Benefits U-turn will divide disabled community - campaigner

A disability campaigner says proposed changes to the UK's benefit system will "split the disabled community".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was forced into a U-turn last week after more than 120 Labour MPs threatened to rebel over planned benefits cuts.

The government now plans to tighten daily living assessments for future Personal Independence Payments (Pip) claimants from November 2026 to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim.

MPs are expected to vote on the government's reform bill on Tuesday, a decision which Joshua Reeves, from Cardiff, compared to D-Day, as he fears disabled people are going to "fall even more to the ground than they already are on".

The UK government said an overhaul of the welfare system was needed and it was aiming to unlock work for sick and disabled people.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Mr Reeves, who has cerebral palsy, said: "We could be having a two-tier divided benefit system that will split the disabled community.

"Some people think it's an out of work benefit, when it's not. It's predominantly for equipment.

"If they do cut Pip and access to work, disabled people are going to fall even more to the ground than they already are on.

"Because finding a job without reasonable adjustments, you can't work at all."

Mr Reeves called for Labour to "get back to the left wing society that they were".

"They were for the people but right now it doesn't state that at all. That's not what it looks like," he added.

"I rely on reasonable adjustments for work myself, and if that got cut by access to work or if that got cut by supporting through a Pip benefit that supports me, then I'm gonna be homeless. I'm gonna be on the streets."

Some rebel MPs have supported the amendment, but the proposed cuts have caused concern for some parents of children who may not be eligible for Pip when the changes come in.

Melanie Harris said she felt under pressure to apply for benefits for her autistic five-year-old before any welfare changes come into effect.

Ms Harris, 44, from Colwyn Bay in Conwy county, lost her job managing supported housing for a charity, split from her husband and had to move into social housing in the space of a few months, and now must apply for Pip for her daughter.

She said she was "sick and tired" of changes to the welfare system.

Ms Harris said she has struggled to find a new job because of childcare difficulties, and currently works part time and claims Universal Credit and child benefit, while her autistic son Jack, 17, claims Pip.

She said making ends meet was a daily challenge and she was left with about £100 a month after bills to live on, and said "you can't live on benefits. You survive on benefits".

"I'm sick and tired of it: whenever a new government comes into power they feel like benefits is the thing to scrap, but Pip is one of the most highly guarded forms of benefit, it would be really hard to defraud it," she said.

"They're not looking at changing or revitalising the benefits so that you're actually getting money in line with the cost of living so you can afford to do things.

"I haven't been out with my friends for nearly a year. I haven't been able to take the kids on holiday or do the little nice things like going out for a meal. I just can't afford it.

"You can't live on benefits, you survive on benefits".

Much of her food shopping is done at social supermarket The Pantri in Colwyn Bay, where people can shop and get advice and support for a £4.50 a week membership fee.

Stacey Brady is the coordinator of The Pantri and said it was already seeing demand increasing, especially in its advice centre.

"A lot of people are really struggling as it is," she said prior to the UK government's U-turn announcement.

"The proposed disability benefit cuts are having quite a damaging effect on the lives of the clients, even talking about it. Their mental health is really affected by just the prospect of it being reduced."

The St Giles Trust charity, which runs nine pantry services, said demand could go up due to the proposed reforms.

Charities such as FareShare Cymru, which collects surplus food and shares it with charities like The Pantri and community groups across Wales, said it was preparing for an increase in demand for help if the proposed benefit cuts were introduced.

"We know from the people we work with that they are expecting to get busier, and see an increase in demand so we are looking at new innovations so that we are ready to help when needed," Katie Padfield from FareShare Cymru said.

Ms Harris's local MP, Labour's Gill German, said welfare reform was "both difficult and necessary" as the current system was not working and too many had been written off.

She said the changes were about "ensuring a system that works for everyone who depends on it" and the government was "rightly listening to disabled people".

The Department for Work and Pensions said: "Our reforms mean the social security system will always be there for those who will never be able to work, backed by a record £1bn in employment support to help disabled and long-term sick people back into work."

Secretary of State Liz Kendall added the changes would "strengthen" the current system, while "increasingly targeting funding at those who need it most, to make sure the system is sustainable to support generations to come".