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Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 5:45 AM
As Frances Ryan argues, Andy Burnham needs to resist the anti-benefits rhetoric of the Right, which presents those receiving benefits as 'grifters' or 'scroungers' living it up at tax-payers expense... and replace this with a rhetoric of compassion & understanding.
The Q. is can the anti-benefits mood music be turned down or will we see those in need scarified on the rock of fiscal probity?
Sadly the latter looks more likely.
#disability #poverty #benefits #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/16/right-scrounger-rhetoric-benefits-labour-compassion-welfare
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Replies

HerefordrobHerefordrob@mindly.social
Oct 16, 2026, 6:16 AM
@ChrisMayLA6 Unconditional Basic Income seems to move towards removing stigma as well as othering and dare I say developing universal justice.
#UBI
https://www.change.org/Endwardevelopunity
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Gemma ⭐️🔰🇺🇸 🇵🇭 🎐gcvsa@mstdn.plus
Oct 16, 2026, 7:28 AM
@ChrisMayLA6 Rather than framing benefits as compassionate charity, they should be framed as universal entitlements, to which every person in a nation is entitled by right.
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Claire McNab2legged@mastodon.ie
Oct 16, 2026, 8:06 AM
@ChrisMayLA6 The political coalition assembled by #AndyBurnham to oust Starmer has been v poorly examined by the MSM. Only #JeremyGilbert's "Culture, Power, Politics" podcast made a decent attempt.
But elements of Burnham's parameters are becoming clear. His fiscal stance seems to include:
1/ big increases in military spending, as John Healey had demanded from Starmer
2/ big benefits cuts, as Starmer tried but failed.
8n this respect, #Burnham is a more effective version of Starmer.
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Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 9:17 AM
@2legged
... with better communication skills; which for Blue Labour is a major advantage... now they just to keep dismissing Polanski & the GPEW as an unacceptable alternative and the door is open for a coalition with ReformUK (based on pragmatism, of course)
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Claire McNab2legged@mastodon.ie
Oct 16, 2026, 9:36 AM
Yes, @ChrisMayLA6. #Starmer & #McSweeney's huge achievement was to largely fulfil their strategic goal of crushing the Labour left. Ruthless rightwing control of candidate selection meant that the hugely-expanded PLP contains only one new leftie. In the membership, the left has either been purged or quit.
So #Burnham's Kinnockite combo of centrism with left rhetoric has no internal opposition from the left. His path for an alliance with the right is open.
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David Ginndavid@social.piconet.work
Oct 16, 2026, 8:38 AM
@ChrisMayLA6 It needs to be seen as disability discrimination, which would make it as serious as racism.
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Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 9:14 AM
@david
Agreed!
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Just Tom... 🐁tompearce49@mastodon.scot
Oct 16, 2026, 10:04 AM
@ChrisMayLA6
In this context, this from Craig Dalziel of the Scottish organisation "Common Weal", also about the assumption that the poor are lazy and feckless: https://www.commonweal.scot/articles/magazine-42l6n
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Neil ScottSc0tty@ohai.social
Oct 16, 2026, 10:08 AM
@ChrisMayLA6
Govt should be making the case that paying tax is good citizenship. Funny how those on the right like talking about patriotism but are the biggest tax dodgers…
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Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 10:44 AM
@Sc0tty
Exactly; taxes are the price of civilisation...
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Steven HeywoodStevenheywood@mastodonapp.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 10:18 AM
@ChrisMayLA6
The biggest welfare queens on the government books are the banks and businesses that require a periodic economy-crashing bailout to fund their gambling habits.
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Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 10:45 AM
@Stevenheywood
Yes, a decade or more ago Kevin Farnsworth did some great work on Corporate Welfare - it was on my students' reading lists for years
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beemohbeemoh@mastodonapp.uk
Oct 16, 2026, 2:59 PM
@ChrisMayLA6 Burnham has no intention of turning the mood music down- only yesterday his government announced their second (Second! In only three months!) workfare scheme.
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Gulf Of Mexico Keir Hardiescatterkeir@mastodon.social
Oct 17, 2026, 9:28 AM
@ChrisMayLA6 The Labour has been pandering to the former for as long as I can remember, like "some hard-working families are on benefits as well as parasites, we need to help those"
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Nicole ParsonsNpars01@mstdn.social
Oct 17, 2026, 10:59 AM
@ChrisMayLA6
Wheelchair-bound seniors aren't the cause of budget shortages.
Billionaire tax evasion causes the monetary shortfalls.
We don't need lectures from oligarchs about belt-tightening; the hypocrites.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c64g1l5389kvo
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/12/guardian-view-on-sir-jim-ratcliffe-britain-does-not-need-political-lectures-from-a-billionaire-tax-exile
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/17/brexiter-jim-ratcliffe-uk-richest-man-plans-save-4bn-pounds-tax-monaco-move
https://bylinetimes.com/2025/07/16/hmrc-tax-billionaires-prosecutions/
https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/economics/sophisticated-tax-evasion-by-the-super-rich
https://fortune.com/2023/10/12/formula-one-billionaire-bernard-ecclestone-tax-fraud/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jun/26/billionaires-wealth-oxfam-report
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Ecclestone
https://www.ft.com/content/60fb69b2-f464-4f86-ba03-2ec69af5197c
https://archive.is/SSiop
https://www.cbc.ca/news/pandora-papers-offshore-tax-avoidance-1.6197303
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Greggregalotl@c.im
Oct 18, 2026, 1:46 AM
@ChrisMayLA6
I think you'd like The Rest is Politics interview with Alan Milburn
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JcrxpmjYxGsjTqaWr1s9X?si=dorCju_dTg2aoj7OTJcGmg&utm_source=copy-link
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