Lois N on 28 November 2021
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Q. With these new changes to Universal Credit coming in, what do you think about this focus on helping working families?
So hi, I'm just answering the big question of the week, Jim, glad you've survived. I feel really happy that people can get more of the salary. That's an absolutely essential thing. And I don't think it's enough. I still think it's over half of what someone's earning and that's not really okay. I think that what they've done is add another divisional narrative, or divisive narrative, which is, if you work, you get more. So to the wider public, people working are more attractive, and I think that's wrong. I've spent a lot of the last 10 days really feeling quite angry and sad that they're doing this again, that it's not changing, and that no matter what I do I'm still going to be judged by the wider public as someone who's on benefits and a benefits scrounger. And that happens. I'm in a situation where I have an SEN son. I've got an SEN niece and nephew and I have to support them. My sister's died. So really my choice in terms of going out to work is really limited. I'm stuck until my son is a bit further along in his schooling and also until my niece and nephew don't need me which is unlikely to be anytime soon. So I think it's really marginalising actually what they've done and I don't think it goes far enough to address the fact that they're taking more than half of someone's salary away from them. It's wrong.
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