite 😞

[@EddyBumba]

Also, while they're making all these changes there'll be commercial companies and agencies brought in to do the work. Meaning more public money going to the private sector

[@DrNewVegas]

Outsourcing has become the main drain on this country, though you have made me think about another video! Thank you.

[@linuxretrogamer]

I remain convinced the best long term solution is to scrap all state pensions, tax allowances, and benefits (except means tested disability like PIP).., … and replace them all with a single universal basic income. Scrap NI and make income tax a lot more progressive to take the UBI away from those who don’t need it and offer a tapered top up to lowers in work incomes.

[@acey7861]

cameran was a coward

[@safirahmed]

The welfare state has never been a safety net for the unemployed. The welfare state was created to help alleviate and prevent poverty.

[@gabbywills98]

Last year in the autumn i went on benefits for a single month, due to being dismissed from one job on the same day as a successful job interview which resulted in not being able to pay rent in the interim. The period of time between a successful application and my benefits actually coming through, was such that i had to ask for an advance just to cover rent. An advance that got clawed back from me this calendar year with a letter saying i owed them £380. Every penny they gave me had to be paid back immediately.

[@jamiedinsdale6992]

Im genuinely terrified to be re-assessrd for my pip. My mum had to go to tribunal to receive my pip in the first place and I know if/when I get re assessed again they will try tooth and nail to take it off me. Even though I'm no less autistic then I was when I was assessed.

[@DrNewVegas]

What a terrible system. Attempting to erase neurodiversity purely at the hands of "productivity". As and when we can, we will resist it.

[@aaronsmith9209]

Literally in the same position, qualified as a child indefinitely for DLA, they changed it to PIP in 2016 and immediately said I didn't qualify. I didn't know I could appeal back then, so left it. Struggled on for 5 years trying to work but never got very far (UC made it harder actually!) until my Nan died during the pandemic, then I really couldn't cope anymore so I tried again with much more knowledge of the horrific PIP system, I had to fight at my lowest mental point for almost a year until a tribunal agreed with me that I qualified. Born autistic, still autistic when they denied my benefits and ironically they made my mental state much more difficult by the time I had the tribunal. I would be scared of reassessment but it just seems farcical to me, the fact I got given benefits at such a young age and a decent amount of support through school all the way to university to get my qualifications and then the fact that I was one of many whose tribunal overturned the DWP decision suggests it's not me who is wrong. When I was on DLA I was on low to middle amount, by the time I got PIP it was the enhanced amount, that's how much the system fucked my mental health and executive function. They need to support us not brutalise us!

[@MundusMeus974]

Just woke up and came across this video. I have cerebral palsy. My assessment at 17 was awful, they treated me like dirt then tried to take my benefits away, awarding us nothing. Thank you for speaking out for the underdogs. Seriously, it means more than most people would understand. You've earned a sub from me for talking out about this, cause I do not see ANYONE else talking about these things.

[@galaxygrl2381]

This analysis was amazing. It's a real eye opener so thank you for this great video! I hope it reaches a lot of people.

[@DrNewVegas]

Thank you for the lovely comment!

[@gonagona9943]

There is no cruelty in giving billions to Israel and Ukraine

[@margo.3466]

What do the rich know a out the real world!

[@DatBoiOrly]

On UC at the moment been on & off it my entire working life i've had good work coaches i've had terrible ones, recently i'm with a terrible one at restart since was threatened with a sanction if i took a job that would put me in the deficit you heard that correctly DEFICIT it would cost me all my wages plus extra JUST TO WORK this isn't including the tax hikes which would make it EVEN WORSE. It's honestly a joke working in this country. For those call my claims BS lets do the maths together £1680 pm income: public transport- £400, Income tax 20%=£336, NC 10%=£168, Rent- £380, Water & utilities-£120 Food- £300 For a grand total of £1704 which is -£24 every month no luxeries NOTHING & i'm worse off. The big problem is in this country you get punished for working the goverment knows this & makes the benefits EVEN crueler so they don't get punished for their incompetence even though they caused the problem. For those wondering why the UK is so terrible to work in is because of the lack of jobs, lack of jobs means less employment means no competitive wages means a dip in the red for living standards. The reason theres a lack of jobs is because the goverment has been pillaging business's for over 40+ years & making it near impossible to start up a business or even for legacy business's to expand due to red tape.

