As someone who relies on disability benefits, I am deeply concerned by the recent changes to the system. These modifications, I believe, discriminate against the sick and the vulnerable, having dire consequences for those most in need.

These benefits represent a lifeline for many people, making it possible for us, despite our health struggles, to live decent, dignified lives. Altering them negatively will result in extreme hardship, bringing those of us who are already vulnerable, even closer to the edge of poverty.

According to a report by The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), these changes are expected to significantly hit disabled people's living standards. This report discovered that households with a disabled adult and a disabled child will experience a £5,500 reduction in benefits a year, pushing many into hardship.

It is high time we stand together and demand a reform of these changes. Benefits, especially for those with disabilities, should not be seen as optional or subject to budget cuts. They should be upheld as fundamental provisions designed to ensure equal living conditions for all, regardless of health condition or disability status. Please sign this petition and urge the decision-makers to reconsider and reverse these changes in benefit.

Hello everyone,

First, thank you so much to each of you who has signed and supported this petition. Your voices matter. I’m writing this today to share something very important.

I’ve now written to national journalists and media outlets to speak up for all of us — over 50,000 strong — about how harmful these proposed welfare changes will be to disabled people. I’ve tried every route I can to be heard. This is the open letter I sent, and I hope you’ll read it, share it, and stand with me:

Open Letter:

I am a disabled person, a carer, and a campaigner. I run a support group with nearly 12,000 members, and I started this petition which now has over 50,000 signatures. I am writing on behalf of every disabled person and carer who is frightened by what this government is doing to our welfare system.

The planned changes to benefits — especially the threat to remove or restrict access to long-term support — are terrifying to those of us who rely on them not just for daily living, but for survival. These are not just “reforms.” These are life-altering cuts that will push vulnerable people further into poverty, crisis, and despair.

We are not numbers. We are human beings. Many of us already face extreme barriers every day — with our health, our mental wellbeing, our mobility, and a system that is already hostile and difficult to navigate.

Now, with these proposed welfare cuts, the fear is even worse. Many of us are too afraid to speak out — worried that doing so could result in being reassessed, sanctioned, or having support taken away. That fear silences people. But I cannot stay silent.

We need people in power to understand that these decisions are not abstract policy changes. They have consequences. Real ones. Some people will lose their independence. Some will lose their homes. Some will not survive.

I have written countless times to my own MP and have been ignored. I feel abandoned by the very system that claims to protect us. But I have not given up — and I will not.

Please listen to us. Please hear our voices. We need support, not punishment. We need compassion, not cruelty. And we need the government to remember that dignity is not a luxury — it is a right.

Sincerely,

A disabled campaigner

(Petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-forcing-disabled-people-into-work