‘Disability benefit cuts kill’ say Bideford protestors

Protestors gathered in Bideford today (Monday, June 30) to call on the Government to ditch its plans for sweeping welfare benefit cuts they say will lead to death or poverty for many disabled people.

With the vote on Labour’s welfare bill due to take place tomorrow (Tuesday), the Government has already made several concessions to its proposals after more than 100 Labour MPs threatened to rebel.

But campaigners say the changes do not go far enough, fearing the cuts will lead to disabled people being forced further into poverty, losing more of their independence and even their lives.

Above: Bideford protestors against the welfare cuts send a message to Sir Keir Starmer. Credit: Graham Hobbs

Originally the controversial welfare bill proposed to introduce a higher bar for eligibility for the PIP (Personal Independence Payment claimed by people with disabilities to help them remain independent) and cut the health-related element of universal credit.

But after an internal rebellion, the Government said its proposed rules will now only apply to new claims from November 2026 and also rowed back on universal credit plans.

Above: The organiser of Monday’s protest in Bideford against welfare cuts, Julie Edwards. Credit: Graham Hobbs 

It said these concessions would cost £2.5billion by 2030 – around half of the money it had hoped to save with its welfare bill.

Monday’s protest at Jubilee Square in Bideford was organised by Disabled Activists North Devon and supported by Stand Up to Racism North Devon, on the same day as other protests around the country and in Westminster.

Above and below: Credit: Graham Hobbs

In a statement released before the Government concessions were made public, organisers said: “Many people claiming PIP do work and use the benefit to access work. Taking away this support could exclude them from employment.

“Disability benefits also help people to be independent in their homes, raise families and access healthcare. Cuts to vital benefits will mean people will become isolated, less able to work and suffer worsening health, putting pressure on already stretched services.

“They will also say that they want to reassess claimants to ensure no one is claiming when they should not be, however the number of fraudulent claimants are miniscule, the Department of Work and Pension’s latest figures shows fraud and error at only 0.2%.”