Rishi Sunak has launched am attack on what he calls ‘the sick note culture'. I am, quite frankly, appalled.
Sunak is one of the richest men in the country. He has admitted that his family uses a private GP, let alone private healthcare for more complicated issues.
He is protected by privilege and wealth from the stresses that impact millions of people in the UK.
The possibility that a person might suffer stress as a consequence of their inability to work out where their child's next meal might come from, or how they might keep a roof over their head, or how they might provide childcare when they go to their third job, which they have to take to meet the extraordinary increases in the cost of living imposed upon them by the Bank of England, or that they might be racked with guilt about their simple inability to provide for those about whom they care, is, I am quite certain, beyond his comprehension.
More than that, I doubt that he has even thought about the need to imagine it. In that case, of course he cannot see why those things that he calls the ‘ordinary stresses and strains' of life might become, in themselves, totally incapacitating. It takes callousness on a considerable scale for anyone in his position to describe them as such, but that is what he has done.
Worse than that, fourteen years of Tory rule have created the healthcare crisis that we have.
Let's leave aside the underfunding of the NHS, where funds provided have been insufficient to ensure that demand, not least for mental health services, can be met.
Let's also leave aside the deliberate attack on the credibility and work ethic of NHS staff since 2021, in which he has played such a major role. Instead, let me just draw attention to other critical factors.
First, there is Covid. Sunak is a key player in the collective denial of the impact of this disease by his government and its predecessors since Boris Johnson decided to claim that its impact had effectively ceased from 2021 onwards.
That claim is complete nonsense. Not only do lots of people still get Covid, but it is as debilitating as ever, in many cases significantly threatening health well-being.
Covid is also a major secondary health risk. Increases in related illnesses, and in particular cardiac-related disease, are significant. The government is trying to pretend that none of this is happening.
Nor are they taking necessary action. For example,they are still doing nothing to provide a guarantee of clean air which is a precondition of good health. It could do that. Moreover, it has been shown that if it did so in school classrooms, where the spread of this disease is so easy, not only would we get major healthcare benefits, but the rate of learning amongst children would increase dramatically, improving education performance across the board. But his government does nothing, because it does not care.
Secondly, the age to which people are expected to work is now increasing. I might be in the fortunate position of being in good health and able to work to the capacity that I have delivered for many years at nominal retirement age, but I am well aware that this really is not normal. Vast numbers of people from their 50s onwards struggle with all sorts of well-being issues related to health that reduce their capacity to work, and too many employers know this and refuse to provide opportunity for those of older age.
Third, Sunak's government has done nothing whatsoever to address the crises of diabetes, where the type two variant of this disease is entirely treatable. However, that is only possible if major changes in diet are made. This does, in particular, require dramatic reduction in the intake of sugar among the population as a whole, and a significant reduction in the consumption of ultra-processed foods. There is, nothing that could increase health in this country more than doing that, reducing both obesity related illnesses and type two diabetes hospital admissions as a result. Despite this, and despite the fact that this has been known for a very long time, his government has absolutely refused to address this problem. Instead, his health secretary is actually married to the boss of British Sugar. You could hardly make that up.
Then there is the assault on employment rights that this government encouraged. Its goal of a so-called ‘flexible workforce' has been achieved at the cost of an enormous increase in insecurity for the majority of people in the country, who have suffered a reduction in their economic security as a consequence, giving rise to an increase in their stress. This now seems to have transferred into a widespread inability to work, so disabling is it.
There are, I am sure, other factors in play. But, these are sufficient to make it clear that if there is a responsibility for sickness in the UK then that belongs to Rishi Sunak and his predecessors and his colleagues in office since 2010. There is, quite literally, no one else to blame.
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Well said.
Such vileness disgusts me to the core.
Should “sufficient” in para 7 read “insufficient”?
Yes
Changed
Thank you
The stresses caused by poverty severely impact on both physical and psychological health.
This is a case where more regulation ( in food production) and extra spending on health, would pay for itself and improve the lives of people.
The opposite of the neo-liberal approach.
Or to put it another way Richard, 14 years of this “government” of corrupt, incompetent liars has made a lot of people sick. Mentally and physically.
This nonsense about a sick note culture is yet more culture wars drivel. And another attempt to put the blame on the state of the UK onto anyone but themselves. This is presumably part of their electoral campaign. As usual it’ll be supported by the usual suspects in the right wing propaganda outlets that masquerade as newspapers.
Throw in the Tory Party’s inaction in regard to the water and sewage industry (and probably the Starmer Party’s too) creating an unhealthy environment for citizen’s to live in (water borne diseases, etc.) and it’s obvious extracting money without moral values now dominates this country thanks to 45 years of Neoliberalism/Thatcherism.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/20/dirty-secret-insiders-say-uk-water-firms-knowingly-breaking-sewage-laws
yes richard , but arent we beginning to learn that Sunak is only an extreme exemplar of the long embedded culture of contempt by UK government and institutions for ‘the people’.
The post office scandal , the infected blood scandal, the Hillsbrough disaster, Grenfel Tower, ‘let the bodies pile high’ covid deaths and illness – none of them finally acknowledged and settled – and little or no accountability, because ‘responsibility’ is always spread widely enough so no individual can be fingered
The deliberate and explicit killing of people by the overt demolishing of the NHS over 10 years in full view – with so little resistance or revolution – and we the people so inhibited and fatalistic – almost collaborating in our own destruction.
