Anger is Growing Against the Government’s Disability Cuts – Disability Labour
By Kathy Bole, Disability Labour
The current debate on the Government’s green paper continues a pace in the disability community. There seems to be no willingness by the government to work with disabled people to remove wastage and lower the welfare bill. Instead, the government has launched its own version of austerity.
The entire process of the new way of reassessing Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are likely to lead to vulnerable disabled people not being awarded the daily living component they desperately need. The need to get 4 points in any section of the daily living section of the assessment application will mean no award or standard rate daily living.
The Government refuses to acknowledge that PIP is not a means tested benefit. Many people who get PIP are in work already. Without the daily living component, many people may not be able to pay for social care charges. This may in turn lead to many more dropping out of work due to the strain of trying to do things by oneself.
The green paper as it stands now is being touted as a consultation, however, many of the problems with the green paper are not up for debate such as the 4-point rule. This fast-paced race to get this welfare reform done will result in continued confusion, anxiety and the possibility of driving people to suicide.
This proposal is as bad as anything put forth by the Tories after 14 years of austerity. We have proof of some of the fallout in the last local elections. It also needs to be said that there were several areas where no elections were held due to restructuring of the local authorities. The losses that Labour had could have been much worse if these communities were included in the election cycle.
Unfortunately, as time goes on, the anger at the government will grow and some have said that this welfare restructure will be Keir Starmer’s Poll tax. Comparing Starmer’s clear intent to claw back money on the backs of the most vulnerable. Many of those in receipt of disability payments within Universal Credit system will see these payments cut. This includes cuts to support for those young people from the ages of 16 to 20. This will not get more people into work or further education, it may well lead to homelessness and suicide. Many young people who are not in work or education are depressed and hopeless. The government refuses to see the devastation they are intending to visit on hundreds of thousands of people.
The anger of disabled people is going to grow. This will give rise to louder and longer protests. There are multiple petitions that have been launched to force a U-turn on these misguided measures. Much of the government’s figures on the state of fraud from welfare recipients has been wrong. The facts are that fraud in welfare benefits is less than 1 percent. There are growing numbers of charities and think-tanks researching more ways to save money which do not mean beating it out of vulnerable people.
Unless the government makes a u-turn the disquiet will grow passed the disabled community and some protests will be hijacked by other groups. The negativity surrounding disabled people and their reliance on benefits by non-disabled people is growing into disability hate crime. The rate of disability hate crime is already on the rise.
The truth is that using the carrot and stick approach doesn’t work. The jobs market doesn’t cater for disabled people. The rumour mill is rife with further threats to the vulnerable in the fall. By that time, the winter fuel payment argument will rise again. Unfortunately, if there is no change of direction by the government, more people may die due to the effects of the cold.
We all need to write our MPs to let them know if this badly written bill gets passed, those elected MPs and councillors who voted for these measures will have their names on the line. Keep an eye out for information about protests and join them if you can. The fight for justice for disabled people needs to continue. Sign petitions, write to your MP, even better, make an appointment to see them in their constituency office and tell them that you will vote them out at the next election.
- Kathy Bole is the Chair of Disability Labour. You can follow her on Twitter here; and follow Disability Labour on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
Let’s Stop Such Pernicious Cuts to Disability Support – Rachael Maskell MP
By Rachael Maskell MP
Everything is hard – in body or in mind.
The barriers, the pain, the dejection, the not being believed, and even when are, this prejudicial world makes assumptions for which only lived experience can speak.
The effort to live, or just get up or face the day; the effort to prove that your experiences are real. Then come the extra costs for keeping warm, equipment charged, carers and bills paid. It doesn’t stop.
And at last a Labour Government after 14 years of battling, that only hope of dignity, of compassion and understanding. Labour with its historic roots of protecting those in poverty, discriminated, vulnerable.
And here we are. Pathways to Work.
Taking money, agency, dignity, independence and the essence of life itself.
Once again crushed by a system which fails to see, believe, points the finger not offers the hand – turning hope into despair, as poverty, dependency and if not physical, most definitely psychological harm, await.
We are better than this.
Let’s vow to stop such pernicious cuts and rewrite the story, with the voices, experiences and hope of disabled people.
Let’s resolve how employer must hire and not fire, how talents are to be recognised and rewarded, and how if flexibility of task, time, place and tech, does not deliver, let us dignify with the financial safety net.
Work has its place, but without Charlie Mayfield’s diagnosis, understanding, evidence nor answers, Government must hit pause and really listen to those who live this life every day. And learn how dignity and independence can be restored – in work or not, or contributing by just being who they are each moment.
Labour were elected to mend the safety net, not cut it. To provide security with a change in culture, funding and care; the very purpose of Labour.
Every day I’m so grateful I don’t face the mountains others do, to live or to work. Acknowledging the absolute honour of paying taxes to support someone who doesn’t have such privilege.
It is the kind of society we should aspire to. Many could contribute more, so let us pay. Let it be Labour that restores dignity, kindness and hope.
