{"id":5673,"date":"2014-09-09T11:00:15","date_gmt":"2014-09-09T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/?p=5673"},"modified":"2021-01-13T10:41:40","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T10:41:40","slug":"david-clapsons-awful-death-was-the-result-of-grotesque-government-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2014\/09\/09\/david-clapsons-awful-death-was-the-result-of-grotesque-government-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"David Clapson\u2019s awful death was the result of grotesque government policies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Re-blogging this because its important. This kind of thing can happen to anybody at anytime…\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"PoweredThis article titled “David Clapson\u2019s awful death was the result of grotesque government policies” was written by Frances Ryan, for theguardian.com on Tuesday 9th September 2014 08.24 UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

The coroner said that when David Clapson died he had no food in his stomach. Clapson\u2019s benefits had been stopped as a result of missing one meeting at the jobcentre. He was diabetic, and without the \u00a371.70 a week from his jobseeker\u2019s allowance he couldn\u2019t afford to eat or put credit on his electricity card to keep the fridge where he kept his insulin working. Three weeks later Clapson died from diabetic ketoacidosis, caused by a severe lack of insulin. A pile of CVs was found next to his body<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll resist calling Clapson\u2019s death a tragedy. Tragedy suggests a one-off incident, a rarity that couldn\u2019t be prevented. What was done to Clapson \u2013 and it was done, not something that simply happened \u2013 is a particularly horrific example of what has, almost silently, turned into a widespread crisis. More than a million people<\/a> in this country have had their benefits stopped over the past year. Sanctions against chronically ill and disabled people have risen by 580%<\/a> in a year. This is a system out of control.<\/p>\n

A petition<\/a> for an inquiry into benefit sanctions, started by Clapson\u2019s sister, Gill Thompson, is now on the verge of its 200,000th signature. This Thursday there will be a day of action<\/a> against benefit sanctions across the country. If inspiration is required, you need look no further than the latest Department for Work and Pensions pilot scheme launched last week. The unemployed are set to have their benefits stopped<\/a> if they don\u2019t sign in at a jobcentre in the morning and spend the whole day there, every day. Breach the rules once and you\u2019ll lose four weeks\u2019 worth of benefits; twice and you won\u2019t be able to feed your kids for three months.<\/p>\n

Yes, some reasons for sanctions are almost laughable<\/a>: going to a job interview rather than a meeting at the jobcentr<\/a>e that it clashes with; not completing an assessment because you had a heart attack<\/a> during it. But let\u2019s not convince ourselves the rest are credible \u2013 punishment sensibly bestowed on the scrounging unemployed. A government that deems it a success to stop the money someone needs to eat is a government of the grotesque.<\/p>\n

Sanctions are a product of an attitude towards benefit claimants that says they are not people struggling to find work but suspects: lazy, stupid and in need of a DWP-kick to get them out of bed. The lazy are going hungry. Eight in 10 Trussell Trust food banks report that benefit sanctions are causing more people to need emergency food parcels<\/a>. This, I suppose, is what Conservatives call motivation.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter that sanctions are disproportionately hitting the most vulnerable. Nor that the DWP\u2019s own commissioned report<\/a> says that they are being imposed in such a way that vulnerable people often don\u2019t understand what is happening to them, and are left uninformed of the hardship payments to which they are entitled. Six out of 10 employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants who have had their benefits stopped have a mental-health condition or learning difficulty<\/a>. Are these the chosen victims of austerity now? By definition of being in receipt of ESA, many will struggle to do things such as be punctual for meetings or complete work placements with strangers in environments they don\u2019t know. It is setting people up to fail and then punishing them for it.<\/p>\n

Sanctions are not an anomaly. Rather, they are emblematic of the wider Tory record on welfare: one of incompetence and, at best, indifference. The work programme fails to find work for 95% of disabled people, but enforced, unpaid labour<\/a> or loss of benefits is the DWP\u2019s answer. More than a quarter of a million people are still waiting for PIP, the benefit needed to help cover the extra costs of disability. Seven hundred thousand people have been left waiting for an ESA assessment<\/a>. Locking people out of their rightful benefits is becoming a theme for this government. The consequences are human; the response from the government is inhumane.<\/p>\n

