Labour’s attack on the Motability Scheme changes is another dig at disabled people

It was reported last week that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering removing “tax breaks” for people who get their car through the Motability Scheme. Under this programme, the charity Motability Foundation deliver, via an allowance from the government:

an affordable vehicle – whether that’s a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV), scooter or powered wheelchair.

However, as reported by The Times, Reeves is now expected to make it harder for disabled people to get out and about through changes to how the scheme works. As Disability News Service explained:

The chancellor’s reported plans to target the Motability car scheme for new taxes in next month’s budget by removing its VAT exemption could impose an upfront cost of at least £3,000 on even the cheapest cars it offers.

Weaponisation of Motability

Once again, both Reeves and Labour are making an obvious attempt to appeal to Reform voters. Kemi Badenoch has called for “British benefits for British citizens” and put forward the asinine suggestion that people with ADHD are somehow receiving cars via Motability. Reform don’t tend to bother with actual policies, but even so deputy leader Richard Tice has called the scheme “one of the most abused government handouts.”

And, instead of pushing back against these attempts to demonise disabled people, what do Labour do? Clamour for right-wing votes, further stigmatise those who need support, and offer up a series of tax cuts that will make it harder for disabled people to get around.

Of course, the government seemingly can’t go a few weeks without doing something that will destroy disabled people’s lives. After “putting work coaches in GP surgeries” and “proving mental health is overdiagnosed so we can cut benefits for people with mental health problems“, they’ve spun the wheel again and landed on the buzz phrase of the minute “people fake ADHD to get free cars”.

What even is Motability?

I shouldn’t still be having to explain what Motability is, but given the right-wing misinformation on what Motability actually is, I suppose someone’s got to – but it certainly isn’t ‘free cars for disabled people.’

The mobility component of PIP is taken as the lease payment on cars from Motability for three years at a time. Meaning if you get a car, you get less in benefits. You can only qualify for the scheme if you score over 12 points on the mobility section of the PIP assessment. Which quickly debunks the “getting a free car for acne/ depression/ ADHD” bullshit, while they might be one of the conditions listed, they are rarely ever the primary one.

The Motability Foundation will buy new cars and then lease them out to people who need them, before selling them on once they’re handed back. It’s a circular economy, really, and it’s also a vital part of the British car industry. A few weeks ago Badenoch tried to make a dig about how many cars were Motability, but what she unwittingly revealed was that a fifth of the UK’s car trade comes from Motability. In other words, the industry would collapse without it. So, disabled people are apparently both drains on the economy and upholding it.

Classic.

Manufactured panic

A Motability spokesperson said:

The Motability Scheme exists to enable freedom and independence for disabled people. Every pound of VAT relief is passed directly to disabled customers, many on low incomes, to make mobility affordable. Introducing VAT on leases would make cars unaffordable for most disabled people, leaving only the wealthiest able to access the Scheme – a result that would fundamentally undermine its purpose.

The Motability hatred has been roaring away in the background for a long while now. But, with Reform and the Tories fanning the flames, the Labour government are set to make a difficult system even worse. Social media is brimming with rumours and bad faith readings of how someone’s best mates’ dad’s uncle’s goldfish’s auntie gets a free car, because she gets PIP for acne or some bullshit.

One of the biggest offenders of this is a loser who calls himself “Max Tempers” and is a big champion of the Motability Checker- a site that he boasts has “99%+ accuracy”, despite it using four years out-of-date census data. His most recent vigilantism is pointing out that cars involved in crimes are “motability mercedes”, well, according to the website that is definitely not used to incite hatred.

What’s concerning is that the online equivalent of one man in the pub with no mates who randomly shouts semi-coherently about immigrants and scroungers is being repeated by politicians, who, despite knowing he’s spouting bullshit, are scrabbling to appeal to hate-filled right-wing prospective voters.

Are you fighting the system, or just randoms online?

What’s truly hilarious about all of this Motability hate coming from the far right on social media is that they seem to think they’re railing against the system. However, the hatred and delegitimising of disabled people needing things like Motability cars is exactly what the government want at a time when they’re trying to strip disabled people of their freedoms, benefits, and support. They genuinely think they’re out here influencing policy, but they can’t see that they’re playing right into Labour’s hands.

And at the end of the day, Labour surely know that Motability is an absolute non-issue, but they aren’t going to do anything to stop the hatred levelled at those who use the Motability scheme, because they’re too busy doing anything they can to undermine us so they can push through benefits cuts.

Labour and the hateful little gobshites on Twitter are two sides of the same coin, and they both hate disabled people.

Featured image via Unsplash/Brad Starkey