"Hard working families"

Repeating hard working families makes some feel smug, chips away at the self esteem of the disabled, unemployed , those struggling on minimum wage, this government has no interest in making people feel better about themselves , just words to create an even bigger devide and gain votes.

And as for all those lessons they have learned .................... ! We must now be heading for Utopia !

Annoying as it sounds I think the term is meant to make those poor young people trying to juggle children, childcare and work feel better about themselves , and tries to put the message across that their valuable contribution to society is appreciated.

That's why crun and I put benefit scroungers in inverted commas. It's very hard on genuine claimants to hear this pejorative description.

Benefit scroungers will never feel uncomfortable but it makes genuine claimants like me feel very uncomfortable.

I don't think the phrase is meant to make "benefit scroungers" feel uncomfortable so much as to make people who have got jobs, especially those whose pay is low, feel resentful towards the "benefit scroungers".

I've always assumed it's a bit of psychology, designed to make "benefit scroungers" feel uncomfortable.

They never give a definition of what a hard-working family is. How do they decide who is hardworking and who is not. What effect the difference will have on their entitlement to benefits and help, plus of course absents comments.

Are there no hard-working single people, widows, widowers, childless couples, etc.?

Include me in! Makes my blood boil when they come out with this claptrap. My young next door neighbour is the breadwinner whilst his partner is looking after their new baby and toddler. She doesn't get maternity leave because she had a zero hours contract. If she went back, she couldn't plan nursery hours needed because of the unreliability of her job. He has three zero hours contract jobs and gets called out at very short notice, so family time can't be planned. A living wage and one job each is their ambition.

Haha, yes, where are all these hard working families? I am pretty lazy myself.

Yes I agree, I think it's become THE defining cliche of this election, how they love trotting it out, DC likes to roll his shirt sleeves up so we know he's from a hard working family I have yet to see Ed roll his sleeves up, but perhaps he does when he's cleaning his kitchens!

Me too - they are only working their tripe out and seeing so little of their children because they cannot afford a home unless they do! Rather than subsidise child care, perhaps it would be better to ensure families can make a living wage without having to be out of the home all the time.

Only if I can have a postal vote!

Yes please

I'm right there, boiling with you, MamaCaz. I'm setting off for a tropical island somewhere and just coming back in time to vote. Anyone want to come?