Clapson had only left his last job to care for his elderly mum, and before that had worked for 29 years. On the day he died he had \u00a33.44 to his name and six tea bags, a tin of soup and an out-of-date can of sardines in his kitchen cupboards. Benefit sanctions are aimed at ending the \u201csomething for nothing\u201d culture<\/a>, as the DWP\u2019s press release brags. I vote for ending the demonisation of the unemployed, disabled and poor.<\/p>\n

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010<\/p>\n

Published via the Guardian News Feed<\/a> plugin<\/a> for WordPress.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DWP brags about ending the \u2018something for nothing\u2019 culture, but benefit sanctions punish the unemployed, disabled and poor in ways that are utterly inhumane<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,85,48,54,80,111,281,45,110,109,66,46],"class_list":["post-5673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings","tag-article","tag-benefits","tag-comment","tag-conservatives","tag-economic-policy","tag-frances-ryan","tag-opinion","tag-politics","tag-poverty","tag-social-exclusion","tag-society","tag-uk-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6NRDR-1tv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15688,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2015\/07\/27\/france-wants-to-outlaw-discrimination-against-the-poor-is-that-so-ridiculous\/","url_meta":{"origin":5673,"position":0},"title":"France wants to outlaw discrimination against the poor \u2013 is that so ridiculous?","author":"diana Stone","date":"July 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In France, denying jobs, healthcare or housing to people in poverty is well on the way to becoming illegal. The UK could learn from such a crackdown on demonisation","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10873,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2015\/05\/25\/the-welfare-state-saved-me-to-need-it-isnt-a-moral-failure\/","url_meta":{"origin":5673,"position":1},"title":"The welfare state saved me. To need it isn\u2019t a moral failure","author":"diana Stone","date":"May 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Society is buying the Tory message that poverty is all the fault of the individual. I know first-hand how vital state support can be","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10685,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2015\/05\/22\/non-reversible-austerity-future-imperfect\/","url_meta":{"origin":5673,"position":2},"title":"Non-reversible ‘austerity’ – future imperfect","author":"diana Stone","date":"May 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I came across this article on facebook and its worth sharing here.\u00a0 The article pretty much nails the intent of the present government or should I say regime, as that sounds more appropriate...\u00a0 Re-bloged from\u00a0http:\/\/www.davidkilpatrick.co.uk\/ Source: Non-reversible 'austerity' - future imperfect Here\u2019s a simple question for David Cameron and George\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vintage black and white print scan 1972 image of old Humber car and trailer outside condemned terrace of houses gypsy encampment at Anston near Sheffield","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davidkilpatrick.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/anstongypsies1972-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4285,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2014\/06\/22\/tens-of-thousands-march-in-london-against-coalitions-austerity-measures\/","url_meta":{"origin":5673,"position":3},"title":"Tens of thousands march in London against coalition’s austerity measures","author":"diana Stone","date":"June 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"An estimated 50,000 people in London addressed by speakers, including Russell Brand, after People's Assembly march","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9663,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2015\/05\/08\/the-tories-12bn-of-welfare-cuts-could-come-back-to-haunt-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":5673,"position":4},"title":"The Tories\u2019 \u00a312bn of welfare cuts could come back to haunt them","author":"diana Stone","date":"May 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Such huge cutbacks won\u2019t just hit the mythical scroungers, but also people who may have voted the Conservatives in","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7283,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2015\/03\/31\/camerons-workers-v-shirkers-scam-has-at-last-exposed-the-tory-law-of-benefit-cuts\/","url_meta":{"origin":5673,"position":5},"title":"Cameron\u2019s workers v shirkers scam has at last exposed the Tory law of benefit cuts","author":"diana Stone","date":"March 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"With the fictional divide beween deserving and undeserving poor collapsing, the Conservatives\u2019 ugly logic is turning into the one story they truly fear","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}