Photo of Benedict Maguire ©House of Commons/Laurie Noble. License. Photo has been cropped for use.
The ME Association's Head of Project Development, Russell Fleming, received an excellent and empathic response from his local MP Ben Maguire regarding the forthcoming vote on the UC and PIP Bill.
It is crucial to write to your MP and let them know you oppose the Universal Credit and PIP Bill, which is being voted on tomorrow. If you are limited by brain fog, fatigue or other ME/CFS symptoms, you can use our template letter to email your MP before this crucial vote. Your voice matters. #ListentoME
Correspondence with Ben Maguire MP
Attn: Ben Maguire MP, North Cornwall, Wednesday 25 June 2025
Dear Ben Maguire,
I have been fortunate to benefit from Personal Independence Payment and as my functional incapacity stabilised and improved, it has supported me back into work.
It can be an incredibly hard decision to return to work. I wholeheartedly believe disabled people need PIP when disabled. They need it when they are unable to work and when they judge it right to attempt a return and then to support them if they are able to remain in work, or when work isn't sustainable.
PIP is an incredibly hard benefit to obtain. The proposed ‘reforms' have scared a large element of society which includes carers who perform difficult roles often without payment.
I don't know why so many young people, for example, with mental health problems have obtained PIP since the pandemic. I am not sure that anybody does. Shouldn't we understand this and the other problems before taking action?
The welfare ‘reform' proposals seem to be directed at saving money, rather than any positive reform. Their impact will be felt across the board by everyone. We won't hear about the government's support package until the Autumn, and those measures won't come in until long after people have lost PIP support. It's draconian.
PIP is not without its problems. When I was at my absolute worst and most disabled, I was too unwell to apply, my doctor didn't suggest it and my parents knew nothing about it. So, I am concerned that it isn't as available to the most disabled as the government seems to think it is.
I now work in the charity sector which is something I never thought would happen to me. But my employers offer the flexibility and support I need to manage my condition.
If I had to commute to a job, even with reasonable adjustments in place, I would only be able to work part-time, and the chances are that my renumeration would be considerably less. There just aren't enough well-paid and flexible jobs for disabled people. And this is something else the government has failed to consider.
My background was in private banking and investing high-and ultra-high net worth client's funds across the world's stockmarkets and in managing demanding projects. But illness and disability intervened and I could not return to my career. My former employer is not as flexible, and I do not possess the cognitive or physical capabilities that I once did.
Actual reform of the welfare system is needed. But I beg you to listen to disabled people and their representative organisations. Please don't support cost-saving measures that haven't been properly considered and are extremely likely to push even more of the most vulnerable – including children – into poverty.
I now work full-time from home for The ME Association. I think I have achieved a great deal since I became disabled 25 years ago and am highly motivated to help others. I remain disabled, but I am one of the lucky ones.
We support a great many people who can't work and who will face destitution if the changes to PIP proceed.
As a representative of the ME Association, as one of your constituents, and as a disabled person, I want you to know that I am opposed to the welfare reforms outlined in the Green Paper.
I hope you can speak out against them, on my behalf and on behalf of other disabled people in this constituency, and will demonstrate your opposition by signing the amendment.
I would be very happy to meet with you and explain the charity's position and provide more of my own background if this would be of interest.
Thank you for your time.
Yours sincerely,
Russell Fleming ,Head of Project Development, The ME Association
Ben’s response to Russell:
27 June 2025 – Dear Russell Fleming,
Thank you for reaching out regarding the government's welfare reforms under the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. I appreciate the concerns that these changes have raised for those who rely on financial assistance to live independently and the anxiety these changes must cause for people who rely on this support to live with dignity.
While the reforms intend to address economic inactivity and rising welfare costs, I am deeply concerned about their impact on disabled people and those with long-term illnesses. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill does not introduce fair or sustainable reforms that would help more people move into work. Instead, it undermines vital support systems without addressing the root causes of the rising welfare bill:
- It makes it more difficult for disabled people who are already in employment to stay in work. Cutting PIP removes essential help with everyday tasks such as washing, cooking, and getting dressed; support that many rely on to live and work independently.
- It withdraws support from people who are simply unable to work due to long-term health conditions or disabilities, failing to recognise the real barriers they face.
