Get your MP to act against cuts
Comments
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Hi @jul1aorways,
As always, Thank you so much for your lovely post-your knowledge, passion and fighting spirit truly shine through. I couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve said. Every time I read posts like yours and others on this forum, it strengthens my understanding of just how flawed, misleading, and frankly and extremely brutal this Green Paper is. It fuels me even more to keep going.🔥
It’s brilliant to hear you’ve had a response from your (boo! haha 😉) Tory MP – that alone gives me a bit of hope that through our collective efforts, we can make them or anyone listen. After all, their comfy seats aren’t looking quite so comfy these days! 🤔I’m absolutely sure that if we keep at it, the consequences of ignoring disabled voices will come back to haunt them long into the future.
I think it’s a fantastic idea for you to share the contents of your MP’s email on this forum . It will help spark discussion and build a stronger collective response. Also, if you’re happy to, please do share it with Scope’s campaign team via email as they’re gathering examples of MP replies to strengthen the cause and supporting our collective efforts .
I’ve also kept it very respectfully transparent with my MP that I’m a proud Scope member and that I’m working together with DPOs like Scope, DPAC, Disability Rebellion, Inclusion London, and others. Strength in numbers, after all!
On that note – if anyone’s on X (Twitter), Disability Rebellion are organising an online protest on 1st May and are inviting disabled people, carers, and allies to join in. I’ve asked them whether people who aren’t on social media can still take part via email, and I’ll share their response once I hear back. I’ll also pop a post on the Green Paper thread with their banner, so everyone can see how to get involved if they want to. Last I heard, their group had over 900 members (I’m one of them-couldn’t resist jumping in!).
As you rightly said, the beauty of our community, and the wider disabled and non-disabled community, is that we are not alone in this – we have so many people, DPOs, and wider organisations fighting alongside us, as well as disabled people like you and others who are generously sharing their political knowledge and giving so many of us HOPE. Even though you and your partner thankfully won’t be likely affected by these proposed changes in the future , you’re standing shoulder to shoulder with us, fighting our corner. Honestly, that’s nothing short of noble. If I had a hat on, I’d be tipping it to you right now!
Your support, and the support of others, means the world -especially when, for many of our disabled communities and families , this is truly a life and death situation. And we mustn’t forget, there’s also so much work happening behind the scenes too from Scope and other DPO’s, doing everything they can to amplify our voices.
Thank you once again, from the bottom of my heart.❤️ 🤗🙏🏽In solidarity, always ✊
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A reminder that flooding MPs' email accounts and/or providing extensive objections in government surveys can suggest an ability to carry out administrative tasks, reliably and repeatedly...
Also a reminder that this forum is social media. We are social media. Say something often enough and people start to believe it. But that doesn't make it true.
Read and research the facts about welfare reform in their raw form.
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new petition from the DPAC website. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/723991
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ONLINE PROTEST by Disability Rebellion (a new DPO) on 1 May 2025 -Please join!(See the excerpt from X and further details about the group, including campaigning material, below.)
I’m a member of this group, and they are very welcoming to all our thoughts and ideas.
“On May 1st, Disability Rebellion will hold an online protest - to support the groups who are attending the May Day protests that day, online.We will ask members to post as much as they can on social media that day in support of Disability rights. When writing posts that day, please add the hashtags: #MayDay, #TaxTheRich, #WelfareNotWarfare and #DisabilityRebellion.For campaign materials, if you wish, you may download these to share that day with the hashtags.CAMPAIGN MATERIALS “
You can find full details on how to get in touch with Disability Rebellion here .
In Solidarity ✊
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I've just had a reply back from my Conservative MP. I am going to challenge him on the points he's made below 👇(more diplomatically than I've done here! 😁)
I would also like to ask for your thoughts on this reply. Your opinions may show me a few things that I've not thought of which means I can give him the best possible reply, with your help. 😊
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Government’s recent announcements on welfare reform. I greatly appreciate the time you have taken in composing your email – normally I recieve campaign emails which follow the standard template. Yours was certainly not that and so again thank you.
These announcements have been published in what is known as a ‘green paper’. This is a discussion document that covers major themes but lacks much of the detail that will become legislation. We do not yet know when the government will publish its final proposals.
It is true to say that the benefits bill has grown very significantly since the pandemic and the system needs reform. I support reforms that help those people who can work into work, whilst acknowledging that sometimes this will require targeted support. I also want the benefits system to ensure that those who genuinely cannot work are provided with the support that they need.
