Lewes constituency MP votes against “botched” welfare bill

Liberal Democrat MP for the Lewes constituency, James MacCleary, voted against the Government’s welfare cuts on Tuesday, calling the legislation “botched”, adding that it threatened vulnerable people and those who care for them across Lewes, Newhaven, Seaford, Polegate, and the surrounding villages.

The Government’s reforms would have cut the level of support for new PIP claimants which the Liberal Democrats said would create a two-tier system between old and new claimants, while still making it harder for disabled people to stay in work.

The cuts would have also risked thousands of carers losing their Carer’s Allowance as the person they care for needs to be eligible for PIP to receive the support. Although the Government said it will now entirely remove the PIP cuts from the bill following last-minute concessions to Labour rebels, the text of the legislation voted on yesterday still included them.

The bill was mired with a series of u-turns to appease Labour rebels but still did not stave off a major rebellion. James MacCleary said that the legislation had been “botched” with the Bill rushed through and the full impact assessment of the changes not published.

The MP for the Lewes constituency said that he would continue to oppose the Bill, pointing out that this chop-and-change approach is no way to run our country or reform the welfare system. Instead he called on the Government to scrap this flawed legislation, go back to the drawing board, and work cross-party to actually bring down the welfare bill by getting more people into work and fixing our broken health and care systems.

James said: “This bill has been botched from start to finish and is not fit for purpose. I have heard from so many local residents who are afraid of what these changes will mean for them. It is not right to try to save money by penalising those most in need of support.

“The scale of the rebellion on Tuesday shows that the Government is simply not listening or delivering on the change that people here in Seaford, Newhaven, Lewes, Polegate and across our local villages are crying out for.

“It is time to put this bill out of its misery and scrap this flawed legislation. Despite countless u-turns after pressure from Liberal Democrats and the whole of Parliament, this Bill remains practically meaningless.

“The Government needs to go back to the drawing board and work cross-party to bring forward a fair and sensible plan to bring down welfare costs in a way that doesn’t take away support from some of the most vulnerable and those who care for them.

“That should start by fixing our broken health and social care systems so that we can get people off waiting lists and back into work instead of languishing in pain. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will continue to oppose this misguided approach that risks having hugely damaging consequences.”