Benefits reforms would decimate my £14k handouts, without PIP my luxuries like fags & posh pet accessories would be gone

The Irish Sun

13 hours ago

A SENSE of ease comes over me, as I read the news on the sun-trap terrace which overlooks my sprawling garden as I realise my benefits aren't going anywhere.
Until Tuesday a guillotine was hanging above me, threatening to cut off my monthly PIP payments, but thanks to a retreat from Keir Starmer they're safe… for now.
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Erica Crompton says she depends on her £295 PIP she receives a month
Credit: SUPPLIED
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She believes should be able to spend her stipend on little luxuries
Reforms would have seen disabled Brits like me face stricter tests to qualify for support the changes have now been shelved entirely — with no set date for when, or if, they will happen
How long my comfortable life will last remains to be seen as it seems my £14,400 income from Universal Credit and PIP are always up for grabs, no matter the party in power.
I've come to see the majority of political parties as the real thugs.
Whoever is in power, you can guarantee they'll have threatened - or have already implemented - major cuts to my income.
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Had Labour's suggested cuts come into play I may have lost £600 of the total sum of £1200 I receive in benefits a month.
It might seem like a lot but I implore you to bear in mind that minimum wages, full-time, meets £2,000 a month. So, my total benefits aren't exactly a footballer's salary or an heir's trust fund.
For Universal Credit, I now get £381 housing benefit; £201 for caring over 24 hours a week and £400 for being unemployed due to my
PIP is a standard, monthly payment of £295 I always get. It helps with costs associated with my illness - regardless of whether or not I'm in work.
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The proposal of a points system for PIP meant I would lose it completely as I only score 2 points for a few concerns over 12 questions (in total mine was 11 points).
For example: communication can be hard in groups and I often fall out with friends and family - especially on the internet, phone or Whatsapp.
Disability benefit explained - what you can claim
Or I might need prompting for my weekly bath, simply because I'm getting smelly.
These side effects all only score 2 points, not the proposed 4 to keep PIP.
This week Reeve's plans were watered down by Starmer, thanks to some more moral Labour backbenchers (with backbones?)
Given the hateful responses I receive when I speak publicly about claiming benefits, I doubt I've heard the last of any of our 'disability benefits being axed.'
As I casually scroll through the comments I received on social media, I get more angry faces and hateful comments than murderers, child killers and rapists.
I have to disagree with all of them and believe I - we - deserve support from the state for a severe mental illness, mine is schizo-affective disorder, and for putting in 50 hours a week caring for my partner, a wheelchair user.
I also believe without the cost of children, I should be able to spend my stipend on little luxuries like my 60 fags a day habit and hand-painted cat food bowls which I imported for £75 from India.
I'm aware that many countries' welfare states don't exist, like India where my cat bowls hail from, so I'm still grateful for any support I do receive.
What is PIP?
HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP).
The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £172.75 a week.
PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66.
Crucially, you must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around - or both- for three months, and you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you're terminally ill with less than 12 months to live).
You can also claim PIP if you're in or out of work and if you're already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit.
PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you.
You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £26.90 or £71.
While on the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £68.10 or £101.75 - and you could get both elements, so up to £172.75 in total.
You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment.
Make a claim by calling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 0800 917 2222.
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Erica qualifies for PIP due to her schizo-affective disorder but she would have lost it had Labour's proposed reforms come into place
Credit: Supplied
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As well as Universal Credit she receives a carers allowance for acting as her partner Paul's carer
Credit: Erica Crompton
It's not just trolls saying I'm a 'leech' or 'scrounger' who I face criticism from though - even doctors can't agree on what schizophrenia is and many naysayers even go as far as to say "it's only in the mind & there's nothing wrong at all" or that it's just a 'human response to traumatic life events'.
But what they don't factor in is the major physical toll my mental health takes on my body.
I'd like to offer these negative Nellys a day's worth of my medication and see how they get on.
My boyfriend Paul was mostly in bed asleep for three days after just one dose he mistook for a paracetamol which I've taken three times a day for over two decades.
This tiredness is real.
Paranoia is real, it's hard to be around more than one person when you're trying to read code behind everyone's speech (a typical schizo-spectrum symptom known as 'thought broadcasting').
The poor personal hygiene is real, I might only bathe once a week. My anxiety is crippling, too, but I've learned to put on a brave face and try to remain calm and positive. Still, even a brave face doesn't erase a churning stomach.
But Reeve's 'four point' system didn't take these things into account. You may well have needed to prove that you have an actual carer come in to wash your bottom twice a day to get 4 points on PIP benefits.
WHAT WERE THE PROPOSED CHANGED TO PIP?
DISABLED Brits would have faced stricter tests to qualify for support under the original benefits crackdown.
They would have needed to score at least four points in one activity like washing, dressing, or preparing food.
Currently, people can qualify by scoring eight points across multiple tasks, making it easier to access the benefit.
Last week, Labour agreed to limit the crackdown to new claimants only after a backlash from MPs.
But under the latest retreat, the changes have now been shelved entirely — with no set date for when, or if, they will happen.
Sir Keir Starmer suffered a major rebellion this week by 49 of his own MPs tonight as his welfare reforms scraped through after another round of last-minute concessions.
But after more fury from the backbenches, he shelved controversial disability benefit reforms to stave off a Labour revolt.
Ministers have now scrapped plans to tighten rules for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) after furious backbenchers warned they would sink the controversial Bill.
In the end, MPs voted the legislation through by a majority of 75, with 335 in favour and 260 against.
Any proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments now won't kick in until after a review has taken place.
The PIP benefits - the main disability welfare payment for those with a disability - is subject to a review by Welfare Minister Sir Stephen Timms.
The benefit payments are in place to help those affected with daily tasks such as mobility.
Payments currently start at £1,500 but rise to £9,600 which are paid out even if someone is still working.
The daily living rate comes in at £73.90 for the lower rate and £110.40 for the higher rate.
Figures show that the mobility rate is worth £29.20 and rises to £77.05 for the higher rate.
Ministers have revealed that 1,000 people per day are claiming PIP - which is the equivalent of the size of Leicester every year.
Following a major rebellion, those who are now claiming PIP be able to claim the same amount of money.
But for new claimants from November 2026, there will be a set of stricter measures set out as the government aims to reduce spending on the benefits and get people back to work.
Never mind reeking too much to leave the house and be in public - let alone in an office.
This idea that work might make us better - which Reeves drove home and used to justify her cruel cuts - felt like gaslighting. 'We believe if you can work, you should work.' she stated.
But PIP is a benefit you can also claim while working.
Like me, many need their benefits - both PIP and Universal Credit - to 'top-up' part-time work wages and that allows them to manage their disability, to care for a loved one, or both.
For ten years in my twenties I worked two-three jobs to make ends meet. I always ended up on the mental health crisis phoneline, with a duty nurse telling me I needed to take substantial time off or quit my job.
Eventually I quit working full-time for good, and my mental health has improved markedly.
I now care full-time and put in 10-16 hours of writing a week.
I know first hand, poverty doesn't cure mental illness (or any disability) - it exasperates them, and only makes them worse - putting even more strain on an already underfunded NHS.
Therefore any kind of cuts to disability benefits, particularly those that penalise people with mental health issues will only cost us more in the long run, both in budgets and lives.
And while I appreciate that reforms may be on hold for now I dread to think what could come out in Sir Stephen Timms' PIP review at the end of 2026.
But I beg Labour not to cast people like me aside. We're not scroungers and for us PIP is a lifeline.
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Erica says that for people like her, PIP is a lifeline
Credit: Erica Cartier