Comedian Rosie Jones, who has cerebral palsy, has warned ‘no one is safe’ from Labour’s welfare cuts despite major concessions over their plans on Personal Independence Payments
Comedian Rosie Jones has warned “no one is safe” from Labour’s welfare cuts despite major concessions over their plans.
The well-known celebrity, who has cerebral palsy, said it is “terrifying” that ministers are “victimising a vulnerable part of this country”. She raised concerns that current claimants of Personal Independence Payments could still end up losing the benefit when they are reassessed.
Speaking about Labour’s newly announced protections for current claimants, Rosie said: “They’re not thinking about the millions of people who will become disabled in the future but you are also forgetting that millions of people who are in danger are getting reassessed, which could be me, so no one is safe.”
She added that she has always been a Labour voter but that this Government was been “incredibly disappointing”. “This is not a Labour government that I recognise. I voted for them because I truly believed that they were the government that cared about individuals,” she said.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer warned of ‘two tier’ benefit system as he says U-turn ‘strikes right balance’
“That’s not what I’m seeing from the government right now. They care more about stats. They care more about looking good, but they’re looking good by victimising a vulnerable part of this country. They’re putting lives in danger, and that is terrifying.”
Asked if she was reassured the Government’s review would put disabled people at the heart of it, Rosie told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I think disabled people should have been at the heart of the matter from the beginning.
“They were never considering the real effect that this would have on us, and I have seen no evidence that they genuinely care for disabled people and our future. So I want to believe them, but so far they’re not giving me any evidence to say they will do exactly that.”
Last week Keir Starmer offered significant concessions to rebel MPs to swerve a humiliating Commons defeat next week. Leading rebels told The Mirror “serious progress” had been made in crisis talks with No10 over cuts impacting hundreds of thousands of disabled people.
Changes to PIP and the health element of Universal Credit will now apply only to new claimants. It means around 370,000 people will avoid losing around £4,150-a-year. Existing recipients of the health element of Universal Credit will also have their incomes protected in real terms.
But campaigners said it risked “betraying the next generation of disabled people” and could create a “two-tier” system- and some Labour MPs remain opposed ahead of a Commons vote next week.
Mr Starmer today said he wished he had reached a “better position” with Labour MPs earlier, before the major rebellion over welfare cuts erupted. In an interview with the Sunday Times, he said he was distracted by international affairs, which he admitted was not an “excuse”. “I’m putting this as context rather than excuse: I was heavily focused on what was happening with Nato and the Middle East all weekend,” the PM said.
Wes Streeting said he is confident the Government will win a crunch vote on welfare next week. But he admitted “we’ve got to listen” if further concessions on PIP were demanded.
Former Cabinet minister Louise Haigh said it was “really welcome” that Mr Starmer has “acknowledged that mistakes have been made”. She urged the PM to use this moment “to reset the government’s relationship with the British public”.
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