Don't be a div Pants

"Mr Sivier, who received the document, said: "We would be given a fudged figure showing the number of deaths among ESA claimants when compared with the average number among the population as a whole. That is not what I requested. It is not what anybody wants"

So what Mr Sivier wants is a figure that is misleading so that he can spin an argument against the Government. Why? (Well, we know why, but what good will it do?)

If you want to demonstrate that the cuts have probably caused deaths, you absoutely must have the figures that show what the mortality rates are in the general population so that you can say: "Look, the average is 1 death per 1000 but amongst the 'Fit for Work' population it's 2 per 1000. That probably means the cuts have caused 1 extra death per thousand or XXX extra deaths."

Any other stat, ie the pure # of deaths that the campaigners want, is completely meaningless (and very easy to dismiss) without the context of the general death rate. DWP's approach to waiting for the ASMR figures is absolutely the correct one.

(I wonder what the reaction would be if it was a Tory trying to score easy political points from people dying...)

Posted By: CWC, Jun 25, 09:28:43