Disability Rebellion says welfare bill will 'strip people of their independence'
On July 1, MPs are set to debate the Disability Benefits cut, a decision that could have detrimental effects on the disabled community and those with special learning needs.
According to the House of Commons' UK Disability Statistics from 2023, over 16.1 million disabled individuals live in the UK, many of which rely on the governmental DA (Disability Allowance) and PIP (Personal Independence Payment) to live and earn independently.
At 7PM, MP's will gather in the House of Commons to debate and vote Keir Starmer's proposal to cut these benefits, leaving many Brits in an anxious state as their standard of living is on the line.
Keir Starmer 's office have campaigned to Labour MPs to vote in confidence of the welfare bill in a desperate attempt to 'save' the £5million estimated cost of national DA. The Prime Minister sought a compromise with the disabled community via an amendment to the bill that protects exiting PIP claimants and maintains the health sector of Universal Credit.
However, Starmer's olive branch has been firmly rejected. Mike O'Brien, a leading member of Disability Rebellion, spoke exclusively to the Mirror on the expected fallout of Labour's cuts, should they be voted in favour.
Mike stated: "Within our organization and our community, there's a lot of worry at the moment about what's going to happen with the welfare reform. We understand that the concessions have been made, but, the general feeling is that the concessions don't go far enough and they don't offer enough protection".
On the immediate effects concerning disabled peoples' independence, he said: "First of all, you're looking at a loss of income, but then it's also going to affect people's independence".
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He explained that those currently on PIP "are on the higher rate of mobility, they can get a Motability car, but, if for whatever reason they do lose their PIP, they lose that Motability car - basically, that's going to impact their independence. Some people rely on these cars for getting to work. So, they're going to have to either give up their jobs or rely on public transport".
The Disability Rebellion spokesperson added: "The government are basically saying that it's about getting people into work. They don't seem to understand that, first of all, PIP isn't an 'out of work' benefit. You can actually claim it while you're working. And they [MPs for the cut] just don't seem to understand the effects that taking people's PIP away will have on their ability to carry on working".
A dejected Mike shared his anxieties for the vote, highlighting how his community had all come together in fear of their current way of life, their income and their independence being held at stake, as well as sharing his belief of the decline of mental health for many potentially forced into isolation by the bill.
"It will definitely have a knock-on effect on people's mental being and their physical well-being because if you're not feeling well mentally then that can knock onto your physical being as well".
Interestingly, Mike opened up about his personal feelings towards the decision to push back the debate till 7PM, suspecting this to be a political move to sway the vote. In a moment of vulnerability, he claimed that "the general consensus seems to me that Labour want to spend money on defence".
"Because of Liz Kendall's self-imposed fiscal rule, the general consensus is that all these things are going to be done off the backs of disabled and more vulnerable people in society," added Mike, highlighting the upcoming fears on the Winter fuel cut.
"There's definite feelings of dread amongst the people in our community and amongst people within other organizations. We've just learned that the debate has been pushed back because the parental leave debate has gone on. People are now worried that they are doing this deliberately to limit the debate time around the PIP bill so that there can't be as many questions asked".
Disability Rebellion is an organisation aiming to fill the gap and support those who may have struggled to attend physical protests due to mobility restrictions or being housebound. The organisation aims to fill that gap for those who wish to get involved.
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