Disability Justice & Solidarity: Rejecting a return to Austerity

They will hide cruelty behind 'efficiency' and they will wield the degrading, dehumanising language of the right to uproot the safety net that secures life and dignity for the disabled and chronically ill among us.

What Elon Musk and Trump did with the bonfire of Diversity Equality and Inclusion safegards in the US, is no far cry from what Keir Starmer is threatening, also under the guise of streamlining, efficiency and fairness. Suggested cuts to PIP - Personal Independence Payments for disabled and chronically ill people - will have a devastating impact on some of the UK's most vulnerable, a demographic that was ruthlessly targetted by successive Tory governments based on manufatured hysteria and right wing talking points, not realities. Lets be clear, thousands of disabled and chronically ill folks simply didnt survive Tory austerity - these policies kill.

The disabled community is being loud and clear: “The proposed cuts to disability benefits are nothing short of terrifying”. - Ellen Clifford, from Disabled People Against Cuts

More on the issue by disabled journalists in this piece in The Lead.

PIP is a vital lifeline because it covers the additional costs of being disabled, levelling the playing field just a bit for those with disabilities, so they can lead lives of dignity, and can enter work where able.

Image from CripTheGig

While the Scottish equivalent to PIP - the Adult Disability Payment - is not currently under threat, what happens in Westminster always bleeds through and it begins with the toxic and degrading culture fostered around disability by the likes of Starmer and Kendall.

Under the banner WelfareNotWarfare Disabled People Against the Cuts are organising rallies and protests nationally, do join where you can, and support however you can - details of that here.

To our disabled friends, loved ones and community members - we see you, we share your rage and your fear and we're in this fight too. If there is support we can offer, please do reach out, and remember the Pay-It-Forward pot is there for your book needs at least.