I will vote against these proposals because I am Labour and disabled people matter.
Surely this should be our starting place.
- Rachael Maskell is the MP for York Central. You can follow Rachael on Twitter/X, Bluesky and Facebook.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
Withdraw Cuts to Disability Support
– Steve Witherden MP
By Steve Witherden MP
I want to speak about working people. My constituency, Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, holds a proud industrial heritage. Some may claim the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution is Telford, but I would encourage them to read up on Bersham.
In 2010, we witnessed the closure of our large chemical plant, once the world’s leading producer of phenol in the 1920s. We were also home to the last coal mine in North Wales, located in Rhostyllen, which closed in the late 1980s.
As is the case with many post-industrial areas, our region suffers from higher deprivation and increased rates of illness.
When I look at these proposed cuts, especially the unjust tightening of eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), I am filled with a deep concern for many of my constituents.
Wales already has the highest poverty rates among disabled people in the UK and a greater reliance on PIP than other parts of the country. These cuts will hit Wales particularly hard, and they will hit my constituents particularly hard too.
I will vote against this. The government must withdraw these proposals and ensure disabled voices are at the forefront of all future reforms. We urgently need a welfare system that supports people when they need it most, so they can continue to live, work, and contribute to society, not one that pushes them further into poverty and destitution.
We know that health inequality and wealth inequality go hand in hand.
I call on the government to introduce a wealth tax to redress the current system that sees the wealthiest paying proportionately less tax than the average person. A 2% tax on assets over £10 million could raise up to £24 billion a year, affecting only around 20,000 individuals.
This could fund a real transformation in our public services and allow us to face the future with a fitter, happier, and more productive workforce.
- Steve Witherden is the MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X and Bluesky.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
Labour MPs slam disabled benefit cuts as ‘impossible to support’: Letter and list of rebels in full
Dozens of Labour MPs have said that the government’s plans to cut disability benefit are “impossible to support” and called for a “change in direction”.
The 42 MPs from across the party, including several who won their seats at the general election, said that the government’s welfare reform has caused anxiety among disabled people and their families and said: “Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”
The letter, as seen by LabourList, reads: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over three million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected. Without a change in direction, the green paper will be impossible to support.”
‘Labour on path to political self-destruction’
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall outlined the changes to health related benefits in March, which she argued were necessary reforms to “fix the broken benefits system”.
One of the MPs who signed the letter, Chris Hinchliff, told LabourList: “The proposed cuts to disability support will affect 700,000 families already living in poverty. The consequences will be unacceptable: 50,000 extra children forced into poverty, and more disabled people driven to destitution and foodbanks.
“The public made their views clear at the local elections and in Runcorn last week. The Labour Party is on a path to political self-destruction, one that risks opening the door to Reform.
“This is not inevitable. The Government must change course and show the people who elected us that we’re on their side.
“I will vote against these measures if they are brought before Parliament, but the Government can avoid splitting our movement by withdrawing these cuts entirely and uniting our party around a progressive programme focused on raising living standards and improving public services.”
A DWP source said: “At the heart of these reforms is a determination to help more people into work. We understand that there are concerns. The Secretary of State is engaging and talking to colleagues, explaining why these reforms will help transform people’s lives.”
The letter in full
The Government’s Green Paper on welfare reform has caused a huge amount of anxiety and concern among disabled people and their families. The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over three million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.
Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.
Ministers therefore need to delay any decisions until all the assessments have been published into the impact the cuts will have on employment, health and increased demand for health and social care. This is likely to be in the Autumn and only then will MPs be able to vote knowing all the facts.
In the meantime, the much needed reform of the benefits system needs to begin with a genuine dialogue with disabled people’s organisations to redesign something that is less complex and offers greater support, alongside tackling the barriers that disabled people face when trying to find and maintain employment. We also need to invest in creating job opportunities and ensure the law is robust enough to provide employment protections against discrimination.
Without a change in direction, the Green Paper will be impossible to support.
Full list of MPs who signed letter
- Diane Abbott
- Paula Barker
- Lee Barron
- Lorraine Beavers
- Apsana Begum (currently suspended from Labour)
- Olivia Blake
- Richard Burgon
- Dawn Butler
- Ian Byrne
- Stella Creasy
- Neil Duncan-Jordan
- Cat Eccles
- Barry Gardiner
- Mary Glindon
- Sarah Hall
- Chris Hinchliff
- Imran Hussain
- Terry Jermy
- Mary Kelly Foy
- Peter Lamb
- Ian Lavery
- Brian Leishman
- Emma Lewell
- Rebecca Long-Bailey
- Rachel Maskell
- Andy McDonald
- John McDonnell (currently suspended from Labour)
- Abtisam Mohamed
- Grahame Morris
- Charlotte Nichols
- Simon Opher
- Kate Osborne
- Richard Quigley
- Andrew Ranger
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy
- Zarah Sultana (currently suspended from Labour)
- Jon Trickett
- Chris Webb
- Nadia Whittome
- Steve Witherden
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