UK:Mother-of-two who has never worked

Mother-of-two who has
never worked encouraged her
daughter to get pregnant so
she could get a council
house and have an 'easy life
on benefits'
By Suzannah Hills
02:40 16 Apr 2014, updated 09:26 16 Apr
2014
Sinead Clarkson, 36, fell pregnant
when she was 15 and has never
worked
She lives in a three-bed council
house and gets £1,200 a month in
benefits
Ms Clarkson claims the benefits
system makes it pointless for her to
work
She admits she has encouraged her
daughters to also 'work the system'
Ms Clarkson's eldest daughter
Melissa, 19, is now six months
pregnant
An unemployed mother who has never had
a job has now encouraged her daughter to
get pregnant - so she can also enjoy 'an
easy life' on benefits.
Mother-of-two Sinead Clarkson, 36, has
been claiming benefits for the last 20 years
and currently receives £1,200 a month in
state handouts.
Ms Clarkson, from Rochdale, Greater
Manchester, has now admitted she
encouraged her 19-year-old daughter
Melissa to have a baby so she can do the
same.
She claimed: 'I am better off on benefits. I
refuse to work for a pittance and struggle.'
But her outspoken defence of life on
benefits was condemned both by a
psychologist and by the TaxPayers'
Alliance.
Ms Clarkson said she was delighted when
her oldest daughter Melissa fell pregnant
six months ago as she will get an extra
£400 a month when her baby is born in
July.
Melissa will also receive keys to a two-
bedroom council house.
Ms Clarkson's younger daughter Amie, 12,
is also showing signs of wanting to follow
in her sister's footsteps and have a child.
Ms Clarkson said: 'I don't have any
qualifications so it is easier to claim money
than persuade an employer to give me a
job.
'I told Melissa to work the system and have
a baby so she could claim more benefits,
get a house of her own and have a better
life. I don't want her to work for peanuts in
a low-pay job.'
Ms Clarkson claims living on benefits
brings a stress-free life.
She said: 'Being on benefits suits me. I
don't have the stress of working like some
of my friends. I spend a lot of time cooking
and cleaning, or I will watch TV or have
friends round.'
While Ms Clarkson acknowledges taxpayers
may be angered by her comments, she
insists it is the benefit system at fault for
making it more financially worthwhile not
to work.
She adds: 'I know people will be angry with
my choices, but they should not judge.  It is
the system's fault that I can choose not to
work.  What is the point of having a job if I
can't earn much more than I get now?