What happened yesterday with the disability benefit cuts in the Universal Credit and PIP Bill was hard to follow. Here's a thread of where we're at now and what comes next 🧵 1/7
Thanks to months of protesting by disabled people, the government offered concessions, including: 1. Cuts to PIP to be removed from the Bill entirely 2. "Co-production" of the PIP review w/ disabled people 3. Existing Universal Credit claimants' incomes will be protected 2/7
Last night’s second reading vote was on the unamended Bill (i.e. without the above concessions), but the government has promised to make these amendments at committee stage next week. 3/7
But the concessions don’t go far enough. Problems remaining: 1. £2 billion cut to UC health element hitting 750,000 new claimants 2. Questions about how meaningful "co-production" of the PIP review will be 3. Unclear if MPs will be able to amend and vote on the PIP review 4/7
What happens next: All the remaining stages of the Bill will take place on Wednesday. This is MPs' opportunity to hold the government to account on its commitments, amend the Bill further, and vote on it again. 5/7
It's important that people continue to make their views known to MPs, particularly on the cuts to Universal Credit which remain and which have received less attention so far. You can find and contact your MP here: https://members.parliament.uk/... 6/7
We must also reject the narrative that because we're no longer making such big cuts to disability benefits, we cannot fund other anti-poverty measures. E.g. we must continue to push for the two child limit to be lifted and make the case for taxes on extreme wealth. 7/7