I firmly believe that much more is needed to be done to reform our welfare system and get people back into work, however, this has to happen in a thought out, consulted and open way. Not simply targeting the most vulnerable groups to make up for economic mistakes elsewhere.
I also expect a full legal challenge to the proposals if and when they come into force – along many of the legal arguments you made.
At the moment my colleagues and I are awaiting the draft proposals whilst also raising concerns as to the effectiveness of what is being proposed. It is also fair to say that the Government is experiencing some challenges from within its own ranks as well which might well lead to changes in what has been announced.
I can assure you that I will take on board your comments when scrutinising the details of the Government’s proposals.
I was glad that he was pleased with the detailed email which I had carefully researched and made personal with our story (my partner is disabled too). It meant that we actually got a reply and a decent reply at that! 😳
However, although reasonably upbeat I thought that it was rather condensending and seemed deliberately vague about the content of the Green Paper and when it was likely to become law. (Let's hope it never does).
I do wonder where he's getting his figures for the " very significant" growth in the benefits bill. I'm sure that he knows that the word "reform" actually means "cuts." Also that "targeted support" means "sanctions."
Weasel words too when he says that he wants the benefits system to "ensure that those who genuinely cannot work are provided with the support that they need"
Yeah right. 😒 The Tory government really showed us all the right way to do that. NOT! 😡
There is also more to life than just the obsession with "getting people back into work" How about giving a proper level of financial support to truly help disabled people thrive, whether they can work or not. We aren't just economically productive units, we are people with lives.
He also says that "reforms" should happen in a thought out, consulted and open way. 🤔 Like that ever happened when they were in government, considering their own green paper proposals were ruled unlawful by the high court because they also made big claims of "getting disabled people back to work" when it was proved they were only interested in cuts.
I don't know about you but I don't like to be referred to as "vulnerable" as if I'm a victim. We certainly know we're not that! 💪I also think that the (so called) Labour government aren't the only ones who make "economic mistakes!"
The last three paragraphs seem pretty good but I wonder how genuine it is and it isn't lacking in hypocrisy stakes.
However, we do know that in government there are "challenges from within it's own ranks as well which might well lead to changes in what has been announced." That is the best part of the letter as far as I'm concerned. 🤗
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"considering their own green paper proposals were ruled unlawful by the high court
Wrong. The consultation was ruled unlawful.
because they also made big claims of "getting disabled people back to work""
On the agenda for many, many years
😐️
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Hi @Manonfire747,
Just wanted to say a warm welcome to Scope. I’m really sorry to hear about everything you’re dealing with. It’s a lot to carry and you’ve every right to feel how you do.
I'm disabled too, with different health issues, and I'm also deeply worried about these benefit cuts, like you and everyone here.You’re definitely not alone here. This thread on where you’ve posted is about how we can Get in touch with our MPs and ask them to stand against the cuts when the green paper proposal gets to parliamentary voting in June. There are also other discussions going on-about the Spring Statement and the current Pathways to work-Green Paper -if you ever want to join in. You might find it useful to read the discussions between members on these threads.
If you’d rather start your own thread, you can just click the + sign(on Scope’s homepage). It really helped me when I first joined to post my own personal queries .The house rules and “Using the Community” guide were very helpful when I was new. If you have a bit of time, the “Category” link is handy too(to know where to post your specific query)-it also shows all the different sections where lots of questions and discussions are already happening. I have found the search tool (in the right hand corner)handy as well when looking for something specific.
I hear you, and I can feel your pain and concerns with all the uncertainty around benefits. But there’s still so much HOPE that our collective voices and actions could make a real difference — either by stopping this Green Paper from becoming law or by getting it watered down. Please don’t lose hope -every voice, including yours truly matters.
I read in your post that you’re waiting for some email on 2 May. It might help to start your own thread, separate from this one. You could then explain it in detail and add further context-even share a screenshot (making sure to cover any personal details like your name, email, or phone number) — and other members who are in a similar position might be able to share their experiences.
You’ve made a great start by posting. We’re all here for you. Your voice matters.Stay strong my friend!
Take care,
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Another great find to promote our campaign! 👏@noonebelieves 😊
I've downloaded the campaign materials and will use them on X on May Day, Local Election day on Thursday, with the appropriate hashtags. I've had a look at Disability Rebellion before and now follow them.
