The facts that tell Labour to stop its attack on disabled people are distilled in an open letter to ministers and the media today (Easter Monday, April 21, 2025).

You  can read the contents of the letter below. If you’re really quick, you can do so before they can.

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The letter provides detailed evidence, drawn from historical data and independent research, illustrating the serious harm these policies have caused — and will continue to cause — to disabled people across the UK.

As the owner and writer of Vox Political, a publication that closely follows government policy and social justice issues, I believe this is an urgent and vital matter deserving ministerial attention (from such people as Liz Kendall and Keir Starmer [pictured in protective clothing]) and a reconsideration of current plans.

I am also sharing the letter with national press outlets in the hope that it may be published in full or referenced in any forthcoming coverage. Given the scale of the planned changes and their likely consequences, I believe this issue warrants urgent national discussion.

Here it is. If you agree that it makes strong points, please share it yourself:

April 21, 2025.

To the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and Editors of the UK National Press,

Re: The deadly consequences of cutting support for disabled people – and your role in them

The UK government is now proposing a new wave of cuts to disability benefits, knowing full well the deadly consequences of doing so.

We know this because the last time similar policies were introduced—under Conservative-led governments from 2010 onwards—they resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, widespread mental and physical health deterioration, and a United Nations investigation that concluded the UK had committed “grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s rights.

We know this because your own departments produced evidence confirming it.

And we know this because it is happening again.

This is an appeal—and a warning. You cannot say you were not told. What you are planning is not simply a matter of difficult decisions or tough fiscal choices. It is a policy course that history has shown leads directly to suffering and premature death. Any government that proceeds down this path, now, is doing so with eyes wide open.

Executive Summary

• Between 2011 and 2019, more than 100,000 sick and disabled people died within six months of being found “fit for work” by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). (1)

• At least 590 additional suicides were directly linked to welfare reforms, according to academic studies. (2)

• A 2019 report commissioned by NHS England and published by Scope found nearly 40% of disabled people said their mental health deteriorated due to benefit cuts, and one in four could no longer afford medication or therapy. (3)

• The UN condemned the UK for violating disabled people’s rights due to austerity policies, and coroners linked multiple deaths to benefit sanctions and assessments. (4)

• The excuse given for inflicting the new wave of cuts is that they are needed to tackle fraud in the disability benefit system. But fraud is historically negligible in disability benefits – particularly PIP, which was fraud-free (0.0 per cent) before policy changes and remains at just 0.4 per cent according to the DWP’s own figures. Of the total £9.7 billion lost to fraud and error across the benefits system, just £190 million came from disability benefits—only 2.35 per cent. (5)

• The Resolution Foundation has calculated that the current government’s new cuts will push 250,000 more people into poverty, and take up to £10,300 per year from disabled families. (6)

• The plan has already caused a mental health crisis, as people with severe conditions are already reporting suicidal ideation in anticipation of the reforms. This is creating an extra burden for the NHS and emergency services before the policy even becomes law. (7)

These are not projections. These are facts. And if these reforms go ahead, the responsibility will lie with the ministers who enacted them.

Historical context

The effects of welfare reform on disabled people have been thoroughly documented. Cuts to ESA, the replacement of DLA with PIP, the flawed Work Capability Assessments (WCA), the Bedroom Tax, and the introduction of Universal Credit created a hostile environment for some of the most vulnerable members of society.

The British Medical Journal has published peer-reviewed studies (8) showing that the reassessment of over one million disabled claimants between 2010 and 2013 led to:

• An increase of 290,000 people with mental health problems

• Increased antidepressant prescribing

• An estimated 600 additional suicides

NHS England commissioned the charity Scope to assess the impact of Conservative-led welfare reforms from 2010 onward. Their 2019 “Disability Price Tag” report (9) found:

• Disabled households faced additional costs averaging £583 per month.

• One in five disabled people struggled to afford food.

• One in three disabled people cut back on heating.

• The transition from DLA to PIP, along with ESA sanctions and the Bedroom Tax, worsened poverty and led to declining health and increased isolation.

• Many reported worsening mental and physical health; some could not afford medical equipment or therapy.

The cumulative result was greater dependency on emergency NHS services – with rising Accident and Emergency admissions, greater demand for mental health services, and longer-term costs – and a measurable decline in national health outcomes.

The DWP’s own internal data—suppressed for years, then leaked—showed (10) that more than 100,000 people died within six months of being found fit for work. Ministers had originally claimed the number of such deaths was only around 2,400. That claim was untrue, as one study (JECH, 2019) linked 590 additional suicides in England between 2010 and 2013 to austerity-era benefit changes.

The return of Esther McVey to the public spotlight during BBC coverage of the new cuts was a chilling and telling moment. McVey’s past roles in the DWP saw her defend and promote many of the policies whose consequences we are again being asked to ignore.

During her tenure:

• 220,000 disabled people lost PIP support due to stricter reassessments.(11)

• Work Capability Assessments were defended, even after multiple coroners and charities linked them to suicides.

