Jack Jeffrey and Emma Kirby, Sheffield south east Socialist Party
Following public pressure and a rebellion from its backbenchers, Labour has stated that current claimants will be protected under its welfare reform bill. However, this promise provides little reassurance. The bill will fundamentally alter how disabled people access support.
The Labour government claims these cuts are to bring down the benefits bill but they won’t address one of the main areas of expenditure – subsidising low wages and guaranteeing the profits of private landlords. The continued failure to build council housing and its erosion through Right to Buy have forced people into the expensive private sector. Between 2024 and 2029, the government will allocate over £73 billion in housing support to private landlords through the housing element of Universal Credit. This amount is more than six times what is planned for constructing new affordable homes.
These same benefits also help to subsidise low wages. 37% of Universal Credit claimants and 17% of those in receipt of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are in work. After years of stagnating living standards, the DWP’s figures show a 2% decline in median incomes this year, which means more people in low-paying work and forced to depend on benefits to survive. Through Universal Credit, the government tops up workers’ low wage packets given to them by profit-hungry bosses.
Disabled workers
PIP is essential for acknowledging the additional costs faced by disabled people and serves as a gateway to other support. The government’s most recent statistics show that approximately 5.6 million disabled people were employed, representing just over half of the disabled population. People who work and receive PIP can apply for the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element of Universal Credit to supplement their low wages. They may also be eligible for higher Council Tax Support premiums or qualify for a carer to receive Carer’s Allowance or the Carer Element in Universal Credit. Additionally, PIP is considered in social care financial assessments, helping individuals qualify for assistance with care costs.
If the government really wanted to reduce welfare costs, it could raise the minimum wage, invest in high-quality council housing and control the extortionate rents of private landlords. Instead, it props up poverty pay and the private rental sector riddled with insecurity, mouldy homes and sky-high rents. All while slashing the lifelines for disabled people.
The welfare state is not broken. It is working exactly as the bosses intend it to: sorting people into categories of deserving and undeserving, productive and disposable. We need a benefits system that is built on dignity, solidarity, and universal support which people can live on and, in work, the pay and conditions we deserve. This is not just about benefits. It is about whose lives are valued and who pays the price.
