Here is the first response we have had to our questions to Labour’s Leader and Deputy Leader election candidates.
Ian Murray is a Deputy Leader candidate and here are his responses. You can see the full set of questions here
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)
Thank you for contacting me about the Labour deputy leadership contest. Please find my answers to your questions below.
Do you agree that Universal Credit should be stopped and scrapped?
Yes. The rollout of Universal Credit has been disastrous and has caused real hardship for thousands of people across the country, including many of my own constituents who I see day and daily in my office and at my advice sessions. According to the IFS, transferring onto Universal Credit from the old system will mean a loss of at least £1,000 a year for 1.9 million adults. This is largely due to swingeing cuts that have taken place since the system was introduced, and is simply unacceptable. Meanwhile, the five week wait to receive payment has increased the use of foodbanks and pushed people deeper into debt. Universal Credit should be scrapped and replaced with a new system with dignity and respect at its heart.
Do you agree that there needs to be a total reform of welfare including scrapping PIP and ESA both of which have been shown to fail and cause harm to disabled people.
The assessment systems for Personal Independence Payments and Employment and Support Allowance are deeply problematic and part of a wider system that fails to respect the rights and dignity of those they are intended to assist. I fully agree that the welfare system is in need of an overhaul to ensure that it provides a real safety net for those who require it. The key word in any new or revised system is compassion and disabled people need to be seen as individuals with needs and no numbers.
Would you end all sanctions on claimants?
The Labour Party manifesto pledged to scrap the current punitive benefits sanctions regime and I support that.
Would you support ending contracts to discredited private firms for carrying out disability assessments and making GPs responsible for deciding who is and isn’t fit to work again?
I believe that assessments should be made by those most qualified to make them, and in the vast majority of cases that will be a GP, or a healthcare professional employed by the NHS. It is extraordinary that it is only on appeal that medical documents are taken into account. That must change.
Would you make a commitment to provide greater support through Access to Work funding to reduce the disability employment gap at the same time as committing to work not being a health outcome for those disabled people who feel unable to work.
I believe that whatever system we have, it needs to fit the needs of claimants, not the other way around. Where claimants are able to work they should be provided the assistance they need, through – appropriately funded – programmes like Access to Work. Where they are unable to work the system should not be designed to coerce them into doing so. Many of the challenges I see in my own constituency is disabled people desperate to work but the support is not there for them to do so. That must change.
Would you support a truly independent Claimant deaths inquiry and possible prosecutions of previous ministers if found to be culpable.
A recent review by the National Audit Office found that at least 69 suicides could have been linked to problems with benefit claims over the last six years, and that the true number of deaths could actually be higher. It also found that the DWP had failed to actively seek information from coroners and families or to investigate all of the cases that were reported to it. It is clear therefore that the current internal systems and processes within the DWP are not fit for purpose. It is likewise clear that a culture of denial is prevalent within the DWP. I agree with the view of Frank Field, the former MP and Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, that there should be a full independent inquiry into the DWP’s processes, in order to ensure the necessary changes are made and that claimants are no longer placed in such invidious circumstances, in some cases with utterly tragic consequences.
Would you support a legal right to Independent Living and DPAC’s National Independent Living Strategy co-produced with disabled people.
Ultimately, disabled people should have the same rights as everyone else, and that includes the right to live independently. However, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said there is “growing evidence of regression in relation to the right of disabled people to live and work independently as party of their communities.” I support a legal right to independent living being introduced in the UK, which would bring the UK into line with Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Within London alone 66% of Personal Assistants (Care Workers) employed by disabled people come from the EU. Unless the government remove the ridiculously high earnings levels and widen out their policies on who can work in the UK after Brexit this will create a national crisis. How would you be wiling to prevent this happening?
I campaigned tirelessly for the UK to remain in the European Union and I am a firm and passionate believer in Freedom of Movement. As you correctly observe, the “points based” system that the Conservative government is proposing contains high earnings thresholds – and other requirements – that don’t take into account the invaluable work of thousands of people who come to this country to provide compassion and care to its citizens. These people may not be highly paid, but they are highly skilled, and imposing an arbitrary bar on them entering this country will cause many more problems than it will solve. I will of course campaign against these proposed changes, just as I campaigned to retain Freedom of Movement.
Would you support legal status for BSL?
Yes. In Scotland, my colleague Mark Griffin MSP led the efforts to pass a law to give BSL the same legal protection as a language as Gaelic. 3
Would you adopt the UNCRPD into domestic legislation?
Yes.
Do you support Assisted Suicide?
In 2015 I voted to legalise Assisted Suicide. I believe this is an issue of individual conscience, rather than a matter of party policy. I have said, however, that the regulatory framework is key and I am unconvinced with the regulatory framework proposals as yet that would protect disabled people.
Do you support Universal Basic Income? And would you actively work to bring those about if elected as leader/deputy leader.
Universal Basic Income is an interesting idea that has been piloted in a number of countries. There is a proposed trial of the system in the city I represent, Edinburgh, and I will be interested to see the results. But the most important thing about our welfare state is that it is focused on the needs of individuals, and treats those who need it with compassion, care and respect. We must be evidence driven with this.
Could you say briefly why and how you being leader/deputy leader of the Labour Party would benefit DPAC as a human rights campaign group and our disabled members?
As a member of the Labour Party I have always supported the rights of disabled people, both in my constituency and across the country, and I will continue to do so as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. As an MP, I have consistently voted for paying higher benefits, and over longer periods, to those unable to work due to illness and disability. This includes voting against reductions in benefits for disabled and ill claimants required to participate in activities intended to increase their chances of obtaining work. I support the introduction of legislation to enshrine in law the right of disabled people to live independently, and the introduction of a welfare system with dignity and respect at its heart.
Could you give us a couple of examples of when and how you’ve supported DPAC in the last 9 years or since you became an MP if that is a shorter time.
I’ve consistently supported the rights of disabled people, and I will continue to do so in my role as an MP and if elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Best wishes,
Ian Murray MP
www.murrayfordeputy.co.uk
I’m no supporter of Ian, but credit to him for responding, and for the detail of his responses.