- It removes Carer’s Allowance from an estimated 150,000 unpaid carers. These individuals provide selfless, often round-the-clock care for loved ones, relieving pressure on our overstretched NHS and social care systems. Taking away their support is not only unjust, it is counterproductive.
Reducing support for disabled people and carers is likely to increase pressure on public services, especially the NHS and local authorities. Far from saving money, this risks becoming a false economy. The Bill fails to address the root causes of rising welfare costs, such as the growing prevalence of chronic ill-health, worsening mental health among young people, and the deepening crisis in health and social care.
These changes come at a time when disabled people are already being hit hardest by the cost of living crisis, including rising energy, food, and heating costs. We would ensure that disabled people’s money can go further, mitigating the need for welfare support, by offering low-income households free insulation and heat pumps and cutting their energy bill through a social tariff. Most alarmingly, the Government’s own impact assessment projects that this Bill will result in an additional 250,000 people—including 50,000 children—being pushed into poverty by 2029–30.
My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I recognise the need to bring the welfare bill down and support more people into work, it’s the right thing to do for both individuals and the economy. But if the Government was serious about cutting welfare spending it would get serious about fixing health and social care, to tackle chronic ill-health at its root. Slashing support for disabled people, many of whom will never be able to work and others who rely on PIP to stay in employment, is not the way to achieve this. Restricting eligibility will not increase employment opportunities.
The best way to reduce benefit spending is by fixing health and social care, investing in preventative health measures, properly funding mental health services, particularly for young people and reforming social care. It is disappointing that the government has shown no urgency in this area, taking three years to complete its social care review while delaying crucial projects like new hospitals.
The economic mismanagement of the previous Conservative government has left public services in crisis, and yet the Chancellor’s budget failed to stimulate growth or create new job opportunities. If the government is serious about boosting public finances, it should ask banks, big tech, and online gambling firms to contribute more from their record profits rather than targeting disabled people. Those with disabilities and their carers deserve real support and clear answers from this government, not anxiety and uncertainty.
It is also deeply concerning to hear that recent YouGov polling commissioned by the Trussell Trust found that 77% of people claiming Universal Credit and disability benefits have gone without essentials in the last six months, and 19% have been forced to use a food bank in the last month. No one in our society should be left without the basic means to live, let alone our most vulnerable and these figures highlight the devastating impact of an inadequate welfare system that fails to provide security for those most in need. The Government must act urgently to prevent further hardship.
This is why I will be voting against the Bill, the Lib Dem spokesperson, Steve Darling has tabled a Reasoned Amendment objecting to this bill having a 2nd reading which I support. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have said from the start that we can’t support any measures that make things harder for unpaid carers, disabled people who rely on support with daily tasks in order to stay employed, and those whose disabilities mean that they will never be able to work. Liberal Democrats have called on the Government for a more compassionate, evidence-based approach to welfare reform—one that protects the dignity and livelihoods of disabled people and unpaid carers.
The reasoned amendment states:
”That this House, while acknowledging that the amount of money currently having to be spent on welfare is too high, declines to give a Second Reading to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill because it does not introduce fair reforms to sustainably and effectively support more people into work; it makes it harder for disabled people who are already employed to remain in work, by cutting Personal Independence Payment, which covers help with essential daily tasks such as washing and preparing meals; because it withdraws support for people who are simply unable to work due to chronic health issues or disabilities; because it will remove Carers Allowance from 150,000 unpaid carers, whose tireless work supports some of the most vulnerable in society and fills the gaps of health and care systems; because cutting support for disabled people will worsen the cost pressures facing the NHS, social care and local government, likely resulting in a false economy; because it does nothing to tackle the root causes of the rising welfare bill, including chronic ill-health, young people's mental ill-health and the crisis in the NHS and social care; because it comes at a time when disabled people's income is being stretched by high energy, heating and food costs; and because according to the Government's own impact assessment, it will lead to an additional 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, falling into poverty by 2029-30.”
I will continue to campaign to ensure that any changes made by the Government ensure fairness and protect the independence of sick and disabled individuals. Thank you once again for writing to me about this important issue. If you would like to discuss your concerns further, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
With best wishes / Gans gorhemynadow a’n gwella,
Ben Maguire MP, Member of Parliament, North Cornwall
ES Livrel Weriniethor a-barth Kernow Gledh
Russell Fleming
Head of Project Development,
The ME Association
