I was talking to my neighbour, Dave, the other day. He's a good chap, worked in construction his whole life, but he had a bad fall last year and can't do his old job anymore. He’s been trying to get Universal Credit sorted for months. The amount of paperwork they expect from him, the endless phone calls where he just gets put on hold for hours, it’s frankly criminal. He’s not looking for a handout; he’s trying to get back on his feet, and the system is actively working against him. It’s like they want people to fail.
This is why the whole Universal Credit system needs a complete overhaul, if not outright abolition. It’s become a monstrously inefficient and dehumanising bureaucracy. Instead of a single, complex system, we should return to a simpler model focused on targeted support for those genuinely unable to work, combined with robust job placement services for those who can.
Discussion (5)
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Mock the policy. Not the person. Community principles →
Frankly, if they can't even manage to help someone like him, who clearly wants to contribute, then the whole thing is failing. We need systems that support people, not create more hurdles for them.
Having worked in university admin, I've seen how easily systems can become overly complicated. But this feels different, almost deliberately punitive. Surely a system that’s supposed to be a safety net shouldn’t feel like navigating a minefield just to get by.