Demand Iain Duncan Smith resign over lying to public in #DWP sanctions leaflets! #IDSmustgo

The Department of Work and Pensions has admitted that 'case studies' showing the benefits of sanctions on peoples' lives were 'illustrative' only. That is - they were pure lies. The people described did not exist, the photos were stock images, and the stories were fantasy.

The Government has lied to the British public.

Stopping people's benefits such as job seeker's allowance, known as sanctioning, is driving people to suicide. People are resorting to stealing food in order to not starve. Sanctions do not encourage people to get jobs. Sanctions are known to be given to people for extremely minor reasons such as being five minutes late for an appointment. If someone has a heart-attack or has to attend a family members' funeral and misses an appointment - they could be sanctioned and lose their benefits.

Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is ultimitely responsible for the actions of those in his department, who produced the propaganda leaflet containing lies, presenting a fantasy of positive stories about sanctions. This distorts the truth, which is that people are dying due to sanctions.

In addition to being responsible for the terrible effects of sanctions on hundreds of thousands of people's lives, the Department for Work and Pensions lying to the public in this way is not acceptable. As such, please sign my petition to demand that Iain Duncan Smith resign from his post immediately.