I hope that anyone who reads this post, will consider doing the same, on social media. If you don't want to use the campaign materials just write whatever you can but please remember to use the above hashtags. ✊
I hope noonbelieves that you will have a look at my MPs reply above 👆and give me your opinion on it and could you tell me how to share that reply with Scope themselves. I can't find out what I need to do. 🤔
Many thanks
jul1😃
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Hi jul1 thanks for your kind words of encouragement and positive reply . At the last election I voted for the Labour party thinking that they would be the party who would help the disabled and poor . How wrong I was ! The seem to be even worse than the Tory's , treating the disabled like a problem that they would like to disappear . What an awful situation , we have no party who understands our daily problems and issues. There are some local elections in my area soon and I have read the campaign letters from each party and the disabled are not mentioned anywhere. It's time for the disabled to start their own party , okay we may not get any seats but at least we would be noticed. What do you all think ?
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@jul1aorways Good afternoon , dear friend – and once again, thank you so much for trusting me to share your MP’s response and asking for my perspective. You’re always such an inspiration to me and many others in this campaign space. The time and dedication you and your partner have put into writing a heartfelt, detailed, and deeply personal letter clearly made an impact – and it’s wonderful to see that acknowledged in the first line of your MP’s reply. That’s a big achievement in itself.
Now, onto the letter itself – and I’ll try to unpack this in a supportive, balanced, and honest way. I’ll admit upfront that I’m not as politically fluent as you are – I’ve only recently started understanding these processes myself, since this disturbing Green Paper emerged – but I’ll share what I can from my reading and lived experience.Firstly, I completely agree with your feeling that the language is deliberately vague and perhaps intentionally ambiguous in places. Phrases like “covers major themes but lacks much of the detail that will become legislation” are, in my view, a classic example of diplomatic obfuscation – an attempt to downplay the concrete direction the government is heading in by cloaking it as merely “consultative.” But as we both know, this Green Paper doesn’t read like a genuine co-exploration of ideas -it reads like a pre-determined one-way agenda, dressed in discussion clothing , partly due to its vagueness.
There’s a subtle rhetorical sleight of hand throughout. Take the MP’s line “It is true to say that the benefits bill has grown very significantly since the pandemic.” That sounds definitive – but it’s worth asking, “According to whom?” Multiple long-term analyses(plus future predictions), including from the OBR and Disabled People Against Cuts(DPAC), have strongly disputed this narrative. John Pring’s reporting on the Disability News Service has exposed how DWP figures may have been selectively framed or overinflated to build this argument. It feels like a post hoc rationalisation, not a fair presentation of evidence. As you rightly pointed out- this “growth” may be more myth than fact.
Another phrase that stood out to me was “those who genuinely cannot work.” The use of “genuinely” here is subtly judgmental and loaded with suspicion, and it echoes a long-standing pattern in political discourse: pitting so-called “deserving” versus “undeserving” claimants. This is particularly harmful when we know the reality of fluctuating, invisible, and complex health conditions.
You also noted (spot on) the use of the term “vulnerable” instead of “disabled.” That kind of framing risks infantilising or victimising people. While it might be well-intentioned, it ultimately blurs the lines around rights, equality, and entitlement, as protected under the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act. It steers the narrative away from legal protections and towards a paternalistic tone – as though support is given out of generosity, not entitlement. This might be inadvertent, but it is still deeply problematic.
What majorly concerns me is the way the MP avoids addressing the actual contents of the Green Paper – especially the two devastating proposed changes:
1.The abolition of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), and
2.The tightening of PIP eligibility, especially using a rigid 4-point daily living descriptor.
Neither are acknowledged here. Instead, we get the line “I support reforms that help those who can work into work…” which sounds eerily like echoing Labour’s position – particularly Starmer, Reeves’ and Kendall’s framing of “reforms” as “common sense” and “moral,” which feels quite dystopian and punitive given the real-world consequences for disabled people and their families. When MPs start recycling the same rhetoric as the government but replacing words like “cuts” with “reforms” and “sanctions” with “targeted support” – that’s euphemistic deflection. And yes, “weasel words” is pretty appropriate here too.
That said, I do think there are a couple of cautiously optimistic glimmers in this response. For instance, the MP says, “this has to happen in a thought out, consulted and open way.” That’s good – but where’s the reference to accessibility, inclusivity, or the Public Sector Equality Duty? One could argue that their silence on those dimensions is telling by omission.
Even more encouraging is this final part:“It is also fair to say that the Government is experiencing some challenges from within its own ranks… I will take on board your comments when scrutinising the proposals.”(As you say- Booo-Ha😉)This shows there is internal friction – and that MPs are aware of the public pressure and potential backlash. As you brilliantly said, ✅it’s a volatile time in politics, and no MP wants to be the one who lost their seat because they backed an unjust welfare reform. So yes – this is our window. This is the moment to keep pushing, to keep writing, and to keep speaking out.
