Political Commentator Piers Pottinger has hit out at Labour’s “absolutely preposterous” benefits system, following a drop in sanctions for those flouting the rules.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Pottinger declared the Government are “completely unable to do anything” about the benefits system, because they’re all “completely tied up in knots in their own party”.
Piers Pottinger hit out at Labour’s drop in sanctions for benefits claimants, branding the system ‘preposterous’
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PA / GB NEWS
Just over 124,000 sanctions were issued before Labour took power in July 2024, revealing a drop of more than 14,000 people.
Discussing the reduction on GB News, Mr Pottinger criticised Labour’s benefits system and declared it needs an “overhaul”.
Mr Pottinger said: “It says there are 3.7 million people who are unable to work. I would rephrase that to 3.7 million who say they’re unable to work.
“The fact is, a million more people in a year under Labour are now claiming to be unable to work.
“The other staggering statistic is that one in 20 people who’ve been out of work for a year ever go back to work.
“Is it any wonder that illegal immigrants see this country as a soft touch? It’s absolutely preposterous.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
109,570 people claiming Universal Credit had their payments docked in May for failing to comply with benefit rules, down from just over 124,000 sanctions just before Labour took power in July
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PA
Warning that the statistics put Chancellor Rachel Reeves in an “even worse position”, Mr Pottinger added: “Labour is completely unable to do anything about the benefits system, because they’re all completely tied up in knots in their own party.
“It shows that the benefit system, which we everybody know needs an overhaul, is simply not going to get done, and it’s going to make Rachel Reeves’s position even worse with more and more people unemployed.
“They’re unable to do anything at the moment, because all they are trying to do is be able to pay the interest on their over-borrowing. That’s how bad a crisis this country is in.”
Delivering her verdict on the benefits system, host Miriam Cates argued that it is “rigged against the taxpayer”.
She told GB News: “How you claim benefits for mental health complaints is now a phone call, not a face-to-face, and because you can essentially download a script from the internet or watch a video on TikTok, you know exactly what triggers to present to say that you’re anxious, depressed and suicidal.
Mr Pottinger told GB News that Labour is ‘completely unable to do anything’ about the system
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GB NEWS
“And then there’s no incentive for the DWP official to say ‘I’m not sure’, because they get paid for finishing claims. The whole system is rigged against the taxpayer, it’s rigged against any kind of sanctions, and it’s just in favour of letting people get away with it.”
GB News Senior Political Commentator Nigel Nelson responded to Miriam, claiming the Labour Government “needs a review” of the system.
He argued: “This is why you need a review. The right way of going about it is a proper review of welfare benefits.”
Outraged by Mr Nelson’s response, Mr Pottinger hit back: “You say we need a review, I mean, this is the wonderful way, isn’t it, that the Labour government kick everything into touch, create another unnecessary quango to review something, because they have no idea what to do about it themselves.”