I wanted to make this petition to oppose Rishi Sunak's latest "benefits" plan.

In this "plan" he stated that "mentally disabled people are capable of work", and essentially blamed the poor economic state + job placement gaps in the UK on those suffering from mental and neurological diseases. 

I personally oppose this, as I myself am an autistic student within the UK, as is my brother and my dad has multiple sclerosis, which is a neurological disorder that will be affected by this new benefits plan that will make it harder for disabled individuals to claim personal independence as "too many people are claiming from it". The DWP also aims to check bank accounts regularly of those claiming from these benefits, and if these accounts have <£16,000, they will take these benefits away. Rishi Sunak also proposed that those claiming from benefits will have 12 months to find a job, or else their rights to benefits will be revoked.

From statistics, 16% of autistic adults are in full time jobs, whereas 32% are. This is because jobs, whilst claiming to be "diverse and judgement-free" environments will heavily oppose putting in accommodations for individuals with ASD, and then fire them for inadequate performance since slight changes were not made for them to make their work slightly easier.

Mental health is real. Mental illness can be debilitating, and within the UK, CAMHS and MHS are failing people and individuals to begin with. CAMHS has personally failed me many times, and failed to catch my ASD + ADHD, and a panic disorder at a young age. They also failed to see me when I was struggling with severe depression during my formative years due to family incidents, and refused to see me as I was "just sad". I did not get formally diagnosed with ASD and ADHD until Year 11, which prevented me from getting grade-saving accommodation and my grades plummeted from 9s and 8s to 6s. I only started to get these accommodations in my college, who thankfully took me seriously and prioritised my education.

These services, as well as the NHS, are crumbling under the weight of their expectations due to the lack of funding. But that's not my point.

My point is that mental health issues are debilitating because of these services failing to provide adequate support and instead using medication as a tiny plaster to a gaping issue. 

If this plan gets approved, suicide rates will rocket. Specifically, suicide rates within those with MS, ASD, and ADHD, as well as anxiety and depression—people who really benefit from, well, the benefits. They'll rocket because rates of poverty will slowly begin to rise alongside rates of vagrancy, since without these benefits, people will be less likely to pay for food, heating, housing, etc. Crime will also rise as people will turn to other methods to acquire money if they are not doing so already.

The only people who benefit from this plan are the rich. Not us. Not the working class. The people who can sit happily at home, knowing they can afford their heating. Afford their home. Afford their food. Those people. Not the people who work day and night even when mentally or physically crippled to try provide a stable home and income for their family with the support of the benefits.