Labour's cold disability benefit cuts plan will be devastating for the poorest and most vulnerable

Now Keir Starmer’s government want to introduce ‘reforms’ which could see people here and in Britain stripped of the disability benefits they rely on to survive, with virtually no-one, not even Labour’s own backbenchers, buying the argument that pushing more disabled and long-term sick people into work is for their own good.

This is a move designed to save £billions for a Treasury that seems to have no problem finding cash to up its spend on defence. And it will cost lives. With cash-strapped Stormont departments unlikely to have funds to mitigate against it, if these measures are adopted Derry & Strabane will be among the areas worst affected.

A recent report tabled before Derry City & Strabane District Council showed that in our area 12.5% of the working age population people here are ‘economically inactive’ due to health issues and / or disability. This is way above the 7% UK average, and many of those people rely on PIP and other benefits just to get by.

A further 5.2% of people here are not in work due to caring responsibilities at home. In total 32% of people in Derry & Strabane is economically inactive for differing and very complex reasons, much higher that the 27% average in Northern Ireland.

And where are the jobs those people deemed eligible for work and denied benefits they were previously deemed eligible for are expected to apply for? Who will make these decisions and will it be outsourced?

It’s vital that the voice of reason within the Labour Party lead the charge in fighting tooth and nail against these devastating plans.

They need to argue instead for the government to invest in the most impoverished and vulnerable communities if they really want to help people.