GMB London Region responds to proposed welfare cuts
GMB London Region has written to all Labour MPs in the region, expressing our deep concern about the expected cuts to the welfare system.
The full text of the letter from Warren Kenny, Regional Secretary:
I am writing to you on behalf of thousands of GMB members to express serious concerns regarding the recent announcement that substantial cuts are expected to the UK’s welfare system.
Our members come from all backgrounds and sectors. They are a barometer of the public mood, with our internal polling showing that GMB members’ opinions correlate heavily with the overall sentiments of the nation.
It is clear to me, given the level of distressing correspondence from members across our region, that these plans are deeply unpopular. The cuts, put simply, are unacceptable.
The official analysis indicates that over 3 million households will be pushed into a more precarious financial position. It is deeply worrying and morally unjustifiable that a quarter of a million people will be living in poverty because of this decision. The ramifications of 800,000 people losing an average of £4,500 from changes to the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are severe.
We are told that one of the core missions of this Government is to alleviate stress on the NHS, reducing dependence on services and lifting people out of poverty after over a decade of dire economic stagnation. However, it should be noted that cutting the welfare of disabled and vulnerable people to balance the books will inadvertently increase their eventual dependence on crisis services and healthcare by fostering deeper deprivation.
Removing the ability of 800,000 current and future claimants to receive PIP is an economic mirage, the implications of which will be felt for generations to come. Slashing 150,000 people’s access to carers' allowance is not only immoral but cruel. Freezing, or more accurately, cutting the health payment for over 2 million people on Universal Credit is yet another false economy.
Ultimately, 250,000 people are now being forced into poverty because of these decisions, 50,000 of whom are children. In defending this decision, the public was presented with the heartless analogy from an MP that the cuts were akin to taking pocket money off a child, rather than the reality - taking food out of the mouth of a child. It should not be the Labour Government's position to go further and faster on welfare retrenchment than the Conservatives. £4.8bn has just been taken from the dinner tables of those who, in most cases, can least afford it.
Why, you might ask, would a trade union be so frustrated by these cuts? It is because many of these people do, in fact, work. It is a sad reality that, for too many in this country, work does not pay, and the state is relied upon to supplement income. For many, part-time work is the only option, or they live in a household with limited employment opportunities. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s own report states that no analysis was conducted into how any of these cuts would lead to an increase in employment.
It is therefore, with a heavy heart, that I write to you to express our deep discontent with the current situation. We know, from our conversations with several MPs and our own members, that history will not judge this decision kindly. As a result of this decision, what for some are now electoral calculations about lost votes are, for millions, lost opportunities, dignity, and lives.
