A bricklayer who went viral for his takedown of Rachel Reeves‘s ‘Benefits Street Budget‘ said he regrets voting for Labour and accused the party of ‘taking from the working class’.
Don Daniels, 36, who lives in Leeds, shared a video of himself in full winter gear on a snowy building site with the tongue-in-cheek caption: ‘Some days I want to give up but there’s people on benefits depending on me.’
The post struck a chord with fellow Brits still reeling after Ms Reeves’s Budget, which saw her unveil £30billion worth of tax rises to fund a splurge on welfare – including the lifting of the two-child benefit cap.
While the Chancellor had previously vowed to exclude ‘working people’ from tax hikes, she changed her tune in the Commons by telling MPs she was asking everyone to ‘contribute’.
After previously having a ‘dangerous’ job removing asbestos, Mr Daniels retrained as a bricklayer following the birth of his son.
While he usually uses social media to share updates on his life at work, he said he felt compelled to share his thoughts on politics out of a sense of unfairness.
Explaining the lead up to his now famous post, the brickie told the Daily Mail: ‘I was at work, but it was too cold to lay bricks – we have to wait until it’s at least two degrees – so I wasn’t earning any money.
Don Daniels, 36, who lives in Leeds, shared a video of himself in full winter gear on a snowy building site with a tongue-in-cheek caption
‘I was scrolling on social media and seeing people just sitting at home rather than going to work.
‘My post wasn’t an attack on people on benefits – it was an attack on the system. It’s the Government’s fault for giving them that option.
‘I don’t mind paying for pensioners or people with injuries and disabilities. But the benefits system should be a safety net for when people need it, not a way of life.’
In her Budget, Ms Reeves shattered Labour’s manifesto pledges on tax with a £13billion freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds lasting three years.
At the same time, she caved in to Left-wing demands to axe the two-child benefit cap as part of a spending spree that saw projected welfare spending rise by £16billion annually.
Mr Daniels – who recently appeared on Good Morning Britain – said he has become disillusioned with Labour since voting for them at last year’s general election.
‘I massively regret voting for them – it felt we were left with no choice but they’re even worse than the Tories,’ he said.
‘Labour are taking from working class people to give to the people who actually aren’t working at all.
‘I know people who are choosing to sit at home and claim benefits because it leaves them better off, while people working are asking what the point is.
‘Even tax rises for businesses affect me too because they either have to put their prices up or reduce the number of people they employ.
‘I’ll always work because I have ambitions and want to get on, but the gap between the amount people can earn by working and not working should be considerably more.’
Mr Daniels said he has become disillusioned with Labour since voting for them at last year’s general election
Mr Daniels said he earns around £200 a day ‘on a good day’, with around £40 going in tax.
But due to being self-employed he has to pay for tools and materials – which could cost around £30 a day – and regularly ends up not being paid at all.
‘On a normal day I wake up at 5.30am and leave at 6.15am,’ he said.
‘I’m paid per brick, which a couple of years ago was 75p but that’s dropped to 60p – at a time when all our costs are going up.
‘We’re not allowed to lay bricks until it’s two degrees minimum, so sometimes I won’t be able to start work until 10 or 11.
‘Other times we turn up at the site and the materials haven’t turned up so we have to go home.
‘No one mentions the self-employed at all. We get no sick pay, no holiday pay, no pension contributions.
‘I’m not on National Living Wage so mine isn’t going up.’
The bricklayer is adamant he will not return to voting Labour, and is ’50-50′ between the Tories and Reform.
Mr Daniels said he earns around £200 a day ‘on a good day’, with around £40 going in tax
‘I really like Kemi Badenoch – she seems like a breath of fresh air and really powerful,’ he said.
‘I also like some of Nigel Farage’s ideas, such as not giving people benefits when they come to the UK straight away.
‘We should put a limit on the length of time someone can receive benefits – it should be six months to a year.
‘If they don’t find work within that time they should have to do voluntary work to receive benefits or have them cut in half.
‘At the moment people who work are getting penalised while those who don’t are being rewarded.’
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