The Labour Party has published its manifesto today.  Astonishingly, its 136 pages provide not a single concrete action relating to welfare benefits – the issue has been almost entirely airbrushed from the document, leaving disabled claimants with no idea what Labour has in store for them.

The closest thing to an actionable idea relating to benefits is on page 78 of the manifesto, which says:

“Labour is committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty. We want to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels, which is a moral scar on our society.”

So, a review will take place at some undefined time, but with no hint of whether the intention is to increase or reduce UC for disabled claimants, increase or reduce sanctions or anything else.

The document does say on page 42 that:

“We will tackle the backlog of Access to Work claims and give disabled people the confidence to start working without the fear of an immediate benefit reassessment if it does not work out. We believe the Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced, alongside a proper plan to support disabled people to work.”

 But this tells readers nothing concrete. When will reform or replacement of the WCA happen and what form will it take? It sounds like Labour has no clear ideas on the subject, just a vague aspiration.

There is, though, the obligatory threat on page 42 to people who are not in work but, in the view of the Labour Party, should be:

“Labour will reform employment support so it drives growth and opportunity. Our system will be underpinned by rights and responsibilities – people who can work, should work – and there will be consequences for those who do not fulfil their obligations.”

On child poverty, the document says on page 79:

“Labour will develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. We will work with the voluntary sector, faith organisations, trade unions, business, devolved and local government, and communities to bring about change.”

This suggests that there is no intention to increase benefits payments related to children or to remove the two-child benefit cap introduced by the Tories in 2017, which has been such a driver of child poverty.

Aside from that, there is an undertaking to retain the triple lock for the state pension and a stern warning that Labour “will not tolerate fraud or waste anywhere, whether in social security or the excessive use of consultants”.

And that’s all we could find, please do tell us in the comments section if you discover anything else.

This is a cruel manifesto from the point of view of disabled claimants. 

The Conservatives put in motion some ferociously anti-disabled claimant plans, including moving forward the forced migration to universal credit, making the WCA harder to pass, consulting on replacing PIP with vouchers and spying on bank accounts.

But it will be Labour, not the Conservatives, who are virtually certain to be in charge of claimants’ fate after the election. 

Labour’s decision to give no hint of which Tory plans they will reject and which they will adopt will leave many claimants in a state of real distress for weeks to come.

You can download the Labour Party manifesto from this link.

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    Simon · 3 months ago
    Wow.... unbelievable. 

    I would seriously urge anyone who is unsure of who to vote for, to just vote for those with policies that you believe in.  Even if they don't get in, the other parties will see your votes and possible tailor their future policies to be more in line with that. 

    And personally, I cannot imagine anything worse than Labour winning with a huge victory, as they'll have power to do anything they want.  At this stage, it feels like Labour could be as bad as the Tories. 

    Personally I'll be voting green, as they seem to have the best welfare policies, and the right idea of making the super rich pay their fair share. 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Old mother · 3 months ago
      @Simon But they will not be in a position to realise these policies - ever.  They can therefore promise the green moon and it will never be tested. 

      Labour may be the next government- they have to be realistic and very cautious at this point in time. 

      This constant carping of labour are just as bad etc erodes confidence and may lead to the horrors of another 5 years of the tories.   Think about that. 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Simon · 3 months ago
      @Not in my name Read it again.   I want to vote for what I believe in, literally said it in my first paragraph. 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Not in my name · 3 months ago
      @Simon Nice try but Green Party stand no chance to be in government!
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Carbow32 · 3 months ago
    So I can go back to worrying about reassessments now and worrying that the few craft items I sell  will go against my LCWRA.  I would never vote for them but at least there was a hope with the Tories reassessment would stop for me 2025.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Bill · 13 days ago
      @bobtehbuilder Don’t blame me, I voted conservative 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Mrs j · 3 months ago
      @bobtehbuilder I have a ten year award, I received four  years ago when I was 64, it’s keeping me awake at night wondering what will happen, and then I would like to  who’s going to pay for all the admin for these vouchers, and claiming back costs, 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Jen · 3 months ago
      @bobtehbuilder Tony Blair’s government looked into means testing disability benefits!
      Fill out the PIP consultation/green paper to let them know how you feel!
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Rik · 3 months ago
      @bobtehbuilder And Labour is going to replace or reform the WCA, according to their manifesto. Which means fewer disabled people getting higher rate of UC (assuming a disability category is kept) and more pressure (and sanctions) to get into work. It's basically the same plan as the Conservatives just worded differently.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      bobtehbuilder · 3 months ago
      @Carbow32 the wca being abolished under the tories was a con announcement, it was going to be abolished because you would have to win a pip claim to be able to get the support group add on. they planned to make pip very difficult to claim and if you didnt get pip, you would be a jobseeker and they are extremely harsh on jobseekers.
      the tories will never look after the vulnerable and whenever they announce any kind of policy or reform it is always always always going to be an attack of some sort.

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