Andy Borrie

Dear Labour MP. If you are going to be voting for or against changes to #disabilitybenefits that could devastate the lives of an estimated million-plus people, I’d like to think three minutes of your time is a fair exchange. It has been reported that 100 Labour MPs have signed a letter about their concerns regarding the disability benefit cuts, in particular the cut in amount for new claimants to LCWRA (aka: health element) of Universal Credit. This worries me, because this part of the cuts is, in many ways, one of the least important, not least because changes to eligibility rules will mean that, from 2028, very few will be able to claim it anyway. The benefit system for the disabled and long-term sick is ridiculously complicated, and I ask you to spend just three minutes of your time reading this post, which explains why the eligibility changes to PIP are far more worrying than the cut in amount paid through LCWRA UC. I’ll start with Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The changes to eligibility for PIP will mean that an estimated 87% of people who currently claim the lower rate of the Daily Living Element will no longer be able to claim it from their first reassessment after November 2026. These figures come from the DWP itself. This is a cut to our income of approximately £300 a month. This means that people who can’t cook a meal from scratch, can’t wash certain parts of their body, can’t use the toilet without assistance, and can’t cut up the food on their plate will most likely be shut out of PIP. And any illness or disability that effects us in that way most likely means there are many other issues of a similar nature which affect our daily routine – they just aren’t on the form. However, what comes next is the real killer (literally). Many people who claim PIP also claim the health element of Universal Credit. But under the new proposals, the Work Capability Assessment to decide whether or not we qualify for that element of UC is being scrapped in 2028. Instead, people will need to have the Daily Living Element of PIP in order to claim it – but, because of the changes to eligibility most people will no longer be able to claim that element of PIP, and therefore won’t be able to claim the health element of UC. In other words, the government is making PIP much harder to get, and then using it to decide if people can claim the LCWRA element of Universal Credit. It’s like playing a game with loaded dice. Disabled people don’t stand a chance. And perhaps the most bizarre thing is that the mobility element of PIP won’t act as a passport to UC in the same way. So, even if we can only walk one metre, we still won’t be classed as disabled enough to claim the LCRWA/health element of UC. So, after losing PIP of £300 a month, we will also lose £400+ a month through our inability to claim the health element of UC. That’s £700+ a month we have lost. The change to the amount of health element of UC that some of you are concerned about is going to be unimportant for most people because they won’t be able to claim it anyway. And we’re talking of 1.3 MILLION people. What’s more, various members of the government keep repeating the lie that these changes will get disabled people into work. THIS IS NOT TRUE. PIP is NOT an out-of-work benefit. It is money to compensate us for the extra expenditure that our disabilities cost us. If we lose PIP, we lose our independence. If we lose our independence we CAN’T work at all. Many use their PIP to ALLOW them to work. And the knock-on effects could be severe. If people lose money, they can’t afford to eat well, thus making their conditions worse. Poverty is going to cause even more mental health issues than there already are. All of this puts extra strain on the NHS and councils. It is a false economy to cut disability benefits in this way. The change to PIP is not only shutting people out of that benefit, but also out of the health element of UC. It’s a double blow. One blow we might be able to deal with, but the second will, quite literally, be a killer. That’s approximately £8400 a year many of us are losing, or, to put it another way, it’s 28 times the amount that pensioners are losing because of the changes to Winter Fuel Allowance. We fully understand how ridiculously complicated the disability benefits system is (and I haven’t even mentioned carer’s allowance that some people will also lose), but it’s ESSENTIAL that you know the basics of it as outlined above before you vote. Over the course of two days, every Labour MP on X will be tagged/mentioned in a post containing the above explainer. It has been a long process putting that list of close to 400 X handles together, but if just one of you has read the above and now understands the system better, and why the disabled community is so frightened, then it has, of course, been worth it. If nothing else, please don’t get taken in by the lies that this will get people back into work. That will not happen. Even if people DO get to do some part-time work, it won’t make up for all the money they are losing. The only effect the cuts will have is the destruction of peoples lives due to a condition or illness that they have no control over. Thank you for your time. #benefits #benefitcuts #disability #disabled #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #pip #illness #universalcredit #arthritis #disabilitybenefits #labour #Starmer @pamela_nash @SharonHodgsonMP @damienegan @justinmadders @Labour_Carlisle @RuthCadbury @vickyfoxcroft @E_TLabour @SarahCoombesWB @SarahEdwardsTam @NSLabour @RichardBurgon @steveracemp @NazShahBfd @harpreetkuppal @HattonLloyd @ChelFulhamBen @LilianGreenwood @Sureena4WNE @NeilForPoole @DavidBSampson @JoPlattLeigh @Andrew_Lewin_ @LFarnz @david4lcs @LeePitcherMP @JanetDaby @GW_YoungLabour @chriswardmp @ChrisMcDonaldMP @ThurrockJen @darrenpjones @BeaversLorraine @BayoAlaba @LukePollard @Perran4CRH @ChrisMurrayMP @Sarah_Hall81 @jamesmurray_ldn @GoAndrCoop @AllisonCGardner @annaturley @marykfoy @Christian4BuryS @KarlTurnerMP @FeryalClark @alangemmell @josephpowell @KateOsamor @JohannaBaxter