Flawed PIP process
Labour’s proposed welfare cuts threaten many people. Some people on PIP (Personal Independence Payment) are able to work but others aren’t. The full-time job of looking for a job is made more difficult due to disabilities and ill health. Yet again the capitalist class is punishing us because they think we are expendable and won’t fight back.
People don’t choose to have any form of disability, hidden or visible. It’s not a lifestyle choice. I certainly didn’t choose any of the health issues and hidden disabilities I have. Yet we are being demonised.
The PIP application process is daunting and many assessors don’t seem to have much knowledge of the health conditions people they are assessing actually live with. Often, the assessor report bears little or no resemblance of the discussion which actually took place. I have experienced this myself.
Many Labour MPs have expressed an intent to vote against these cuts, for which they will be punished for doing the right thing. Many people will be further impoverished if the cuts do go ahead. For many with any kind of disability or chronic health condition, it’s terrifying and I include myself in that statement.
But we are prepared to fight back. As previous RMT leader Bob Crow said: “If you fight you won’t always win, but if you don’t fight you will always lose”.
Melanie, Reading
PIP enables us to live
I am in receipt of PIP and the disability top-up to Universal Credit (UC), which enables my husband to work knowing that I’m safe and my needs are catered for. If we lost PIP we would not be able to afford the additional help, and therefore my husband may not be able to work full-time.
PIP enables me to live with dignity knowing I can afford extra heating, which helps me stay well, helps with things like travel and help with tasks in and around the house. My condition is greatly affected by stress, and the worry surrounding these proposed cuts to benefits has caused me to be quite unwell, as I’m sure it has done for many people in my situation.
I know of a disabled woman who is living with an abusive husband and has been for a long time. She is in receipt of PIP and UC with no requirement to work. As she has got older, her condition has deteriorated and she has become increasingly worried about her physical safety. She has been having counselling and support to leave her situation. Now, with the cuts announcement, she is afraid she will lose PIP and the UC top-up. She is not able to work. I’m sure you can imagine her, to be quite frank, in despair.
Jane, Devon
State surveillance
In late 2019 I applied for PIP. I got refused, and went to Citizens Advice, who then helped me apply for reconsideration. We won and I got standard daily and enhanced mobility help.
I filled out the review in December 2023 and my mobility was downgraded to standard rate, so I lost my mobility car, which had a huge effect on my mental and physical health. I cannot walk far and have a fear of public transport on my own, so was stuck. I eventually managed to get a loan for a car, causing me serious financial hardship.
This time, I applied for reconsideration and lost. So, with the help of Citizens Advice, I went to appeal. This took almost a year!
At the appeal (which is for the year 2023) I was asked about a holiday that I had gone on in February 2024 and my daughter’s wedding in August 2024, which has no relevance to my 2023 review.
I did not volunteer this information, so the only way they would have known was to go onto my social media, which I did not give permission for. I feel violated and extremely upset and angry!
I have sent off for a statement of reasons because my appeal came back with no change.
The effect this has had on my health is unbelievable. I feel like I can’t go out or post normal everyday things on my social media for fear of being watched and penalised for trying to live my life with two debilitating conditions, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.
Pushed into poverty
My wife has a number of mental health issues, which she struggles with on a daily basis. On good days, with occasional prompting and assistance, she is able to do things. On bad days however, she is incapable of doing anything, even things like washing is a great challenge and requires a lot of support from myself.
At the start of this year I quit my full-time job, the main factor being my duty of care for my wife. I would often be unable to work due to my caring responsibilities, resulting in a loss of income and an increasingly strained relationship with my manager.
I have since started a part-time job to bring home a little extra money. However, this is a balancing act as I’m also claiming Carer’s Allowance and so I can’t go over the extremely low income threshold. My partner, on the other hand, is claiming Universal Credit and PIP, which makes up the bulk of our household income.
Our current total income isn’t much, it’s enough to pay our bills and have a little left over to treat ourselves, such as the occasional takeaway or donation to the Socialist Party Fighting Fund. We currently have our heads just above the water, however with the looming cuts to benefits such as PIP, we’re at risk of drowning.
These vicious cuts would at best mean we’re no longer able to enjoy life, never treat ourselves, at worst they mean we’re also no longer able to pay the bills. All this is supposedly to encourage my partner to get a job. The irony is she would love to work, she talks often about how she wants a job but her mental health prevents her from doing so.
It now also puts me in a tough situation: do I go back to full-time work, not provide her with the support and care she needs or do I stay part-time but risk falling into poverty due to these cuts?
These cuts aren’t a carrot, they’re a stick, used to beat those the capitalist class can’t get their pound of flesh from; they are cruel, cold-hearted and highlight the morality (or lack thereof) of Starmer’s Labour government.
Archie, Worcester
