Anxiety And ADHD Are Workable, Says Tony Blair

Benefits claimants with anxiety, depression or back pain should have their handouts stopped, Tony Blair’s think tank has suggested.

The former Prime Minister’s institute called for an “emergency handbrake,” warning that 1,000 working-age people are signing up for benefits every day, with the cost to the taxpayer set to hit £73 billion by the end of the decade.

The existing system was now perceived as “vulnerable to misuse”, according to the Tony Blair Institute (TBI). “(This) points to a welfare system no longer fit for purpose,” the TBI warned in a report.

Ryan Wain, senior director of policy and politics at the TBI, said: “No longer attracting cash payments by default, pulling this handbrake would free up resources for better mental health support and keep people in work who benefit from the purpose it brings.” But disability rights campaigners condemned the proposal.

The organisation urged Labour to introduce immediate legislation to slow a “proliferation” in claims linked to mental health, which has fuelled a surge in people signing on to sickness and disability benefits such as Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

It comes as voters in virtually every constituency in the country say the welfare system is too open to abuse, including more than a third of those on sickness benefits.

YouGov polling for the institute showed that in all but five of the UK’s 634 constituencies, more voters say the welfare system is “too easy to access and does not do enough to prevent misuse” rather than say it is “too strict”.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of the learning disability charity Mencap, called the think tank’s report “deeply unhelpful and ill-informed”, adding: “Slapping labels on people and denying them benefits will not tackle the root cause. It will push people into deeper anxiety, misery and poverty. That’s not reform, it’s … making things worse.”

Disability minister Sir Stephen Timms will publish a review into PIP in the autumn.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said it would “encourage applications from candidates from the Civil Service and the private sector, who have a successful record of transforming large organisations”.

He added: “The government also remains committed to reforming welfare, with measures coming into effect this month saving nearly £2bn by the end of the decade and investing £2.5 billion to tackle youth unemployment.”

Tony Blair is wrong to suggest a blanket ban on specific conditions. What about a person who is so anxious that they are unable to leave their home? Yes, it does exist, it’s called Agoraphobia, which means a person who is so afraid to go out. It’s an extreme fear of situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable, such as crowded places or public transportation.

Individuals with Agoraphobia may even avoid going out altogether or only leaving their homes with companions due to their fear of experiencing panic attacks or feeling overwhelmed in unfamiliar environments.

Indeed, there are obviously milder forms of anxiety, but they need to be correctly identified for those who require support. At present, this filtering is not in place, but this needs to be!

The question I have to ask is this: where did Tony Blair get his medical training? Has this man ever seen a person having a burnout? Someone sat in their kitchen shaking, needing silence, unable to cope with anyone around, too frightened to get up and go to the bathroom. Not taking their medication because they are too afraid they will choke on the tablets. I have – I have seen my friend at 3 am having a meltdown and having to go over and calm her down, and it could take hours. Tony Blair has no idea at all, and there is very little access to treatment. Perhaps there should be more access to treatment instead of condemning those who are too afraid to fight the system, and that’s what these leeches rely on, the fact that these people are vulnerable, because they only attack the vulnerable!