If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- How did the UK government weaponize the myth of the 'scrounger' to justify stripping £28 billion from disabled citizens, despite the actual welfare fraud rate being just 0.5 percent?
- What were the fatal flaws in the notorious 'fit-for-work' tests, and how did these assessments paradoxically push vulnerable individuals toward tragedy rather than employment?
- In what ways have severe cuts to social care and a chronic lack of accessible housing forced young disabled Britons into elderly care homes or left them severely trapped in their own apartments?
Listen to Crippled — Free Audiobook
Key Takeaways from Crippled
- The UK's post-2008 austerity policies were a calculated political choice that disproportionately punished disabled people, who faced up to 19 times more financial cuts than average citizens.
- The government justified slashing £28 billion from social welfare by falsely stereotyping disabled people as 'scroungers,' ignoring the reality that disabled individuals face significantly higher daily living costs.
- Punitive 'fit-for-work' tests and unfair benefit sanctions have erroneously stripped vital income from disabled Britons, forcing them into severe poverty, debt, and life-threatening mental health crises.
- Drastic cuts to the NHS and adult social care have robbed disabled people of their independence, denying them essential mobility equipment and even forcing some young adults into elderly care homes.
- A chronic shortage of accessible housing and targeted benefit cuts have left disabled women and children exceptionally vulnerable to homelessness, domestic abuse, and educational exclusion.
Crippled — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: The British government’s austerity program has been catastrophic for disabled people.
Chapter 3: Austerity is driving British disabled people into poverty.
Chapter 4: Disabled people face huge barriers when seeking and keeping jobs.
Chapter 5: Cuts to wheelchair provision and social care strip disabled people of independence.
Chapter 6: There is a severe shortage of accessible housing in the United Kingdom, and disabled people are paying the price.
Chapter 7: Disabled women confront a wide array of specific challenges.
Chapter 8: Disabled children are being deprived of the opportunities their non-disabled peers take for granted.
Chapter 9: Society risks losing its humanity. Change is urgently needed.
Crippled Summary & Overview
Crippled (2019) examines the treatment of disabled people in Britain’s “age of austerity,” which began in 2010 during David Cameron’s time as prime minister. Journalist Frances Ryan combines devastating case studies with grim statistics as she explains the effects the government’s policies and cuts have had on the people most in need of support.
Who Should Listen to Crippled?
- Equality-minded people interested in disability rights
- Concerned citizens interested in government policy
- Political campaigners
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