10 ways you can fight the disability benefits cuts

rs21 members suggest some ideas on ways to oppose Labour’s enraging proposals to push through cuts to hundreds of thousands of disabled peoples’ benefits.

Since Labour announced their proposals to cut disability benefits for people who cannot/”will not” look for paid work, there has been rage and fury from across the political spectrum. Disabled or not, people from the centre of Labour to the revolutionary left (even Polly Toynbee!) have been questioning the massive proposed cuts, which would plunge hundreds of thousands of disabled people into poverty. The Disability News Service has been saying we should ‘turn anger into action‘ – and rs21 agrees.

More than 420 people attended a Zoom meeting ‘Hands Off Disability Benefits’ with Disabled People Against Cuts on 18 March 25, with breakouts covering cities and regions across most of Britain. DPAC explained the proposed changes to disability benefits (also summarised here by the Guardian), and there was vibrant discussion on the various things activists can do to oppose these cuts. Here’s some ideas:

1. Join a DPAC protest in your area on the Day of Action on 26 March 25. DPAC has already started to hold protests, such as one in Norfolk this month. They are encouraging people to protest anywhere where there’s a Labour MP or Council. In London, a demonstration will be held outside Downing Street at 11am. In Manchester, the protest will be on 1 April 25 at Boots on Market Street at 12pm. Follow DPAC for updates and news, or get in touch with your local DPAC group to find your local protest.
2. Join or get involved in Unite Community. Unite the Union’s Community branches have been campaigning against benefits cuts for years, and they can form a hub for fighting disability benefits cuts in your area if you are a benefits claimant or not currently in a workplace. 
3. Put a motion to your trade union or tenants’ union branch against the cuts. Labour have been trying to pit disability benefits claimants against working people – even though they’re often one and the same. We are stronger when we are united against attacks on the standard of living of all working class people – and we will not be divided!
4. On the DPAC Day of Action on 26 March 25, post on social media about why you oppose the cuts with the agreed hashtag #WelfareNotWarfare.
5. Answer the consultation. The government has released its ‘consultation’ on the reforms, and it claims it is “keen to hear views from a wide group of people”. Though we doubt this is true, DPAC are asking people to flood the consultation with responses, especially if you are a disability benefits claimant yourself, but also on behalf of organisations and campaign groups. They point to the ways flooding consultations has worked in the past to make even the Tory government scrap negative changes to benefits policies. 
6. Write to your MP. rs21 doesn’t usually tell people to write to their MPs, because fundamentally our democracy doesn’t work. But right now there is a massive rebellion going on inside Labour amongst MPs for whom these cuts are a step too far. There are also some marginal Labour seats with right-wing Labour MPs in them where they would do well to keep an eye on their majority, and may be knocked off course by a flood of angry constituents in their inbox. Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People has made a tool for sending a letter – you can use it here if you want to make it easier (though it may need editing to be relevant to you locally).
7. Sign this petition. Again, signing petitions isn’t rs21’s favourite tactic because it’s not usually very effective, but there’s a wave of protest and organising happening right now, so this time we think it’s worth making sure your opposition is visible as part of that uprising.
8. Organise a meeting in your area about the cuts in whatever groups you organise in. We know many of you are tenants’ union activists, workplace organisers, or in groups like rs21. Now is a good time to learn from disability justice campaigners and integrate disability justice into your understanding of how to fight capitalism.
9. Similarly, get yourself up to speed with the history and theory of the disability justice movement. Here are some reading suggestions for people who want accessible places to start:
   • Ellen Clifford, who spoke brilliantly at the DPAC meeting, wrote The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Catastrophe. 
   • John Pring has recently released The Department: How A Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence.
   • Verso, the publisher, has a range of books and blogs on disability justice and histories of social movements against the oppression of people who are defined as ‘disabled’.
10. Speak to family, friends and colleagues who might support these changes to benefits, and make the case that this needs to be fought.