PIP Plea to MP

Tom Shaw has written to Elsie Blundell, MP for Heywood and Middleton, calling on her to oppose the Labour Government's cuts to PIP

Dear Elsie.

I am writing to you now as the situation that we face is a critical one. Many of your Greater Manchester colleagues have now come out and stated that they will be voting against the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, I note however that you are one of the few GM Labour MPs yet to come out against this.

I am surprised and disappointed as I feel this should not be a difficult choice considering you have served as a councilor and nearly a year as an MP. I am sure you have had people with similar issues as the ones that have come to me asking me to give some reassurance about the cuts to their PIP. This is a personal issue for me as I have a number of family members who are genuinely scared about how they will cope with if this bill succeeds. This, however, is not a story isolated to my family, it is affecting people across the country. Our area has some of the highest deprivation in the country and we need an MP who will show courage.

The Personal Independent Payments system is a lifeline for those who claim it. It allows them to live a full and meaningful life. However, the process to get this payment is one with many hoops and hurdles to clear before they get their application approved. Many of these people fail at their first application and have to appeal through the CAB or through charities. This bill is set to make a complicated system even harder. 

This will continue piling pressure on many of our constituencies' most vulnerable people. When the government announced the bill, it had a profound effect on those who will be affected by the cut's mental health. Elsie people are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis which people feel there is no sign of it ending and they are looking to the government to hold up their end of the social contract, they are looking for their MP to do the right thing by them. Make no mistake, this bill will push even more people in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale into poverty. People are telling me that they are scared. They feel let down and after 5 years of having a tory MP who failed to stand up for them, they are fear that history is repeating itself. 

I urge you to give us as your constituents your word that you will join your back bench colleagues and the Liberal Democrat MPs in voting against this bill. 

Yours sincerely

 
Tom Shaw
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Heywood and Middleton North