Mapped: The worst-hit areas for PIP cuts as more than 1.3m could lose support under Labour's plans
Around 1.3 million people are at risk of losing key financial support after Labour's welfare cuts, new analysis has found, as the worst hit areas in the UK are revealed.
The changes will focus chiefly on disability benefits, with the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) most affected. This weekly-paid benefit is designed to help with the associated costs of having a disability, and is claimed by 3.7 million people.
From November 2026, it will effectively become harder to claim as the eligibility criteria for it is tightened. Here's what that could mean for your area:
The government data, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, shows that around 1.1 million PIP claimants and 200,000 enhanced-rate claimants would lose some of their payment if their assessment were conducted after the changes.
The statistics also break down the impact by constituency, revealing that more deprived areas are likely to be hardest hit.
Liverpool Walton was shown to be the constituency with the most people who could lose support, followed by Blackpool South and Liverpool Riverside. Around 5,000 people in every constituency face losing some PIP payments.
Under the new criteria, around 87 per cent of those claiming the lower level would miss out based on their last point score, the analysis found. A further 13 per cent on the enhanced rate – worth £110.40 a week – would also lose this entitlement.
The government has faced strong criticism over the changes from charities, campaign groups and MPs since they were announced in March.
Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that the plans threaten to plunge 400,000 people into poverty – higher than the OBR's forecast of 250,000. Meanwhile, a report from a group of cross-party MPs on Monday found that disabled people could lose more than £10,000 a year as a result of the cuts.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he would not change course despite threats of a backbench revolt, telling reporters: 'We have got to get the reforms through and I have been clear about that from start to finish.'
Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson, Steve Darling MP said: 'Many of the most vulnerable in our society are already on the brink and these figures reveal the scale of the misery that could be inflicted if these cuts go ahead.
'We need to see the government realise that this has the potential to devastate people's lives and make it much harder to stay in work. Ministers must change course to avoid the real pain that could be inflicted.'
Responding as he released the data, DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms said: 'The number of people currently on PIP and did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP.
'The OBR has determined that 9 in 10 people currently on PIP will still be receiving it by the end of this Parliament. No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026.
'After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance.'
The DWP has been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Why a Remote UK Base Makes the US-Iran Standoff So Difficult for Starmer
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be relieved by US President Donald Trump's move to delay a decision for now on striking Iran, giving the British leader more time to address the vexing issue of providing military support. The standoff between Washington and Tehran this week drew a fresh spotlight on a remote Indian Ocean base controlled by Britain that has long provided a key staging point for American bombers and other military assets. If the US were to launch an attack on Iranian nuclear sites from Diego Garcia, the UK would have to quickly decide to back the mission or risk a rift with its closest ally.
Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Pro-Palestinian activists break into UK's biggest air base in startling security breach
Advertisement In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident 'disgraceful,' saying: 'Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.' Palestine Action has carried out a series of acts of vandalism at high-profile and supposedly secure locations, including defense manufacturers. Thames Valley Police, the force responsible for the area, said in a statement that officers were working with the Ministry of Defense and the RAF to investigate. Inquiries 'are ongoing to locate and arrest those responsible,' the force noted. In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said, 'We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets. We are working closely with the police who are investigating.' Advertisement The ministry did not immediately respond to a question on whether it would open a review of security at the site. Grant Shapps, a former British defense secretary, wrote on social media that there needed to be a 'full security review.' 'Storming an RAF base isn't protest — it's a national security breach,' he wrote. 'The blame lies squarely with these reckless activists, but ministers must now explain how on earth it was allowed to happen.' In its statement Friday, Palestine Action claimed the targeted planes 'can carry military cargo and are used to refuel' military aircraft, including fighter jets, from the British and Israeli militaries. But Greg Bagwell, a former senior RAF commander and a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the planes damaged by the group were incompatible with Israeli fighter aircraft and could not be used to refuel them. 'They couldn't have gotten a more wrong aircraft,' he said in an interview. 'They have targeted aircraft that are not the aircraft they think they are.' The Israeli air force flies American-built fighter planes such as the F-15, the F-16, and the F-35A, Bagwell said, all of which can only be fueled with a boom-style method that is not used by the planes that were damaged Friday. Palestine Action has previously conducted vandalism and protests at sites in Britain that are operated by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and at companies with links to that firm, and also at other defense companies. Several activists have been prosecuted over the protests, including five people who were imprisoned last year for causing about $1.3 million of damage to a weapons equipment factory in Glasgow, Scotland, in June 2022. Advertisement Britain's largest RAF base, Brize Norton houses about 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff members, and 1,200 contractors. Bagwell said he believed many military bases around the world were vulnerable to the kind of intrusion the group made Friday. 'Airfields are large pieces of real estate that have miles of fence line,' he said. 'It's not an easy piece of territory to protect everywhere. Anybody with a wire cutter or ladders could be able to get in.' Adding more human protection or electronic monitoring along every part of a major military base like Brize Norton would be very expensive. But Bagwell said officials needed to take the risk seriously. He said the breach showed that it would not have been difficult for terrorists or agents of a foreign government to have done something more sinister at the base. 'It was exactly the sort of activity that the likes of Russia and Iran would like to promote,' he said. 'This time it was a protester, but next time it could be someone who was doing something on behalf of others.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sir Keir Starmer tries to contain rebellion among Labour MPs over welfare reforms
Sir Keir Starmer had a series of one-on-one meetings with Labour MPs on Friday to try to contain a rebellion on the government's welfare reforms. Ahead of the assisted dying vote, the met privately with some of the dozens of MPs with concerns about the proposed cuts to sickness and disability benefits. The first vote on the legislation, which the says will save £5bn a year from the welfare bill, will be held in early July. The prime minister's involvement at this stage suggests a major effort is underway to quell a potential rebellion. Cabinet ministers say they do not expect mass resignations, but one junior minister told Sky News that opposition to the reforms was "pretty strong". One frontbencher, government whip Vicky Foxcroft, , writing that she understood "the need to address the ever-increasing welfare bill" but did not believe the proposed cuts "should be part of the solution". Other junior ministers and whips have not, as yet, moved to follow her. But one government insider said: "It's difficult to tell if the mood will harden as we get closer. There's a lot of work going on." The package of reforms is aimed at encouraging more people off sickness benefits and into work, but dozens of Labour rebels said last month that the proposals were . Welfare secretary Liz Kendall is also meeting individually with MPs. She said earlier this week that the welfare system is "at a crossroads" and the bill was about "compassion, opportunity and dignity". Read more from Sky News: Ministers are trying to convince MPs that a £1bn fund to support disabled people into work, and the scrapping of the Work Capability Assessment, a key demand of disability groups, make the cuts package worth voting for. They insist that 90% of current claimants of personal independence payment (PIP) will not lose the benefit. But disability groups say the cuts will have a "disastrous" effect on vulnerable people.
