There is a shameful tradition of demonising disabled people. Why is Labour reigniting it?

This has never just been about arguing work is the best way to pay the bills – it is about painting it as a virtue in the pursuit of economic growth. Just look at how a recent PR video for the government’s Keep Britain Working review refers to disabilities as “work-limiting conditions”. It is a rebranding of distress, where, say, Parkinson’s is not a painful illness that affects human beings but an obstacle that prevents arms from stacking shelves for shareholders. Even Labour’s NHS reforms and health policies have been framed in terms of getting people back into the labour market, with ministers pondering weight-loss jabs for unemployed people and work coaches visiting patients on mental health wards.