The Labour Party has officially abandoned disabled people. Worse still, they are trying to spin it as a success story, framing cuts to vital support as an increase in employment. But we see through it. This is not a genuine attempt to support disabled people into work. It is a cold, calculated attempt to cut costs at the expense of those who rely on support to live independently and contribute to society.
For years, the Conservative Party earned the title of the “nasty party” when it came to welfare reform. Their cuts to benefits, their cruel and arbitrary assessments, and their obsession with slashing support for the most vulnerable have caused immense suffering. Yet now, Labour has stolen their clothes. Keir Starmer’s party, which once promised to stand up for working people and the most vulnerable, has become indistinguishable from the Tories when it comes to welfare.
The latest changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the wider welfare system are not just cruel – they are barbaric. If you are not deemed “disabled enough” under their new system, the government will simply leave you in destitution. These changes do not reflect the reality of disability in the UK today. Many disabled people rely on PIP and other forms of support not because they cannot work, but because they need reasonable adjustments to be able to do so. Stripping them of that support will force many out of employment altogether, pushing them further into poverty and dependence on other parts of the welfare system.
Labour is trying to dress this up as a positive change, claiming that it will “help” disabled people into work. But this is a lie. You do not help people into work by making their lives harder. You do not encourage employment by making it impossible for people to afford the transport, mobility aids, and personal care they need to work. These policies will not increase employment—they will increase suffering, stress, and financial insecurity.
This is not just a betrayal – it is economic illiteracy. By stripping away the support that allows disabled people to work and live independently, Labour is setting the stage for more hardship, worse health outcomes, and higher long-term costs to society. The irony is that these changes will not even achieve the supposed goal of saving money. When people are denied support, their conditions often worsen, leading to increased costs for the NHS and social services. When people are forced out of work due to lack of reasonable adjustments, they contribute less in taxes and require more in state support. This is not a policy of compassion or competence; it is one of callous indifference.
Now, more than ever, the Liberal Democrats must step up. We must be the party of a robust welfare state, one that supports those who need it most not out of charity, but out of justice. A fair and compassionate society does not leave people behind. It ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to live with dignity and independence. That is what liberalism stands for: empowering individuals, ensuring opportunity for all, and fighting against unjust and arbitrary state power.
As Jo Grimond once championed, we must always fight for the individual against unfeeling bureaucracy and a government that refuses to listen. He understood that true liberalism is about ensuring freedom – not just freedom from government interference, but freedom to live a full and meaningful life. That means having the support you need to participate in society, to work if you can, and to live with dignity if you cannot. It means recognising that we all have different needs, and that a just society supports those who need it most.
The Liberal Democrats have a proud history of standing up for the rights of disabled people. It was the Liberal Democrats who pushed for the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act, and it was our commitment to fairness and opportunity that helped shape a more inclusive society. Now, as Labour turns its back on disabled people, we must once again take up the mantle and fight for a system that works.
We must oppose these cruel cuts in the strongest possible terms. We must advocate for a welfare system that provides genuine support, not one designed to punish people for circumstances beyond their control. We must push for a system based on dignity, not suspicion; a system that recognises the contributions of disabled people, rather than treating them as burdens.
Labour has shown us who they are. They have revealed themselves to be a party without principle, without compassion, and without any real commitment to fairness. They are not the party of working people. They are not the party of the vulnerable. They are, in every meaningful way, the new nasty party.
It is time for the Liberal Democrats to be the alternative. We must be the voice of those who have been abandoned. We must be the party that stands for fairness, for opportunity, and for real economic sense. We must make it clear that we will not allow this injustice to go unchallenged.
Disabled people in this country deserve better. And the Liberal Democrats must be the ones to fight for them.
* Stephen O'Brien is a Liberal Democrat City Councillor in Sunderland.
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13 Comments
Absolutely spot on mate. This Labour Government’s welfare plans are callous, economically incompetent and will only create further disparities affecting people with disabilities.
Their media rhetoric about mental health in recent days has been deeply unhelpful, and now we will see that reflected in PIP “reforms” which will exclude those living sometimes severe psychiatric conditions which aren’t accommodated by an outdated assessment process.
Thank you Stephen for a great call to arms. Some of us gave up being shocked by Labour years ago! Try putting together the words “campaigning” and “Labour” together and a hollow laugh will not be far behind. There is nothing wrong with fighting for power but there has to be more to it than simply winning. Once we saw Pat McFadden and Morgan McSweeney gain powerful positions at the top of government we could see which way the wind was blowing.
