Making your voice heard is definitely not a waste of time.
It appears that the government were panicked into dropping a planned freeze to PIP before it was even announced, because of fears of a backbench revolt. So there’s clearly hope they can be persuaded to drop other measures.
Please use the comments section below to share ideas for speaking out, tell us what action you’ve taken or pass on responses from MPs, Lords or anyone else. But please do stay on-topic.
Contact a member of the House of Lords
Contact an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)
Contact organisations you have a connection with
Do you live in Runcorn and Helsby?
Take part in the consultation
Normally we would be urging people to take part in a consultation on an issue like this.
But the DWP consultation in this case is so unfair that we have very mixed feelings. It fails to ask questions about most of the issues that people would want to give an opinion on, such as:
- Changes to PIP scoring
- Abolishing the WCA
- Freezing the UC health element
- Having a single assessment for both PIP and the UC health element
You can read more about why we are so unhappy with the consultation here.
But we also know that the DWP may argue that lack of response means that most people do not object to the changes. There is also the chance to give your opinion on things such as what support should be available to people who have their PIP cut if the changes happen.
So, if you consider that taking part in the consultation is the lesser of two evils, you can do so here. The closing date is 30 June 2025.
Contact your MP
Whatever party your MP is a member of, it is worth contacting them.
Some parties will be against the cuts and your support for their position will encourage them.
Even some Conservative MPs may decide not to support the Green Paper, or may choose to only support parts of it, if only to cause problems for the Labour leadership.
And Labour MPs will need a lot of encouragement to have the courage to rebel.
You can email your MP via Write To Them Make sure you include your name and address so that they know you are one of their constituents.
Even better, write them a letter or arrange to talk to them in-person at a constituency surgery.
We recommend that you make any communication very polite and reasonably brief. If you are going to be personally affected by the changes then focus mainly on how you will be affected by the proposals.
As of 1 April, 27 Labour MPs have openly said they will vote against the Green Paper cuts.
Contact a Lord
You don’t have your own member of the House of Lords, in the way you have an MP. But the House of Lords can do a great deal to challenge, delay and sometimes even change legislation.
If you visit the Lords section of Write To Them there is an option to “Find a Lord interested in my topic”.
You can put in key words like “PIP”, “social security”, “depression” – it’s best if you enclose them in quote marks – and you’ll be given a list of the Lords who have spoken about your chosen subject the most. It will also tell you which party, if any, they belong to. It’s worth checking what they have said on the subject as some may be strongly anti-claimant.
Alternatively, you can select a Lord who has a connection with where you live or work.
At the top of their results page there will be a link saying “I want to write to. . .” which will allow you to email them.
As with MPs above, please aim to be polite and reasonably brief.
Contact your councillors
Local councillors don’t have a say in national policy making, but they are likely to have a close connection with their local party machine and can feed back rising concern about these measures. If the Green Paper cuts to benefits go through, they are likely to place an increased strain on local services . The Disability Policy thinktank forecast that the cuts will lead to £1.2bn in extra costs for the NHS and local care services provided by councils, so councillors should be concerned.
You can find your local councillors here
You can also find out if your councillors are up for re-election on 1 May. If you have a Labour councillor you could explain to them how the Green Paper will affect your voting intentions.
Contact an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)
As well as contacting your own MP about the proposed benefits cuts, you may be able to get your message to other MPs of all parties, if there is an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) which covers your condition.
APPGs consist of members of both Houses of Parliament, from all parties, who share an interest in a particular topic. A number of these groups relate to different health conditions.
We've put together more information and a list of the most relevant APPGs here.
Meanwhile the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Poverty and Inequality has made a call for evidence to examine the disproportionate impact of poverty a call for evidence to examine the disproportionate impact of poverty and inequality on disabled people. This short inquiry will inform discussions around the upcoming green paper on disability benefit reform. Closing date Monday 14 April
Contact local media
Local newspaper are often fairly desperate for content, including reader’s letters. You can ask for your name and address to be withheld to maintain your privacy. Write about why you are concerned about the cuts and encourage other readers to complete the consultation or contact their MP.
Some claimants are going further and getting stories in the media about their fears, like these:
'They're taking PIP benefits from me - but I'm in too much pain to work'
Benefit changes could be 'life or death' - claimant
Greenwich woman Parkinson’s: 'PIP vital for daily living'
The Local Media Works website allows you to find the contact details for local papers in your area.
If you have a local BBC Radio station, you can find their contact details here.
Contact organisations you have a connection with
If you have a connection with a major charity, please contact them if you think they could be doing more to publicise the Green Paper changes and encouraging their members/visitors to take action.
Alternatively, if they are doing a great job, let them know that it's appreciated, because there's always an element of worry for a charity when it criticises the government
And you may have a connection with a smaller charity or a local branch that could also be more proactive on this issue, perhaps with some support from you.
Or you may be have contacts with an advice agency, housing association, trades union, housing association , food bank or some other group that could also be encouraged to do their bit.
Offer to be a case study
Disability charities have had very little time to respond to the Green Paper and, for some, finding people who can help with a campaign at such short notice is likely to be a real problem.
Could you volunteer to be a case study? This could just involve setting out, on conditions of anonymity, how the Green Paper cuts are likely to affect you. Or you might e willing to take a larger role in getting information out.
Either way, it would be worth contacting organisations that cover your condition and offering to be a case study.
Sign a petition
Signing a petition probably doesn’t achieve much on its own, in most cases. But if it’s just one of a range of ways you are trying to make your voice heard then it’s worth doing.
Labour MP Richard Burgon has launched a petition against his own party’s benefits cuts. (21,000 signatures on 01.04.25)
There's one from 38 Degrees headed No to cruel benefits cuts. (73,000 signatures on 01.04.25)
On Change.org there is Reform the Recent Changes to Disability Benefits (42,000 signatures on 01.04.25)
And Scope have a Cutting disability benefits would be catastrophic petition here. (62,000 signatures on 01.04.25)
Let us know in the comments section about any petitions you have spotted.
Support a campaign
There may be campaigns being run by different organisations that you can support.
Carers UK
Carers UK have created a short survey to enable carers to tell them in detail about the impact the reforms will have on them and those they care for. They will use the results from this in the campaign they are running to oppose the reforms. If you would like to complete the survey, you can do so here
Scope
Scope have a campaign asking people to contact their MP and request that they meet with Scope to discuss cuts to disability benefits.
Take part in a protest
Let us know in the comments section or drop us an email, if you are organising a protest or aware of one.
Vote or spoil your ballot
If you live in one of the areas where local council elections and mayoral elections are taking place, you have a chance to send a message to Labour. If there isn't a party you want to vote for on the ballot paper you can spoil you ballot - perhaps write "No to benefits cuts" across it. The number of spoiled ballots is recorded and published along with the votes cast for each candidate.
Do you live in Runcorn and Helsby?
Clearly this will apply only to very few readers. But if you live in Runcorn and Helsby the date of a byelection will very soon be announced and campaigning will begin. This will be a chance for Labour to discover what effect benefits cuts are having on their electability, so please try to contact your Labour candidate and also make sure that any canvassers you encounter hear your fears about the Green Paper.
