Latest news with #disabledPeople
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Voting Labour is my biggest regret': UK government's betrayal of disabled people
When ministers announced major changes to welfare, many were left in shock that such deep cuts would be enacted by a Labour government, despite the urgent need to address the spiraling cost of benefits. But thanks to strong opposition from disabled people, organisations and rebel Labour MPs, many of the proposals were amended or removed before the bill passed through parliament. The Guardian spent time with dissenting voices in the run-up to the vote, to learn what was at stake for disabled people, already disproportionately affected by rising poverty in the UK
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Starmer Emerges From UK Welfare Fight Weaker and Billions in Red
Updated on Save Keir Starmer dramatically abandoned his flagship welfare reforms to avoid a historic defeat, leaving the UK prime minister's authority badly damaged and his government facing a widening fiscal hole to fill. The government made a last-ditch decision Tuesday to drop the most contentious part of planned welfare changes, which would have restricted benefit payments to some disabled people from next year and had caused widespread anger among Labour MPs. While that allowed Starmer to avoid a humiliating loss to rebels in his own party, it came at the cost of giving up all of the savings initially sought from the reforms.
Sky News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
How did your MP vote on Labour's welfare bill?
Labour's welfare reforms bill has passed, with 335 MPs voting in favour and 260 against. It came after the government watered down the bill earlier this evening, making a dramatic last-minute concession to the demands of would-be rebel MPs who were concerned about the damage the policy would do to disabled people. The concessions could end up leaving the government with . The government has a working majorityi of 166, so it would have taken 84 rebels to defeat the bill. In total, 49 Labour MPs still voted against the bill despite the concessions. No MPs from other parties voted alongside the government, although three MPs elected for Labour who have since had the whip removed did so. Which Labour MPs rebelled? Last week, 127 Labour MPs signed what they called a "reasoned amendment", a letter stating their objection to the bill as it was. The government responded with some concessions to try and win back the rebels, which was enough to convince some of them. But they were still ultimately forced to make further confessions today. In total, 68 MPs who signed the initial "reasoned amendment" eventually voted in favour of the bill. Nine in 10 MPs elected for the first time at the 2024 general election voted with the government. That compares with fewer than three quarters of MPs who were voted in before that. A total of 42 Labour MPs also voted in favour of an amendment that would have stopped the bill from even going to a vote at all. That was voted down by 328 votes to 149. How does the rebellion compare historically? If the wording of the bill had remained unchanged and 127 MPs or more had voted against it on Tuesday, it would have been up there as one of the biggest rebellions in British parliamentary history. As it happened, it was still higher than the largest recorded during Tony Blair's first year as PM, when 47 of his Labour colleagues (including Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn, who also voted against the bill on Tuesday) voted no to his plan to cut benefits for single-parent families.
The Guardian
29-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
As a visibly physically disabled MP, my view on the welfare bill is clear: we need a reset and fast
In March 2020, when the Conservative government looked like an outlier in appearing to pursue a Covid strategy centring on herd immunity, for the first time in my life I felt raw, hot fear. Thinking of my toddler and what might happen if I caught coronavirus and was treated under the then Nice guidelines 'frailty' score was too much. I sobbed deeply. After 10 years of austerity, I knew then that disabled people would pay an enormous price for the pandemic thanks to the government's handling of it. Disabled people did: almost 60% of Covid-related deaths involved disabled people in that first wave. I vowed then that I would do all I could to use my skills and experiences of 20 years working in disability law and policy to deliver a country that treats disabled people with dignity and respect. Five years later, I am one of the only visibly physically disabled members of parliament. I was proud to be elected last year as the first person to have grown up in my constituency to go on to represent it in parliament for more than a century. I am proud, too, that Labour's manifesto committed to championing the rights of disabled people, and to the principle of working with disabled people to ensure our views and voices are at the heart of all we do. Consequently, since April, I have been engaging relentlessly with government, at the very highest level, to change its proposals as set out in the universal credit and personal independence payment bill. I made it clear from the start I could not support the proposals on personal independence payments (Pip). Pip is an in-work benefit, designed to ensure disabled people can live independently. There are 4 million disabled people in poverty in the UK. As a matter of conscience, I could not support measures that would push 250,000 disabled people, including 50,000 children, into poverty. Nor could I accept proposals that used a points system, under current descriptors, that would exclude eligibility for those who cannot put on their underwear, prosthetic limbs or shoes without support. The concessions now announced are significant, including that all recipients of Pip who currently receive it will continue to do so. I know this will be an enormous relief for many of my nearly 6,000 constituents in receipt of Pip and for disabled people across the country. However, I will continue working, as I have done from the beginning, to look at these concessions carefully against the evidence on the impact upon disabled people, including my constituents, and disabled people's organisations. Fundamentally, I will be looking for further reassurances that the detail will fulfil Labour's manifesto commitments to disabled