THE STARMER Labour government is launching its war on the sick, the disabled and the unemployed, with the youth particularly targeted, as it brings forward its Get Britain Working White Paper this week.
Young people who refuse to work will face having their benefits cut, the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall confirmed to the BBC yesterday morning.
The government will threaten young people that they must either ‘earn or learn’ or lose their benefits under the new plans, to be unveiled on Tuesday.
Kendall claimed that nearly a million young people were out of education, employment or training between July and September.
She announced a ‘Youth Guarantee’, under which 18-21 year olds will be thrown off benefits.
Kendall told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that under her plans ‘more people will have the chance to train’ and young people will be offered ‘the opportunity to be earning or learning’.
Asked if those who did not take up these offers would lose benefits, Kendall replied: ‘Yes.’
Seeking to justify the measure, she claimed: ‘If you are out of work when you’re young that can have lifelong consequences in terms of your future job prospects and earning potential.’
Kendall claimed there are people who can work but refuse to do so.
Nearly three million people are out of work due to ill health, a 500,000 increase since 2019.
Asked about the rise in benefit claimants in recent years, Kendall claimed some people have ‘self-diagnosed’ mental health problems.
Writing in the Tory Mail on Sunday newspaper, Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that his ‘benefits overhaul’ will ‘crack down on criminals who game the system’.
Starmer said he will crack down hard on the ‘bulging benefits bill blighting our society’.
In the Tory-backing Mail newspaper, Starmer wrote: ‘In the coming months, Mail on Sunday readers will see even more sweeping changes. Because make no mistake, we will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill blighting our society.’
Going on, he referred to a change in the law that he is introducing so that money can be seized money out of citizens’ individual bank accounts, saying: ‘Don’t get me wrong – we will crack down hard on anyone who tries to game the system, to tackle fraud so we can take cash straight from the banks of fraudsters.
‘There will be a zero-tolerance approach to these criminals. My pledge to Mail on Sunday readers is this: I will grip this problem once and for all.’
Labour’s plans ‘include giving the NHS a role in getting people back to work’, such as ‘employing tens of thousands of people who are economically inactive for health reasons in non-clinical roles’.
Kendall’s White Paper will also include the placement of ‘work coaches’ in mental health clinics.