Medway Lib Dems oppose cuts to welfare for disabled people

The Medway Liberal Democrats have condemned the action of two our local MPs who voted to cut the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for the disabled.

Charities have warned the government that the cut to the ESA would make it more difficult for disabled people to find work and that many already struggled to afford food on the benefit at its current level.

The Government however, says the cut that applies to new claimants, will incentivise disabled people to find work. Liberal democrats ask how making people worse off will act as an incentive?

We believe the cuts were made with no evidence presented to MPs. Quite the contrary, three peers in the House of Lords, Lord Low, Baroness Meacher and Baroness Grey-Thompson, published a review last December, which stated there was "no evidence to suggest that disabled people can be incentivised into work by cutting their benefits".

On March 2nd MPs voted to reject a House of Lords plan for an impact assessment into the cuts. Hence the cuts will now go ahead. Had MPs followed the pleas of the Lords to have an impact assessment, this would have proved the case one way or the other. The Lords were relectantly forced to accept the will of MPs, after twice rejecting the bill, after the Speaker attached a "financial privilege" to it.

Medway Liberal Democrats call upon our MPs to explain why they voted on something that had no supporting evidence, but would affect many disabled people.