How Labour's Welfare Bill Dehumanises Disabled People In The UK
On the politicisation of disabled bodyminds
Between work meetings where I am supporting vulnerable disabled children and adults. Amongst the stresses and turmoils of my personal life as a disabled parent and professional. Seeping into my thoughts as I lay in bed trying desperately to recover from a day of working as a disabled adult; I have been watching and following the political debates around the Labour party's welfare bill.
For context, I have supported and voted for the Labour party since I was 18 years old. I am a card carrying membership of the Labour party. I truly have believed in the values they have held as a party. But Starmer’s Labour? This is not the Labour I recognise or support.
This party that promised to help the average person has lost sight of it's disabled population, reducing us to a site of political debate rather than the human beings that we are. I am a disabled professional, and their proposed changes to the benefits system have the potential to end the employment of countless like me, and kill countless more of us via a politics of poverty.
It says a lot about our value in the eyes of Starmer's government that our lives are worth less than the pitiful savings their welfare bill purports to provide.
Disabled people are not a cost to be debated. We are human beings with lives, and loves, and thoughts, and feelings. We have dreams and hopes. We face barriers that many MPs can not even imagine, and yet Labour have chosen to create more barriers. Barriers that have been projected to place 150,000 more of us into poverty by 2030.
My body is not yours to debate. My existence is not yours to place value on. Disabled rights are human rights, and this cruel and misguided welfare bill not only amounts to the effective denial of our rights, it places our lives at risk.
And yet, the Labour leadership pata itself on the back while sending us off into the void.
We can not remain silent.
Join Our Online Protest By Visiting The Facebook Event Page Here
If you're not on Facebook, the online protest starts on Friday 4th at 12pm UK time.
“Call To Action!
Online die in, show Labour what they are causing by cutting benefits, these cuts WILL kill!
What do we need from you?
We need a photo of you on the floor, in bed, slumped in your car or on a chair with your eyes shut. Holding a sign if you want to with #LabourDieIn #BenefitCutsKill #MoreThanABudget
We want to launch this Friday, so look out for us and join in!”