Meanwhile I have long thought that there are a sizeable number of Labour activists who see internal struggles as more fun than the hard slog of building a more just society. That diversion of energy and enthusiasm is an ongoing Labour problem
Hear Hear, Stephen O’Brien. Labour have got it arse about face. The thing that is stopping some people working is that the benefits system makes them worse off working than not. This is to do with the ways benefits are stopped far too quickly when anyone takes a job and then if the job goes wrong, they have to start again with claiming benefits.
The other things is the Animal Farm mentality, work good unemployment bad. No thought that everyone regardless of their status in life deserves a basic standard of living, regardless of whether they work or not.
This ingrained attitude is fostered by the wealthy and their media outlets and swallowed hook, line and sinker, by many employed people. Rather than tax the obscene incomes and wealth of the wealthy, Labour are going for the poor.
It’s all too predictable, as Geoff Reid says. Our party must stand against this.
I agree with you entirely Stephen. What we must now do is demonstrate how we can help disabled people like me into work, and crucially, stay there with the prospect of promotion.
That means for the most severely disabled people like me, it is not just an option of Care OR Administrative Support, but Care AND Administrative Support if the most severely disabled are to find work and stay there.
How this is done is something we’ll have to address as a party whilst recognising there are some disabled people who, because of the severeity of their conditions, simply cannot work even with support.
Yes, but is the answer to defend the status quo, preserving all aspects of the current system in aspic for all time? Also, the party history is all good tub thumping stuff – but the Coalition and “Alarm Clock Britain” is a mere decade away. Alas, some of the worker/shirker language took root then.
“but is the answer to defend the status quo, preserving all aspects of the current system in aspic for all time?”
I wouldn’t have thought so. There will be disabled people who could do some work but not necessarily full-time and they may need help at work and getting to/from work.
There may be some people who could do some work but the kind of work they could do is not available in their area.
There will be people for whom doing any work at all is not practicable.
There will be some people who are gaming the system – not seeking work when the are capable of doing some.
What seems disturbing are reports of some young people who never get into work at all.
And I wonder how much some employers are not helping by taking a fixed attitude to their workforce – e.g. not willing to make any adjustments for those people needing some help to do some work.
We need to spend more on defence and security. The vulnerable will suffer along with the rest of us if Putin, for example, turns off the internet by sabotaging submarine cables. The welfare budget is five times the defence budget and continues to grow. It’s important that the vulnerable are treated with dignity but I doubt anyone can disagree with the principle that they should be got into work (and paying tax as appropriate) if at all possible. In many cases how this is done is not easy and demonising the government and public servants does not help .
I went to visit a small development of three category 3 flats.
I was greeted with 3 fire doors each containing large panes of so called glass that were up to standard for doors.
The only way through them was to push with my power wheelchair metal foot rests.
Now they are downgraded to category 2. As I listed to where this is going, one goes to someone who can’t climb stairs, one with a live in partner and the other to someone who uses a self propel for shopping.
The adjustable sink and completely flat bathroom. I have a shower tray and very small bathroom that is not suitable plus my power wheelchair sits behind my front door where it also charges.
I have input to a Ombudsman panel
also a panel connected to the CAE and still things fail.
Disability has no respect, but most local shopkeepers are always willing to help with needs.
The big puzzle to me is where are all these jobs the ill and disabled are supposed to do. There is a hardening of the jobs market partly because of the Government’s increase in NI contributions. The increase in the use of AI will lead to fewer jobs as will the Government’s top down reorganisation of everything. The only possible area where jobs growth could come from is rejoining the single market and the customs union which Captain Starmer on the bridge of the Titanic has ruled out.
There is little or no accessible housing. Of course living is made more difficult, of course getting ready to get to the work place adds to the added issues.
Disabled people crawling up a flight of stairs to use a bathroom. Commodes become part of the living area. Washing in the kitchen.
What about the present transport system could it cope as a single wheelchair space on a bus. The railway system isn’t up more wheelchair passengers as it often struggles with the difference between a suitcase and a wheelchair.
Treat Disabled people with respect might be top of the list. Then seriously consider how it moves forward.
This Labour Party is in a complete mess and the new Tories even worse. Looks like the next election will be a contest between the Lib Dems and Reform.
” Once we saw Pat McFadden and Morgan McSweeney gain powerful positions at the top of government we could see which way the wind was blowing.”
it was apparent much earlier than this. McSweeney ran Starmer’s leadership bid with McFadden a key member of the team. We knew that neither would support a candidate who genuinely believed in Starmer’s left program which was described, by some, as Corbynism without Corbyn.
The only logical explanation was that it was all a sham. Unfortunately we couldn’t persuade enough members of this at the time.
@petermartin, it’s strange that when the Tories were in power with Philip Hammond, Rishi Sunack and Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor one felt able to carry on a sensible economic discourse, ( if only imaginary) but with Rachel Reeves she just seems to be brain dead.