Jeremy Corbyn Vigerously Engages Theresa May at PM's Question Time

Jeremy Corbyn  has been vigorously engaging the government over sanctions at PM’s Question Time.

The argument that benefits sanctions and Work Capability Assessments are fair to taxpayers is complete nonsense. The latter assessments cost a fortune to carry out. The testing is frequently crude and inaccurate and this has led to much injustice and to the deaths, in some cases, of claimants wrongly assessed.

The people being sanctioned are, in many cases, the ordinary working people who have lost their jobs and for whom the system tricks out of their benefits (which these people have paid for over many years). People who get sanctioned often have mental health issues, or other severe social problems, or are ethnic minorities who lack a clear understanding of what is required due to language issues.  

These individuals get singled-out, as they are often the least able to defend themselves - especially as Legal Aid has been cut so dramatically. People at the very bottom of society often lack the knowledge, support and advice they need to prepare a winning appeal.

Most sanctions are turned-over on appeal however. Yet benefits are stopped without interest or compensation being paid to claimants when these appeals are won.

The argument that the film i-Daniel Blake is fiction and therefore over dramatized, as argued earlier by the DWP minister The Rt Hon Damian Green MP, is utter rubbish.

The film is a strikingly accurate portrayal of how the system treats people, and the suggestion that Theresa May sees the film is an excellent idea indeed.  

The pendulum is swinging and the tide turning against the government - the 'Nasty Party' and their equally nasty austerity programs, that are simply cutting benefits to fund tax cuts for the rich, so they can buy more luxury’s.

We should remember that the same day George Osborne introduced the ‘Bedroom Tax’, Chancellor Osbourne announced a tax cut for hedge funds. Nearly half of Britain’s wealthiest hedge fund managers are helping to bankroll the Conservative Party, points out Labour Party analysis of Tory donors.

The government are taking a well overdue pummelling for their cruel treatment of ordinary people, and it looks like there are many more punishing rounds on the way.