LABOUR have been slated for introducing devastating cuts to welfare, with a former leader accusing them of an "act of cruelty" that will "cost lives".
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced a £5 billion package of welfare cuts to the House of Commons on Tuesday, which featured anticipated plans to change the eligibility criteria for the Personal Independence Payment – the main disability benefit.
Kendall confirmed applicants for PIP will now need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of the payment, meaning many will no longer be eligible.
This won’t affect the mobility component of PIP.
She said the changes were necessary so the benefits system is focused on "support for those in greatest need".
Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the cuts represent an “act of cruelty” by the Labour Government, accusing the party of going beyond austerity previously imposed by the Tories.
He said: “This a seminal moment: A Labour government cutting disability benefits.
“Not just continuing Tory levels. Cutting.
“This comes after a week of speculation, itself an act of cruelty by a government toying with people’s dignity. These cuts are disgraceful – and will cost lives.”
Kendall was challenged in the Commons by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn who questioned where in Labour’s manifesto they pledged to take £5 billion off disabled people.
He said: “They say they won’t change their fiscal rules because of their manifesto, they say they won’t change their tax policies because of their manifesto, they say they won’t change their position on the single market because of their manifesto. Perhaps the Secretary of State could outline to me, and to people right across the UK, where in her manifesto that they were going to take £5bn away from disabled people?”
"During the election, voters were promised there would be no return to austerity cuts but Keir Starmer has taken the axe to winter fuel payments, pushed children into poverty, blocked compensation for Waspi women – and now he is taking vital support away from the disabled,” he said.
"Under Keir Starmer, poverty and inequality are rising.
NEW: Watch Stephen Flynn challenge Labour on where their manifesto pledged to cut £5 billion from disability benefits ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/x5TeQBFbcv
— The National (@ScotNational) March 18, 2025
“The rich are getting richer but the rest of us are paying the price for the Labour Government's failure – as the UK economy tanks, the cost of energy, food and bills soar, and Westminster cuts hit millions of families.
"This isn't the change that voters were promised – and people in Scotland will not forgive the Labour Party for turbo-charging austerity and imposing worse cuts than the Tories.”
Elsewhere in her benefits crackdown, Kendall said the measure used to determine if someone is able to work through Universal Credit will be scrapped in 2028 and will instead be assessed through PIP.
Labour also confirmed the launch of “right to try”, meaning people will have the right to try returning to work “without the fear this will put their benefits at risk”.
The UK Government has said it will consult on merging jobseeker's allowance and employment support allowance into a time-limited "unemployment insurance"
The crackdown on benefits is expected to save £5bn by 2030.
The Scottish Greens have said the cuts will only deepen hardship for the most marginalised people in society and “spread pain and misery” in every community.
MSP Maggie Chapman said: “These cuts will make a cruel and dehumanising system even more brutal than it already is. They will spread pain and misery across every community.
“You can’t cut £5bn of support without causing real harm to people and endangering lives.
“Labour are doubling down on the Tory idea that you can work your way out of disability. They are sending a cruel and dangerous message that only people who can boost our economy are worth supporting.
“Labour promised an end to austerity, but this goes even further than anything that the Tories ever dared.”
Plaid Cymru have also criticised the plans, with MP Ann Davies saying that they will “only add strain to already overstretched health services”.
“Once again, this UK Labour Government is choosing short-term austerity over long-term solutions to the deep issues that affect us all,” she said.
Responding for the LibDems, MP Steve Darling said his party wants to see more people in work, including those with disabilities.
But he said he fears what the UK Government has announced will prove to be just "tinkering around the edges", claiming instead real cultural change is needed at the DWP.
