Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn argues none of the cuts announced today are necessary – and the government should tax the super-rich instead
Jennifer* was recently diagnosed with depression and agoraphobia. Unable to leave the house by herself, Jennifer relies on friends, family and care workers to accompany her outside. A survivor of domestic violence, Jennifer also suffers from PTSD, which exacerbates her anxiety in unfamiliar or crowded environments. Every time she needs to go to the shops, the doctors, or even for a walk in the park, Jennifer’s travel costs are always twice as much. If nobody is available, she relies on taxis or food deliveries to get by.
This is what her PIP goes toward. Contrary to what people are told by many in our media, PIP has nothing to do with employment status. It is a benefit to help with the extra costs of living with a disability. Indeed, and contrary to the government’s stated aim of “getting Britain working”, disabled people often rely on PIP to help them stay in work, for example by covering the costs of travel, mobility and assistance. Government ministers also conveniently forget to mention that PIP is often a “gateway” benefit; meaning if people lose their PIP, their family could lose vital support like Carers Allowance.
For Jennifer, additional barriers have made it difficult for her to hold down a job, which means she also relies on Universal Credit. Far below what is needed to cover the cost of rent, these piecemeal payments have forced Jennifer into homelessness. Still languishing on the waiting list for social housing, Jennifer relies on the hospitality of friends and family to avoid sleeping on the streets.
Jennifer is one of thousands of people who are being failed by a welfare system that impoverishes and dehumanises the most vulnerable people in our society. Last week, the United Nations called on the UK government to take “corrective measures” to redress the devastating impact of Tory austerity. This follows a UN report in 2024, citing “grave and systemic violations of human rights of persons with disabilities.” A government that valued the lives and dignity of disabled people would reverse these devastating cuts as a matter of urgency. It is unconscionable that a Labour government would choose to deepen them instead.
Implementing £5 billion worth of cuts, the government has tightened eligibility criteria for disability benefits, affecting one million people. Meanwhile, they have chosen to cut Universal Credit for one group and one group only: people with disabilities. This is a seminal moment: a Labour government actually cutting support for people with disabilities. Not just refusing to raise what the Tories reduced. Cutting.
This announcement comes after a week of speculation that PIP would be frozen altogether – itself an act of cruelty from a government toying with people’s lives and dignity. Are disabled people supposed to be grateful that all but those with the most severe disabilities will be denied PIP altogether instead? These cuts are still cruel. They are still callous. And they will still cost lives.
Searching for the “right” scapegoat, government ministers have most recently resorted to attacking people struggling with mental health. Every week, I speak to constituents like Jennifer struggling with mental health. Many are worried about feeding their kids, paying the rent or losing benefits. Britain’s mental health crisis is the result of political choices. This government is choosing to push more people into despair – and then stigmatise those who dare ask for help.
None of these cuts are necessary, which makes any decision to make disabled people’s lives harder that much more despicable. This government could tax the super-rich to end poverty, build social housing and fix our NHS. Slashing disability benefits is a cruel political choice to go after the most vulnerable people in society instead. So, too, was refusing to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which has now pushed 10,000 more children into poverty since Labour was elected. Why is it that “tough choices” are always about harming the poor and disabled, and never about making the very wealthiest pay their fair share?
Meanwhile, the government has no difficulty announcing a £13.4 billion increase in military spending. Is this meant to make disabled people on the verge of destitution feel safer? Are private renters facing eviction supposed to feel more secure? For a while, many people didn’t know what this government stood for. They do now: tough choices for the poor, more money for war.
We are proud to campaign alongside disabled people in our constituencies. They are not expendable. They are not a burden. They are not – as Frances Ryan writes – a cost to society . They are our neighbours and friends, and they deserve to live healthy, social and fulfilling lives just like anyone else. If ministers took the time to speak to people with illnesses and disabilities, they might understand not only the hardships they face but their humanity that successive governments have denied. There is an alternative: treat disabled people with care, respect and dignity instead.
*Name changed.
