Almost three million people in the UK are unemployed and unable to work because they are ill or disabled. According to the right-wing media, these people aren’t nearly as unwell as they claim. Meanwhile a UN committee warned that disabled people in the UK are subjected to a “traumatising” benefits system. 

We have a social security system that’s been stripped to the bone and millions of people are struggling to afford the essentials as a result, yet both of the main political parties are desperate to be seen as “tough on benefits”.

So what’s gone wrong with our social security system? Why are politicians so intent on alienating those who rely on it? And how can we build a system that gives everyone the support they need?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Kaliya Franklin, freelance disability policy expert and campaigner, and Mikey Erhardt, campaigner at Disability Rights UK.
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Music: Thoughtful by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-serious/thoughtful-2/, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney, Margaret Welsh and James Rush

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Why is the benefits system failing disabled people

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Universities up and down the country have been shutting down as lecturers have walked out, arguing that the changes to their pension schemes could leave them thousands of pounds a year worse off in retirement.

If you don’t know the difference between your defined benefits and your defined contributions, getting your head round the issues can feel like doing an economics PhD before you’ve done your 101. So this week we’re breaking down what the university strikes are all about, and what they tell us about everyone else’s pensions too.

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith speaks to two striking lecturers: Nadine El-Enany, co-director of the Centre for Research on Race and Law at Birkbeck, and SOAS Senate chair Meera Sabaratnam. They are joined by writer and researcher Christine Berry, who is also a postgraduate student at Sheffield University.

Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF!

Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan.

Music: Podington Bear, licenced under Creative Commons.

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Why are university lecturers on strike?

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Why is the benefits system failing disabled people

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