Does the government really want to help this disabled find work? No!

The autumn statement was just a cynical attack on people like me, says James Moore – and we’re not fooled by Jeremy Hunt’s threat to deny us benefits either

Jeremy Hunt has been criticised for his attack on disabled people in his autumn statement (PA Wire)

In the run-up to the autumn statement, Britain’s disabled and long-term sick were reminded of their “duty” to find work. The government’s much-heralded Back to Work scheme would be as much about improving productivity and ensuring “fairness for the taxpayer” as it would help the long-term ill find appropriate employment.

On the day, Jeremy Hunt billed new government measures to “tear down barriers to work” for millions of benefits claimants as “help” and “assistance” – did I even hear an “untapped potential” in there somewhere?

But after unveiling the “biggest set of welfare reforms in a decade”, the chancellor was accused of “punishing” disabled people to pay for his proposed tax cuts.