[@DrNewVegas]

You don't have to defend your claims here, friend. Screw the people that challenge you. You are entitled to your benefits as much as anyone. I know that's a simple way of putting it, but it's true.

[@DatBoiOrly]

​​@@DrNewVegasthanks buddy! The sad thing is I WANT TO WORK but i'm struggling to find employment even though i'm fully qualified in 2 of the engineering sectors

[@DrNewVegas]

Of course, we all do. This is the constant condemnation from the Mail readers. Yet they don't realise how desperate people are to work. There are various factors why people can't, but the system as much as they like to claim, makes sure that we are forced to work whether we can or not.

[@DatBoiOrly]

@@DrNewVegas indeed it's such a stupid system, if someone is put into a position they're not happy with it leads to people doing the bare minimum to work

[@sunn1011]

Hi DrNewVegas, Another brilliant video! I really love the detailed breakdown - it’s insightful and eye-opening. Looking forward to seeing more of your content!

[@DrNewVegas]

Thank you friend!

[@sunn1011]

@@DrNewVegas I posted the review and did a small piece on The Daily Mail after watching the video.

[@rachelpenny5165]

Thank you for this. I live in a 'wealthy area' but just down the road is an area classed as deprived. I live in a council house and have mobility problems. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991 when I was almost 19. I am currently on ESA support category so not looking forward to when I get moved to universal credit. When I got moved from DLA to PIP my allowance fell so I am expecting this to happen again. Take care and best wishes

[@gemmabarnes]

I've been on and off benefits for the last 4 years since being made redundant. Haven't found work that I can go for, for the 13 1/2 months (but who's counting). Everywhere needs either experience for the job which I may not have or you need a car and licence which I can't afford on £150/month that I've got left after bills. I asked if I could get help for driving tests, got told it's too expensive so how can I fund it on the little I've got to spend on food/drink/travel/gas/electric?

[@DrNewVegas]

Ahhhhh, don't even get me started on the "experience and qualification" culture in Britain. You are either too underqualified and too inexperienced, or even in my case I am "too qualified" because I'm a doctor. Me, yourself and so many others have a plethora of skills to do jobs but can't because of this archaic system of HR tickboxes. And again, it's all a part of costs. Even to interviews! They should be paying for your driving tests. Ludicrous in their behaviour.

[@gemmabarnes]

@DrNewVegas I got 8 years in warehouse experience. There's not many if any warehouse I can go for in my town. So while I'm searching in the towns around mine, the hours just aren't possible with the public transport that I've got. If I could get the tests needed it'll open up so much

[@teresaquail3503]

i work a low paid job i lose more thsn i gain from working i fully understand why people dont work and appreaciats thst there will always be people who cant work through no fault of their own, when yoy see how pensioners who have worked all their luves have been treated by this government then it is a good reason not to work, liw income jobs are no incentive for people minimal wage is a joke especially if you are a single person on one income or a family eith children

[@BeccaWithers123]

loving your work, keep on keeping on x

[@DrNewVegas]

Thank you ❤️

[@hughallan1647]

Nearly at 2000 subs, on the road to 10,000, come on guys. Like and leave comments. Any comment is good. What you had for dinner, anything.

[@DrNewVegas]

I had swede mash and sausages last night!

[@hughallan1647]

@@DrNewVegasbased dinner. 😁

[@sg-zd8eb]

I’ve been unemployed for 14 and a half years. I’ve had next to no help in getting a job.

[@DrNewVegas]

Seems like the DWP failed in the one thing they are "obsessed" with doing!

[@sg-zd8eb]

@@DrNewVegas I’m keeping jobcentre staff in a job. Ironically.

