Johnson needs another distraction, so Universal Credit Jobseekers get another kicking

Jobseekers have had strict new measures imposed on them in order to provide Boris Johnson with more distraction. More distraction is needed to get the news agenda off Johnson’s non stop lockdown partying and the impending release of the Sue Gray report. Beating the war drums over Russia and Ukraine helped for a day or two until the Ukrainians decided to scupper US and UK rhetoric by saying war was not imminent at all, so they’ve decided to attack the poor again instead with another assault on Universal Credit. At a time when a cost of living crisis is beginning to impact upon us all, as Jack Monroe has highlighted that rising inflation is higher for poorer families than those who are better off, as our energy bills are all set to soar, you can rely on Therese Coffey to put the boot in still further to those with the least, already most severely affected. To distract from Bozo’s excesses, the poor must be punished. Let’s not forget that Universal Credit claimants have already had £20 a week taken off them whilst we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, lets not forget that legacy benefit claimants who never got that uplift to begin with are in the midst of a court case with the DWP over this, lets not forget that 40% of Universal Credit claimants are in work yet don’t earn enough to live on, thereby making their Universal Credit claims a wage discount for sham employers and lets never, ever, ever, ever forget that this demographic includes the most sick, the most ill, the most disabled people in our society. The Tories have put boot to face to these people for 12 years now and a resurrection of the shirkers vs workers mantra always seems to win support from the gammon who get off on other people’s suffering, no doubt drying their eyes now after finding out citizenship cannot get stripped from people on a whim. Universal Credit claimants seeking work will now have to look for work outside their areas of experience if within just 4 weeks they haven’t found employment, down from 3 months as it was previously. If they don’t manage to, they’ll face heavy sanctions. As ever, punish the claimant rather than support them. All part of COVID recovery according to Johnson, but of course the pandemic is still going on, so in reality it’s a dead cat distraction at the expense of jobseekers, now under more pressure than ever to find work, no matter how unsuitable for them that might be. Massive stress, massive anxiety will be felt over this when already mental health services have been decimated and if the relationship with the jobcentre wasn’t already a toxic one for many, this will only make it worse. A total policy failure, hugely detrimental to so many people’s health and all to cover for Boris Johnson.