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Generous, wtf they've actively reduced the amount even before inflation and also reduced the amount disabled people can claim whilst also changing the rules to ensure fewer people meet the rules to be able to claim.
Don't forget food banks were set up due to the above before inflation.
Fukn Tory scum has been attacking the welfare state for decades.
remember every time they quote monetary values for shoplifted goods increasing, it's inflation. the cost of the goods went up, the amount of shoplifting is pretty much stable.
but they get to make a big fuss about it being "on the rise" instead of dealing with inflation and cost of living issues. because Tories are allergic to doing anything.
I dunno, I see a lot more shoplifting with my own two eyes, really seems like it’s increased over the past few years.
My local high street has loads of the little shops like Sainsury’s local, co-op, etc. 10 years I’ve been using these shops, and suddenly all of them have gotten security guards in a 6 month period.
It’s crazy to see people run in, grab all they can in their arms and then sprint out. They can get pretty violent with the staff as well.
This is a good jumping off point to talk about observer biases. Because statistics don't back up what you are describing at all, but you obviously feel this way.
There's a lot of observer biases, but in this case, it's likely that because it's in the news, you are noticing things more. Your brain is looking out for things. I've seen security guards come and go from shops many many times over the past few decades, at times of plenty and times of less. But because the government is out here trying to distract you, your brain is focused on that.
citation? (the stats, not the wiki for observer bias)
Nah, I’ve seen a shop locking their doors and letting people in one by one because they’re getting so much stuff stolen. I’ve never seen that before, and I see stuff being stolen right in front of me every other week now.
I’m willing to accept I’m seeing this happen a disproportionate number of times if the statistics don’t back it up, but it must be a local problem if it’s not effecting other parts of the country.
Also, maybe try being a little less condescending next time…
Every minister that says benefits are generous should be put on them for a month.
A year. Without access to their bank accounts.
Even with a year, there's a massive difference between 'I just have to get through this then I can head to my holiday home in the Maldives and crack open a couple of bottles of Bollinger' and 'this is all there is, forever'. Knowing it will end makes it bearable.
Good point. Let's just take everything off of them.
The French had a cracking solution
Totally agree. Have you ever seen Carnival Row? They had a one with at least 4 seats.
If it's "very generous" I'm sure he'll have no issue trying it himself to show us just how easy it is to live on benefits
They've no problem with the Royals though being the biggest benefit scroungers.
Not to mention Corporate Welfare
"Philp attended the selective St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Kent, and then studied physics at University College, Oxford. In 1996 he was editor of the Oxford University student newspaper, Cherwell.
Philp worked for McKinsey & Company before co-founding distribution business Blueheath Holdings, in 2000. It was floated on the AIM before merging with Booker Cash & Carry as part of the Booker Group in a £375 million deal.
With fellow future Conservative Party MP Sam Gyimah, he founded Clearstone Training and Recruitment Limited, an HGV training provider, which went into liquidation owing nearly £4 million to its customers, many of which were long term unemployed. Philp also founded property development lender Pluto Finance and Moreof Silverstone, which are registered in Jersey. He founded the charity The Next Big Thing, which was dissolved due to insolvency" - Wikipedia
Real man of the people right there. An authority on how to get by with little income.
I've had clients cry on the phone to me because their benefits wouldn't be enough to live on. This minister knows nothing.
Utter tosh
The current amount of universal credit for a single person is about £80 a week. The average gas and electric is £168, water is what, £25? Council tax, phone/broadband (because you now need internet access for universal credit), you're at around £250 just for bills. That leaves around £70 to live on for the month, for food, transport, clothes, anything else you need. It's impossible to live on.
I think you've mixed weeks and months in your calculations. £80 a week, £320 a month. Bills at £250 in the month leaves £70 to live on for the month
I did mix the two in the end, yes, £70 a month. Will swap.
Out of touch idiot. Wonder how much he earns compared to "generous" UC?
This sounds like exactly the sort of telling-off you would get at school when you were sent to another teacher for the telling-off
Knowing nothing about UK or criminality, this sound like fear-mongering. Is it or am I naive to believe it isn't realistically possible to earn a livable wage on re-selling stolen food if it isnt in bulk?
I'd bet that people who are stealing food probably aren't stealing it to resell. That will be going to fill hungry stomachs. Little, if any, money will change hands.
People stealing things not directly associated with food, sure, that's more likely to be for money.
And either way it's going to be hard to make enough money doing that unless, as you say, you do so in bulk. Basically become an organised criminal.
But, if you're capable of becoming an organised criminal, you probably wouldn't have got to the stage of being a shoplifter in the first place because that sort of ability ought to have got you a legitimate job long before you decided to steal that loaf of wholemeal multigrain.
(This is oversimplified of course. Many people with legitimate jobs have found themselves still not earning enough.)
There's been a shortage of baby milk powder lately and people can get quite a bit if they steal it, like £20 a can plus, especially for the specialist ones like lactose free. I know there's people living on just grabbing it when it comes into the shops and selling it on once it's sold out. I'm sure shoplifting it is even more profitable.
I’d bet that people who are stealing food probably aren’t stealing it to resell.
Some are, especially those with substance abuse issues.
You've replied to the wrong thread. They won't see your message.
I guess you can shoplift more expensive items than just food
It would be so cool to burgle him.
It's not either/or.
The UK benefits system is not generous enough. But most shoplifting is drug-related, it's not Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread for his starving niece.
The poor and their children suffer in Britain, but they do so while staying within the rules.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The cost of living crisis is "no excuse" for a rise in shoplifting, the policing minister has told Sky News, because the UK's benefits system is "very generous".
Chris Philp's comments come amid escalating levels of retail thefts, with increases blamed on inflation, organised crime and a lack of focus from police.
Asked if he had any sympathy for people stealing to put food on the table, Mr Philp said gangs, criminal re-selling and drugs were largely to blame.
A survey by the British Retail Consortium this year found levels of shoplifting in 10 major cities had risen by an average of 27% compared with 2022, costing businesses £1.76 billion over a 12-month period.
Field officer Nick Strickland said one supermarket in the centre of the city had a day when it saw 15 thefts in the first two hours it was open, with thieves targeting the store before security guards arrived.
In October, the Home Office announced a retail crime plan involving the creation of a team of specialist analysts to gather intelligence on gangs responsible for shoplifting.
The original article contains 556 words, the summary contains 179 words. Saved 68%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
In October, the Home Office announced a retail crime plan involving the creation of a team of specialist analysts to gather intelligence on gangs responsible for shoplifting.
How much do you want to bet that nobody sitting down to that team asks why companies are disconnecting costs of items away from they cost to make to what people are willing to pay for them
True.
It would be so cool to burgle him.