"The most vulnerable and poorest in society are being asked to pay for a crisis they didn't cause."
Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, has launched a petition calling on the government to tax the ultra-wealthy instead of slashing support for disabled people.
The campaign, entitled ‘Tax Wealth – Don’t Cut Disability Support’, has already gained over 40,000 signatures and will be formally presented in the House of Commons ahead of any vote on welfare reform.
The petition argues that a modest 2% annual tax on assets over £10 million could raise up to £24 billion per year, nearly five times the £5 billion the government claims it would save by cutting key disability benefits.
The government is currently proposing major changes to the welfare system, including tighter eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the main disability benefit in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Additionally, the universal credit health element for new claims is also set to be scrapped.
The petition states:
“Slashing disability benefits instead of taxing extreme wealth is a political choice—and it is the wrong choice.
“We call on the Government to abandon these cruel cuts and, instead of punishing the poorest, to implement a Wealth tax on the very wealthiest.”
Burgon, who served as a shadow minister under Jeremy Corbyn, reiterated his position in a Facebook post, saying:
“We shouldn’t cut a single penny in support for disabled people – we should tax the wealthiest instead.”
A vote on the proposed reforms, which are outlined in the government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper, is expected as early as next month.
On April 1, Labour List reported that 27 MPs have publicly stated they will vote against the cuts. A number of others have expressed opposition to the welfare reforms.
But they are likely to come under pressure from Labour whips to back down before a bill to change the PIP points system and cut the universal credit health element for new claims is introduced in May.
The opposition to the cuts campaign received a boost this week Fire Brigades Union. Its general secretary, Steve Wright, became the first leader of a Labour-affiliated trade union to openly urge MPs to rebel against the proposed cuts.
Wright told the BBC: “The most vulnerable and poorest in society are being asked to pay for a crisis they didn’t cause. I don’t believe that is why people are involved in the Labour movement.”
He added that he believed the move would lead to “the normalisation of the cost of living crisis” for many, and should be rejected.
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