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A Jobcentre during coronavirus. REUTERS/John Sibley

Report: The DWP Is ‘Unlawfully’ Chasing People to Pay Back Benefits Claimed in Lockdown

by Sophie K Rosa

Claimants who relied on universal credit during the pandemic have had threatening letters and phone calls from private debt collectors following a Kafkaesque ID checking process.

A woman with long curly black hair and a black covid mask holds up a homemade cardboard sign on which is written in pale blue writing: "NHS hero but my purse says zero"

Analysis: No, Higher Wages Won’t Fix the Cost of Living Crisis

by Matteo Tiratelli

Sexy as degrowth may be on the left, it’s productivity gains that have driven rising living standards over the past half-century, writes Matteo Tiratelli.

Analysis: Right to Buy 2.0 is an Unmitigated Disaster

by Ell Folan

Boris Johnson’s bright idea for winning back young voters is only going to deepen their misery, writes Ell Folan.

Image of a green Job Centre Plus sign in England with white and yellow writing against a red brick wall.

Opinion: Why Suspicion of Benefits ‘Scroungers’ Could Be About to Reach New Heights

by Jim Kaufman & Jamie Redman

As an economic crisis and labour shortage bite, Jamie Redman and Jim Kaufman outline how the UK benefits system is getting more punitive by the day.

Opinion: Austerity May Be Over, but the Tories Still Aren’t Spending Enough

Opinion: This Isn’t Just About Universal Credit – Our Entire Benefits System Is a Joke

by Andrew Fisher

While the campaign to cancel the £20 cut to Universal Credit is welcome, we risk atomising our struggle against a broken system, argues Andrew Fisher.

Opinion: Labour’s Universal Credit Revamp Is a Step Backwards, Not Forwards

Instead of fiddling with the technical details of the current universal credit system, the Labour party must embrace the opportunity to set out a new vision for a genuinely progressive welfare settlement.

Report: Jobcentre Staff Were Taught to Inflict ‘Psychological Harm’ on the Unemployed

by Sophie K Rosa

A new report reveals how the coalition government pressured jobcentre staff to bully the unemployed out of claiming benefits. Sophie K Rosa reports.

Opinion: Universal Credit Is a Symptom of Britain’s Broken Jobs Market

by Andrew Fisher

Boris Johnson seems to think that cutting the £20 uplift to universal credit will enable him to create high-paid jobs, writes Andrew Fisher. He's living, as Adam Curtis would say, in a dream world.

Rishi Sunak standing on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street with his red box

Opinion: Now Isn’t the Time for a General Tax Hike – We Need to Target Those Who’ve Profited From the Pandemic

by Ann Pettifor

The left must be wary of flatly equating tax increases with post-pandemic recovery. In today’s budget, Rishi Sunak should go after the few whose wealth has increased over the past year, argues economist Ann Pettifor.

Analysis: No, Benefit Claimants Still Aren’t Exploiting the System

by Josh Gabert-Doyon

The digitisation of Universal Credit is reinforcing old prejudices about benefit fraud, fuelling a new moral panic. Josh Gabert Doyon explains what's actually going on.

Opinion: Sunak’s Spending Review Is a Drop of Water in a Desert – the Left Must Demand More

by James Meadway

From divide-and-rule public sector pay freezes to ripe-for-corruption local spending schemes, Sunak's plan is radically insufficient for our current crisis. The left must forward an alternative, and quick, writes James Meadway.

Report: The Tories’ Furlough Delay Has Led to Thousands of Needless Redundancies

by Francesca Newton

As a result of the government's repeated and false insistence that there would be no extension to furlough, thousands of people across the UK have lost their jobs unnecessarily. Francesca Newton reports.

Opinion: Coronavirus Has Had a Devastating Impact on Mental Health, but It Didn’t Have to Be This Way

by Harriet Williamson

Coronavirus was always going to be difficult for people with mental health conditions, but political decisions rooted in Tory ideology have made things much worse, writes Harriet Williamson.

Report: How Universal Credit Is Exacerbating Financial Abuse Under Lockdown

by Lucy Whitehouse

The way that universal credit is paid puts survivors of abuse at increased risk. With lockdown further exacerbating these issues, survivors and activists alike are calling for changes to the system to better protect those in danger, writes Lucy Whitehouse.

‘We Want a Rent Strike Now’: the People Poised to Take on Their Landlords

by Sophie K Rosa

In the absence of government-backed rent relief or rent suspensions, people across the country are unable to pay their rent. Sophie K Rosa speaks to some of the people ready to go on rent strike.

Tag: universal credit

Report: The DWP Is ‘Unlawfully’ Chasing People to Pay Back Benefits Claimed in Lockdown

by Sophie K Rosa

Analysis: No, Higher Wages Won’t Fix the Cost of Living Crisis

by Matteo Tiratelli

Analysis: Right to Buy 2.0 is an Unmitigated Disaster

by Ell Folan

Opinion: Why Suspicion of Benefits ‘Scroungers’ Could Be About to Reach New Heights

by Jim Kaufman & Jamie Redman

Opinion: Austerity May Be Over, but the Tories Still Aren’t Spending Enough

by James Meadway

Live: Tories Suffer Backlash Over Chaos and Cuts

Live: Johnson’s Nasty Cut Trashes Promise to “Level Up”

Opinion: This Isn’t Just About Universal Credit – Our Entire Benefits System Is a Joke

by Andrew Fisher

Opinion: Labour’s Universal Credit Revamp Is a Step Backwards, Not Forwards

by Will Stronge

Report: Jobcentre Staff Were Taught to Inflict ‘Psychological Harm’ on the Unemployed

by Sophie K Rosa

Opinion: Universal Credit Is a Symptom of Britain’s Broken Jobs Market

by Andrew Fisher

Opinion: Now Isn’t the Time for a General Tax Hike – We Need to Target Those Who’ve Profited From the Pandemic

by Ann Pettifor

Analysis: No, Benefit Claimants Still Aren’t Exploiting the System

by Josh Gabert-Doyon

Opinion: Sunak’s Spending Review Is a Drop of Water in a Desert – the Left Must Demand More

by James Meadway

Report: The Tories’ Furlough Delay Has Led to Thousands of Needless Redundancies

by Francesca Newton

Opinion: Coronavirus Has Had a Devastating Impact on Mental Health, but It Didn’t Have to Be This Way

by Harriet Williamson

Report: How Universal Credit Is Exacerbating Financial Abuse Under Lockdown

by Lucy Whitehouse

‘We Want a Rent Strike Now’: the People Poised to Take on Their Landlords

by Sophie K Rosa