Where my voice was ignored, others are rising

It seems I was just a little too early.

Earlier this year, I published an open letter warning the UK Labour government not to go ahead with its appalling plans to “reform” Personal Independence Payment (PIP) — a thinly-veiled euphemism for slashing support to disabled people under the guise of economic prudence.

The response at the time? Near silence.

But now, as if the dam has broken, a collective of more than 40 leading social scientists has issued a new open letter that says – in much the same terms – exactly what I tried to tell Labour back then.

Their verdict is crystal clear: the planned cuts to PIP and Universal Credit “will cause disproportionate harm to disabled people and accomplish little or nothing in terms of helping the economy or balancing public finances.”

And these aren’t just random campaigners shouting into the void.

These are professors, doctors, researchers and consultants from institutions like Oxford, Liverpool, Newcastle, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Many are names well-known in public health, disability studies, and social policy.

Some, like Professor Danny Dorling and Professor Clare Bambra, have helped shape how we understand inequality in this country.

And yes – the effort is hosted by my old friend Mo Stewart, who has contributed articles to this site for years and whose research has consistently exposed the deadly impact of weaponised welfare reform.

A voice backed by evidence

Where my letter was born from urgency and included only the references it needed to make its point, theirs brings a 30-page bibliography — a devastating indictment of austerity-era welfare policy.

It pulls from years of peer-reviewed academic work on the impacts of benefit cuts, assessments, conditionality, and the toxic narratives used to justify them.

Among the studies cited are findings that:

• Previous reforms increased mental illness and suicide risk.

• Claimants were not helped into work but instead fell into destitution.

• The “savings” from benefit cuts were cancelled out by increased demand on the NHS and local services.

This isn’t speculation. It’s evidence. It’s data. And it’s been ignored for too long.

Nothing new – and that’s the problem

Let’s be honest — this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a government target disabled people to “fix” its economic problems, and the fact that it’s now a Labour government proposing to continue the job the Tories started makes it all the more sickening.

The open letter even reminds Labour of something the UN told the UK several years ago: reverse the disability welfare cuts.

Instead, we are being served more of the same poison with a red label.

The writers demand that Labour:

• Immediately reverse all announced cuts to PIP and Universal Credit.

• Recognise the failure of past welfare reforms.

• Consider alternative ways to balance the budget — including, yes, taxing the rich.

“Public finances can and should be improved via redistributive measures such as a wealth tax,” they say. “As once promised, those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden.”

Hear that, Keir?

What happens next?

Well, we’ll see.

The letter urges all MPs — not just those on the opposition benches — to vote against the cuts when they come before Parliament.

And if you’re reading this as someone with a Labour MP (or a rebellious streak), now’s the time to get writing.

Or shouting.

Or occupying.

As for me? I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done: calling this cruelty what it is, and amplifying those who are brave enough to resist.

To those behind the new letter: thank you.

It’s heartening to know that when one voice is ignored, many more may rise.

Let’s make sure they’re heard.