A petition over Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit cuts for chronically ill and disabled people which began to go viral has now received a response from the government. In short, it is dismissive and callous – with one political party slamming it as ‘disrespectful’. So, you know what to do: sign the petition even more.
DWP benefit cuts: a vital new petition
In March, DWP boss Liz Kendall finally laid out the government’s sweeping catalogue of plans to ‘reform’ disability and health-related income-based benefits. It set this out in its Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working green paper.
Broadly, this made for a callous combination of catastrophic cuts that will harm chronically ill and disabled claimants.
The government is now consulting on some of these DWP plans until 30 June. You can respond to this here. Scandalously however, it isn’t consulting on many of its most dangerous proposals. Of course, this is those that will hit chronically ill and disabled people hardest.
So, chronically ill and disabled Leicester West resident Abi Broomfield started a parliamentary petition.
This demands that the Labour Party government stop the cuts it has set out. In particular, Broomfield has honed in on some of the worst, most damaging proposals. Notably, these are largely cuts that will leave chronically ill and disabled people unable to work worse off. Or, it will otherwise deny people benefit entitlements entirely.
‘Support, not hardship and deprivation’
Notably, the petition reads:
We want the Government to halt all planned benefit cuts for disabled people unable to work. Instead of reducing benefits, we want them to rise in line with inflation. We want support, not hardship and deprivation, for those who cannot work.
We feel that disabled people who cannot work should not have their benefits cut. Acquired Disabilities can end careers, and we feel that those who previously contributed to tax deserve support. We also believe that people born Disabled need steady support without cuts.
Broomfield told the Canary what compelled her to set up the DWP-based petition. Firstly, she highlighted that:
Not everyone can work, and this Labour government is penalising Disabled people because of this very fact.
And notably, the government’s plans will directly affect her too:
As it currently stands, I, along with hundreds of thousands of others, will be losing my PIP entitlement. I rely on mine to help pay for some of the additional costs I face due to my disabilities.
Moreover, Broomfield spelled out the brutal reality of these DWP cuts as entirely contrary to Labour’s ‘back-to-work’ claims:
These cuts won’t get Disabled people into work; instead, they will cause serious physical and mental harm, and even deaths within our community. Plus, it’s going to seriously damage an already vulnerable NHS and care sector as Disabled people facing these cuts will inevitably have to rely on them more.
Of course, the impact of Labour’s DWP cuts is horrific. For example, a Freedom of Information request revealed that around 1.3 million chronically ill and disabled people will lose some, if not all, of their DWP PIP entitlement.
However, that hasn’t stopped the government from responding with no regard to the people affected.
A pitiful response
The DWP said on the petition’s webpage:
The Government must urgently tackle the spiralling welfare bill, restore trust and fairness in the system, and protect disabled people. Social security reforms will therefore continue as planned.
This utterly harsh response feels more at home with a Tory government than a Labour one. It went on to say:
Our welfare system is broken, costing almost a third as much as it does to run the NHS in England while leaving people for years on benefits with no offer of support, no hope of a future in work and no opportunity to improve their standard of living. Working-age adults who are in work are three times less likely to be in poverty than those out of work. We need to act to end the inequality that sees disabled people and people with health conditions trapped out of jobs, despite many wanting to work, and ensure our welfare system is there for people who need it, now and long into the future.
Abi has hit back on X:
DWP has responded to the petition. Here are my initial thoughts in a thread.
It's a wall of text which as a Dyslexic is extremely difficult to read. It shows again the little care they have shown to Disabled people throughout this process by not providing an accessible format.
— Chronically Vexed ♿🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ she/they (@ChronicallyVex) April 29, 2025
The DWP: “deeply disrespectful”
A Harmony Party UK spokesperson said of the DWP response to the petition:
The government has published a frankly deeply disrespectful response to the petition “Protect Disabled people who cannot work from planned cuts to benefits”.
Much of it is formed of previously released information (a rundown of what we already knew) – and it leans heavily on false claims, such as the notion that cutting disability benefits will, in some sense, “protect disabled people”. The claim that the benefits system is unduly costly is also a lie. As such we are urging people to keep signing the petition and force a debate with 100,000 signatures.
Having digested that disrespectful and lazy response, we say that it is all the more clear that those within the Commons who are against these cuts deserve to be given the opportunity to rise and speak for us in a debate – at least once.
After all, disabled people deserve that opportunity of a voice at the very least.
This is why it is vital that you share and sign this petition and support us in helping it reach 100,000 signatures.
So, clearly the Labour government has no plans to change course on its cruel DWP cuts. So, you know what to do. You can sign the petition here.
Featured image via the Canary
