'Disabled people are terrified of benefits cuts - Liz Kendall must listen to them'
Benefits claimants are living "in literal terror" over the government's welfare cuts that could see a million disabled people lose out on payments, an MP has told Yahoo News.
Sian Berry, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said her inbox "has been absolutely filled up" since the government announced on Tuesday a series of cost-cutting measures, including limiting how many people are eligible for disability benefit PIP.
Other controversial measures unveiled by the government include cutting off incapacity benefits for under 22s, as well as freezing universal credit payments for those who receive limited capability for work and work-related activity payments, also known as LCWRA.
Experts say the measures, which Labour says will save taxpayers £5bn, will result in 1.2 million disabled people losing thousands of pounds in the overhaul.
The government has said the plans will incentivise more people to work, tackle the bulging benefits bill, and ensure that those with the most severe disabilities do not have to go under reassessment and have their payments protected.
Berry - who took over the Green's first and longest-held seat, Brighton Pavilion, from former party leader Caroline Lucas in July 2024 - told Yahoo News: "My inbox has absolutely filled up with people who are desperately worried. I've raised in Parliament that people have written to me in literal terror that this is about to happen. The government has caused enormous amounts of fear, and now it's going to cause enormous amounts of harm."
Berry has staunchly opposed the cuts since reports emerged as to the scale of the reforms at the start of the month. She said she has written to every single Labour MP urging them to vote against them.
One of those MPs includes work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, who announced the proposals in the Commons on Tuesday.
Berry said: "One of the things I write to her about, is making sure that people know they can write in with their personal experiences. She needs to hear from the actual people affected by this.
Initially, Berry had some "very good responses" from MPs outside of Labour. Now, she said, MPs are coming around to her thinking as she bids to rally enough voices to block the proposals from passing into law. However, given the size of Labour's majority in the Commons, it is likely the government would be able to overcome any rebellion by its own MPs.
"I want to see a growing united group of MPs from the opposition and from the Labour back benches who are determined to just stop these plans going through in the current form," she added.
The details behind the proposals are mapped out in the government's 'Get Britain Working' green paper — a name that has angered some campaigners because it includes reforms to PIP, a benefit that isn't linked to employment status.
To add insult to injury, Berry discovered that the document detailing the plans didn't include any accessible versions for disabled people, such as large print documents or a braille edition for the visually impaired.
If you want a clear illustration of the Government's disregard for really engaging with Disabled people, they have produced NO accessible versions of their plans today. pic.twitter.com/2NXApqqJbW
— Sian Berry (@sianberry) March 18, 2025
"Honestly, I was astounded to see that," she told Yahoo News.
"The government went to the media for weeks on end to get this document ready, and to not have accessible versions of these documents ready when most of the people affected will have a disability of some kind, including the campaigners who want to respond to it...
"I'm glad that the government have said that the consultation will not begin until those accessible versions have been released."
The cuts have been made ahead of the spring statement next Wednesday, which will see Chancellor Rachel Reeves deliver a wider update on the health of the UK economy.
She will be responding to new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), after the Bank of England reduced its forecasts for growth this year.
The weaker growth figures, combined with higher-than-expected borrowing, are expected to put pressure on Reeves to increase taxes or cut spending in order to meet the financial rules she set at the budget.
The Office for National Statistics released a gloomy forecast on Friday, with the government's year-to-year borrowing £20.4bn above forecast.
While the government's spending is largely on track, a pressing issue is tax receipts being down, running £11.4bn below forecast in the year to February — pointing to a downturn in corporation tax payments, as well as income from self-assessments.
Berry has questioned why the government isn't trying to reduce the deficit by pursuing a wealth tax.
"There are millionaires crying out for a wealth tax," she said. "It is such a common policy around the world. It's got so much consent from the general public that we should be taxing wealth in some way. And the proposals are so small in terms of the percentage tax on wealth.
"It's just ridiculous that the government is shying away from just doing something about the enormous wealth that's concentrated in this country instead of attacking people with the least."
Yahoo News has approached the government for comment.
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