Archives for July 2025

Press play to watch/listen to “The Truth Behind the ‘Better Off on Benefits’ Lie”

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Published: July 2025
By: Rachael | Wheelie MS Advocate

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Another Harmful Headline – But the Damage Is Real

This week, the Daily Mail ran yet another inflammatory headline claiming that people on sickness benefits are now “better off” than minimum wage workers, quoting a figure of £2,500 more. It’s not just misleading. It’s harmful. And it’s not the first time we’ve seen this kind of scapegoating, but that doesn’t make it easier to stomach.

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I’d Give Anything to Go Back to My Old Life

I’m a disabled person. I’m on Universal Credit and PIP. And I would give anything to go back to my old life, my pre-disabled life, when I was working as an NHS manager. That life gave me purpose, independence, and stability.

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Sharing My Story Isn’t Just Personal – It’s Political

I didn’t choose this. I didn’t ask to be sick. And I certainly didn’t ask to be demonised in the press for needing support.

Since becoming disabled, I’ve used my voice online as a disability advocate and content creator, sharing the reality of life with MS, using a wheelchair, navigating the welfare system, and facing a society that often sees us as a problem to be fixed.

Politicians and the media want to paint us as benefit cheats with ring lights. But I won’t apologise for being visible.

When you’re disabled, sharing your story becomes a form of resistance, even though it means opening yourself up to scrutiny, trolling, and stigma. I speak out because silence doesn’t protect us, and neither do headlines that treat our survival as a scandal.

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Judgment on the Street – and Online

People see these headlines and feel emboldened to stare, to comment, to question whether I’m disabled because I can stand from my wheelchair. I’ve had strangers confront me in public. But it doesn’t stop there; the abuse follows you online, too.

As someone who speaks openly about disability and welfare, I’m continually targeted with trolling, accusations of faking, and cruel comments that question my right to exist in public, let alone receive support. These headlines don’t just shape opinions; they permit people to attack us. And they do.

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Policy Shaped by Prejudice, Not Truth

And then there’s the policymaking side, perhaps even more dangerous. Sensational headlines help create the political cover for welfare reform at breakneck speed.

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From Tabloid Rage to Government Cuts

We’ve seen this time and again: government ministers pointing to skewed statistics and tabloid outrage to justify cuts, reassessments, and increasingly stringent eligibility requirements. These aren’t just numbers. These are our lives. Our food. Our medication. Our ability to heat our homes.

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The Reality of Living on Benefits

The reality of living on disability benefits is far from what the Daily Mail portrays. It’s fear. It’s paperwork. It’s waiting weeks or months for decisions that determine whether you can eat.

It’s being left off sick pay because your condition fluctuates. It’s being too ill to work, but made to prove it over and over again to people who’ve never lived a day in your body.

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“Better Off”? We’re Judged, Watched, and Left Behind

No one on benefits feels “better off.” We feel watched. Judged. Devalued.

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From Sick Notes to Gym Prescriptions -The Agenda is Clear

And just when you think they can’t push it further, we get this: GPs being told to stop giving out sick notes and send people to the gym instead. That headline alone tells you everything. There’s no interest in understanding why people are too sick to work, just a push to make us look employable.

It’s ableism dressed up as policy. And it’s terrifying. Because underneath it all is a refusal to believe we’re actually ill, that our conditions are real, or that rest and care might be more effective than a treadmill. They don’t want us well — they want us gone from the stats.

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Question the Headlines. Stand With Us.

So next time you see a headline like that, I ask you to stop and question it. Ask yourself who benefits from framing disabled people as lazy or lucky.

Because it’s certainly not us. Use the #HateCrime wherever you see it.

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🎧 Listen and Watch

🔊 Podcast on Spotify: Wheelie MS Advocate

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Related articles:
Starmer says he will go after grifters |
Motability |
Benefits Checker |

📌 Need support or want to take action? Check out Wheelie Links for petitions and resources, write to your MP, and help navigate disability and the care system.

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Want to share your story or ask a question? Drop it in the comments or check out TikTok. Let’s talk.

Rach xx