“The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity.”
The Guardian newspaper recently reported that it had received the following letter from the following MPs, in a significant development further showing the growing and broad nature of opposition to disability benefit cuts – Labour Outlook
Dear Editor
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 are. 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.
Diane Abbott MP
Paula Barker MP
Lee Barron MP
Lorraine Beavers MP
Apsana Begum MP
Olivia Blake MP
Richard Burgon MP
Dawn Butler MP
Ian Byrne MP
Stella Creasy MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Cat Eccles MP
Barry Gardiner MP
Mary Glindon MP
Sarah Hall MP
Chris Hinchliff MP
Imran Hussain MP
Terry Jermy MP
Kim Johnson MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Peter Lamb MP
Ian Lavery MP
Brian Leishman MP
Emma Lewell MP
Clive Lewis MP
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Andy McDonald MP
John McDonnell MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Grahame Morris MP
Charlotte Nichols MP
Simon Opher MP
Kate Osborne MP
Richard Quigley MP
Andrew Ranger MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Jon Trickett MP
Chris Webb MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Steve Witherden MP
- You can read the letter to the Guardian published on 8 May 2025 here.
- A number of MPs have recently written in Labour Outlook raising their opposition to the cuts to disability support – read more from Andy McDonald MP, Steve Witherden MP, Rachel Maskell MP and Imran Hussain MP.
