Newcastle Welfare Cuts Rally

National World - LocalTV

Rachel Reeves has been warned that swingeing benefit cuts pose a severe threat to the lives and livelihoods of disabled people in the North East. Dozens of protesters gathered around Grey’s Monument in Newcastle city centre.

Transcript

00:00On Wednesday, dozens of protesters gathered around Grey's Monument in Newcastle City

00:05Centre to protest these cuts, which include tightening the Eligibility Criteria for Personal

00:09Independence Payments, or PIP, and halving the health-related element of Universal Credit

00:13for New Claimants. This measure will freeze the health-related component until 2030. While

00:19the government maintains that these cuts are part of efforts to encourage more people into

00:23work, evidence suggests that they could actually do the opposite, driving an additional 250,000

00:27people, including 50,000 children, further into poverty. Hannah Frost, a member of Disabled

00:33People Against Cuts and Crips Against Cuts, spoke at the rally, expressing her deep concerns

00:39that the cuts would not only strip disabled people of vital financial support, but also

00:43exacerbate the pressure on an already overstretched social care system. Frost, who uses a wheelchair

00:49and has hypermobile ADS, explained that the additional funds she receives through PIP

00:53are essential for her to manage her condition. Another protester, Leanne Robson from Framlin

00:59Inn, shared how the announcement of these cuts had significantly impacted her mental

01:03health. She pointed out that these cuts would worsen the pressures on public services that

01:07are already struggling to meet demand. In her response, Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged

01:12the concerns, but defended the government's approach, arguing that it was necessary to

01:17push more people back into work to reduce poverty in the long term. She pointed to the

01:21government's plan for a premium payment for the most severely sick and disabled individuals

01:26as a means of targeting support to those in greatest need. She referred to the government's

01:31focus on increasing support for those transitioning from welfare to work through record investment

01:37and employment programmes, which will offer guaranteed, personalised and targeted support

01:41to help individuals find and retain jobs.

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