Young PIP claimants take to Parliament to pressure MPs over disability cuts

On Tuesday 6th May the Mad Youth Organise campaign headed to Parliament, as young Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants living with severe mental illness engaged MPs face-to-face over the dangerous planned cuts to disability benefits.

The drop in event was hosted by Nadia Whittome MP and saw engagement from over 25 MPs’ offices across a range of parties (Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru). During the event young leaders from Mad Youth Organise spoke directly with politicians about their experiences of the PIP process, why PIP is such a lifeline for people living with mental illness, and why they are deeply concerned about the impact of these planned cuts to disability benefits.

For many MPs this was the first time they had heard this kind of testimony and lived experience in relation to PIP. As well as facilitating these eye-opening conversations, we handed out resources to every MP including booklets of testimonials submitted by over 40 young people from across the country who will be directly impacted by these policies.

Throughout the dozens of conversations that took place, young leaders living with mental illness were sending a clear message that these planned cuts are rushed, mis-informed and dangerous. Time and again, their testimonials showed to MPs that the PIP process is not fit-for-purpose when it comes to mental illness - that the category system doesn’t make sense for mental health conditions, that young people are not being believed about their own disabilities, that people are being re-traumatised and made even more unwell by the way the process is run.

We were encouraged that a number of MPs committed to working with us to challenge these plans, including tabling written questions in Parliament and writing letters to the Secretary of State and to Party leaders. We will be doing tailored follow up with every MP who attended to hold them to account on their commitments and ensure that words are followed by action.

A number of MPs also confirmed that they will be voting against the plans, with many more indicating they are very concerned and will be looking to scrutinise the proposals in the coming weeks. Every day we see more MPs speaking out about their opposition. Just half an hour after our drop in event, Labour MP Steve Witherden - who was one of the MPs who came to our drop in - publicly announced that he will not be voting for the plans.

Opposition is growing - now we need to keep the pressure up. With votes expected in June, we have a matter of weeks to further expose the dangers of these proposals and shift more politicians towards taking a public stand against them. We will be engaging directly with MPs as well as facilitating further campaign actions for supporters - so watch this space!

A big thanks to Nadia Whittome MP for hosting this vital MP event and giving her support to the campaign. Thanks also to every MP who came along in person - including Gideon Amos, Steve Witherden, Cameron Thomas, Ben Lake, Roger Gale, Chris McDonald, Tulip Siddiq, Adam Dance, Becky Gittins, Steve Darling, Roz Savage, Rachel Blake, Caroline Nokes, Marie Rimmer, Danny Kruger, Alison Bennett, Al Pinkerton, Lizzi Collinge - plus many more who had staffers attend to listen and receive resources. We’ll be looking to these MPs in the weeks ahead to represent their disabled constituents and vote against these cuts when they come before Parliament.

Above all, a huge thanks to the Mad Youth Organise leaders who shared deeply personal and often traumatic testimonials with MPs in order to fight for the rights of disabled communities. At a time when young people living with mental illness are being marginalised and attacked by politicians and the media, it has never been more vital for these voices to be heard in the halls of Parliament.

We will continue speaking out, campaigning and organising until these deadly cuts are stopped.