Tory welfare boss Esther McVey has claimed that benefit cuts are “fake news”. She also insinuated that everyone accusing the Tories of “letting down the most vulnerable in society” was spreading lies.
There’s a problem with her claims, though. Namely that the people accusing the government of targeting the most vulnerable are often – you guessed it – the most vulnerable.
Fake ‘fake news’
Off The Perch caught up with some of these alleged disabled liars. A woman named Karen told us:
I went on a protest with hundreds of other disabled people. Or maybe I didn’t? It’s hard to say – maybe we all imagined it, or maybe the pictures from the day were photoshopped? Maybe I’m not even disabled? Maybe I’m not even real?
The belief that many disabled people aren’t real is shared by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They’ve been trying to prove this theory by – for example – telling tetraplegic people they’re fit to work. It turned out many disabled people did cease to exist when the government started treating them this way. As such, the idea that the government has driven disabled people to death is far from ‘fake news’.
Real issues
Michael, another disabled person, told us:
I was happy when I heard cuts to disabled people were fake news. Turns out all my sanctions are still in place, though, and I’m continuing to get less now than a year ago.
I’m starting to suspect Esther McVey isn’t very honest.
The DWP responded to these accusations by releasing several statements which were at best confusing, on average besides the point, and at worst total horseshit.
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Featured image via Roger Blackwell – Flickr [IMAGE WAS ALTERED]
