Benefit Cuts are a Death Sentence for Disabled People

For years, disabled people in the UK have been fighting against a welfare system that seems designed to punish rather than support them. From humiliating disability assessments to wrongful benefit denials, the system has already pushed thousands into poverty, homelessness, and even death. Now, the UK government is proposing some of the most drastic cuts yet to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and other disability benefits... changes that will strip vital financial support from up to 1.2 million disabled people.

The government claims these reforms are about encouraging people into work, reducing dependency on welfare, and cutting costs. But what they refuse to acknowledge is that many disabled people simply cannot work, not because they don’t want to, but because of the brutal reality of their disabilities and also the UK’s widespread inaccessibility.

These reforms are not about "helping" disabled people into employment. They are about abandoning them. And for many, this will not just mean hardship. It will mean death.

The Myth of “Encouraging Work”

When politicians talk about cutting disability benefits, they often claim it’s because too many people are “dependent” on the system and that benefits should be reserved for those who are “truly disabled.” The underlying assumption is that most disabled people could work if they just tried hard enough. This is an outright lie, built on ignorance of what it actually means to be disabled in the UK today.

1. Chronic Illness is Unpredictable and Debilitating

Many disabled people live with fluctuating or chronic conditions that make steady employment impossible. Someone with multiple sclerosis (MS), Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) for example may have days where they can function at a basic level, but also days, weeks, or months where they are completely incapacitated by pain, exhaustion, or mobility issues.

The job market does not accommodate this reality. Most employers do not want someone who can only work occasionally, and many jobs require rigid schedules that disabled people cannot consistently meet.

2. Workplaces Are Not Accessible

Even if a disabled person is physically capable of working, they often find themselves locked out of employment due to inaccessible workplaces. Many offices still do not have ramps, lifts, accessible toilets, or step-free access. For wheelchair users or those with mobility issues, this makes working impossible.

Public transport, which is crucial for getting to work, is also largely inaccessible. Only a third of train stations in the UK have step-free access, and bus services have been cut dramatically, especially in rural areas. Many disabled people cannot drive due to their condition, and taxis are expensive. How are they meant to get to work? The government has no answers, only punishments.

Even the Access to Work scheme, designed to assist disabled people with employment-related needs, including transport, has been plagued by significant delays. Over 60,000 disabled people in the UK face waits exceeding nine months for support, preventing many from gaining or retaining jobs

3. Employers Discriminate Against Disabled Workers

Even when accommodations exist, discrimination is rampant. Many disabled workers face outright rejection from jobs, bullying in the workplace, and resistance to reasonable adjustments. Despite legal protections under the Equality Act 2010, many employers fail to make the required accommodations, and often get away with it.

Neurodivergent people frequently struggle in traditional workplaces. Sensory overload, rigid schedules, masking, and social expectations can make working unbearable. The idea that all disabled people can simply “adapt” and “push through” is cruel and unrealistic.

The reality is simple: many disabled people cannot work, not because they are unwilling, but because society refuses to make work possible for them.

The Consequences of Cutting PIP: Poverty, Starvation, and Death

PIP is not a luxury. It is a lifeline. It helps disabled people afford mobility aids, carers, heating, food, and medication. Without it, many will be left without the basic resources they need to survive.

1. Disabled People Will Lose Their Homes

Many disabled people rely on PIP and Universal Credit to afford rent. With the housing crisis and skyrocketing living costs, many already struggle to stay afloat. If their benefits are cut, thousands will be forced into homelessness.

Being homeless is dangerous for anyone,but for a disabled person, it is often a death sentence. Many rely on equipment like wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, CPAP machines, or feeding tubes, none of which can be used or maintained while living on the streets.

2. Many Will Starve or Freeze to Death

The cost of living crisis has already forced disabled people to choose between heating and food. With further cuts, many will not be able to afford either.

Disabled people often face higher living costs than non-disabled people. Many require special diets, medication, extra travel to appointments, electricity for medical equipment, or higher heating bills due to difficulty regulating body temperature. The loss of financial support will mean real suffering... starvation, malnutrition, and deaths.

3. Suicide Rates Will Rise

We have seen this before. When the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was introduced under austerity measures in the 2010s, disabled people were declared “fit for work” despite severe disabilities. Many died soon after their benefits were removed, either due to worsening health conditions or by suicide.

Coroners have linked benefit cuts to multiple suicides. A 2017 study found that cuts to disability benefits led to a rise in suicide rates and mental health crises. When people are pushed into poverty and desperation, the consequences are fatal.

The government knows this. They have seen the reports. They have read the coroners’ findings. And yet, they are choosing to repeat the same deadly mistakes.

Why is the Government Doing This?

The government claims that disability benefit costs have “spiraled out of control.” What they fail to mention is that this rise is due to increased diagnoses, an aging population, covid-19, and the long-term effects of austerity on health. Instead of addressing the root causes of worsening disability, like poverty, lack of access to healthcare, discrimination, and poor workplace protections, they have decided to target the victims of these failures.

These cuts are not about helping disabled people. They are about money.

This government is willing to let disabled people starve, freeze, or die to balance their books.

What Can Be Done?

This is not inevitable. The fight is not over.

1. Raise awareness. The government relies on public ignorance to push these cuts through. Disabled people and allies must speak out, share stories, and challenge the media narrative.

2. Pressure politicians. MPs must be bombarded with letters, emails, and petitions. Every cut, every loss, every death must be laid at their feet.

3. Support disabled advocacy groups. Organizations like Disability Rights UK, Scope, and DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) are fighting for disabled people’s rights. They need funding and activism to continue their work.

4. Protest. The government must see that the public will not stand for these attacks. But even this comes with its own cruelty, because when disabled people protest, we are told, “If you have the energy to protest, you must be well enough to work.” And yet, if we do nothing, our suffering is ignored. We are trapped in a system that punishes us no matter what we do.

5. Vote. A government that attacks disabled people does not deserve power. This must be an election issue.

But most importantly, we must ask, why are politicians making medical decisions for us in the first place?

The government claims to be “assessing” disabled people’s ability to work, yet the vast majority of those making these decisions are not doctors, nurses, or specialists. They are bureaucrats following a cost-cutting agenda. When someone is denied benefits, they are not being judged by a medical professional with an understanding of their condition—they are being assessed by people with no medical expertise, using rigid tick-box criteria designed to reject as many claims as possible.

A person’s ability to work is a complex medical issue, requiring expert evaluation from actual medical practitioners, not politicians looking to slash budgets. Yet, time and time again, government officials and private contractors overrule the advice of doctors, dismiss medical evidence, and declare people “fit for work” based on nothing but their own financial interests.

Since when did politicians become doctors? Since when did government policy override medical fact?

Disabled people do not need “encouragement” to work. We need support, accessibility, and respect for our reality. Instead, we are being forced into a brutal system that treats us as disposable burdens rather than human beings.

This is not just a political failure. It is a moral one. And if we do not fight back, more lives will be lost. Disabled people deserve dignity, safety, and life. The government is trying to take that away. We must not let them.

We must stand up, speak out, and refuse to let this government kill us quietly.