We sincerely ‘Thank you' for all the letters you've sent to your MPs. However, please keep sending letters, as we need to ensure that they know the strength of feeling and hear the views of the disabled community, including those with ME/CFS and Long Covid moving forward.
Ella Smith, Welfare Rights Consultant to the ME Association has kindly written an updated version of the MP template letter post recent developments.
Please consider writing to your MP
Template Letter
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Postcode]
[Email Address – optional]
[Phone Number – optional]
[Date]
[MP’s Name]
[MP’s Constituency Office Address]
Dear [Insert MP Name],
Please oppose the remaining provisions of the Universal Credit Bill at third reading on Wednesday 9 July.
I’m writing as your constituent and as someone living with [ME/CFS/Long Covid – delete as appropriate].
I welcomed the decision to withdraw Clause 5 from the original Bill. The proposed changes to PIP eligibility would have caused serious harm to people like me, and I’m glad they will not go ahead at this stage.
I also appreciate that the government has agreed to uprate the Universal Credit health element for existing claimants who are severely unwell or terminally ill. These are important protections.
However, I remain seriously concerned about what remains in the renamed Universal Credit Bill, particularly the impact on new claimants from April 2026.
Under current proposals:
- The UC health element will be cut by nearly half, from £390 to £208 per month in real terms for most new claimants.
- People who become disabled in future will receive less support — with no transitional protections.
- Individuals with relapsing or fluctuating conditions (like ME/CFS or Long Covid) may lose their existing award during a temporary improvement and later be forced to reapply under the reduced system.
- A two-tier benefits system is being created, based not on need but on when someone becomes unwell.
The government has also confirmed that no changes to PIP eligibility will be introduced until the outcome of the Timms review. That review must be meaningful and co-produced — and any future changes must be properly scrutinised through Parliament.
I urge you to support the amendment tabled by Steve Darling MP calling for key evidence to be published before implementation, including:
- The Timms review of PIP assessment criteria
- An impact assessment on poverty and health outcomes
- A report on consultation with disabled people and carers
- Office for Budget Responsibility analysis on employment effects
These are basic principles of democratic oversight. People’s lives and incomes are at stake.
I also urge you to support Amendment 17, which would require the government to ensure that any future regulations take proper account of people with fluctuating health conditions. As someone living with [ME/CFS / Long Covid], this matters deeply to me.
**If you have the energy to explain a little about your personal struggle with ME/CFS/Long Covid and how the unpredictability impacts on your life, please do so here**
Please:
- Vote against the Universal Credit Bill at third reading in its current form
- Support the Steve Darling amendment requiring full transparency and impact reporting
- Support Amendment 17 regarding fluctuating conditions
- Raise concerns about the impact on people with fluctuating and complex conditions
- Engage with the ME Association for evidence and case studies from affected constituents
- Consider joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ME and Long Covid
Thank you for your time. I would be grateful for your response — and for your support in standing up for those of us at risk from these changes.
With best wishes,
[Your Name]
APPG Details
- APPG on ME: https://appgme.co.uk/
- APPG on Long Covid: https://www.longcovid.org/impact/appg-on-long-covid
Ella Smith
Welfare Rights Consultant,
The ME Association
Further information
- The ME Association: Welfare Reform: One Major Win, More Work Ahead | July 2nd, 2025
- Disability Rights UK: Government Avoids Welfare Reform Bill Defeat After Last Minute PIP Concessions | July 2nd, 2025
- The Guardian: How did your MP vote on the welfare reforms? | July 1st, 2025
- The ME Association: Work and Pensions Select Committee Submission | July 1st, 2025
- The ME Association: DWP publish a press release outlining additional details for UC and PIP | July 30th, 2025
- The Guardian: Extra cost of being disabled in UK to rise by almost 12% in five years, says Scope report | June 30, 2025
- Commons Library Briefing | June 27, 2025