This is another petition that I’ve had no hesitation in signing. The right have always vilified people claiming sickness and disability benefits as scroungers and malingerers, and it’s always been lies and propaganda. Well, Sunak’s in a bit of a fix with the Tories plummeting in the polls, factions forming and the demented Liz Truss et al planning comebacks and coups. So he’s fed this bit to the Daily Heil crowd, GB News and the other swivel-eyed berks, who think that everyone off work through sickness is a malingerer. It comes from very healthy people, who have never had a day off sick in their life, and so assume everyone else is the same. The same people insulated from the stress and worry of ordinary people through senior positions in business and the civil service, or are perhaps self-employed and vocally resent the fact that they feel their taxes are paying for other people. The same people who then turn lachrymose when they fall ill, and suddenly they welfare support they were only too happy to deny other people isn’t there for them. This is connected to the bonkers idea from the anti-migrant Tory right that the migrant labour they’ll lose through their crackdown can be replaced by putting everyone on the sick to work. And behind it all, of course, is the old Tory desire to give tax cuts to the rich from money cut from welfare.
‘BREAKING: Rishi Sunak is announcing a new plan to strip GPs of the right to provide any of us with a sick note and sign us off when we’re unfit to work. [1] Sign the petition to scrap this dangerous plan. You can add your name with one click here:
It’s such a shocking move, I had to read the headline twice when I saw it this morning, David. We all have times when we’re too unwell to work, when doing so could be dangerous and damaging both for us and the people we work with. But stopping our GPs being able to grant us a sick note, risks forcing us to work when we can’t, and could even mean our pay and jobs end up at risk as a result.
Rishi Sunak’s speech this morning is the first time any of us have heard about these outrageous plans. [2] With an election only months away, the last thing he wants right now is a huge public backlash to ideas he’s floating – and that’s where we all come in.
David, if we all quickly add our name to a giant petition, and ask our friends and family to do so too, we can stop this half formed idea in its tracks. Will you add your name with one click?
Here’s the petition text in full:
| Rishi Sunak: Don’t strip GPs of the right to sign us off sick! To: Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister GPs, not bureaucrats, must decide if we are fit to work or not. GPs are highly trained and have a duty to ensure that people’s health comes first. They are best placed to decide if we are well enough or not to be at work. Stripping them of this power and instead giving it to teams linked to the benefits system would be a dangerous and harmful move. We, the British public demand you drop this half-formed idea now! Signed, Thousands of members of the British public. |
Under the plans being set out today, teams linked to the benefit system instead of GPs will assess us and decide how best to keep us in work instead. Leading mental health charities have already labelled the plans as harmful and say they risk demonising people. [3]
But the 38 Degrees community is powerful David – especially when it comes to fighting for our healthcare. We’ve come together before and stopped dangerous plans, like hiking prescription charges. 192,000 of us threw our weight behind the campaign and the Government dropped plans to raise prices. [4] If we act quickly, we can do it again now.
Thank you for your continued support,
Veronica, Jonathan, Matthew and the 38 Degrees team
NOTES:
[1] The Times (paywall): Rishi Sunak to strip GPs of right to sign people off sick
BBC News: Sunak to tackle ‘sick note culture’ in speech on welfare reform
[2] See note 1
[3] See note 1
[4] 38 Degrees: Keep prescriptions free for Over 60s – we won!‘
Tags: 38 Degrees, Benefit Cuts, Daily Mail, doctors, GB News, Rishi Sunak, Self-Employed, Sicknotes, Tax Cuts, the Rich, The Times
Beastrabban\'s Weblog 
Leave a comment