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What happens when Timms does the review of PIP and turns it into the PIP/UC Health system, gives it a different name.  Just like the scrapping of DLA and introduction of PIP, PIP was treated as all new claims, no transitions, no protections.  Are they then going to say all existing PIP claimants have to reapply a new claim on the new renamed version when their current claim ends either through losing it through reassessment/MR/Tribunal or because they had a short 2 year award and this is not a reassessment but a full new claim?  

Are they also going to start reviewing everyone as soon as possible, even those on 10 year awards, kick as many off as they can get away with, hope they lose at tribunal and then are forced to reapply under the new system.

There are so many unanswered questions, no detail, no clarity.  MP's have no idea what they are voting for or against here and many barely understand the system as it is, let alone what any of these changes or concessions mean.

My own situation with Veterans War Pension is even less clear and not a single person anywhere can explain or tell me the answers to any of it.

Read that again: 375,000 people have been protected for the foreseeable future through our campaigning. 

And that’s a worst case scenario – the bill, even with concessions, still might not pass.

I know some of you are saying that there’s no security beyond this parliament. There never is. Whatever plans one party puts in place, the next will likely tear up – just look back at the last fifteen years for proof of that. There’s nothing we can do about that. We have to take it one parliament, one fight at a time. And I know many of you don’t trust the government to deliver on these concessions, but there’s not much we can do about that either.  Presumably, it will be written as part of the bill, and they been plastered all over the newspaper and MSM.  It would be very difficult to U-turn on the U-turn.

I also know that many have questions about their own particular less-common circumstance (such as DLA or contributions ESA), but we don’t have the answers to those yet, and the bill was never going to include what will happen in hundreds of individual cases. That will come later, and hopefully it will come down on your side, and if it doesn’t then it’s time to fight again. Also, the questions about LCWRA eligibility can’t be answered here as it’s not in the current legislation. Another fight, another day.

Note that earlier I said “today’s disabled community,” because tomorrow’s disabled community will still face the cuts. Yes, the government has agreed to more consultations over the “more controversial” elements of the bill, and we can only hope that those will also be altered in the coming weeks and months. However, just because 375,000 people’s own futures are, for now, assured, it doesn’t mean that campaigning groups and individuals will stop their fight for fairness and security for future generations and those that weren’t helped by today’s announcement.

But, first, we deserve a break. The last three months have been scary, exhausting, devastating, and, at times, even exciting when it finally looked like things were turning our way.

No, you can’t say it was a rollercoaster ride.
I forbid it.
Firstly, it’s a term that is used too much, and, secondly, a rollercoaster is taken voluntarily. Nobody asked or volunteered for this. And nobody voted for it, either. Labour will not be forgiven by anyone who has been caught up in this.

But what has been remarkable is the way the disabled and non-disabled community has come together and worked together and consoled each other and given each other pep talks. Many have worked tirelessly in all kinds of ways to get these “concessions” today. But I would suggest that a key concession is missing – the sacking of Timms and Kendall.

The 130 Labour MPs who nailed their colours to the mast this week need to be thanked. Many of them were new MPs, and “coming out” as going against your party on a flagship policy (albeit not in the manifesto) while being bullied and threatened by whips etc could not have been easy, and I salute you. We wouldn’t be here at this juncture without you.

Meanwhile, the organisations and charities that have done such a good job of highlighting just what these changes would mean have been remarkable. Their facts, figures, research, and heart have been astounding.

And there’s the individuals, too. Everyone who has written to MPs or councillors, or drummed up support on social media, or exposed what is going on, or has taken part in protests, or in the shambolic consultation, or given their heartbreaking stories of how the cuts would affect them via social media or forums, or simply supported others: ALL of you/us deserve a medal. Don’t expect one, though! 

But soon the fight will start to protect the next generation of disabled people. You deserve what the current community has (hopefully) achieved – and you also deserve better. Better access, better transport, better infrastructure, better communication, better acceptance, and better understanding. The disabled community (whether now or in the future) cannot be collateral damage for failed policies, failed governments, and failed economics. We are not scapegoats, and we never will be. We might not win the fight for the next generation, but we will try.

