New Green Paper Discussion - now includes accessible formats and consultation event sign up links!

just shows how full of **** Kendall is, Support what support. Makes me so angry.

Thanks, @egister.

And

then to see them go on interviews, parading around with claims that they’re “committed “& “listening to disabled people” through so-called public consultations- when in reality, the key consultations have already been quietly shut down - is not just disingenuous, it’s deeply insulting to vulnerable and disabled people who are hoodwinked by the government in this process . It’s political theatre designed to mislead the public and sideline the very people these policies will impact the most.

We are not props. We are not invisible. And we are not voiceless.

They may try to erase us from the process, but we will rise -because we stand in unity, and as @mw123 just shared-history has shown again and again: when disabled people come together, we are powerful.

best wishes!

I also remember this:

High Court finds 2017 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Regulations unlawful - Public Law Project

I remember it vividly because my entire DLA to PIP claim was blindsided by their trying to pretend executive dysfunction was really anxiety and thus I didn't qualify. My tribunal came after this ruling, and I'm sure that was a contributing factor as it literally took away their justifications (most of which were fabricated anyway).

It's a good legal precedent for policy disproportionately impacting certain disabilities, especially invisible ones - which look likely to be the most hit by the 4 point rule and other cuts. We already know PIP criteria are designed for physical disabilities, and so miss out a lot of potential criteria that those with developmental or mental health disabilities might face. I think the reason the govt are looking at general point changes rather than specific conditions is because of this ruling - Starmer is a lawyer. And I don't think all the media articles claiming that nobody's really mentally ill and the internet is diagnosing 'fad' ND disabilities is an accident, as it helps turn public opinion from what is really happening.

The government doesn't understand a thing about getting disabled people into work, nor what sacrifices disabled people make for their lives, health, etc when they do work. If they met me at work they'd say I was absolutely fine - they wouldn't even clock my autism. But if they saw me after work, or realised the time it takes me to recover from a day of work masking and dealing with millions of micro-decisions most people don't have to process, they'd understand far better. I don't get to spend my days off swanning around doing exciting things because my brain is exhausted. I've mostly given up having an outside work life to ensure I do my job properly. :/ And I have a good job, with a good team, who are supportive. Many, many employers are not this.

The problem is, they (and all those people who claim they know someone cheating) are NOT in our homes. They are not our family members, bearing the brunt of the support. They are not in our heads, dealing with our individual challenges.

Empathy is meant to be putting yourself in someone else's shoes, but it's not possible to do this if you're not seeing them to begin with.

@MW123

I'm so grateful to you for your post on government U turns. That has made me feel much more optimistic than I did.😃👏💪👌

I'm the same , although i couldn't work too ill , but my husband paid a lot of tax being self employed for 30 years . I just don't know what will happen if I lose daily living pip hubby won't get carers and we will lose our home too. Although I am that sick of it all right now I am getting to the point where I don't care . I had uterine cancer two years ago and was just starting to feel better now I feel like **** .

Hi @noonebelieves

It's called "putting the world to rights" lol 😁 I love that mental picture in my mind, I've got a feeling that I'm going to keep conjuring it up whenever we write a long post to each other, which is most of them! Cheers 🍻 😃

I hope that your physio (finally) went well and you are making more progress with your slow recovery. 💪

I'm afraid I've had these seizures for 20 odd years. They're not likely to go, I'm afraid. 😕 Well, it seems better to me to be pragmatic about it. It's better than making myself miserable with the situation. That has struck what you said, "we've become experts at enduring what would crush most others" That is true of both of us and so many in this community.

I was speaking from experience, when referring to the gentleman at A&E. My Dad passed away at the age of 85 after a fall at home, breaking his hip. He was devastated. When I joined my Mum to visit him, (I had to travel about 200 miles on public transport to see him) a few days later in hospital, he had been operated on and had already lost several stone in weight. I was truly shocked by his appearance. 😮 He died a few weeks later, shortly after I'd returned home,after another week up there. Mum went every day and was there when he died. 😔 I do hope our gentleman is faring better than that. Well, you can but hope. 🙏

Stephen Timms is a traitor as far as I'm concerned. 😡 I was reading an article in the Canary about how utterly obnoxious he is today.

https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/04/10/dwp-pip-eligibility-criteria/

I think you will find it worth reading. I do agree that we have been betrayed by another so called "Labour" enemy of the disabled.

They seem to want short term savings, not meaningful reforms. Each government has the attitude of, leave the mess for the next government to sort out, especially as they know they won't get back in again.

