Media pundits are beside themselves after Iain Duncan Smith (IDS) rapped Eminem lyrics on morning television today. But the record of IDS is no laughing matter.
Lose Yourself
IDS used his moment in the spotlight to double-down on criticism of Diane Abbott’s car crash interview over police figures last week. However, he chose to do so in rap form. Paraphrasing Eminem’s Lose Yourself track.
WATCH: One of the 'great iconic cultural moments’ took place on the @GMB sofas. We witnessed Iain Duncan Smith recite Eminem lyrics 🎤 😄 pic.twitter.com/PD2qti8wnV
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 8, 2017
Abbott’s performance was dire. But it pales in comparison to the record of IDS. As social media users pointed out:
https://twitter.com/LamorteJack/status/861499143142899712
https://twitter.com/jabbawonger/status/861510643698073600
The reality of welfare cuts
The government’s own statistics show that, between January and November 2011, 10,600 [pdf,p6] sick and disabled people died within six weeks of their ATOS work capability assessments.
Linda Wootton, 49, was on 10 different types of medication each day after a double lung and heart transplant. Linda was weak and suffered regular bouts of blackouts. Still, the DWP judged her as ‘fit to work’ after an Atos Work Capability Assessment. She died just nine days later. Her husband Peter said:
I sat there and listened to my wife drown in her own bodily fluids. It took half an hour for her to die; a woman who is apparently fit for work
Brian McArdle, 57, had been left paralysed down one side, blind in one eye, unable to speak properly and barely able to eat and dress himself after a stroke on Boxing Day in 2011. Despite this, he was deemed ‘fit to work’. He died of a heart attack the day after his benefit payments were stopped. His 13-year-old son Kieran told the Daily Record:
Even though my dad had another stroke just days before his assessment, he was determined to go… He tried his best to walk and talk because he was a very proud man, but even an idiot could have seen my dad wasn’t fit for work.
Colin Traynor, 29, suffered from epilepsy. He was deemed ‘fit for work’ by the DWP after an Atos assessment and forced to enter a lengthy, bureaucratic process to appeal the decision – during which his benefits were frozen. He did not live to see the result of his appeal. Five weeks after his death, his family received the news that his appeal was successful. Too late for Colin. His father Ray said:
I firmly believe – 100% believe – that the system this government introduced has killed my son.
Check yourself
Then, of course, there are the food banks. Before Duncan Smith’s ‘reforms’, the Trussell Trust was issuing 40,898 three-day food packages a year. By 2016-17, this increased to 1,182,954. That is an increase of 2,792% since the Conservatives came to power.
The media should not be granting IDS the platform to rehabilitate his image. His legacy is nothing to laugh about. And if the former DWP chief wants his own numbers game transformed into rap, he should listen to rap that’s closer to home. Like this, from NxtGen:
Get Involved!
– Register to vote in the 8 June general election. People can call 0300 200 3500 if they don’t already have a national insurance number.
– Support Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).
– Sign the petition to stop cuts to disabled people’s benefits.
Featured image via Screengrab
