Disability benefit cuts 'impossible to support', Starmer told by his own MPs: 'Cuts create poverty'

Labour MPs have called on Keir Starmer to halt plans for disability benefit cuts, warning that the “pain and suffering” they cause vulnerable people will not lead to the savings hoped for and could prove “utterly pointless”.

More than 40 MPs, from the left and right of the party, have signed a letter to the prime minister which slams the plans as “the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity”. 

They say the plans are “impossible to support” without a “change in direction”.

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The Big Issue has so far heard from 15 of these MPs, each of whom urged the government to U-turn on the disability benefit cuts.

Simon Opher, the MP for Stroud, said: “Cuts will have consequences: real effects on real people and how they live their lives. These invariably end up limiting or eliminating the supposed savings they were meant to produce, making the pain and suffering they cause vulnerable people utterly pointless.

“We have to work together to build a fairer, healthier, and more equal society. This means taxing the super-rich and multinational corporations, ending austerity, scrapping these cuts and putting real money into people’s pockets with a sustainable economy that works for those who create wealth rather than those who hoard it.”

The open letter, first covered in The Guardian, claims that “while 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,” it adds.

Around 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of cuts to disability benefits, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) analysis. This includes 50,000 children.

Lee Barron, Labour MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, said: “Those figures simply can’t be supported. I didn’t get into politics to impoverish people. I got involved to bring people out of poverty. 

“I’ve met some people who simply can’t work, and I can’t look them in the eye and say that, as a result of something they’re not in control of, they’re going to be impoverished. The driving force behind this should be to reduce the welfare bill by getting people into work. People are incredibly concerned, they’re massively worried.

“I am trying to work considerately with the government on this. The changes will not come into force until next year so we have got some time to work with the government to make sure people are protected. But on the other hand it’s going to leave people hanging for longer. They need to know where they stand.”

Barron added that Labour gave “assurance to people” that it would project those who were unable to work and support those who can back into employment. But he said: “The system we have in place now doesn’t support people into work and we need to bridge that gap.”

The government has stressed it is “determined to support more people back to work” and has launched a £1 billion package to “help disabled people and those who are long-term sick find secure, stable jobs”.

It has also increased the national living wage, uprated benefits by 1.7%, and has introduced a fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions to help boost financial security.

A DWP source said: “At the heart of these reforms is a determination to help more people into work. We understand that there are concerns. The secretary of state is engaging and talking to colleagues, explaining why these reforms will help transform people’s lives.”

But it is not enough for the Labour MPs who have signed the open letter.

Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, said: “I will not vote to continue austerity. If the government press forward with these cuts to disabled people, and undermine the welfare state, I will vote against them.”

Steve Witherden, Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, commented: “My constituents voted for a fresh start, not a fresh round of austerity. The cuts will hit Wales particularly hard and they will hit my constituents particularly hard too.

“I cannot conscionably support the stripping of benefits from the country’s most vulnerable to satisfy some arbitrary fiscal rules, especially when other choices exist. The alternatives to austerity are open to us. If the choice is between properly taxing extreme wealth or pushing disabled people further into poverty, it seems clear to me what the government should do.”

In total, 3.2 million families will lose out on an average of £1,720 a year compared to inflation if the cuts go ahead. The MPs say that these people are among the “poorest and most disadvantaged” in the UK. 

Neil Duncan-Jordan, Labour MP for Poole, referenced these figures and said: “That’s not what any Labour MP signed up for. The green paper needs to be paused, we need to redesign the benefits system with disabled people’s organisations and we need to invest in getting people into work by tackling the real barriers they face. Cuts don’t create jobs – they just create poverty.”

Labour’s reforms will see the eligibility criteria for the personal independence payment (PIP) tightened, as well as the health element of universal credit frozen for current claimants and cut in half for new claimants.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said: “Slashing disability benefits is a political choice that will not be successful on its own stated terms of boosting employment or providing genuine savings. The government’s current approach does not address the reality of limited employment options for disabled people and will only displace costs onto other public services, especially in the NHS and local government. These cuts will only displace costs onto other public bodies like the NHS and local government.

“Welfare cuts were the single biggest reason voters across the political spectrum cited for abandoning Labour in the local elections. These cuts will ultimately hurt Labour as well as many of the people we represent. The places worst impacted by these cuts are the same areas where our party is already hemhorraging support to Reform. There is still time to go back to the drawing board, listen to disabled people and come up with a workable plan that safeguards support.”

Brian Leishman, MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, added: “The government must change course and deliver the change people voted for last summer – change which we promised to deliver.

“We must think about the societal consequences of cutting the winter fuel payment and disability benefits. As Labour, we should be wrapping our arms around the most vulnerable in society while redistributing wealth and power in the UK – these cuts do the exact opposite of that.

“Last week’s local election results are a clear reflection of what the electorate thinks about our first 10 months in government and leadership must acknowledge that. It is time for introspection and a return to the true Labour Party values of equality, fairness and social justice. Only then can we hope to restore trust in mainstream politics.”

