Something unusual happened at one of my advice surgeries just before Christmas. One of my constituents who I had been supporting in her benefit appeal, came to tell me that she had got a job some weeks previously and absolutely loved it. She no longer wished to claim the Employment Support Allowance. She was still physically challenged, but her employer was flexible and supportive.
“Work is making me feel valuable once again,” she said.
At our church a couple of weeks ago, a lovely young lady, single parent, described how she had hugely benefitted from re-entering the workplace and was enjoying working within a team of positive people.
For most of us work is a good thing. It does not just provide an income, but provides meaning to our lives and gives us both challenge and self-esteem.
There are some people who are not well enough to work, either through long term condition or short term crisis. Our system should support them fully and generally speaking it does. Our welfare system does too much for some people and not enough for those who really need it. Deciding between the two is the problem!
At my advice surgeries, 3 a month, now over 25 years I see about 18 people each time. About a third of them come and see me about benefits. I make that about 16,000 people over that time, with about 5,000 being about benefit claims.
It is a privilege to try to help those who genuinely need it. Many people are desperate to work and gutted that they no longer can.
An equal number seem perfectly capable of some work and try every trick in the book to avoid it. Doctors face massive pressure to sign the sick notes and letters of support.
We have to do better at getting the message out there that work is good for you. In my time at Westminster we have had a home secretary who was completely blind, a railways minister who has cerebral palsy and acute epilepsy, an employment minister who has lost the use of both legs due to having polio as a boy and a lady who was confined to a wheelchair with a bone wasting disease.
They have all not just worked but represented others and achieved high office.
We must allow these role models to inspire all of us that work is good, does us good and we should all aspire to it.