“No one from any part of the country thought that the change they voted for would be billions of pounds cut from the welfare budget.”
Brian Leishman MP was amongst the speakers at the recent Halt Disability Benefit Cuts Now! online rally organised by Arise: A Festival of Left Ideas and the Trade Union Coordinating Group- you can read an edited version of his remarks below.
The last decade and a half saw not only inequality grow at an incredible pace: we saw Britain, the 5th largest economy in the world, become a country with millions relying on foodbanks. Pensioners right through to children descending into poverty. All so the very wealthiest could get tax breaks.
At the same time, the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the country were hammered by austerity: cuts to welfare, cuts to the NHS, cuts to the public services that bind us together and are the fabric of our society. It’s no wonder that people are exhausted and demoralised.
And in a Scottish context, we have seen both governments (the Tories in London and the SNP in Edinburgh) enact brutal catalogues of cuts that have led to deprivation which we thought was history. The sort of political decisions that make people poor by design.
And last July, people voted for all that suffering to end. They were offered change from Labour.
No one from any part of the country thought that after 14 years of Tory austerity, of punitive welfare policies that robbed people of their dignity and committed violations of rights against disabled people, that the change they voted for would be billions of pounds cut from the welfare budget.
People voted for something else. The end to cruel Tory welfare policies that led to more disabled people living in poverty than ever before, in one of the richest countries in the world.
The need to build an equal and fair society is greater now than ever.
As well as savage austerity, we have seen a global pandemic where inequality grew and then a cost of living crisis where the cost of essentials: food, shelter, heat – have all risen. And as we all know, the cost of living crisis is still ongoing. Not at the rate it was, but people’s living standards are still deteriorating.
People often talk about the cost of living, but the cost of disability is expensive.
Whether that be for care bills, food for special diets, electricity for added heating, or for charging mobility scooters or dehumidifiers or any manner of medical equipment that needs charged.
It is expensive, and for many that means a horrible choice of going without something essential that they need.
That’s not the way life should be.
This Labour government should be building a caring, compassionate society where the Department of Work and Pensions is there to support people, not punish them.
We need to work with disability organisations and charities to design a new system that treats people with dignity and respect. That is how we ensure a standard of living to end poverty. That is the true values of a Labour government and what myself, the MPs at this rally and Labour members from all over the country want.
You always have our support, and we are in Parliament for you. Solidarity.
- You can watch back the Halt Disability Benefit Cuts Now! rally in full here.
- Brian Leishman is the Member of Parliament for Alloa and Grangemouth- you can follow him on Facebook, Twitter/X and Bluesky.
- You can follow Arise: A Festival of Left Ideas on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify, and support their work here.
- You can follow the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group on Facebook 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.