people. The social model of disability must be central to this – removing barriers to our inclusion in society. Proposals must take a mission-led approach across all five missions to break down barriers to opportunity for disabled people. I hope to see three things from government, embedded in the text of the amendments, if the bill reaches the report stage. First, the review being led by Stephen Timms, the minister for social security and disability, must not be performative. The government must not make the same mistake twice. I strongly recommend bringing in a disabled expert on equality and employment law, such as Prof Anna Lawson at the University of Leeds, to support this work. Second, the government must consult disabled people over the summer to understand the impact of the proposed changes from November 2026 on future claimants. These must mitigate risks of discrimination for those current recipients with similar disabilities and against pushing new disabled claimants into poverty after November 2026. In doing so, it must produce an impact assessment that also reflects the impact of unmet need for future recipients on health and social care services, and clarifies the application of new criteria on those receiving Pip if they get reassessed. Third, growth must mean inclusive growth. In implementing the £1bn employment, health and skills support programme, there needs to be a clear target for closing the disability employment gap. Importantly, there needs to be a commitment to a sector-by-sector strategy on closing this gap and a skills training strategy for the employment support workers enabling disabled people into work. These approaches outperform cuts or sanctions in getting disabled people into sustainable employment. This matters. The Conservatives left us with a pitiful 29% employment gap and 17% pay gap for disabled people. The Labour government has an opportunity to bring in a new era of policymaking for disabled people that takes a laser focus in closing this gap. The disability sector believes that this can be reduced by 14%; generating £17.2bn for the exchequer. We must seize this moment to do things differently and move beyond the damaging rhetoric and disagreements of recent weeks. In line with the prime minister's statement that reform should be implemented with Labour values of fairness, a reset requires a shift of emphasis to enabling disabled people to fulfil their potential. I will continue to engage with government and disabled people's organisations, to fight for a country that treats disabled people with dignity and respect. Marie Tidball is Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on autism and co-chair of the disability parliamentary Labour party Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Sun
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Government whip resigns as she slams Labour's welfare reforms and their impact on disabled people
A GOVERNMENT whip has resigned as she slammed Labour's welfare reforms. MP Vicky Foxcroft has stepped back from her role over the party's controversial proposals. 3 3 3 She wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer she could not vote "for reforms which include cuts to disabled people's finances". The former whip said: "I do not believe that cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit should be part of the solution. "I have wrestled with whether I should resign or remain in the Government and fight for change from within. "Sadly it is now seems that we are not going to get the changes I desperately wanted to see. "I therefore tender my resignation as I know I will not be able to do the job that is required of me and whip - or indeed vote - for reforms which include cuts to disabled people's finances. "I am incredibly proud to have served as part of the first Labour government in 14 years and hope that ministers will revisit these reforms so that I can continue to support the Government in delivering for the people of this country." This comes as a record 3.74 million people are now claiming disability benefits - with teenagers and young adults fuelling the rise, shock new figures reveal. The number of people on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has shot up by 200,000 in a year, according to official data. It's up from 3.54 million in April last year and nearly double the 2.05 million on the books in 2019. Young claimants are also climbing fast, with 16 to 19-year-olds now making up 16.5 per cent of all PIP cases - up from 14.6 per cent in 2019. There has been a similar rise for the 30-44 age group, which accounted for 21.0 per cent in April this year, up from 18.9 per cent in April 2019. By contrast, 45-59 year-olds made up 29.9 per cent of claimants in April, down from 37.2 per cent in 2019. The figure for 60-74 year-olds has risen slightly over this period, from 29.3% to 30.8 per cent. The damning figures come as Sir Keir Starmer is standing firm in the face of a growing rebellion over his plans to tighten the eligibility for PIP. Dozens of Labour MPs have already warned the plans are 'impossible to support' – claiming the changes risk hitting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people. The reforms will see tougher rules brought in for new and existing claimants, with ministers hoping to slash £5 billion a year from the ballooning disability benefits bill. It's understood that up to 800,000 people could lose access to PIP under the proposed changes, which are aimed at cutting back on awards linked to mental health conditions and other 'less visible' illnesses. It was reported in recent days that Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has agreed to include 'non-negotiable' protections in the Bill – including a 13-week grace period for people who no longer qualify, instead of payments stopping after just four weeks. The move is seen as an attempt to head off a Labour rebellion, but one MP dismissed it as 'not very much really'. Speaking at the weekend, the PM made clear his intention to push ahead with the reforms. Asked whether there would be further concessions, Sir Keir said: 'Well we have got to get the reforms through and I have been clear about that from start to finish. 'The system is not working, it's not working for those that need support, it's not working for taxpayers. 'Everybody agrees it needs reform, we have got to reform it and that is what we intend to do.' is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
