DWP cuts were pushed through parliament in less time than Universal Credit claimants get paid

So there we have it folks, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Universal Credit Bill passed through the House of Lords unceremoniously on 22 July.

Whilst there was little to do to stop it, since Liz Kendall cruelly made it a money bill in order to rush it through, the Lords did have the option to vote for a regret amendment, which means it would pass through with them expressing their dismay and disapproval. But apparently the House of Lords has zero regrets about plunging hundreds of thousands of people into even deeper poverty, because just 17 voted for the amendment.

Universal Credit Bill passes through the House of Lords with barely a whisper of opposition

One thing that I haven’t been able to shake, like many others, is just how quickly the government and DWP have rushed through a bill that will have such disastrous consequences for so many disabled people. And this was brought into particularly sharp focus for me this week.

As a Universal Credit claimant who is self-employed, I have to input my earnings on a four-weekly basis. My period is 21st-20th. I get paid around the 27th. It was then I realised something absolutely grim: the bill had gone through most stages of becoming law so quickly that I hadn’t even had two Universal Credit payments.

The fact a bill so important as the Universal Credit one, which has the potential to kill so many disabled people, has gone through second reading, been the catalyst for a Labour rebellion, third reading, and then already passed through the House of Lords in less time than how often the standard claimant gets their DWP money is a fucking travesty.

More than anything, this just shows how dangerous the bill is, and how little the government truly care about disabled people. It’s impossible to properly scrutinise a bill and ensure it will be enacted safely in just three weeks. Especially when, due to huge-scale rebellion and mass action from disability rights groups and activists, the government were forced to change the bill halfway through and was still chopping and changing it up to an hour and a half before the first vote.

When shit hits the fan at the DWP, MPs can’t claim they didn’t know

Any MPs who convinced themselves that they will have the opportunity to scrutinise or even shape the legislation further in the coming months, in order to put their morals aside and vote for the bill, are naive and in for a nasty shock.

I genuinely don’t know how any MP could possibly have any faith in a bill which was rushed through so severely to do anything but save Starmer’s skin, because it certainly won’t do a single thing to protect disabled people from the DWP.

One thing MPs can’t claim, however, is that they were unaware of how much this will affect disabled people, as disabled constituents did everything in their power to inform them. If they are still spouting utter rubbish about DWP PIP being an out-of-work benefit this is 100% on purpose and coordinated – that or maybe they aren’t carefully listening to their constituents as much as my MP Lewis Atkinson (who voted for the bill) claimed in emails to me.

The bill may have passed, but this is not over

Whilst the result is absolutely devastating, it’s important to highlight just how vital the work of disabled activists was in pushing the government’s cruel DWP cuts back.

Whilst the cuts still are vile, they could’ve been even worse, and it’s down to every single one of you who lobbied your MP, held or attended a local protest, and sent emails to your MP, that this change was made. It’s also thanks to so many of you emailing the House of Lords that so many of the Lords spoke so passionately against the cuts.

While we may not have completely got rid of the bill, it’s important for us all to acknowledge the part we played in making it slightly less shit.

It may seem hopeless, but the fight is still not over. In the coming weeks and months, there will be letters and petitions to sign, many more protests and direct actions to take part in – both offline and online.

The government and DWP want disabled people to feel powerless and that nobody will fight for us so that we roll over and accept our fate, but if these last few months have taught me anything, it’s just how powerful disabled people are when we come together.

Featured image via the Canary