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

You're completely wrong to claim the 2011 ESA changes were not challenged or that the DWP got away with it. The truth is, those changes were fought and they were found unlawful. Not just once, but through multiple legal battles over several years.

In 2013, the Court of Appeal ruled in R (MM & DM) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2013] EWCA Civ 1565 that the DWP’s Work Capability Assessment discriminated against people with mental health conditions. Judges found it broke the Equality Act 2010 by failing to make reasonable adjustments, such as relying on medical evidence rather than expecting vulnerable claimants to self-report. The court also condemned the DWP for only counting "good days" while ignoring how serious fluctuating conditions actually are.

The DWP did not fix it. In fact, they ignored it. That led to another major defeat in 2019, when the Supreme Court, in Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v MM (Scotland) [2019] UKSC 34, ruled that the DWP was still applying an unlawful, narrow and technical approach in assessments. The discrimination continued despite earlier court findings.

Then came Connor v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWHC 1999 (Admin). The High Court ruled that the DWP’s mandatory reconsideration policy, used to delay benefit payments during appeals, was a breach of disabled claimants’ rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. That is three separate courts, over seven years, all confirming that the DWP’s approach was unlawful.

This proves beyond doubt that the system was not just challenged but exposed, repeatedly, as discriminatory and unjust. The issue now is not whether the 2011 ESA reforms were understood, but that the DWP chose to ignore the law. They have since copied those same illegal tactics into PIP, including the upcoming 4-point rule set for November 2026, which is projected to cut thousands of disabled people off support.

So no, we are not wasting time by fighting what is happening now. The real mistake would be pretending we need to go back and re-litigate 2011. We already fought that fight and won. The law is on our side. The DWP simply refuses to follow it.

This is not about Starmer, Abrahams, or individual MPs. It is about holding a department accountable for repeatedly breaking the law and hoping no one notices. What is needed now is public pressure to enforce the rulings already handed down, not to rewrite history.