Jeremy Corbyn has written a letter to Rachel Reeves criticising her and the government for their planned cuts to disability benefits.
Last month, the Chancellor announced in her spring statement that the government would be making significant cuts to the welfare budget.
The £4.3bn cuts package, which included significant reform to personal independence payment (Pip), are set to impact more than 3 million households and push 250,000 people into poverty according to the government’s own analysis.
The cuts were widely criticised by voices both within and outside the Labour party, including former party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He has now written to the chancellor to make her aware of his constituents’ “profound distress” over the cuts.
In a letter to Reeves, Corbyn said he had received an “unprecedented number of enquiries from constituents who were utterly horrified by the government’s proposals.”
As a result, he held an urgent public meeting to provide a space for concerns to be shared.
Corbyn shared some of the testimonies from his constituents in the letter, with some labelling the cuts “terrifying.”
The Islington North MP added: “PIP is not a luxury. It’s a lifeline – and we are disgusted by the government’s decision to make disabled people’s lives harder. Our meeting was proof that disabled people are much more than a ‘vulnerable’ group in society.
“They are creative, passionate and valued campaigners who are advocating for their right to live in dignity and freedom.”
Sharing his letter to the Chancellor on X, Corbyn said: “I have written to Rachel Reeves to share my constituents’ profound distress over the cuts to disability benefits. We are appalled by the government’s cruelty – and we will not back down.”
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