Full disclosure, my disability is not related to mental health. However I will stand with each and every person impacted by this latest hateful right wing rhetoric, determined to argue that the real lived experience of people living with mental health conditions is somehow...1 invalid and that people are faking. Make no mistake, they are attacking all of us. This is a concerted effort to argue that disabled people cost too much and that we should get less support. It's truly dreadful, but we must not stand for it! I'm not reading the latest...2

I really shouldn't get drawn into this sort of thing any more because it's not good for my mh. However, the article in the Telegraph trying to partly blame disability benefits for the riots is some of the worst shit I have read in a long time. A thread 1 I doubt very much there is any actual data available on the number of people arrested who were also claiming social security due to having a disability. I get the feeling if that data were available, there wouldn't be a correlation. Hence we are being needlessly demonised again.2

🧵Another thing I noticed about the Milburn report is the fact that it calls for disabled people who are currently out of work to face benefit cuts in order to 'close the gap between disability and unemployment benefits' except in cases where people have 'severe disabilities'. 1 Again, Milburn seems to not really understand how the current system works. The only people who actually get money on top of the standard allowance are those who the DWP has assessed as being unable to enter the labour market, meaning that they have already been proven...2

Right lovely people! Here we go! Yet another thread on how this government continually attacks disabled people, and how they are assisted in these efforts by their friends in the media. It seems they will not rest until we are all good little economic units! 1 So, Matthew Parris wrote an article in The Times published on Saturday, primarily stating that he thought there were too many incentives for people to claim to be unfit for work because Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is too high in comparison to standard universal credit.2

Right lovely people! #Thread time! You'll wanna make yourself comfortable for this one because it's gonna be a long and possibly just a lil bit emotional. Let me take you on a personal journey exploring the link between my future and the prevailing attitudes to social care...1 in this country. Here we go!

As many of you who have been friend with me for a while will know, I am nearly 30 and live with my parents were also my carers, I rely on them to do the most basic of daily tasks. For me, including, but not limited to, getting me in and out of bed, 2

Right thread time lovely people! This one is probably gonna be long and heavy because I'm gonna detail exactly what it's actually like to be me and all the things that I am reliant on others for that might not be particularly obvious from just reading my tweets. Here we go. 1 I was born almost 3 months early and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result. For any Star Trek fans out there, I was the equivalent of the Enterprise B leaving spacedock before Tuesday. It has affected me in a number of ways, most significantly, my legs are completely...2

Lovely people I'm trying to fill in the DWP'sridiculous consultation relating to disability benefit changes and that got me thinking about something that I've been wondering about ever since these plans were announced. In essence, the changes aren't really needed. #Thread 1 Instead of changing the criteria for disability benefits so that people are forced to potentially take up work but they are not well enough for, why doesn't the DWP just reinforce an already existing rule that people in the Support Group can get work related support from...2

Right lovely people! You might want to strap yourselves in for this one, because it's going to be a deeply personal thread and could possibly be quite long as I analyse the impact of the Tory plans to alter the work capability assessment on disabled people particularly myself. 1 The first aspect but the Tories are looking at changing relates to mobilisation, that is the ability to walk or use a mobility aid to transport oneself over a specified distance within a reasonable timeframe. Now I don't think this includes an electric wheelchair, but it does...2

Right lovely people! You might want to get comfy for this one, a #thread on the awfulness and pointlessness of the latest Tory plans for sick and disabled people. This will not be a fully comprehensive analysis of every single point because quite frankly, I don't think I could..1 Fit everything in, but here we go.

The government's central argument is that people (like me) who have been found unfit for work by the DWP having undertaken a work capability assessment are being held back and denied the opportunitys of financial security and fulfilment..