[@ThatGuyWierd]

The welfare debate is very fascinating because on one hand no sane reasonable individual minds their taxes going towards people who cant work due to sickness or injury or other unfortunate circumstances to support them. However, it can't be ignored that there are people who game the system and while mostly it provokes the knee jerk reaction from people in work to say "must be nice doing fuck all while we go to work so you can live for free" the real harm is that it takes money from someone else who needs it. Theres less to go around to those in need thanks in part to people scamming the system. Anyway, i am firmly of the opinion that more fraud/theft is being committed at the upper echelons of society, scamming the state to the tune of millions and billions in tax evasion and various acrobatic accounting loopholes between the ministers and the private sector and that whole ilk of suit wearing pocket lining mfs. It dwarves the 20k a year in benefits scrounged by a few thousand people. Lets be generous and say 50 thousand undeserving households are scraping every benefit they can. (I have no idea how much people get and for what but ill guess around 20k to ne conservative) . Thats one billy. Hardlyvlow hanging fruit for the government to grab and suddenly be replete with cash. Quite the oppositem its difficult to police/tighten/clamp down on who needs what and whos entitled to what... And wouldn't really yield a significant saving (i knkw 1bn is a ridiculous amount of money to any one person, but to a country, its fuck all) All in all its just interesting that the powers thay be have successfully divided and conquered us, the masses. While we argue over having to pay for less fortunate people to get by because of people exploiting the system, theres a whole group of upoer echelon fraudulent activity going on laughing at us and thinking wow we can get away with anything because theyre too busy arguing amongst themselves. The real thieves are hidden away and control what you think and what you are told by media. Of course they want the discourse to be around people not working enough and people scrounging benefits. Go back to sleep

[@SpikeHartGT]

The WaW Kemi bit is hilarious 😂

[@DrNewVegas]

She's my nightmare fuel.

[@dl-vb4vm]

The best journalism i have seen of this subject, nothing but facts a little bit of a giggle and a joke thrown in not too despressing. Rishi sunak followed in davids footsteps and now keir stalmer, somehow i dont think people will be as much in a uproar with benefits cuts this october because when pensioners are on tv during the fuel cut "i worked hard all my life, why should i be cut" creating the name horrible narrative from economic capitalism of who is deserving and not deserving to be punished for being "economically inactive" i heard on a another channel this one thing that stuck with me about anti abortionists *rich white conservatives* "they want babies to be born loads of them to work minimum wage and dangerous jobs to provide the tax and wealth that supports their lavish lifestyles" including when you become disabled and mentally unwell you become unuseful to the state and oligarchs so they deliberatley infringe on your rights to ensure you know your place and your beneath them. Love your work and keep at it, you are the best ive seen and many people who are suffering love that you support them. God bless you.

[@DrNewVegas]

Don't tell anyone else, but you are my favourite subscriber... If I'm honest, I forgot Rishi existed. It feels like a bad dream, except I've now woken up to the next one.

[@chrisjones3587]

France provided a better benefits safetynet.If you had been in a job for five years,then you were entitled to eighty percent of your earnings for the first year of unemployment no questions asked.With the UK system many people risk immediate desperation

[@BGS_123]

You are missing the whole point. Daily mail says that the benefits scroungers are the reason why the country is going down the drain. Are you saying Daily Mail is lying?😂

[@DrNewVegas]

Why yes, yes I am.

[@terrapyn99]

The Daily Mail and its readers always punch down on the most vulnerable instead of punching up at the tax-dodging corporate con-men, thieving banksters and their politician enablers.

[@ΑΣΔΦΓΗΞΚΛ]

All true, but you can't fight the Mail mentality.

[@artifactU]

?

[@ΑΣΔΦΓΗΞΚΛ]

@@artifactU there's a newspaper called the Daily Mail. It doesn't brain wash its readers, it tells them what they want to hear.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

Loxims at its finest.

[@ThomasMadden-hd1oz]

People need economic rights along with their political rights.

[@edmundblackaddercoc8522]

I agree with all this however, there are a lot of people playing the system. They are hitting people with real issues, not the ones dealing gʻrugs,side lines,sub letting affordable housing etc.They would save a lot more money by investing in unbiased investagive teams to target these people/gangs.

[@alexblue6991]

We pay taxes all our lives now on tv adverts they want you to give money to charities after your death

[@KGB_Agent451]

What is your favourite vodka

[@rod2623]

Capacity for work assessments have been around since the thirties...

[@DrNewVegas]

How have you figured that one out?

[@rod2623]

​@@DrNewVegas Holocaust memorial museum. Also a very good documentary called 'Caring corrupted ' thanks for this video

[@dalebenton3354]

Well something not right with the Benefit system,I see it on the news,About the welfare bill is getting bigger and bigger and more bigger,Who is going to pay for it all,British tax payers again,So makes ya wonder why Benefits be getting cut short

[@DrNewVegas]

I covered this in the video. Did you watch it?