Labour’s planned PIP disability cuts are cruel, say two-thirds of UK – UK Times

Some 75 per cent of the UK think the government’s plan to remove Personal Independent Payments (PIP) from those with long-term disabilities is “cruel”,

A new poll, commissioned by human rights charity Amnesty International UK, found the majority of people surveyed – 54 per cent – did not support the government’s changes to restrict the number of people claiming PIP.

Under plans in the controversial new welfare bill, a higher bar for eligibility will be introduced for PIP, the main disability benefit in England. PIP is given to support disabled people with extra costs, such as higher energy bills or mobility equipment. People who claim it are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain things, such as washing.

New measures introduced in the welfare bill, which will be voted on on Tuesday (1 July), will require claimants to score a minimum of eight points across a range of tasks to qualify for the daily living allowance. In a concession to Labour MPs, Liz Kendall has exempted existing PIP claimants from these new requirements.

A Savanta poll of 2,080 people, weighted by age and region, found that 69 per cent of respondents would prefer the UK government to tax the super-rich rather than cut social security. 59 per cent also said that cutting PIP would not help more people get into work.

Those respondents living in the North West were the most likely to label the cuts as “cruel” – with 82 per cent of people agreeing with the statement. This was closely followed by 80 per cent of people in the South East.

The polling comes ahead of a crunch vote in parliament on Tuesday. The government has made concessions to rebel Labour MPs over the welfare bill after more than 120 MPs decided to vote against it.

Jen Clark, from Amnesty International, said: “The message from the public is clear: poverty is a political choice, and this government is dangerously close to choosing poverty and party politics over people’s rights.

“Across every age group, background, and political belief, people agree that cutting PIP is cruel and they can see these proposals for what they are – unfair, unnecessary, and unjust.”

Disability charity Scope has also criticised the planned changes, with executive director of strategy James Taylor accusing the government of subjecting disabled people to a “two-tier system” where “huge numbers” of people are still out of pocket.

He added: “The government must change course on these catastrophic cuts now”.

A government spokesperson said: “We’re delivering one of the biggest packages of welfare reforms in a generation – including scrapping the Work Capability Assessment, rebalancing Universal Credit, and investing in tailored employment support.

“Protecting people is a principle we will never compromise on, which is why we’re delivering long-lasting and meaningful change that puts the welfare system on sustainable footing so the safety net will always be there for those who need it.”