Liz Kendall Sparks Fresh Backlash As She Doubles Down On 'Cruel' Plan To Slash Disability Benefits

Liz Kendall arrives at Downing Street.Liz Kendall has sparked a fresh backlash after doubling down on Labour’s plans to slash disability benefits.The work and pensions secretary said the £5 billion in cuts were “rooted in our enduring values of fairness, equality and opportunity”.Campaign groups said the policy was “cruel and unfair” and urged Kendall to think again.More than 100 Labour MPs are set to rebel against the cuts when they are voted on in the Commons next month.But in a speech on Wednesday, Kendall said the reforms were necessary to make the welfare bill sustainable to and to get more people off benefits and into work.She said: “We are the only economy in the G7 whose employment rate still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, and spending on sickness and disability benefits in most other comparable countries is either stable or falling since the pandemic, yet ours continues to inexorably rise.“There is nothing Labour about accepting the cost of this economic – but above all, social – crisis, paid for in people’s life chances and living standards.”She acknowledged that “welfare reform is never easy and it is rarely popular, perhaps especially for Labour governments”.The minister added: “No responsible Labour government can resile from taking decisions because they are too difficult, because this is not good enough for the people we came into politics to serve.”Under the reforms, the eligibility criteria to qualify for personal independence payments (PIP) will be made tougher so that only the most disabled people will qualify for it.It is estimated that around 1 million people will lose out on the payment as a result.Other changes will see the top rate of Universal Credit paid to those who are unfit to work halved from £97 to £47 a week for new claimants.But Tom Marsland, head of policy at the disability charity Sense, said: “The government is planning to cut £47-a-week of Universal Credit from disabled people who face some of the greatest barriers to work.“This is cruel and unfair, and we’re urging Liz Kendall to think again on this.“Almost half of disabled people with complex needs are already in debt because their benefit payments don’t cover the essentials, and the government’s own figures show these proposed reforms will push more people into poverty.“We agree that the welfare system isn’t currently working for disabled people – but increasing the number of disabled people in poverty will never be the solution.”Citizens Advice accused the government of a “misguided dash for short-term savings” which they said will “push far too many deeper into poverty”.Its chief executive, Dame Clare Moriarty, said: “Slashing vital support creates desperation, not opportunity. These cuts fail to address why more people need health-related benefits in the first place and will simply shift costs to other public services.“The government says it wants to help disabled people into work, but cutting the money that many need to be independent isn’t the way to do it.”Green MP Sian Berry said: “Disabled people will be infuriated listening to Liz Kendall talk about cutting their support as if it was in any way in line with Labour’s values.“Cutting £5 billion from their support betrays the principles of the welfare state, which needs more funding not deep cuts, and the government has many other options for funding the social security net sustainably without plunging hundreds of thousands into poverty.“It is clear the government isn’t listening to disabled people at all. If they had, they would have heard loud and clear that PIP is not an out of work benefit and in fact principally helps disabled people who are in employment.“Labour should listen to the growing cries of revulsion within its own party and build a kind and resilient economy by taxing the extreme wealth hoarded in this country and fixing rampant inequality.”Related...Keir Starmer Braced For Huge Labour Rebellion Over Welfare CutsRachel Reeves Exclusive: Chancellor Denies Welfare Reforms Will Push 250,000 Into PovertySpring Statement 2025: More Than 3 Million To Be Hit By 'Catastrophic' Welfare Cuts

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