Skip to main content
The degradation and cruelty of constantly having to ‘prove’ you’re disabled
RUTH HUNT reminds us of the day-to-day fear that’s invading disabled people’s lives

THE announcement came through on April 23 that Stephen Smith, 64, had died. 

The story about Smith had first been broken by Liam Thorpe of the Liverpool Echo, back in February, when he had been found fit for work despite having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoarthritis and an enlarged prostate.

When Smith became ill with pneumonia he was hospitalised. His weight dropped to a skeletal six stone. Due to his precarious health, he had to seek permission from the hospital to attend his appeal. In less than three months, he was dead.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
A woman showing signs of depression (picture posed by a mode
Features / 14 October 2024
14 October 2024
PROFESSOR LINDA GASK spoke to Ruth Hunt from her home in Orkney about her new book, Out of Her Mind: How We Are Failing Women’s Mental Health and What Must Change
The burned down home of a working miner “scab” at Bolton
Fiction / 10 August 2023
10 August 2023
RUTH F HUNT recommends a collection of short stories that transform poverty into something that’s often tender and profound
Users mutual support
Opinion / 8 March 2022
8 March 2022
Could the overstretched system for mental health service users be supplemented by day centres? RUTH HUNT considers the options
Police at the scene outside an address in Meadow Close in th
Features / 28 May 2021
28 May 2021
As concerns are being expressed about police involvement in drawing up and delivering mental health crisis plans, RUTH HUNT looks at the troubling facts
Similar stories
ELECTED TO PROTECT THE POOR: Work and Pensions Secretary Liz
Features / 2 April 2025
2 April 2025
Due to the actions of this government, the challenges facing those with disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, are nigh on insurmountable, argus RUTH HUNT
WE WANT TO WORK: Disability activists protest previous welfa
Features / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
By making Personal Independence Payments harder to access, Labour is creating another barrier for those already struggling with soaring care costs, workplace discrimination and prejudiced employers, argues RUTH HUNT
HARMFUL RHETORIC: Keir Starmer and Liz Kendall
Features / 3 February 2025
3 February 2025
Far from addressing the causes of ill-health and disability, Starmer, Reeves and Kendall are committed to unleashing more misery for disabled people, argues Dr DYLAN MURPHY
Disabled People Against Cuts protest outside Parliament agai
Features / 21 May 2024
21 May 2024
With the Tories scapegoating us and Labour failing to protect our rights, the rich history of disability activism shows disabled people that we must organise among ourselves to defend our place in society, writes CORDELIA PRICE