On the other hand they want to be the right wing government that all but wiped out disabled people, stealing Reforms thunder before they get into power. Sadly, I think that scenario is inevitable. 😤

Absolutely, benefits are not extras, they are vital support and not to be compared to children's pocket money like that fool of an MP and the other fool at 11 Downing Street, have done!! I had a look at the debate, it IS long! I've saved the link and I will give you my option on it. 👍 😊

It's said that here in the UK we have the worst attitude to people with disabilities, anywhere in the developed world, I think that it's due to our strict class system, having a monarchy 👑 plus, of course, 45 odd years of neoliberalism, treated here like a quasi religion with Margaret Thatcher being treated as a right wing icon. 🤮 (I had to put the vomiting emoji on again lol)

Well, anyway, this bunch of shysters that we have in now seem to have gone into competition with the Tories and as I mentioned Reform to outdo them both on just how much they can grind us into oblivion. The the majority of people in power and the establishment just stand by as these appalling human rights abuses are done to us.

Even the law is ignored in the persute of of outdoing the competition. We are mocked, gaslighted and sidelined to reduce our resistance levels, so they think that taking our benefits away will be like taking candy from a baby. (They got that one wrong!! 💪) Making much of there being a consultation when it's nonexistant for the truly necessary stuff like for PIP 4 points and the removal of the LCWRA and keep moving the goal posts on tickets for the virtual events so nobody is able to attend.

This consultation will take a long time to do throughly but no, don't give other MPs enough information on which to make a judgement before voting or wait for the OBR to do their part. They are even going to put it through on an Act of Parliament so high court action will have to be taken before the end of July.

I was again struck by you stating "They don't just cut our benefits, they deny us the dignity and peace we deserve, as if our lives are expendable."

Also, " You're right, they really are making our lives a living hell. All we want is a peaceful, stable life. A life where we are not punished for simply existing. But they won't allow that, will they? "

Those truly due say it all, summing it all up in a nutshell. This terrifying ruining of human beings lives and still others either look away or are ignorant of the facts or simply don't care whats happening.

I have a nickname for what successive governments have done to us, over the years. The Hidden Holocaust. What else could it be?😢

I didn't realise that you spent so much time in bed. That is something we have in common with our health conditions. What you don't need or deserve is the gnawing feeling that comes from being unable to buy enough to eat or from gnawing fear of a very uncertain, frightening future.

We should not be living like this in the fifth largest economy in the world! 🌍 We shouldn't be living in a country where we couldn't ever have imagined things ever getting as bad as this!! 😱

I took your tip before sending my email to my MP today by putting in all the approximate amounts of what we would lose in benefits, to the proposals. I also put them down in annual amounts so they were in thousands of pounds for maximum effect.

My partner and I have already worked out what's going to happen to us in the years to come, if this comes about but my word, it was really alarming to see the losses put down like that.....🫣

Thank you for that though, money is one of the few things on their radar. The cost of everything and the value of nothing, as it's said. 🤑😠

It is encouraging to see our legal representatives getting ready to act shortly. However, they don't have much time and neither do we. We have to do everything we can in every way possible before the 30th June. That's only around six weeks left. We must all make every day we can do something count.

You are SO right there. "A proposal not built with disabled people must never be passed over us."

Nothing about us without us!! in other words!! 🤗

I believe that knowledge IS power. It's stood me in good stead for many years now and I have a need of knowledge, greater than I've ever know before. I enjoy giving others the benefit of that knowledge. I find it amazing what I learn from others here too, especially you.

Your own great knowledge, inspiring support, kindness and encouragement to all really does help to keep me going at this most challenging of times. You cannot know just how grateful I am to you. 👌👏💪😃

Look after yourself though. You are contributing so much to this cause and touching so many lives with your outstanding positivity but you mustn't make yourself even more ill than you already are with this. You must look after you first. You must treat yourself as kindly as you do us. 🫶😊

I will have to answer your other post that you sent to me earlier this evening in the New Green Paper Discussion thread, in the morning. That's the problem, we do get carried away when we start chatting!! 😆

Indeed,

🤝 In solidarity always! ✊

I was wondering if this was what you were on about @WhatThe - as I remembered that there was no extra money for those found LCW unless they'd already been in receipt of this prior to April 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments/changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments-in-universal-credit

If I'm on the right track (apologies if not), then the extra amount payable prior to this date continued for a UC claimant who had been found immediately prior to claiming UC to be in the WRAG for ESA.

Disheartening to see somewhat similar rhetoric from then to now, if that's the case: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/esa-wrag-cut-briefing