On the 31st of May, a protest was organised by Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC) with the support and solidarity of local community groups and other Disabled People’s Organisations at Stratford Station in Newham, London.
This large local protest was organised in opposition to cuts to disability benefits which if unchanged will impact at least 800,000 people under the new Green Paper and Spring Budget proposals. Rather than get disabled people into employment, the loss of PIP daily living allowance will make it harder for disabled people to work. Most strongly impacted by these proposals will be young disabled people from 18-21 who will not be able to claim UC Health until they are 22-years-old.
Once again, the scrounger/self-reliance argument has been rolled out by the government and mainstream media to justify these cuts as though the fact that not all disabled people and family carers are in paid employment is the reason the British economy is stagnant for so long.
Already disabled people are the victims of failed economic policies due to austerity. Disabled people and those standing together in solidarity with them at this protest and other rallies and protests being held around the country are furious that once again our lives are under attack by the government.
Roddy Slorach (DPAC) led the speeches and was the protest emcee. Speakers included Linda Jordan (local disability campaigner), Jade Sampare (local disability activist. ELUC), Susan Pashkoff (ELUC), Claire Glasman (WINVISIBLE), Roland Rance (Lydd-London Twinning Group, ELUC), Inbar Tamari (NEU), Miriam Scharf (SUTR), and local Independent Councillors from Redbridge (Noor Jahan Begum and Rosa Gomez) and Newham (Sophia Naqvi and Mehmood Mirza).
The protest was held in Newham to challenge local MP Stephen Timms (the Secretary of State for Social Security and Disability) who is supporting these cuts, as well as Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall who have written and justified these proposals.
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