The article discusses the impending cuts to disability benefits amidst claims of budget constraints. Labour’s leadership seems to prioritize work as a virtue, framing reforms not just in fiscal terms but as a moral imperative. Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasizes the significance of labor, especially during a surge in long-term sickness. The government’s rhetoric redefines disabilities as mere 'work-limiting conditions,' trivializing serious health issues and suggesting that those unable to work are lesser, thus promoting a societal expectation to prioritize work for economic growth.
At a time when the number of people off sick long-term is at a record high, the prime minister's repeated use of the phrase working people has not exactly been subtle.
Labour's proposed reforms appear to be based not just on budgeting, but a belief: paid work is a virtue (and people who don't perform it deserve a worse life).
This has never just been about arguing work is the best way to pay the bills—it is about painting it as a virtue in the pursuit of economic growth.
The government's Keep Britain Working review refers to disabilities as work-limiting conditions, a rebranding of distress that diminishes the human aspect of illness.
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