Disabled Block @disabledblock

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Andrew Fisher’s report to last Saturday’s conference “Labour in Government: one year on.”. A politically dangerous moment – Labour Hub labourhub.org.uk/2025/07/21/a-p…

New from me - Labour is gutting "substantial risk" for new UC claimants - the legal safeguard protecting suicidal & vulnerable disabled people from DWP pressure. This is life-and-death so please write to Lords for Tuesday & have it centred in Timms review tinyurl.com/4h8fazur

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall was on the verge of lying to MPs as she argued with a disabled MP about misleading comments she made in parliament on disability benefit cuts. disabilitynewsservice.com/liz-kendall-st…

This is utterly appalling. Anxiety and depression can destroy relationships, end careers, rip away any sense of self, and push people to suicide. They are as deadly and disabling as any other severe illness. A label doesn’t even begin to measure the suffering. #TakingThePIP

YouGov @YouGov

a year ago

53% of Britons say people with anxiety or depression shouldn't be able to claim disability benefits, with Kemi Badenoch recently saying people with these conditions should not be signed off work Should be able to: 37% Should not be able to: 53%

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🇺🇳 BREAKING: The UN is demanding answers from the UK over welfare reforms. The Universal Credit Bill risks breaching disabled people’s rights—again. No impact assessment. Cuts called “regression.” Demonising disabled claimants. Deadline for U.K. to respond: 11 Aug #BinUCBill

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Today I’ve submitted an Amendment to stop the remaining £2 billion cut in the Disability Cuts Bill. The Universal Credit Health cut will hit 750,000 sick and disabled people - costing them £3,000 a year. We should not balance the books on the backs of sick and disabled people.

Never got called to speak in the Disability Cuts Bill as there were so many speakers speaking against the Bill. Despite the concessions announced by the government this still includes major cuts & uncertainty & so I will vote against.

Poverty-related health problems cost £29bn annually. Cutting disability benefits will plunge 100,000s deeper into poverty - creating massive indirect costs the OBR hasn’t even imagined. The human cost is immeasurable. No choice Tuesday: sign the reasoned amendment #TakingThePIP

Even the DWP is briefing against Labour!

Just to clarify as some people are unclear. I will be voting against the Disability Cuts Bill.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall’s full letter to Labour MPs setting out the U-turns - welcomed by senior Labour rebel Dame Meg Hillier (see her comment below): "Dear colleague, We have always said we are determined to reform the social security system so it is fair, provides dignity and respect for those unable to work, supports those who can, and is sustainable so it is there for generations to come. The broken system we inherited from the Tories fails all of those tests. These important reforms are rooted in Labour values, and we want to get them right. We have listened to colleagues who support the principle of reform but are worried about the impact of the pace of change on those already supported by the system. As a result we will make two changes to strengthen the Bill. Firstly, we recognise the proposed changes have been a source of uncertainty and anxiety. Therefore, we will ensure that all of those currently receiving PIP will stay within the current system. The new eligibility requirements will be implemented from November 2026 for new claims only. Secondly, we will adjust the pathway of Universal Credit payment rates to make sure all existing recipients of the UC health element — and any new claimant meeting the severe conditions criteria — have their incomes fully protected in real terms. Colleagues rightly want to ensure that disabled people and those with ill health are at the heart of our reforms. We will take forward a ministerial review of the PIP assessment, led by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, to ensure the benefit is fair and fit for the future. At the heart of this review will be co-production with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and MPs so their views and voices are heard. The review will then report to me as Work and Pensions Secretary. These commitments sit alongside our raising of the standard rate of Universal Credit — the biggest real-terms permanent increase of any benefit since the 1980s — the protection of the incomes of the most vulnerable who will no longer be reassessed and the introduction of “right to try”. Our reform principles remain; to target funding for those most in need and make sure the system is sustainable for the future to support generations to come. We believe those who can work, should, and those who cannot, should be protected. We will front load more of the additional funding generated by these reforms for back to work support for sick and disabled people. Taken together it is a fair package that will preserve the social security system for those who need it by putting it on a sustainable footing, support people back into work, protect those who cannot work and reduce anxiety for those currently in the system. Thank you to colleagues for engaging with us on these important reforms to social security." Dame Meg Hiller, the lead Labour MP rebel, said: "This is a positive outcome that has seen the Government listen and engage with the concerns of Labour MPs and their constituents. "It’s encouraging that we have reached what I believe is a workable compromise that will protect disabled people and support people back into work while ensuring the welfare system can be meaningfully reformed. "This means that disabled people currently in receipt of PIP and the health element of Universal Credit will continue to receive the same level of support. "That future changes to disability support will be co-produced with disabled people, building on the work of Minister Stephen Timms MP to create a system that involves disabled people in decisions about their lives. "And that employment support will be brought forward and substantially improved so that people who want to work are not trapped in the benefit system. "This is a good and workable compromise and shows that the Labour Government has listened and that working together with Labour MPs can move forward to support vulnerable disabled people, reform the welfare system in a just and inclusive way and contribute towards the economic growth and prosperity this country so desperately needs."

Politics is not a game. It's people's lives. The Government's welfare cuts will have a catastrophic impact on the sick & disabled, and plunge hundreds of thousands of people into poverty. It's simple: show some humanity and drop this Bill, now.

Obvious way forward on PIP Bill is set out in reasoned amendment which is to pause the process & work with disability groups to coproduce a reformed system that works. Marginal concessions wont work & will divide & damage Labour even more. This is just basic political management.

If Andy Burnham was an MP, I reckon he would have a very good shot right now.

Dear @UKLabour MPs, We need you to sign the amendment. You cannot, in good conscience, vote for a Green Paper that will affect—quite literally—millions of the most vulnerable people in the country without an Impact Assessment. Work with us. Please sign now. Thanks, Everyone

so basically the tories will pledge their support if theres even more cuts

Romilly Weeks @romillyweeks

a year ago

Kemi Badenoch offers PM conditional Tory support on welfare reform with HUGE strings attached: reduce welfare budget, get people into work and no tax rises.

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A truly repulsive article in the Evening Standard blames rising benefit numbers on mental health claimants. It states people are embracing a “usefully elastic” concept of illness — and haven’t even been psychologically assessed. Let’s be clear: this is false and dangerous.🧵

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