Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced on Tuesday an overhaul of the welfare system and reform to disability benefits on Tuesday.
The Government faced condemnation from unions, charities and some Labour MPs for making “cruel” and “immoral” cuts and seeking to balance the public finances on the backs of some of the poorest people in society.
The measures are expected to save more than £5 billion-a-year in 2029/30, with changes to eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip) expected to account for the largest proportion of savings.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Corbyn, Independent MP for Islington North, said: “The predication of this whole statement is saving £5 billion at the expense of people with disabilities in in our society.”
The former Labour leader added: “What her statement has done is caused consternation and dismay to many people around the country, who understandably are alarmed that their benefits are going to go down, particularly those with disabilities, and they’re going to live in greater poverty as a result of it.
“Can she, with hand on heart, say that no disabled person is going to be worse off after (the) statement? Or is that £5 billion going to be taken at the expense of those who live the most difficult lives already in our society?”
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall replied: “The predication of this statement is to stop people being written off, denied opportunities, denied hope, denied a future, and it’s about making the social security system sustainable for the long-term.”
Asked if Sir Keir Starmer believed it was morally right to reform eligibility for disability benefits, after describing the current system as “morally bankrupt”, a Downing Strteet spokesman replied: “What’s morally bankrupt is a system that fails people and incentivises, wrongly, people not to work.
“The Prime Minister has been very clear that he sees this as a really important reform to turn things around, get more people back into work, provide the kind of support needed for the most vulnerable in society.”
When put to him Pip (personal independence payments) was not a work-related benefit, he replied: “On Pip more broadly, the claims, as I said, are rising at an unsustainable rate.
“We’re now in a situation where a thousand people are claiming Pip every day, and claims for disability benefits rising much faster than the number of disabled people in the country.”
