Summary
Disabled people in Leeds went to protest the disability cuts.
They said they were not listened to by the government, but the public gave them support.
Summary of the Leeds DWP Consulta-sham
Leeds, Marriot Hotel Wednesday May 21st
6 Leeds DPAC members made their way to the Marriot Hotel to protest against the Labour Government and DWP Pathways to Work Consultation, that has now received the nation-wide moniker of Consulta-sham. One of our member was (un)lucky enough to have been given a ticket to enter the sham and the other 5 of us, made our way to the hotel steps to unfurl our banner and begin our chants. We were met by the DWP lead organiser of the event and 2 security guards who informed us we were on Hotel property and that we would have to stand in front of the steps. The DWP spokesperson tried to be polite whilst we asked why a paltry 20 people had been offered tickets to get in. He said rather confusing that if there was spare space he’d come and invite us in – this never happened although only 15 people turned up for the con-sulta-sham.
We began our chants, “welfare, not warfare, you say cut-backs, we say fight-back!” Trevelyan Square is a busy square so plenty of people were witness to our protest. We gave out flyers about the Green Paper and explained it’s likely effects on our community. People in general were very supportive.
We had the pleasure of being joined by activists in Unite the Union and Crips Against Cuts, who raised the volume and energy. A heartfelt thanks to them!
Our comrade inside the meeting stated:
“There were as many DWP staff as consultees in the meeting – clearly not a question of space then. We asked if our comrades could come in as there was spare space but were told that the hotel ‘security’ had blocked the entry of anyone else! The hotel said it contravened their risk assessment. We were asked pre-scripted questions. We were told that we couldn’t comment on proposed changed to the PIP scoring system despite this being the most impactful proposed change. I pointed out it was misleading to call this event ‘Pathways to Work’ given that PIP isn’t an out of work benefit. We explained that DLA and PIP are not lilke4-like so moving 16-18 years olds to PIP may lose their entitlement. I expressed concern about this group were supposed to do without life-supporting benefits, especially those no loner able to live at home or leaving care. The questions were ostensibly focused on getting people into work but I pointed out that without addressing Access to Work or any commitment from employers to step-up their reasonable adjustments the support is not fit for purpose. I stressed that DWP work coaches aren’t knowledgeable enough to understand the range of health conditions they are charged with assessing.”
Ultimately, we all felt this consultation was not fit for purpose. Only asking pre-selected questions about the less impactful changes and only consulting a tiny minority of those affected renders the process toothless. Solidarity to those fighting these poorly thought out proposals
Next action in Leeds on 31st May
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/4069198743403992/
