FORMER former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has revealed that he has been re-selected to fight the next General Election.
He said he would be defending his Chingford and Woodford Green seat and was out campaigning to win.
Mr Duncan Smith told GB News: “I have just had a unanimous vote to re-select.
“We’re ready to fight the election, by the way. I’m fighting to win.”
In a discussion with Esther McVey and Philip Davies he was asked why the UK has been slow to recover after Covid.
He said: “A lot of people that are on sickness benefits and a lot of it now is mental health, depression and anxiety. These are treatable conditions.
“We did a poll of that and we found out that people who are on those benefits want to work but they feel they can’t work because they fear that if they go into work all out, they will lose their benefits and therefore they will be worse off.
“What I suggested to the Government is…the key thing is work is a health treatment.
“The health department accepts that, doctors accept that, particularly for people with mental health. problems like depression, anxiety, they make up now 60% of those claimants.
“So you can work with them to get them into work, their condition will improve and then they will no longer be dependent on the Government, so get them into work.”
Mr Duncan Smith added: “It’s very simple, as it’s a combination. Somebody should be assessed not just be given a sick note.
“They should be assessed as to what their problem is and they should then go to look at what practitioner can help them with that.
“It’s about a lot of other things and one huge element for people who are out of work that makes them depressed and anxious is the fact that they’re not in work.
“So work is a health treatment, keeping people stable, giving them a sense of purpose in life is all part of treating them.
“The two things go together. That’s what they’ve got to do, get people back into work and stabilise and be with them as they go through it to make sure they get the right treatment.”
