Latest editorial
A WORKER whose sister had to pay £50 for a doctor’s note before she could claim benefits made a plea yesterday for the fees to be scrapped.
Somerset representative Richard Firmin told the Usdaw conference how his sister, who suffers from a debilitating back disease, had been ruled fit for work and stripped of benefits under the Con-Dems’ work tests system.
“On the rare opportunities she was able to get out of bed she depended on crutches,” Mr Firmin explained.
As peers prepare to debate reform of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi leads a bid to end the criminalisation of women who end pregnancies at home. LYNNE WALSH reports
DYLAN MURPHY reports that far from helping people back into work, the sanctions regime is inflicting unnecessary trauma on working-class families
A new report from the Citizens Advice destroys the government narrative about disabled people ‘choosing’ not to work, showing the £3,000 annual cuts will create a two-tiered system based on claim dates rather than needs, writes DYLAN MURPHY
