Welfare reforms have left many disabled people effectively destitute. For them, this isn’t a cost-of-living crisis – it’s a cost-of-staying-alive crisis
In his Buckinghamshire front room, Mike is working out how many meals he has to skip this week to make sure his wife can afford to eat.
Sandra, 38, has bipolar disorder, on top of multiple physical health problems, and has long been too sick to work. Mike – himself slowly recovering from agoraphobia – is needed at home as her full-time carer. A large turntable setup fills one side of the room. “I was a DJ in another life,” Mike, 40, explains wistfully.
