Disabled people protest in Brighton against welfare reforms

Supporters of Disability Action Brighton, a disabled-led pressure group, were demonstrating at the Clock Tower, Brighton, on Saturday.

The demonstration aimed to raise awareness about the impacts of the welfare cut and “make people question the motives of the government”.

A representative of Disability Action Brighton who was at the demonstration and only gave the name ‘Figgy’, told The Argus: “This is a completely galvanized community protest.

“There’s a national movement going on across the country for a lot of disabled people. But what we need to remember is that disability is very much if you are struggling in a society that doesn’t care about you at the moment, then you are disabled by definition.

“We are hoping that this protest makes people question the motives of the government and question the motives of how disabled people are seen.

“We’ve got a real lack of compassion in this country, driven quite a lot by greed and capitalism.”

This protest follows a previous one in March when the welfare reforms were announced.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire) “Figgy” also highlighted the work being done in parliament by Green MP Sian Berry for Brighton Pavillion, who has been raising the issue of welfare reforms on a consistent basis.

Though the Labour government has been under pressure to “ease” the welfare reforms, the work and pensions secretary said in May that she will stand firm on the £5 billion plans for welfare cuts arguing that reform is needed to make sure the system survives.

The plans, including tightening eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP) benefit, have faced stiff resistance within Labour.

Some 100 Labour MPs – more than a quarter of the party’s parliamentary numbers – are reported to have signed a letter urging ministers to scale back welfare cuts under consideration, while charities have also warned about the impact the measures will have.

The change to a single assessment under Pip could leave some 600,000 people who currently qualify for the health element of universal credit at risk of moving onto the standard rate and being worse off by at least £2,400 a year from 2028, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.

The clocktower was decoarted with placards slamming the government’s planned welfare reforms (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta/The Argus)

“We need more people to realise that anyone is at risk of becoming disabled, like it’s more likely in your lifetime, rather than be born with a disability,” A protestor who wished to remain anonymous told The Argus.

In an exclusive interview with The Argus in March, MP Sian Berry revealed that 31 per cent of her constituents are living with someone who is disabled.

“Why are they [the government] cracking down on the people who are already struggling so much?” the MP said.

“They said they want to grow our domestic product but then they’re cracking down on their people.

“If their goal is to have more people being economically active, entrepreneurial and going to work, taking away PIP [Personal Independence payment] is not the answer.

“It is the thing that enables disabled people to go into work, which has nothing to do with whether or not you’re in work. It’s literally the thing you need to survive and to make your life equitable with other people.

“To go after that is just terrifying.”