Well, there's the fact that we are talking about benefit misuse, and the other fact that Starmer is, he says, going to clamp down on benefit cheats which indicates that there's a problem.
No government will ever eliminate benefit fraud but they cound keep it down to a level that doesn't affect the coffers too much.
There are people with very minor ailment who amplify them to obtain benefits. That includes a disproportionate amount of obese people. Hence the term, fat and lazy.
There are career cheats who were brought up in famailes that cheated the system.
There are those who just want more than they are capable of earning and seek a little extra.
There are also people who do work but always for cash sos as to avoid paying taxes. These may be inclusive of any one of the above. It gives some, in power, the argument for cashless societies.
My other half's sister is officially registered blind because her eyesight is so poor and could receive all kinds of benefits without having to work but she has been to university, gained a law degree and is a fully qualified solicitor in London and commutes daily across the city and holds down a full time job while these other bags of dung sponge from the taxpayers.
My OH, a social worker deals with sponging and dysfunctional people on a daily basis. With the exception of maybe mental health issues the majority she deals with are the sponging dregs of society. A dysfunctional family can cost upward of £1m per year to service so this where your taxes go!
When people say we're all equal...sorry but we're not!
I wouldn't sponge off society instead of working for a living nor would I physically and mentally abuse my children even to the point where I'd sell them to others for *** so that I can buy drugs. Most people have no idea of just how bad some parents are or prevalent the issues are.
I'm afraid these people are not like me nor will they ever be the same as me and I don't want to be associated with them, so all this nonsense about us all being equal is just that. If that offends the woke among us then tough.
The social benefit system needs re-setting and the spongers weeded out. If they refuse to work or can't be bothered then give them basic benefits but make them attend social centres at least 5 days a week to earn their parasitic wages. I'd wager that malingering would soon decline if they had to get out of bed and attend centres every day for training or doing work for the community they're sponging off. It would also create real jobs monitoring those who did and didn't attend.
Until benefits are reduced so that the recipients can barely manage to live on them, then benefit fraud will never be reduced.
Benefits should not be a lifestyle choice and unless it can be proven that the recipients have genuine physical or mental health issues preventing them from earning a living or because of circumstances beyond their control such as care for the young or elderly then they will need to do some form of work to earn their benefits.