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There was no ‘fiddling’ of the unemployment figures, what Thatchers govt did was to put everyone on sickness benefits.
I’m sure many here remember it happening, indeed I have a cousin who’s a year older than me, every bit as healthy as me who’s never worked since the pits shut and never been ‘unemployed’, there are thousands of similar stories across south York’s

The sting in that tail is that when the economy finally got healthy, it left a Labour government with the problem of getting millions of people off sickness benefits and back into the workforce, leading to the scandals we have today where many genuinely sick and disabled people are going without as it can be difficult to navigate the system.

Social history - we lived through it and it only takes a scratch of the surface to understand it properly. And no political decision exists in a vacuum, there’s always an unintended consequence.

 

The figures excluded certain categories of claimant i.e. credits only ones and there were also the two magic words "seasonally adjusted". A little tip. I know what I'm talking about

 

Well before my time... but I do recall the ‘seasonally adjusted’ now.

but kinda proves my point about the specific question’. All stats come with a description and with caveats. And we all need to understand that a number only answers one specific question.

 

And to add - there were millions more hidden in sick claims than by the massaging of the actual unemployed - and as I posted, it had a far greater impact on society- still being felt today.

 

Some people should be embarrassed with the crap there talking. I'm sick of hearing underlying health conditions like it's a death that shouldn't count.

 

You are correct. Thank you.

The NHS are doing a fantastic job.

The government, the plan, the CMO, the SPADs, everything at the top isn't.

I suspect that the ideological cult of Brexit that infected the ministers, the PM and SPADs has also affected some of the senior advisors in the Civil Service. At times it seems like hiring a climate change denier to lead the government plans for climate change. And the bloody lies never stop. Like Gove today with the lack of chemical reagent - only the chemical industry disagree completely - it probably hasn't been ordered.

 

All NHS annual leave has been suspended and they're working bank holidays(if they don't usually) I really hope the public continues to be appreciative long after this crisis.

 

Hopefully, when this is all over, it will become political suicide to defund or tamper with it.
Unfortunately i suspect people will have short memories.

 

double post