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Opinion

Labour’s PIP U-turn is too little, too late

29 Jun 2025 5 minute read
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Photo Ben Stansall/PA Wire

Sarah Rees and Mark Hooper,  Plaid Cymru Senedd candidates for Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan (Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg constituency)

The UK Labour Government has announced a U-turn on welfare reforms—agreeing to protect current PIP claimants and freeze Universal Credit health payments in direct response to pressure from over 120 MPs and campaigners.

But this concession still carves out a two-tier system by only safeguarding existing claimants while slashing future support—a structure that will leave newly disabled people worse off and entrenches inequality in the safety net.

Despite growing opposition from backbench Labour MPs, charities, and campaigners, the Labour leadership is choosing to ignore those most affected. These so-called “progressive” reforms to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) proposed to strip vital support from people already under immense pressure.

‘Rising debt’

The result will be rising debt, worsening health outcomes, and deepening despair—particularly here in Wales, where levels of disability and poverty are already among the highest in the UK.

And let’s be clear: PIP is not an out-of-work benefit. It is intended to help cover the additional costs of living with a disability—costs that average over £1,000 per month, according to the disability charity Scope. From specialist transport to essential medical equipment and higher energy bills, this support is often the only thing that makes independent living even remotely possible.

As for Universal Credit, nearly 40% of claimants are in work. The idea that these reforms target “workshy” individuals is not just inaccurate—it’s dangerously misleading. These are working people, carers, and disabled individuals trying to survive in a system that was already failing them. What Labour is proposing now will only make things worse.

That’s why, as Plaid Cymru candidates, we hosted a listening event in Barry on 21 June. We sat down with disabled residents, unpaid carers, and advocacy organisations to hear directly what these reforms would mean for them. What we heard was harrowing—but, sadly, not surprising.

One participant told us how they lost PIP despite living with multiple chronic conditions. They fell into rent arrears, spiralled into debt, and had to cut back on food. The stress pushed them into a mental health crisis. Another spoke of the supposed ‘concessions’, saying that newly disabled people would face tougher conditions:

“An attack on one is an attack on us all… it remains that it’s the system that needs fixing, not disabled people.”

These are not isolated stories—they are warnings. And they are being ignored.

Meanwhile, Labour’s MPs here in South Wales, Kanishka Narayan (Vale of Glamorgan) and Chris Elmore (Bridgend and Ogmore), have so far refused to speak out against the proposals. They are toeing the party line while their most vulnerable constituents face the loss of their financial lifeline.

This silence is not just disappointing—it is morally indefensible.

Welsh Government

Worse still, Welsh Labour has done little to resist these reforms. Despite having a platform and a mandate to stand up for Wales, the Welsh Labour Government has remained largely quiet—offering cautious comments at best, while their UK ‘partners in power’ pushes through plans that will tear away basic protections for disabled people.

Is this what we should expect from the Red Welsh Way?

Angela Rayner’s defence of the policy this week—claiming it is “progressive”—adds insult to injury. Progressive policies lift people up; they don’t create a two-tier welfare system where those who are unable to work are written off and stripped of support. Labour has truly lost its way if it thinks it’s acceptable to treat disabled people as second-class citizens.

Let’s be clear: there are alternatives. The UK Government could tax wealth, close corporate loopholes, or reinvest in public services to improve access and inclusion for disabled people. Instead, Labour has chosen to make cuts on the backs of those with the least power and the fewest resources to fight back.

Plaid Cymru stands firm in complete opposition to these reforms. We believe in a welfare system based on dignity, equality and compassion—values that are sorely lacking from Labour’s current approach. We are the only party in Wales consistently standing with disabled people, not just in words but in action.

‘Contempt’

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson on disability and a member of the Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee, summed it up following our Barry event: “The UK Labour Government’s refusal to meaningfully engage with those most affected by these reforms speaks volumes. Disabled people in Wales rightly feel that they are being treated with contempt, and experiences like those heard will be tragically all too common.

“Government should be helping people cope with higher costs, not punching down on some of the most vulnerable in our society. Plaid Cymru has been proud to show solidarity with disabled people in challenging Labour’s damaging welfare cuts, and we will continue to fight for a fairer system that truly supports equality, dignity, and independence for all.”

As we look ahead to the 2026 Senedd election, the choice is becoming clearer by the day: a Welsh Labour Party unwilling to challenge Westminster’s cruelty, or a Plaid Cymru that will always put the people of Wales first.

This is a defining moment for our communities. And voters will remember who stood with them—and who stayed silent.


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13 Comments
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Llyn
Llyn
4 days ago

I will vote Plaid next year. However, 1,000 new claimants for PIP a day is neither sustainable for the UK’s finances or those placed on PIP. Just raising taxes on the rich to pay for more social security claimants instead of infrastructure is also not sustainable if the claimant count continues to climb.

Tucker
Tucker
3 days ago
Reply to  Llyn

Do.you know how hard it is to claim PIP?
It isn’t like claiming other benefits. The claimant goes through an in depth interview and also medical records are checked.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
4 days ago

More U-turns by cardboard Conservative Keir Starmer. What I cannot fathom are those in Labour celebrating this decision as a victory. There’s nothing to be proud of when you target and terrorise the most vulnerable in society.

We have the situation where the rich don’t pay their way and the poorest often with their lives. Labour are indeed the new Nasty Party.

Last edited 4 days ago by Y Cymro
Llyn
Llyn
3 days ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

Y Cymro. How would you pay for an ever increasing social care bill when you also want the economy to grow. Just tax the rich more and more to pay for an every increasing benefits leaving no money to invest in infrastructure? Are you happy for the state to pay up for a 1000 new PIP claimants a week and see no reform of the PIP system?

Tucker
Tucker
3 days ago
Reply to  Llyn

I’d stop people who have vast amounts of money claiming a pension. As thats included in the benefits bill. I’d also stop business paying pittance thats topped up by the state in the form of in work benefits

Tucker
Tucker
3 days ago
Reply to  Llyn

Where’s the proof of this 1000 new claimants a week? I don’t even think think there are enough assessors or appointments to even make that number plausible.

Llyn
Llyn
3 days ago
Reply to  Tucker
Tucker
Tucker
3 days ago
Reply to  Llyn

And you trust this government to tell the truth. They haven’t even done a proper analysis of the impacts on households who would be affected.

Llyn
Llyn
3 days ago
Reply to  Tucker

I’m not a conspiracy theorist like you appear to be and I have seen no push back against these figures so yes I trust them. But let’s say the figures were actually half what is being claimed would 500 new claimants a week before sustainable?

Undecided
Undecided
3 days ago

Whatever your opinion on welfare reform, all this demonstrates the incompetence of the Government’s communications. For Starmer to state that existing claimants will continue to receive benefits is factually incorrect. Claimants are subject to periodic review and could still lose payments. Unless of course he is scrapping those reviews. You couldn’t make it up.

Dr John Ball
Dr John Ball
3 days ago

Right. Youve had your moan and headline, but what are YOU going to do to alleviate the need for welfare payments in the first place/

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
3 days ago

So he admits to being not up to the job, he does not know that they have a shooting gallery in Gaza obviously or he would be up in arms about it…

Last edited 3 days ago by Mab Meirion

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