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Andrew Neil on #bbcqt: "The big problem we face is 6.7 million adults of working age who aren't working and are living on out-of-work benefits. 6.7 million. No country can prosper with that number of people able to work who are not working." The first half is broadly right. DWP figures show 6.7 million people in Great Britain claimed some combination of out-of-work benefits in March 2026. However, the second half is misinformation because it misdescribes that statistic. DWP's out-of-work benefits category deliberately includes people the state has assessed as unable to work, or does not currently expect to work. DWP's own breakdown shows that 4.6 million of the 6.7 million, around 68%, have no work requirements at all. DWP explains that this is generally because they are too sick to work or are the main carer for a very young child. That group includes 2.8 million Universal Credit claimants on the health route and 390,000 on Employment and Support Allowance and older incapacity benefits. Only 2.2 million, about a third, are expected to take any steps towards work, and 590,000 of those are themselves on the health route. Treating the whole 6.7 million as available labour turns a count of claimants into a count of idle workers, which the data simply does not support. The official labour market figures tell a very different story. The ONS puts unemployment, meaning people actively looking for and available for work, at 1.78 million for May to July 2026. The Learning and Work Institute estimates that 3.9 million people are out of work but say they want a job, and that there are 5.5 of them for every vacancy. There is a serious debate to be had about rising sickness claims and appropriate support. It is not helped by presenting people the state itself has judged unable to work, or not required to, as if they were simply choosing not to. Nobody challenged Neil. Nobody corrected the misinformation. Neil got a round of applause. Someone could have told Fiona Bruce the facts in less than a minute. This is just one example which helps explain why many people understandably treat @bbcquestiontime as a joke. Sources: DWP Benefit Combinations, March 2026; ONS/House of Commons Library, September 2026; Learning and Work Institute, September 2026.

Helen Whately is a millionaire, she talks about unaffordable benefit payments. She was the MP claiming the highest amount for Rent in the entire Parliament, £39,000 a year. And that was JUST what she was claiming for rent. It's always the worst offenders trying to blame someone else.

Reform UK Swindon councillor Lawrence Davies appears in court today charged with 6 offences. 1. assault by beating of woman 2. dangerous driving 3. failing to stop after an accident 4. driving with false number plates 5. driving without insurance 6. perverting course of justice

Liz Truss just claimed on live radio that 'the Bank of England was set up by Tony Blair'. She must surely rank as the most economically illiterate person ever to have held a ministerial position at the Treasury, and her time as prime minister underlined that fact.

A deluded and incompetent Lisa Nandy claims the BBC is independent. It hasn’t been for several years, it was politicised by the Tories. Sharp and Davie may have gone but Gibb remains on the Board pulling the strings. #bbcbreakfast

It’s bout time the Kremlin fluffing Daily Express owned it. They and all the other hate papers are largely responsible for the mess we are in.

This has been touted for years - the alienation - the lack of information sharing - the fact people cannot be 'returned' - not being part of EU plans - the issue is Ireland Brexiteers can wail all they want - it is about time they owned it

This is no longer merely pressure from pro-EU outside government. The FT reports that Downing Street is actively taking soundings on whether @andyburnham should signal, at Labour conference or in his ten-year plan, that the party’s next manifesto could abandon its prohibitions on rejoining the customs union, single market or eventually the EU itself. That does not mean immediate reentry. But it would mean ending the pretence that Labour’s 2024 Brexit red lines must bind Britain indefinitely. 🔥 The economic pressure is becoming unavoidable. The EU’s “Made in Europe” policy threatens British manufacturing and Burnham’s northern industrial strategy, while remaining outside leaves Britain increasingly required to follow European trade decisions without helping to make them. Burnham has apparently now ruled out a snap election. The real question for conference is therefore whether he will begin preparing the country for the strategic choice ahead: continued managed decline outside our largest market or a route back into Europe.

"Six million Pounds I got, six million to screw up my country by convincing the gullible and easily led to vote for Brexit. Easiest money ever. The best bit is they still support me, I can't believe how dumb they are"

🔴Anyone know WHY a newspaper owned by the Fourth Lord Rothermere, who inherited a fortune from the Third Lord Rothermere, who inherited his money from the Second Lord Rothermere, who inherited it from the First Lord Rothermere, is so strongly opposed to inheritance tax❓ - @David__Osland

Are the British public finally waking up to the truth, that they've been lied to, misled, misinformed by a bunch of conmen only concerned with their own/their wealthy donors interests? independent.co.uk/news/uk/po…

Instead of cancelling the Triple Lock we should cancel the Tax Breaks for billionaires. The Tax Breaks for just 150 people cost more than 10x as much as the Triple Lock. Did you hear that? 15 Billionaires are costing as much as the Triple Lock, but you don't hear the Billionaire Media ranting about that...

How surprised were you to learn that Farage and Tommy Robinson have the same Russian handler? After years of claiming to be estranged 😂

Russia, Tether, Harborne, and Farage? There is a huge NYT investigation into how Russia uses shell companies and Tether, a crypto coin, to evade sanctions and buy arms. One of Tether's main owners is Christopher Harborne who has given Reform UK £36m and Farage £5m. Harborne says he has no role in Tether's operations, but one has to wonder, given that Farage was promoted by Russia and has served Russia's foreign policy agenda ever since. The British public deserves to know a lot more about the "intensely private" Mr Harborne.

Frothing Brexiters everywhere - who are now a minority - they know the end is nigh Brexiteers hit back as Richard Branson demands UK rejoins EU express.co.uk/news/politics/…

🚨 Brexit has been an “unmitigated disaster” and an act of economic and political self-harm, says @richardbranson Tony Blair now says Britain should commit to rejoining the EU within a decade. But why sacrifice another decade? @andyburnham must abandon Labour’s anti-growth red lines and establish a clear route back into Europe, starting immediately with the single market. We swapped an F1 car for a hatchback, drove it into a ditch and spent ten years insisting the ditch represented sovereignty. It is time to get out.

I wish people would stop calling these masked men in the streets ‘protestors’. They’re thugs. Masked men, lots with prior convictions for a string of crimes, many against women, intimidating people, attacking emergency workers and abusing people. These masked thugs need watching, which is why there is such a large police presence.

@b3astofburden+ @nafondue* @SK_00001* @gillg29+ @BobbyCaldwell91+ @MichaelPease15+ @Scrabble817+ @Risas777* @sikloernyo* @Alexilkbir+ @annehoughton17+ @drhosp1* @IvoDassen* @AndriyZhurba* @svitfella* @ObiWanPierogiUA* @ClickyB+ @Bazzapat+ @Einherjer66* @AvoidDeadEnds+ @MaximusVer3142* @jfranklynh+ @pinksaguarofarm* @Feartycat+ @GardeningLiz+ x.com/SydesJokes/status/2103…

#FBR #TheResistance #Resist #Resister #Resisters #Resistance #FightFascism #StandUpToFascism #UnitedWeStand #FightRacism #StandUpToRacism #NAFO #NAFOFella #NAFOFellas #NAFOWorks #WeAreNAFO #NAFOExpansionIsNonNegotiable #NAFOSummit #SlavaUkraini #StrongerTogether #SupportUkraine

The angry little man forgot to think before he tweeted....... Nigel Farage Has Attacked The Government's Plans For A New Russia Misinformation Unit The Reform UK leader claimed it is “targeted directly” at his party. huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/n… via @HuffPostUKPol