"Have become"? They were always this mean. The article doesn't seem to have a comparison between this survey and an earlier one showing that Britons have become this way, and I rather suspect this meanness has always been the way.

A full quarter of our society thinking that the people out of work shouldn't be able to afford food or heating is a grim fucking indictment on what we've become. What kind of utter ghoul do you have to be to believe, "If you're unable to work thanks to a disability and don't have someone that can care for you, you should just freeze or starve, whichever gets you first"?

A decade of anti-benefits rhetoric and squeezes on living standards has fostered the belief that people on social security and low wages deserve a life of penury and boredom.

And death. Benefit sanctions have killed people by finishing off those with serious medical issues through sheer stress or driving others to suicide.

This is the same meanness in the population that gave us Brexit.

The faster you get rid of the Tories, the faster that feeling will go away.

We are watching our high trust society crumble around us.

Social Darwinism is heartless and cruel af

As I said elsewhere, it reminded me of Lula's speech about how the poor deserve to live a nice life, too.

'They think that the poor don’t have rights. … The right to barbecue with family on the weekend, to buy a little picanha, to that piece of picanha with the fat dipped in flour, and to a glass of cold beer.'

EDIT: Re-added the quote. Markup ate it before.

This is always going to be an issue as everyone feels poorer. If you're walking full time and can't afford to put your hand in the the pocket for a night out, seeing Dave down the road on the never never going to the pub regularly will rub you the wrong way. It's not right, but it's Human nature.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Just 39% thought everyone – the wealthiest, average earners, those on the minimum wage, and benefits claimants – should be able to pursue a non-active hobby, with only 27% believing those on any income should have the chance to go out socialising.

The cost of living crisis has seen disposable income inequality in Britain rise, with the poorest fifth of the population enduring the biggest fall as they’re forced to spend more to cover the basics.

A decade of anti-benefits rhetoric and squeezes on living standards has fostered the belief that people on social security and low wages deserve a life of penury and boredom.

It creates a demand for ever more absurd conditions in order for critics to acknowledge hardship; until a mum with multiple sclerosis has to spend her evenings staring at a blank wall eating porridge to deserve disability benefits.

In a country where it’s now normalised for a home, access to basic utilities and regular meals to be out of reach for many, it’s easy to become convinced that hobbies and entertainment are unreasonable requests.

In The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell wrote of the working class: “Would it not be better if they spent more money on wholesome things like oranges and … saved on fuel and ate their carrots raw?

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