Labour toe party line on welfare cuts

At Council on Monday, Labour unanimously voted down our motion which called on the Council Leader to write to the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and our three MPs asking them to oppose the unfair changes to the welfare system. The motion also called on the Council to look at ways in which Warrington residents affected could be supported.

The Government’s recent Green Paper proposes welfare payment changes amounting to cuts of £5bn a year. Several Labour MPs have been outspoken with their criticism of the proposed cuts and will vote against the Green Paper in June. We were very disappointed that all Labour Councillors opposed our motion when we are sure many, if not most of them, privately supported it.

Many disabled people use Personal Independent Payments (PIP) to cover the cost of getting to and from work, paying for essential equipment and for meeting their social care charges. Universal Credit contains a health-related element that supports people with severe health problems. These two payments play a vital role in allowing people to lead independent, dignified lives.

The Green Paper published in March was intended to reform benefits and seek ways to get more people working. Twelve of the twenty-two proposed changes are not open to any consultation and the scoring rules to gain eligibility for a PIP are extremely complex and will become stricter.

The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that at least 300,000 people would be driven into poverty including 50,000 children. Similar figures on likely hardship come from bodies like the Resolution Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. For many people, if they cannot claim PIP, they will find it harder to access other support services and risk worsening health leading to increased need for Council-funded care services.

Here in Warrington the number claiming PIP increased from almost 7000 in 2019 to over 13,000 in January 2025. In the same period, the number claiming Universal Credit increased from over 9000 to over 20,000.

Cllr Ian Marks, who seconded the motion, added: We welcome attempts to get people back into work and recognise that the welfare system is a mess and needs sorting out. However, we don’t like the way the government has gone about these changes, and they have handled the politics badly.

Coming on top of the Winter Fuel Allowance cuts, Labour voters believe the government has lost touch with ordinary people and the changes they promised at the election have not happened. A recent study predicts that the benefit cuts could cost Labour eighty seats at a General Election.

We agree that the public finances in the country are in a dire state, but money should be raised by making the big banks, the technical and social media companies and on-line gaming firms pay a fair share from their huge profits, rather than penalising the disabled and those with health issues.