7 days ago
East Kilbride MP blasted for 'leaving disabled in limbo' following Commons welfare vote
Collette Stevenson MSP has said Labour must now apologise to the disabled but Joani Reid MP insists Labour is turning the economy around.
Joani Reid MP has again come under fire for voting in favour of Labour's Welfare Bill which her opposers say will leave her disabled constituents in limbo.
The Bill had initially proposed to slash eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - a move which the government's own analysis showed would remove support from 800,000 people by the end of the decade – but now promises a 'review' of PIP at the end of 2026.
In Scotland, the SNP Government had committed to protect disabled people from these cuts by protecting the Adult Disability Payment, Scotland's equivalent of PIP, from any reductions – though Labour's cut would have had a knock-on impact on Scotland's budget.
After months of backlash from disability and anti-poverty groups, an eleventh-hour change to the bill threw the vote into 'chaos and confusion', and resulted in The UK Government promising a review of PIP to be concluded by autumn 2026, which East Kilbride SNP MSP Collette Stevenson says is leaving disabled people in limbo.
A revolt by Labour MPs led to 49 of them voting against the motion but that number would have been far higher but for the government making a number of eleventh-hour adjustments to gain support for the Bill.
East Kilbride SNP claimed the Labour cuts would push hundreds of thousands of disabled people into poverty, hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
Collette Stevenson has said Labour must now apologise to disabled people for keeping them in limbo.
The MSP said: "This Welfare Bill has been a disaster from the start – Labour have gone from ignoring disabled people to changing the Bill minutes before the vote – that is a total joke, and no way to run a country.
'But by voting for this bill in its amended form, Ms Reid is only making that uncertainty for disabled people worse, by delaying any clarity on PIP until the end of 2026.
"Labour have shown their true colours here - any cut to PIP will be devastating for disabled people who rely on these payments to live and work – which is why the SNP pledged to protect these payments here in Scotland.
'With the limited powers of the Scottish Parliament, we can step in to protect disabled people here in East Kilbride and across Scotland – just imagine what we could do with the full powers of independence.'
In response, Joani Reid said that reforming welfare to help people "who can and should work" into jobs while protecting those who need help is all part of turning the economy around.
'With Labour the minimum wage is rising, the economy is growing and families can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel on the cost of living crisis as energy costs come down", she said.
"Reforming welfare to help people who can and should work into jobs while protecting those who need help is all part of turning the economy around and I am proud of the work Labour is doing.
'But under the SNP government, slavishly supported by Collette Stevenson, the NHS is getting worse, schools are falling behind and promise after promise is being abandoned.
'Now she wants to plunge Scotland back into the chaos and division of another referendum on independence, as though that answers any of the problems our country faces. Nobody outside the SNP wants or needs that. What a colossal waste of time, energy and money that would be.'
In a scathing open letter to the MP, East Kilbride South SNP Councillor Geri Gray spoke of her "disgust" at the decision by the granddaughter of veteran trade unionist and socialist Jimmy Reid who led the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders' work-ins during the 1970s.
She wrote: "I am disgusted that the granddaughter of the late and legendary Jimmy Reid could vote for the welfare cuts to the sickest and most vulnerable in our society. I have worked in Welfare Rights since before you left high school, and have seen the attacks on disabled people first by the Tories and now by your government.
"Have you spoken to any disabled charities or Welfare Rights organisations before you took this decision? Having recently attended a Welfare Rights Conference where Sir Stephen Timms was in attendance via video link, appears there was no discussion at all.
"No one is saying that people who are disabled shouldn't be assisted to work, and many do. However where are all these dream jobs? How many employers are going to realistically take on a disabled person who wakes up that morning in pain or with poor mental health and is unable to attend work that day? Employers are running a business, they need their staff. They can only be sympathetic to a point.
"So in conclusion Joani Reid, you are using disabled people as an easy source to save money. There are many other sources of income you could have looked at.
"Labour were always the party of the 'working class', no longer is this true. And why my previous Labour voting family turned to the SNP over 20 years ago. How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity."
A Labour source said: 'Councillor Gray does herself and her party no favours with her bad tempered and inaccurate and personal attack on Joani Reid.
"Spending to assist disabled people is rising substantially, something you would expect someone who claims to be an expert on the subject to know, but instead Councillor Gray claims it is being cut. She can do better.
'Nor are the measures she attacks in the Bill.'
