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Disability charities are calling on MPs not to be swayed by the government’s last-minute concessions on disability benefit cuts, and vote down the bill.
Earlier this week, over 120 Labour MPs signed a reasoned amendment opposing the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) bill. This prompted the government to offer concessions to Labour rebel MPs last night.
Charities have welcomed the changes for those currently receiving PIP and Universal Credit, but have warned the reforms will harm future claimants.
They have also said that MPs will be voting on the cuts without knowing the full impact of the changes. The Office for Budget Responsibility will not publish an assessment of the labour market impact of the disability benefit changes until it publishes its autumn forecast in October.
Jemima Olchawski, Executive Director of Social Change at Mind, says: “These changes will bring huge relief to the hundreds of thousands of disabled people, including those with mental health problems, currently receiving these benefits.
“But this bill remains fatally flawed. If current protections are right for disabled people now, why are they not right for disabled people in the future?
“Next week MPs are being asked to vote on a bill without knowing the full impact of the changes; they are being asked to vote without having seen the outcome of the consultation on changes to the PIP assessments; and they are being asked to vote on a bill that risks pushing disabled people in the future into poverty.”
Olchawski says the government must “radically rethink” its proposed cuts.
Charlotte Gill, head of campaigns and public affairs at the MS Society, says: “The government is finally being forced to reckon with the crisis that their proposed benefits cuts would present to disabled people, including many with MS. But instead of meaningful action, all they’re doing is kicking the can down the road and delaying an inevitable disaster.
“Down the line, these cuts will still push more people into poverty and worsen people’s health. We urge MPs not to be swayed by these last ditch attempts to force through a harmful bill with supposed concessions. The only way to avoid a catastrophe today and in the future is to stop the cuts altogether by halting the bill in its tracks.
Principal policy advisor at The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Katie Schmuecker, said that “as things stand, new disabled claimants from next year will continue to be pushed into deep hardship by these cuts, which should be opposed.”
Helen Barnard, director of policy at Trussell, said: “The significant concessions made by the UK government are welcome, but proposals still present a bleak future for future claimants and still risk placing the government’s commitments to end the need for emergency food and tackle poverty in serious jeopardy.”
Barnard emphasised that “being disabled isn’t a choice” and “our fears remain the same”.
She added that “MPs will still be voting without a full picture of the impact on their constituents, particularly of the proposed ‘4 point rule’ for PIP claims – which are expected to impact nearly half a million people, and force more disabled people to the doors of food banks.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Who is holding Labour’s moral compass?
JUNE 26, 2025
Julian Vaughan explains why Labour MPs are right to oppose government cuts to disability benefits.
Solidarity with the 100-plus Labour MPs who are taking a stand against the government to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.
I can confirm that if I were in their position, I would have also put my name to their amendment to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, which is due to have its Second Reading next Tuesday. Perhaps it is with this knowledge that I was offered the candidacy (politely declined) for the seventh safest Tory seat in the UK at the last General Election.
However, it is not just those on the ‘left’ of the Party who have signed the amendment, but a cross-section of the Parliamentary Labour Party. The decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments was not just morally wrong, but also a complete disaster politically.
That those advisors in Labour’s inner circle could not see how this decision was going to play out is very concerning. While the decision has been reversed, the die has been cast and the tone of this Labour government has been set, perhaps irrevocably.
More than ever, we need people in politics who genuinely understand the lives of ordinary people, not those more comfortable in the company of corporate lobbyists.
There comes a point in any government that, no matter what good or even brilliant things they do, and the Labour government has done some good things, people stop listening. This point has come to this government very early, not helped by an electorate radicalised by apathy, distrust in the political system, and the crystal-clear messaging of the hard right.
Labour’s mantra about ‘growth’ has failed to give hope to the public, besides which its reliance on trickle-down economics is dubious at best.
I do not believe it is at all clear to the public what Labour now stands for, especially when it appears to have abandoned the values of equality and social justice it once held so dear. Its attempt to outflank the hard right on immigration is as misguided as it is ugly – people will always choose the genuine article.
Even if people disagreed with Labour, there would be a grudging respect for their principles. The seeming absence of principles is being clocked by the public and resulting in a deep lack of trust.
We need a government that has the backs of ordinary people and particularly the most vulnerable in our society. As a Labour supporter all my life, who has dedicated a fair bit of time standing up for Labour and Labour values, it is gut-wrenching that we now seek to punch down on disabled people.
Labour’s current approach is a gift to the Reform Party. The public won’t give two hoots about the railways being nationalised if it doesn’t lead to cheaper fares and decent services. After lending their vote to Labour, many will never do so again if their local councils continue to cut services to the bone and the government continues to support water companies more than people.
The hubris of Starmer’s shadowy inner circle of advisors, seemingly now devoid of any political antennae, is bad news for Labour and bad news for the UK. It’s not too late to change direction, starting with a reversal in the cuts to the benefits of disabled people. It’s time to be bold – I’ll back that 100%.
Julian Vaughan was Labour Parliamentary candidate for NE Bedfordshire in 2017 and 2019. and a Labour NEC candidate in 2020. A train driver, he is currently a member of Hitchin CLP and ASLEF and blogs here. This post appeared here originally. Twitter: @julian_vaughan_ https://twitter.com/julian_vaughan_
Image: c/o Labour Hub
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