DPAC’s letter to Jonathan Reynolds MP, regarding his statement today that “Welfare should reflect ‘what you put in’ to tackle public mistrust”

This is an amended version of the letter from DPAC to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The original letter contained use of a disablist word. This was an unintentional mistake. Due to disabling barriers, too few disabled people, let alone the wider population, have the opportunity to learn or look into the largely hidden history of disabled people. This is something we aim to change through awareness raising and collective action. It won’t happen over-night, but is something the DPAC steering group acknowledges we should have paid greater attention to internally and will act to improve. We deeply apologise for any offense caused.

Dear Mr Reynolds

Regarding your statement that “Welfare should reflect ‘what you put in’ to tackle public mistrust”

In a comment to the Morning Star, our spokesperson described your comments as “Toxic”.

Toxic, because, as (too few) wise and responsible senior politicians are well aware, we live in a dangerously fractured, highly unequal society.

They are aware that making statements that will only increase those fault lines and set social group against social group (“them and us”) is highly irresponsible, can only lead to further social division and stoke hate, which at worst can lead to hate crime against “them”, and that includes disabled people.

As you have seem so keen to demonstrate, you are neither a wise nor responsible politician

If you take your statement to its conclusions in terms of policy, these are the outcomes that you get:

1) Higher Rate Taxpayers should have higher benefit entitlements

2) Women, who, as is well established, not only earn less (“the Gender Pay Gap”), but through their caring responsibilities both for children and family members save the government many millions of pounds. In simplistic terms therefore they pay less tax, so should have lower benefit entitlements.

3) BAME people, who earn less (“the BAME Pay Gap”), and therefore pay less tax, should have lower benefit entitlements

4) Young adults who have had less time to accrue tax payments, and therefore should have even lower benefit entitlements than they do already

5) Disabled people who face huge barriers in terms of discrimination and lack of access, who have great difficulty in accessing any work at all (“the Disability Employment Gap”) , and therefore pay much less tax, should receive much lower benefit entitlements

6) Disabled People who, due to their impairments, do not have the capacity for paid work ( however much they want to work, they simply can’t), and who pay very little tax should receive no benefit entitlements

Please would you confirm that the 6 statements above are the logical results of your statement to the  House of Commons, and could you  please let us know if you intend them to become Labour Policy

If you do not intend for these to be Labour’s benefit policies, could you please tell us, why you made that statement, and please tell us, precisely what your policies will be in the light of your comments

We have long been used to toxic and dangerously idiotic statements from the Tory Party, and have lowered our expectations accordingly. Now it seems we need to lower our expectations of Labour.

You should be under no illusion that this will also lower our intentions to engage positively with the  Labour Party, and will certainly lower disabled peoples’ motivation to vote for Labour at election time.

As is our normal practice, we are publishing our letter to you on our website, and will publish your response to us (or state that there has been no response on our site) in order to give you a public right of reply.

Yours

The DPAC Steering Group