Hastings trade unions' petition launched against Government's welfare cuts

Hastings and District Trades Union Council, which groups together all the trade unions in town, set up the campaign on Saturday (March 22).

It calls on Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore to vote against the proposed cuts.

On Wednesday (March 26) the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed that welfare benefits will be cut by £4.8bn.

She said the Universal Credit Health element will be cut by 50 per cent and then frozen for new claimants.

But she said the Universal Credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in the financial year 2025/26 to £106 per week by 2029/30.

The Government has also introduced stricter eligibility criteria for those claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

PIP is a welfare benefit that is intended to help working-aged people 16 and over with the extra costs of living with a health condition or a disability

Simon Hester, chair of Hastings and District Trades Union Council, said: “The cuts are going to hurt and harm many thousands of people across the country and especially in Hastings.

“Many people in Hastings are on disability benefits, on PIPs and so on, and we think the Government should be instead looking to implement a wealth tax to fund public services, education, benefits, the welfare system.

“They can find money for war, but they seem not to be able to find money for the poor, and this is outrageous. So we are calling on Helena Dollimore to reject the government policy, to join the other Labour Party MP rebels and vote against the proposal to cut disability benefits.”

Ms Dollimore said: “After 14 years of failure, the Conservative government left our welfare system in a woeful state, especially for those who are disabled or have a long-term illness, and especially for people who want to work but who feel locked out of it.

“We have implemented the first ever above-inflation rise to Universal Credit, and introduced an additional premium for people with severe life-long conditions who will never work to give them financial security. 

“Those with a severe life-long disability will also no longer face distressing benefit reassessments, as they currently do.

“These reforms are about protecting the most vulnerable and supporting more people back into work. The welfare system will continue to support people with severe health conditions or disabilities, whilst ensuring that people who can work and want to work will be able to do so without losing their benefits.

“After years of mismanagement, the welfare system is in desperate need of reform. We need to stop people being written off by a broken system and ensure that our welfare state is financially sustainable to keep providing for those who need it the most.”

The petition can be found at www.change.org/p/petition-to-helena-dollimore-mp-stop-the-cuts-to-disability-benefits.