But now I’m pretty sure I’m not alone within the community in saying that I’m bloody knackered, and the next fight (and there will be many, no doubt) will have to wait a few weeks. By then, hopefully, Starmer will have sacked Kendall, Timms and Reeves and remembered he is a Labour prime minister. We can but hope.

We have seemingly won a battle, but the war is likely to continue.  

Sending best wishes,
Shane

At least 50 Labour MPs still opposed to welfare bill, Starmer warned, amid claims Tuesday's vote could be very tight
Ministers should not be confident that they will pass the welfare bill on Tuesday, despite the huge concessions welcomed by the MP who tabled the reasoned amendment to kill the bill, a backbencher told the World at One

Cat Eccles, who was elected MP for Stourbridge last year, said that she was aware of around 50 to 60 Labour rebels who were still oppposed to the bill. But she said she could be more.

Eccles is one of more than 120 Labour MPs who signed the reasoned amendment that would have blocked the bill at second reading. The government currently has a working majority of 165, which means that if 83 Labour MPs were to vote with all the opposition parties on a measure, the government would lose.

Asked for her response to the U-turn, Eccles said:

I’m glad that the government is finally listening, but it’s really disappointing that it is at the 11th hour. I and others have been raising our concerns since Liz Kendall first stood at the dispatch box to announce these policies back in March, so they’ve had three months to listen.
So to say this week that they’re surprised that we’ve got these concerns is really disingenuous … I think they do need to start really being a bit more collaborative with their back benches, because we do have experience amongst us, we do have a lot of knowledge, and some of us really do know what we’re talking about, especially when it comes to the system.
Asked if the changes were enough too get her to back the bill, Eccles replied:

For me? No, it’s too little too late.
We’re not going to be able to see the detail in advance … It’s not good enough for me.
Asked if other Labour MPs felt the same way, Eccles replied:

It’s quite mixed. Some people are feeling quite reassured by what’s been coming out since last night …
But many of us still feel that it’s not OK – particularly around the Pip four points scoring criteria, saying that existing claimants will still get it, but new ones may not.
There’s a worry there that we’ll create a two-tier system.
And it’s looking like they’ll still be billions of pounds of brutal cuts.
So it’s just too quick for MPs to be able to understand how these concessions will really work. And I think we should still be pressing pause and looking at this again.
Eccles did not offer a firm prediction for how many MPs would vote against the bill. Asked how many backbenchers were, like her, still opposed to the bill, she replied:

I know some, 50 or 60 that I’m aware of, but I think there’s a whole bunch of people that we’re not aware of who are feeling uncomfortable. We may not know what they will do until Tuesday evening.
When it was put to her that the vote could be “really very tight indeed”, she replied: “Yes, I think so.”

What will happen to existing DLA Claimants who are still waiting to be invited to apply for Pip? I have searched and AI has informed me that Existing DLA  persons who are waiting to be invited to apply for Pip.... ( DLA to PIP ) will be treated as though they  are new claimants. This whole saga is beyond wrong. People are not ill and disabled to go through life expecting concessions. This is a situation that help is needed. Life is still much harder than before, but the help with DLA or Pip makes it a little more bearable. No one chooses to be ill, or to live with disability and chronic conditions however manageable they might be, the help that these benefits enable are an essential lifeline. Meanwhile people's anxiety levels are increased at a time, they don't need them to be.

I strongly suspect they may weasel on some of these commitments, they are just 'rebel bait', if you like, and once on the statute books they can be rolled back quietly.

Next up I'd suggest we'll see the folding of PIP into UC and the likely disappearance of the tribunal system.

It really is the dismantling of the welfare state, the best thing ever in the UK, which my Dad's generation fought for for 6 years in WW2. I'm glad I'm not young - if I was, I'd be out of this country like a shot.

Starmer, Reeves, Kendal, Stephen Timms, J. Reynolds have all proved themselves as liars and totally untrustworthy.

That said there are very many decent Labour MP's.