Dawn Butler, MP for Brent East, said she used to work in the employment service and agrees that “reform is needed”. But she added: “This reform must happen with care and consultation with disability groups accompanied by an equality impact assessment.

“Labour values are routed in fairness and as a Labour MP, I am committed to ensuring that the laws we pass deliver meaningful, positive change for my constituents in Brent, in London, and for communities across the country,” Butler said.

Butler was a minister under Gordon Brown – parliamentary secretary for the cabinet office and minister for young citizens and youth engagement – and she said she is “proud” of that Labour government’s record of lifting hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.

“In its current form I can not support the proposed measures. During debates in the Commons, I urged the government to consider a modest wealth tax – just 2% on those with assets over £10 million—which would raise billions more than the current proposals. After 14 years of Conservative chaos and policies that have hit those worst off the hardest, it’s time to support those with the greatest need,” Butler added.

Andrew Ranger, MP for Wrexham, said: “My priority is my constituents, many of whom will be severely impacted by the proposed changes. I signed the letter to stand up for those who would be affected, along with their families.

“There are positive changes proposed in the Green Paper such as the Right to Try and the Pathways to Work. Our welfare system needs significant reform to make it fit for purpose. However, this cannot be enacted on the back of some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

Around 800,000 people on PIP will lose at least £4,200 a month by the end of the decade, according to government estimates, if the plans go ahead.

Ian Lavery, MP for the former mining constituency Blyth and Ashington, said many of the people he represents are “already desperately poor, especially those with disabilities”. He claimed his constituency is in the bottom 10% with regards to social deprivation.

“I did not become an MP in order to make them even poorer,” Lavery said, adding: “I became a Labour MP to help pursue its historical mission to  ensure that  working class people can have decent, fulfilling lives and to eliminate the immoral stain of poverty from our society. 

“This is what I have dedicated my life to first as a union official and then as a politician. I am being asked to support what no Labour government should ever do and I simply cannot do so.”

There were more than 10,400 people in Blyth and Ashington in receipt of PIP at the beginning of this year. Lavery said that cutting their support would be “completely unconscionable”.

Chris Hinchliff, MP for North East Hertfordshire, said: “These cuts will fall heavily on 700,000 families already living in poverty, and drive more disabled people into destitution, yet these are the very people Labour exists to serve. If it comes to a vote, I will oppose plans to impoverish my constituents. 

“I am urging the government to change course and focus on investing in job opportunities and genuine employment support for disabled people.”

A consultation into the plans for disability benefit cuts is currently ongoing, and changes will not come into place until 2026 at the earliest. 

Terry Jermy, Labour MP for South West Norfolk, said: “I think the current proposals are wrong. Whilst I support efforts to remove barriers to employment, and want more to be done to encourage people into work, amending the eligibility criteria for PIP is not the answer.

“We need to be listening to people’s concerns and looking at a more collaborative and supportive approach to welfare reform. 

“We also need to give the government’s good work in relation to public service improvements the chance to make a difference. The increase in PIP applications and other welfare support is all too often linked to increasing waiting lists and backlogs built up over the last Conservative government. 

“These proposals disproportionately impact the disabled and the vulnerable and will make their already difficult lives that much harder. Those with the broadest shoulders continue to escape the focus needed and inequality is getting worse.”

Mary Glindon, the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, added: “I have been contacted by many of my vulnerable constituents, who are really worried about the impact of the cuts on their lives. 

“I believe that there should have been a full consultation carried out before these cuts were even considered. While the government needs to balance the books, just as with the cuts to winter fuel payments, the most vulnerable are being made to plug the gap in the country’s finances.”

Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow and Gateshead, also raised concerns about the disability benefit cuts for her constituents and more widely people in the North East. She said the region has “the highest proportion of disabled people, and highest levels of child poverty”.

“These cuts would have a devastating impact on my constituency and I believe they are the wrong move morally and economically for our country. That is why I have joined many of my colleagues in signing a letter calling for a reversal of the disability benefit reforms,” Osborne said.

“Cutting benefits will not create jobs – it will just push even more disabled people into poverty. These benefits allow disabled people to be independent, get work, and stay in work. We must tackle inequalities in living standards, health inequalities and improve living standards to deliver for our communities and defeat the politics of hate.”

The Big Issue recently reported on research from Health Equity North which found that women in the North are more likely to be out of work due to long-term sickness and poverty, and are missing out on £158bn in wages each year.

Mary Foy, the Labour MP for City of Durham, said: “After reading the recent report from Health Equity North which confirmed what I already suspected – that the North East will be disproportionately hit by the proposed cuts and reforms to PIP – I had to add my name to this letter to show support for my constituents, and disabled people across the country.

“With inequalities rife across our region, to push ahead with the proposals as they stand would prove a devastating blow for claimants, of which there are over 7,000 in my constituency alone.The government must pause and listen to the experts, charities and disabled people themselves before any votes take place in parliament.”

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