Lovely people! You've probably seen that the government refused to attend a United Nations meeting in Geneva relating to the treatment of #Disabled people by the aforementioned UK government, in which they metaphorically got their arses handed to them. This is because 1 They've been treating us like shit for years and refused to implement the recommendations of a previous UN report in 2016. The problem is, because the United Nations Convention on persons with disabilities isn't actually enshrined in UK law, the government can't be directly...2

#Thread, Right, here we go! My full thoughts on the article by Matthew Paris in The Times relating to disability benefits. You might want to get comfy for this, I have a feeling it's going to be a long one and they will probably be a bit of colourful language. 1 The central premise of the argument Paris makes is that the spike in people unable to work due to having one or more mental health conditions isn't down to people having greater understanding of the severe debilitating impact that such conditions can have, but rather that...2

Honestly, I know it's not due to happen until 2026, but we've got to find a way to stop or at least change the reform to #DisabilityBenefits. Under the new plan,Everybody will be effectively subject to the sanctions regime on the whim of a work coach with a target! 1 It won't matter how badly your disability affects you and your day-to-day life, if they want to sanction you for not doing the impossible, they will and they will be legally entitled to. Again, I'm not trying to scare people I'm just stating the policy and why it's so evil. 2

Imagine being disabled to the extent where the DWP have already confirmed your inability to work and then suddenly having to go to the Job centre where a work coach who has never met you before and has no knowledge of you disability can say 'you can work now, and...1 If you don't start looking, you will be sanctioned.' Now this might seem ridiculous, but unless I'm reading it incorrectly, that is the reality of the system which the Tories are looking to introduce. I get that allowing people to try work while receiving benefits is a,,,

Right lovely people. While they are doing the hunter-gathering, I'm going to bring back a little feature I used to do months ago. Some of you might remember it, it's the return of #WonderWomanWednesday for one week only in celebration of #InternationalWomensDay. 1 All these ladies are truly magnificent and I am honoured to know them. So, without further ado here we go. (The regular #BCLI will still take place on Friday as usual)2

🧵Today is #InternationalWomensDay and to mark the occasion I'm writing this thread on the domestic abuse endured by disabled women, with particular reference to how the Social Security system can leave them trapped in such toxic situations with no realistic prospect of escape 1 Research by the domestic abuse charity Safelives found that disabled women were twice as likely than non-disabled women to experience domestic abuse, and that the abuse itself would last significantly longer, on average for disabled women in comparison to their nondisabled…2

🧵 my lovely night owls! I hope you’re all well. The problems with Twitter today regarding not being able to see links or or images highlight the increasing fragility of our community. Not in terms of our incredibly strong bonds of friendship, but rather of our ability…1 To continue to communicate with each other. If this platform were to suddenly die, we would risk losing all the wonderful connections we have built up on here over the years. And there are genuinely people who I have met on here and now couldn’t imagine life without.…2

Right, here we go as promised yesterday a thread on the #StartleReflex and why I find it so incredibly frustrating. 1 It's quite common among babies to have such a reflex which causes them to 'jump out of their skin' at the slightest little unexpected noise. While many people soon grow out of it, that's not the case for an unlucky gang of which I am a member. Part of the impact of my 2

Happy #ValentinesDay2023 lovely people! 🧵

As many of you will most likely know, I have never had a partner of any description in my entire life, mainly as a result of laws governing joint income for people in receipt of social security. I have long been campaigning to… 1 change these laws and that fight is still ongoing. However this thread is not about an explanation of the laws and the general consequences, you can read more about that in the piece that I will link at the bottom, although it will be slightly outdated for reasons which…2

🧵The thing that strikes me about that Civitas report from yesterday isn't the headline figures, it's the fact they factored in schools and the NHS as well. Not only does that make the figures look grossly inflated, but also it says a lot for the mentality of the organisation. 1 It's one of those Tufton Street think tanks; not only do they not believe in working age Social Security, but they actually want a complete dismantling of the public sector, including schools and healthcare. No wonder they included that in their ridiculous report. 2

Honestly the fact that the idea of giving people who need social security vouchers instead of money is doing the rounds again really makes my blood boil! Another short #Thread 1 How is this meant to work exactly? Would we only be able to get our shopping from approved stores and then only certain goods? What if you didn't live anywhere near one of the approved stores? What if you needed to pay for a service rather than a physical item? 2

#Thread

As a disabled person who is not capable of work (a fact accepted by the DWP) I'm fed up of being fucking demonised and made to feel somehow 'unworthy'. Although I may not be directly targeted, the vile general rhetoric towards 'benefit claimants' is bad enough. They could choose to come after me at any point they like, the constant background fear is absolutely dreadful to live with. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels like this, and I'm also pretty sure that people who have never. experienced the DWP won't be able...2