Speech delivered at Sands Films Studio event for THE MAN WITH THE PLAN on 12th and 13th April 2025.
A Campaign film produced by Sands Films studio in London.
The Man With The Plan is a new film about William Beveridge, written and directed by Christine Edzard and starring Simon Callow. Contact: ostockman@sandsfilms.co.uk
A Campaign film produced by Sands Films studio in London.
The Man With The Plan is a new film about William Beveridge, written and directed by Christine Edzard and starring Simon Callow. Contact: ostockman@sandsfilms.co.uk
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LearningTranscript
00:00Stay in the room. We want it nice and loud. We want you to appreciate and welcome up here
00:03Lindsay Mace from the Quaker Social Action. Give her a round of applause and welcome her up here.
00:11Thanks very much.
00:15I want to paint a picture for you.
00:18A mother's 21-year-old son has died unexpectedly.
00:23She sits in her living room, comforted by friends, sobbing uncontrollably.
00:30She's crying for her son, of course. She can't believe he's dead and she wants him back.
00:36But she's crying for another reason too. She cannot afford to bury him.
00:43This is the UK today in 2025.
00:49I'm from Quaker Social Action, an independent social justice and anti-poverty charity
00:55that, among other things, campaigns to end funeral poverty.
01:03Our campaigning is influenced by our frontline work,
01:08providing advice to people who are struggling with unaffordable funeral costs.
01:13And we hear stories like this every day.
01:18Stories that illustrate how far the state has strayed from William Beveridge's 1942 aspiration
01:26of providing sufficient subsistence for everyone, from cradle to grave.
01:32Today, infant mortality in England is rising.
01:39And the risk of death for babies in poorer areas
01:43is nearly three times higher than in wealthier postcodes.
01:49This is shameful, I think you'll agree.
01:52But also unsurprising, given the years of underfunding of the NHS by successive governments.
02:01At the end of life, more than 300 people a day die in poverty.
02:07And black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups are disproportionately affected.
02:12Last year, nearly half of all working-age black people died in poverty.
02:20Nearly half.
02:22Shame.
02:23Shame.
02:24Indeed, shame.
02:26And poverty doesn't stop there.
02:29It follows people to the grave.
02:31And it can hijack the grief of families left behind
02:35because nearly one in five people face notable financial concerns paying for a funeral.
02:41Now, poverty can, does, sort of rob people of their human rights, their dignity.
02:53All poverty does that.
02:54But funeral poverty can also rob people of their ability to grieve
02:58because so often all they can think about is how on earth they're going to pay for the funeral.
03:05Government, this government, keeps saying the welfare system isn't working.
03:13But it's completely failing to address a key issue.
03:18Benefits don't pay enough to survive.
03:20Let alone to save for life shocks like bereavement.
03:25And yet government funeral payments are also woefully inadequate.
03:29In the late 1940s, despite severe economic challenges posed by World War II,
03:37the original funeral grants aimed to cover the cost of a funeral.
03:44Now, funeral payments are only intended to contribute towards the cost.
03:50Well, exactly.
03:52Leaving, commonly leaving a shortfall of well over a thousand pounds,
03:57even for a simple funeral.
03:59Obscene!
03:59Obscene, indeed.
04:01So, because people who are already having to choose between eating and heating
04:08are expected to top it up.
04:11Of course!
04:12But with what?
04:13This is such a happy hour.
04:16You pay for everything.
04:17People crowdfund.
04:20So, how do they raise the money?
04:22They crowdfund.
04:24They use their rent money, putting themselves at risk of eviction.
04:28One man told us that he felt he had no choice but to pawn his and his wife's wedding rings
04:33to pay the deposit for her funeral.
04:37Heartbreaking circumstances, aren't they?
04:40Heartbreaking circumstances that no one should have to experience.
04:43Now, like me, many of you will have first-hand experience of how difficult bereavement can be.
04:53How challenging everyday tasks can become.
04:57Yet, when you apply for a government funeral payment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland,
05:03you face a 27-page application form.
05:0627-pages.
05:10And a criteria so complicated and restrictive that nearly a third of applications are rejected.
05:17That's not a good idea, isn't it?
05:19Well, yeah, I would agree, yes.
05:21The criteria is designed to identify someone else that they think they can pin the cost of that funeral on
05:30rather than seeking to actually help you as the person applying.
05:36So, what if you can't get the payment?
05:40Or what if you can get the payment and it doesn't pay enough?
05:42Well, you know, you might have to postpone the funeral while you try to raise the costs.
05:47We see that a lot.
05:49You might need to turn to your local council and ask them if they will arrange and pay for the funeral.
05:56But all of this causes an extra stress that really takes a toll on many people's mental health.
06:07People we speak to often feel shame at not being able to pay for someone's funeral.
06:17But it isn't them who should feel ashamed.
06:20The shame lies with this government and every government before it that has failed bereaved people.
06:31How can this be happening in one of the wealthiest countries in the world?
06:36It cannot stand.
06:39Now, right now it can be easy to feel beaten down and hopeless.
06:46But we mustn't give in.
06:47We must fight for what we know is right, for equality and justice,
06:54and as Beveridge said, for bread and health for everyone, not cake and circuses for a few.
07:05We can and we will prevail because we are unstoppable.
07:11Another world is possible.
07:14Join me in a chant.
07:15We are unstoppable.
07:17Another world is possible.
07:20Say we are unstoppable.
07:22Another world is possible.
07:25Yes, we are unstoppable.
07:27Another world is possible.