The little known regulation change that could make a big difference to working people on Universal Credit.
In the last year something happened that not many people noticed. There was no great fanfare or big reveal but during the Autumn and Spring budgets the chancellor extended a … Continue reading
Social security is a trade union issue – the rise of in-work conditionality for working claimants
Essentially these are the words I use in my presentation to trade unions. We have had in-work benefits since 1988, but up until recently the only conditions people in work … Continue reading
In-work conditionality case studies
What follows are case studies showing examples of how people in work claiming Universal Credit are affected by in-work conditionality. All of them have been extracted from a recent Citizens … Continue reading
Donating to local foodbanks makes me proud to be a @unitetheunion member.
Many of you will know Unite Community to be a campaigning organisation for people who are not in paid work. It’s an initiative set up by Unite the union just … Continue reading
RCJ vigil | Court of Appeal – £20 legacy benefit case
Why was I there? A response to journalists I was outside the Royal Court of Justice because millions of people on older ‘legacy benefits’ were treated appallingly during lockdown and … Continue reading
The Government’s attack on the low paid!
Now that we’ve had the Autumn Statement some of what follows about the mini budget is out-of-date, but I wanted to post it anyway as it remains relevant to the … Continue reading
Mental health and depression helplines
I’ve been struggling with depression recently. If the same is happening to you or someone you know, this list of websites and helplines are worth bookmarking. Mental Health and Depression … Continue reading
Writing to your MP for the #UniversalDisCredit campaign
The purpose of writing is simply to try and influence your elected representative. You don’t need to be an expert, you just need to show them you care about the … Continue reading
Child benefit should be raised to £50 per child per week
Child Benefit has been changing lives for over 70 years. Eleanor Rathbone’s idea that mothers should be paid for the work of bearing and raising children was radical in its … Continue reading
The personal and financial cost of mental ill-health
Half rant, half blogpost… Most people know me through Twitter where I tweet about social issues, homelessness and austerity. At some point each day I will either tweet an article, … Continue reading
Ben Claimant 