The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Catastrophe

Description

In 2016, a United Nations report found the UK government culpable for “grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s rights. Since then, driven by the Tory government’s obsessive drive to slash public spending whilst scapegoating the most disadvantaged in society, the situation for disabled people in Britain has continued to deteriorate. Punitive welfare regimes, the removal of essential support and services, and an ideological regime that seeks to deny disability has resulted in a situation described by the UN as a “human catastrophe.” In this searing account, Ellen Clifford—an activist who has been at the heart of resistance against the war on disabled people—reveals precisely how and why this state of affairs has come about. From spineless political opposition to self-interested disability charities, right-wing ideological myopia to the media demonization of benefits claimants, a shocking picture emerges of how the government of the fifth-richest country in the world has been able to marginalize disabled people with near-impunity. Even so, and despite austerity biting ever deeper, the fightback has begun, with a vibrant movement of disabled activists and their supporters determined to hold the government to account—the slogan “Nothing About Us Without Us”has never been so apt. As this book so powerfully demonstrates, if Britain is to stand any chance of being a just and equitable society, their battle is one we should all be fighting. Front Cover Half Title About the author Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Acronyms and abbreviations Introduction Part I: ‘Hidden in plain sight’: the social context for the war on disabled people 1: Who are disabled people? A not insignificant group of people From the isolation of impairment to the collective experience of disability 2: Justifiable exclusion: attitudes and othering of disabled people Structures that ‘other’ Better dead than disabled: disability as personal tragedy Disability as a justifiable exclusion A question of worth 3: From asylums to independent living: disabled people on the edge of society ‘A very capitalist condition’ Solutions for the ‘unproductive’: a brief historical overview Fighting for equality New Labour betrayal A history of oppression Part II: Targeting disabled people: retrogressive legislation and policy since 2010 4: Welfare ‘reform’ Legislating for welfare reform The architects of welfare reform Employment and Support Allowance and the Work Capability Assessment Personal Independence Payment Mandatory Reconsideration Universal Credit Housing-related changes Benefit cap Pulling apart the safety net 5: Independent living cuts Social care Independent Living Fund Mental health Assessment and Treatment Units Housing Inclusive education Employment Barriers to justice Losing the gains of generations Part III: ‘Human catastrophe’: the impact of austerity and welfare reform on disabled people 6: The human cost Rising poverty Multiple hits Benefit deaths Psychological harm Crisis in social care Mental health service closures Pushing people further from employment Creating problems for the future Compassion replaced with contempt 7: Re-segregating society Reversing inclusion Living in fear of surveillance Scroungers versus superhumans Charity cases and passive victims The fight for equal life chances 8: Political fallout Politicising the people Lib Dem calamity SNP victories The dangerous rise of UKIP From Labour’s betrayal to Corbyn’s election Brexit The voting power of disabled people Part IV: Understanding the welfare war: why disabled people are under attack 9: A story of ideology and incompetence Context Driven by ideology The incompetence factor Resisting neoliberal attacks 10: Collaborators Vested interests Complicity by cover and the limits of third-sector lobbying Failed by those believed to represent us Part V: Fighting back: the rise of resistance 11: Forefront of the fightback The growth of ‘new’ activism ‘Crip Culture’ New directions Wins UN findings Atos Workfare Missed DLA/PIP savings Progress and pitfalls 12: Concluding thoughts: where do we go from here? Responding to the immediate situation Thoughts on organising Reinvigorating the social model Notes Select bibliography Index