Welfare reform must not leave people in Blackpool behind
PLUS: A pensioner died of a heart attack after being left waiting almost two weeks for an urgent bypass operation that should have been done within seven days.
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
Today we report on how the MPs representing the Fylde coast are fighting back against the government’s plans to cut welfare.
It has been suggested the impact of the cuts would place some of the most vulnerable people at risk and affect areas like Blackpool the most.
We also report on the death of a man at Blackpool Victoria Hospital who a coroner believes would still be alive if not for delays to his treatment.
Blackpool’s MPs battle against planned welfare cuts
By Luke Beardsworth
The two MPs representing Blackpool signed the amendment that would effectively put a stop to the government’s planned welfare cuts.
Both Chris Webb, for Blackpool South and Lorraine Beavers, for Blackpool North and Fleetwood signed their names to the amendment that would give MPs the opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill.
The welfare reform bill - called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payment (Pip).
The bill is expected to push around 250,000 people into poverty, with Labour MPs especially feeling the backlash from constituents - many of whom represent constituencies that would be strongly impacted.
Both Chris Webb and Lorraine Beavers have advocated against the welfare bill on a number of occasions before - citing a commitment to not vote for anything that makes people in Blackpool worse off.
Webb told The Blackpool Lead: “Yesterday, I joined over 100 colleagues from across the party in signing a Reasoned Amendment to the UC and PIP Bill.
“This amendment reflects deep concern that the proposed welfare reforms, in their current form, may not adequately support those who need help most, and that more work is needed to get this right.
“I signed the amendment because I believe no major policy change should risk pushing 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – into poverty, especially without a full and transparent impact assessment.
“Blackpool has some of the highest rates of disability and child poverty in the country. I cannot support measures that risk worsening those challenges.
“We need meaningful welfare reform – reform that is built on compassion, backed by evidence, and focused on lifting people up rather than leaving them behind.”
Beavers told The Blackpool Lead: “I publicly stated in March that I would not support the proposed Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill. I recognise the need to review the Welfare System and support people into work, while protecting those who cannot work. This is why I have supported calls for appropriate reviews, consultations, and mechanisms to revise these reforms. Unfortunately, these calls have gone unanswered, and the reforms remain the same.
“I have, therefore, signed Dame Meg Hillier’s ‘reasoned amendments’ and publicly state that I will not support this Bill in its current form. I do so alongside over 100 other Labour MPs with similar concerns. These reforms may push thousands of my own constituents into poverty. They will push hundreds of thousands of disabled people across the country into poverty. These reforms will impact most, those who cannot withstand that impact after years of austerity and a cost-of-living crisis. I cannot support welfare reforms which take money out of the pockets of disabled people.”
While his name is not on the amendment, Conservative Fylde MP Andrew Snowden was critical of the planned cuts and their failure to protect the vulnerable.
He told The Blackpool Lead: “It is clear for all to see that this is a rushed and panicked move by the government to try and plug the gap they have created in the nations finances, by taxing growth to a near halt, massively increasing spending they can’t afford, and driving up unemployment.
“Whilst I fully support the need to bring down the welfare bill, this has to be done in a considered and managed way to protect the most vulnerable in society, whilst moving more people who can work into full employment.
“I will be considering very closely what the government has to say at all stages as this moves through parliament, to hold them to account and oppose any rushed measures that will have terrible consequences”.
Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster and Wyre, was one of the 13 Labour select committee chairs who was behind the amendment.
She told The Blackpool Lead: “I, along with over 100 colleagues, are calling on the government to pause it’s legislation and work with disabled people, their carers, and charities to work up reform which will work for disabled people.
“We are calling for a pause whilst we wait for the impact assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility so we can truly understand the impact of these changes.”
The full text of the amendment states:
“That this House, whilst noting the need for the reform of the social security system, and agreeing with the Government’s principles for providing support to people into work and protecting people who cannot work, declines to give a Second Reading to the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill.
“Because its provisions have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers. Because the Office for Budget Responsibility is not due to publish its analysis of the employment impact of these reforms until the autumn of 2025.
“Because the majority of the additional employment support funding will not be in place until the end of the decade; because the Government’s own impact assessment estimates that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of these provisions, including 50,000 children. Because the Government has not published an assessment of the impact of these reforms on health or care needs.
“Because the Government is still awaiting the findings of the Minister for Social Security and Disability’s review into the assessment for Personal Independence Payment and Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent review into the role of employers and government in boosting the employment of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.”
In a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday evening, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall defended the welfare reforms, arguing greater spending on benefits alone was "no route to social justice".
"The path to fairer society – one where everyone thrives, where people who can work get the support they need, and where we protect those who cannot – that is the path we seek to build with our reforms," Kendall said.
"Our plans are rooted in fairness – for those who need support and for taxpayers.
"They are about ensuring the welfare state survives, so there is always a safety net for those who need it."
The government has previously shown willingness to u-turn when it comes to unpopular policy, with winter fuel payments returned to pensioners after cross-party pressure.
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Pensioner would likely still be alive if not for delays in treatment
By Michael Holmes
A pensioner died of a heart attack at Blackpool Victoria Hospital after being left waiting almost two weeks for an urgent bypass operation that should have been done within seven days.
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