Thread by @BlokeOnWheels

#Thread. Let's start with earlier this week, when Liz Truss, likely to be the next PM, said at a hustings that the solution to solving the problem of having so many job vacancies was to 'encourage currently economically inactive people into work." The problem with this is 1

When she says 'encourage' what she really means is encouragement in the style of a protection racket as in 'nice benefits you got there, it would be a shame if something happened to them, get a job'. I worry that this means she's going to start blaming disabled people 2

For the nation's economic woes (gotta take the heat of the billionaires somehow, leading once again to a renewal of the culture of suspicion against people with disabilities which dominated the Cameron/Osborne years. Now Truss did say that 3

'There are obviously some people who can't work' . Now nondisabled people might read that and think, so what are you worrying about then? Well, in order to prove that you can't work, you have to go through and assessment by a private company,4

And, as many of us discovered last week, our suspicions about the assessments have turned out to be true. In other words, they are akin to the 17th-century witch trials in England, just sans the drowning. Seriously, people have been failed for getting themselves water 5

While waiting to be assessed, or been told that the assessment centre doesn't have a working lift so they will have to go up the stairs, and if they can't they will be sanctioned for having not attended their appointment even though they were there. Additionally, people have 6

Been failed for, and I shit you not, looking presentable at an assessment. I mean seriously WTF? Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that the assessment is always stacked against the claimant with them often having to go through the arduous tribunal process. 7

Full disclosure, personally I never even had to go to a face-to-face assessment, but that doesn't matter. I'm speaking for the thousands who have been mistreated and degraded as a matter of record simply because they dared to claim benefits to which they are perfectly entitled. 8

My concern is that as the economic crisis deepens, these 'witch trial tactics will be ramped up again, aided by the right wing press running headlines about 'feckless layabouts' and 'benefit fraud being out of control' (there will be nothing about billionaires not paying tax) 9

I really hope this doesn't happen because it will be a disaster for the mental-health of so many nonworking disabled people who rely on benefits, not because we want to, but because we simply have no other option. However, we now have the Tories think 10

It would certainly not surprise me one bit to see the return of the awful rhetoric exhibited in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis. After all, it's much easier for the Tories to blame people who would never vote for them anyway. If it does happen, 11

I know that together, we will resist it in any way we can, but that won't stop the fear and despair of so many people who will likely feel that failing an assessment is like being found guilty of some sort of crime. Additionally, being told you're not actually disabled 12

Can serve to invalidate one's very sense of self and identity. For example, while my disability is not all of who I am, it is a massive part of me and impacts almost everything I do and how I do it. To possibly have that invalidated just because the government 13

Wants to save money would be absolutely crushing. Again, because it hasn't happened yet, you might think that I'm overreacting, and I may well be. However, the fear is completely real, not just for me but for the thousands of others who basically live in the shadow of the DWP. 14

So, yes I am concerned, the Tories simply don't care about disabled people, as evidenced by the fact that their flagship National Disability Strategy was declared illegal due to a defective and insulting consultation (I know it was, I filled it in) so the direction 15

We are currently travelling in as a nation does not appear to be an overly positive one for disabled people, but those of you who know me well will note that I will NEVER stop fighting for a more inclusive future. The first step is the removal of the Tories. 16

If you haven't watched my video from last week explaining the underhand tactics used by the private assessors as uncovered by the work and pensions committee just over a week ago, you can find it here
17

#DisabilityPrideMonth #DisabilityRights

@sharron_honey @SkiptomyLoulou @NoMoreGreed @SkewSmug @Sillyshib @striker990 @CarolineSmileey @MrsParky001 @BarbaraDixon__ @ArgyleLoz @LynneADHDMe @cymrawes @HarryMoWolves @JamesWeston82 @podweed @Lifelandlady @elaine_patten 18