• Reports highlighting the devastating effects of Universal Credit and sanctions were buried or denied while damaging narratives about “scroungers” were promoted.

• She refused to act on coroners’ warnings that might have saved lives.

Deaths linked to her department’s policies include:

• Mark Wood, who starved to death after being declared fit for work.

• Michael O’Sullivan, who died by suicide after his ESA was cut. A coroner directly blamed the DWP.

• Jodey Whiting, who took her life after missing a work capability assessment due to medical issues; she was sanctioned regardless.

• Errol Graham, who starved to death after his ESA was cut off. The DWP never checked on his welfare.

These are not isolated cases. They are symptomatic of a system that prioritises cost-cutting over care, and punishment over support. And now we see that same system being revived, this time by a Labour government.

It is true that McVey did not personally oversee every decision, but she consistently dismissed evidence of systemic harm and continued to enforce punitive policies without reform.

Her reappearance as these new cuts are announced is not coincidental. It is emblematic of a political class that refuses to learn from its past.

The present danger

Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall have chosen to reintroduce benefit cuts under the same justifications—fraud, fairness, financial responsibility—that were used in the past to defend policies that then proved to be deadly.

But the facts do not support these claims:

• PIP fraud stood at 0.0 per cent of the total number of claims before changes began. Even now, it remains at only 0.4 per cent. (12)

• Of the £9.7 billion lost to fraud and error in 2023–24, only £190 million came from disability benefits.

• This is 2.35 per cent of the total—yet disability benefits are disproportionately targeted for cuts

These are not policies driven by evidence. They are political choices.

According to the Resolution Foundation, these new measures will:

• Cut £8.3 billion from social security spending

• Deliver minor gains for non-disabled people on Universal Credit

• Inflict massive losses on disabled people and carers, including up to £10,300 per year per household

• Push an estimated 250,000 more people into poverty

Meanwhile, suicidal ideation is already rising among those with severe mental illness, purely due to the fear of these new cuts. This is not hypothetical. It is happening now—and it will cause new burdens on the NHS, emergency services, and social care systems even before any law is passed.

Poor and disabled people are paying the price for a crisis they did not create, while the wealthy are untouched.

This is not balance. This is brutality.

You Cannot Say You Did Not Know

What happened in the years following 2010 is not opinion or speculation. It is documented fact provided by:

• Parliamentary inquiries

• UN investigations

• Peer-reviewed academic studies

• Coroners’ inquests

• Leaked DWP mortality reports

All point to a clear and horrific conclusion: austerity and welfare reform killed people.

And the same ingredients are now being put back into the system.

What Must Be Done

The government must not use the lives of sick and disabled people to establish “fiscal credibility.” The price is too high.

A just economy protects the most vulnerable. It does not scapegoat them.

If this government is serious about protecting lives and learning from the past, then it must:

1. Immediately halt plans to cut health- and disability-related benefits.

2. Publish all mortality statistics relating to benefit claimants from 2011 to the present.

3. Establish an independent public inquiry into deaths linked to welfare reform.

4. Implement proper transitional protections for anyone facing reassessment or loss of income.

5. Commit to working with disabled people’s organisations before making further changes.

This government cannot plead ignorance. It is in possession of the facts, the outcomes, and the consequences. Continuing down this path is a choice. And it is a deadly one.

You will not be able to say you did not know.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Sivier, Owner/Writer, Vox Political. (https://voxpoliticalonline.com)

Notes:

1. In 2019, FOI requests revealed that between 2011 and November 2018, around 73,800 claimants died after being placed in the “fit for work” group or while appealing a decision. When extended to 2019, estimates suggested the total exceeded 100,000 deaths (including those awaiting assessments or appealing). This is therefore official information from the Department for Work and Pensions.

2. See a University of Liverpool study, published in The Lancet here – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(19)30038-9/fulltext

3. See Scope’s report, “Disabled People’s Experiences of Health and Social Care”, published in 2019 and no longer publicly available.

4. The UN report may be found here – http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/InquiryProcedure.aspx

5. This is official information from the Department for Work and Pensions.

6. This is stated in the Resolution Foundation briefing note “Unsung Britain bears the brunt”, found here – https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/unsung-britain-bears-brunt

7. This is according to a survey by the website Benefits and Work, the results of which are available here – https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/proposed-pip-cuts-already-causing-harm-to-people-living-with-smi

8. The British Medical Journal study on the effects of benefit reassessments between 2010-2013 may be found here – https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/9/e008722

9. The Scope report showing how financial stress caused by benefit cuts led disabled people to reduce heating, food intake, and medical treatment is the same report referenced in 3. above.

10. See 1. above.

11. The claim that 220,000 people lost PIP after reassessment is substantiated by the DWP’s response to FOI 5556, published on March 23, 2018 but not now available on the gov.uk website. Esther McVey’s responses are matters of public record.

12. See 6. above.

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