2012

Research report evidences “influence of politicians’ rhetoric” in increasing stigma against benefit claimants.

What: Report commissioned by Turn2Us refers to how “Labour’s emphasis on conditionality and tackling fraud seems to have led to higher levels of stigma (particularly among Labour sympathisers), convincing people that fraud is much more widespread than it actually is. The report quotes one academic as saying that “by framing policies to appease real or imagined resentments, the underlying sense of grievance is strengthened rather than mollified”.

Why significant: Report provides further evidence of the role played by politicians in building harmful disability benefits stigma.