Campaigner on Universal Credit: It Can't Be Fixed, It Should Be Scrapped

In the latest case to reach the High Court, campaigners will argue a key Department of Work and Pension policy is "irrational" and has a disproportionately adverse effect on the disabled. Sputnik spoke to campaigner Alex Tiffin about his views on the much-maligned system.

Sputnik: When Amber Rudd was brought in to head the Department of Work and Pensions, she was hailed as the saviour of Universal Credit. Has that been the case?

Alex Tiffin: No it's PR exercise but she's not announcing anything new and even then there's more reports coming out all the time. More court cases that are showing that nothing has changed. And this latest one in the High Court starting today, on these disabled people, is just another blow for them after they lost regarding the single mothers.

Sputnik: Can you imagine the government changing this policy without intervention from the High Court?

Alex Tiffin: No because the United Nations Committee for the Rights of Disabled people has already stated that they've created a human catastrophe for disabled people. And it was ignored. They always say that "the information is out of date" or "we put in fifty million or fifty billion pounds more for disabled people" and that's already been debunked on actually by the end of it will be a net loss, disabled people.

So it's all about PR and how they present it but nothing's actually changing.

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Sputnik: Could Universal Credit be redeemed in the eyes of claimants?

Alex Tiffin: It's a lost cause. It's tainted. You know what no one's ever going to trust it. Especially people who are sick and disabled. There's no trust left and the system is so broken that I honestly don't think it can be fixed and the only thing that should be done as it should be scrapped.

A more fair and compassionate system that separates the working part from the disabled part because if you put them together it's unfairly biased towards pushing people into work when they might not necessarily be ready or ever be fit to be going to work.

Under this government. I don't see anything changing. They've already shown that although they paused managed mixed age pensioners, will be forced on Universal Credit from May the 15th. So the release that quietly from the eve the Brexit vote but then the next day they're like "we've pause this" or everyone goes to the good news and the bad news just gets buried.

That's basically all I have to say: Stop making it all about money, start making about the people it's meant to be looking after.

The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.