The elected dictatorship of the UK constitution seems ideally suited to facilitate the world wide trend to corruption and authoritarianism
https://twitter.com/GeorgeMonbiot/status/1590279449911898112
‘ in the old contest between money and power money now wins hands down’.
I want to cheer you on. You are so right, and our current govt sickeningly, immorally, wrong.
Richard, well done. From lived experience I can confirm with authority of the discarded, undervalued and unheard that everything you’ve outlined is bang on the money and the psychopathy
I’ve been intermittently in the benefits system since 2011 when I was evicted from my business (the ‘pioneering, thriving contemporary Local’ Sun and Doves in Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell SE5 which had securely gainfully employed 15 people for 16 years), bankrupted and made homeless for 3 years because the pub’s aggressive 2005 rent review left me owing the pubco over £150K back rent and costs the business could not pay.
Despite being a visionary job creating hard working entrepreneur and run a multiple award winning business for 2 decades, having chaired local voluntary organisations and by any objective measure but financial being a successful human being… What I went through caused me to have a LOT of stress and psychological problems because basically Rentier capitalism destroyed my life, tore it apart and left me penniless and without a home.
Since then while recovering emotionally and working on developing the business case for a commercial social enterprise antidote to the Pubs Crisis, drawn on evidence based need, I’ve also spent close to 6 years as full time carer for my parents, a TOTALLY demanding, all consuming, wholly unrecognised, and grossly undervalued job (emotionally rewarding, but exhausting).
I could write a book about the bollocks of it all but Ken Loach has already covered it well.
We’ve had cabals of emotionally damaged corrupt and baselessly arrogant fools in charge of UkGovplc steadily eroding and dismantling civil society ever since Thatcher, with only slight respite during Labour years.
Sunak’s a logical continuation and Starmer’s a corollary in the totally dysfunctional state that’s been created by ideology, incompetence and intransigent negligence toward attending to the fundamental needs of a healthily functioning society
As a CAMRA member I can only commend your efforts running a successful pub, and commiserate fully with you re your disgusting treatment by the Pubco, another manifestation of rentier financialised capitalism which is screwing Britain.
Thanks a lot tories, you pitiful pack of corrupt incompetent liars.
And thanks labour for being their No1 enabler.
Agreed. The Tories are responsible for creating a State of Insecurity for most people. That affects the nations’ health. They appear to be following the usual right wing, culture war response, that people need to “man up”. Blame the worst off, and those least able to defend themselves. It’s a script they have been following for years.
I liked this in the Independent today.
Sunaktherapy
We’ll have you up and about and unable to claim disability benefit in no time, young man!
https://inews.co.uk/news/ben-jennings-cartoon-sunaktherapy-3016384
What is infuriating is the fact they just keep squeezing and despite all prior results, thinking the next squeeze will somehow increase productivity. Utterly baffling.
Insecure jobs, no housing security (nor prospect of it), experiencing food / fuel anxiety, lacking state guaranteed support for old age, and then punished for being ill.
This is categorically not how you extract most value from workers. It makes no sense to me *at all*, no business would do this. Angers me very, very much.
And this isn’t a Tory thing, Labour is just as fearful of all things capitalism…
I have been contemplating voting for the Greens as an alternative to voting for a Labour Party that seems increasingly removed from my political beliefs however, the sight of Sunak with all his privilege and wealth, kicking the sick and disabled of this country is one of the most
nauseating political spectacles I’ve ever seen.
My only hope now is that the Tories suffer an electoral defeat so severe that it precipitates the complete destruction of their repulsive Party. I think the Labour Party is probably the best way of assisting that process so I will almost certainly be holding my nose and voting for their candidate. Having already met him during a recent door knocking visit he at least, seems a personable enough character.
Andy, you do the Tories work for them when you admit you will be “voting for a Labour Party that seems increasingly removed from my political beliefs”
Your vote for Labour, that vote tells them you endorse their current political beliefs, and we all casually move further to the right with our government under the belief it is what we want. I would honestly rather we had 5 more years of Tories if it meant a decent Labour opposition with policies we do want at the end of that, as opposed to the very bleak future we appear destined for.
It is hugely depressing we have got to such a low place we will accept ‘bad’ just because it is not ‘terrible’. I refuse to do that, even if short term things get worse. Because there is no way back from ‘bad’ once you accept it other than I guess revolution… let’s not go there please.
Also – the Labour candidate might be a nice person with good intentions, but he will only vote as Labour instruct him. Don’t vote for the person/don’t justify your vote with that thinking.
The next stage to this, just like in Canada, is legalising the right to die. (I used to support this, until I saw what was happening in Canada and now I am horrified). Make disabled people so miserable, homeless, no money, can’t afford help, can’t afford food, can’t afford medication and then suggest they would be better off dead (or just sign them up for ‘do not resusitate, without telling them). Thats what MAID (medical assistance in dying) has become in Canada. It is eugenics and pure evil, very similar to the Nazi’s in Germany before the war.
We have been repeatedly told that the people dying of Covid ‘were going to die anyway’ and our society has accepted that, 100-300 people die a week of covid in the UK, 2000 a week in the US and millions have Long Covid, but we have been taught, they ‘deserve’ it e.g unhealthy, fat etc. Our society has become so convinced that any reminder- such as a person wearing a mask- is sneered /shouted/tutted at or just told to ‘get on and die’.
those involved in this evil forget – Health for all of us is ALWAYS temporary.
I too am very concerned by the ease with which this idea is being accepted.