In sum, my thoughts are: Merits: It’s a personalised reply. There’s at least some acknowledgement that your voice matters. There’s a hint of internal political pressure. Demerits: Vague, euphemistic, lacking in legal or rights-based framing. Conceals more than it reveals. Possibly contradictory in parts – “supportive of reform” while expressing “concern” about details, for example. There also appears to be an unintentional lack of inclusivity and a limited understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by disabled individuals.Assumptions and Intentions: It may be that your MP is trying to sit on the fence, hoping not to alienate party lines while acknowledging constituents’ concerns. But this ambiguity can’t last forever-especially when the final vote arrives.
So I’d say-this reply, while not perfect, is actually a powerful sign. It shows your campaigning works. You’ve pulled your MP into the debate, and they are now answerable. If enough of us do the same, the proposals’ trajectory can be altered. As we saw from the backlash to previous failed reforms, collective action works. And this is how we make it happen again.
I’d also like to add that, while the MP’s letter is somewhat broad and open to countless interpretation, it’s so encouraging that you received a response. I’m sure others with more political insight may be able to explore its implications in greater depth.
Thank you for always being a guiding light in this space, for empowering others, and for speaking truth to power even when it’s exhausting. I’m proud to be alongside you – even if I’m just a small voice in this big outcry. You’ve always encouraged me, and I hope my small reflections help return the favour.(Apologies if I’ve missed anything obvious - my brain feels a bit taxed today.)
Let’s keep going – we’ve got momentum, and change is still possible.
In solidarity and strength,✊
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A reminder that the consultation was ruled unlawful and not the Tory plans..
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Please take a moment to read the attached response from the Disability Activism Society, which follows the Government’s official reply. Let’s all do our bit -sign and share this parliamentary petitionwidely. Reaching 100,000 signatures will help trigger a vital debate in Parliament.
(You can find the full Government response just below the petition link.)
Protect Disabled people who cannot work from planned cuts to benefits0 -
@jul1aorways , Thanks for letting me know you’re willing to promote Disability Rebellion’s campaign. While I was caught up critiquing your MP’s email, I completely forgot to send you the details on how to share their response with Scope. You just need to forward the response to: campaigns@scope.org.uk
Best wishes !
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I received a very similar reply from my mp.Looks like a corporate cut and paste job
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My mp is a nodding dog who agrees with everything the party bosses tell him to do. I guess now that he has a cushy job he doesn’t want to loose it! I just feel really down about all of this benefits stuff….i just don’t know what to do for the best! I feel as if I’ve been backed into a corner. Will I loose my home because I can’t pay the mortgage anymore…..will I have any income?……could I cope with being homeless? Will the stress of it all burst the anuerysm in my head again?
It’s just all so uncertain. I’ve been trying to do my bit by signing petitions, filling out the consultation form for the green paper, trying to get a ticket for the in person consultation in Glasgow, I refused to fill out the what do disabled people spend their pip on form,writing to MPs, voicing my dissent on social media etc……They seem dead set and determined to make all these horrendous changes.Liz Kendal is so aggressively defensive of her reforms. The leadership of Labour seem to constantly have waffly preprepared answers to everything! I’m genuinely scared for the future.
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100% agree @silmarillion After much persistence, I’ve secured an appointment with my MP at an upcoming constituency surgery at our local library in two weeks(see my related posts on this thread).
Let’s all keep pushing strategically, as discussed in this thread and the others related to the Green Paper proposals. Best wishes-In solidarity ✊
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There's good comments as well people are fighting them can you imagine behind number 10 don't give up hope maybe all email kirsty blackman and thank her
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How do you hashtag ?
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I do nothing but think about the future, it’s driving me mad, I keep thinking about the best way to end it all then I sort of snap out of it and try to get on telling myself everything will be ok but deep down I know it won’t be. I am scared and feel so alone, I’m housebound and have virtually no contact with anyone. I don’t want to be like this, I’m sick of the constant pain, not being able to do hardly anything for myself and now all this extra worry. I’ve just about had enough.
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I totally understand where you're coming from @Martinp I used to totally fixate on the future and it really took a toll on my mental health after a while. It took a lot of practice to get out of that mindset, but it is possible.
I've popped you a little email, please be on the look out for it. 😊0
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