“This proposal is as bad as anything put forth by the Tories after 14 years of austerity.”
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.
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