#NoMoreBenefitDeaths
National Day of Action
Monday 4th March 2024
On 19th February 2024 at the Parliament Meeting in London, DPAC and the UK Coalition have announced a united disability resistance against the Tory Government’s proposed brutal and horrific social security reforms.
We are calling for active resistance across the UK to these brutal attacks on disabled people.
We are gravely concerned that the government plans to intensify conditions and benefit sanctions imposed on claimants and tighten the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)
This would see social security cuts for hundreds of thousands of disabled people and new powers for unqualified work coaches in Job Centres who will decide what work related activity should be carried out.
We have already seen the devastation caused by previous so-called welfare reform policies. They have failed on their own terms – the OBR confirmed more than once that they were an economic disaster. We now we also have a large body of evidence laying bare the human catastrophe these policies caused; including the 2020 report ‘Health Equity in England‘ commissioned by UCL, which states that almost 150, 000 people (the vast majority from deprived areas) died as a direct result of austerity and welfare reform policies.
Kicking the poor – particularly those in receipt of benefits – is still somehow viewed by party policy wonks on both sides as a vote winner. While the richest in our society have seen their wealth grow by more than 20% just since the pandemic.
It is important to stress that we cannot wait for a general election and a potential change of government. Labour have rejoined the attacks on claimants, saying recently that disabled people will not “languish on social security sickness support but will be pushed into work.”
This is the language of Atos & Workfare all over again.
It didn’t work then, it won’t work now.
That is why we are calling for a local day of action on Monday 4th March 2024, 2 days before the spring budget, which we hope local DPAC groups and our UK coalition allies across the devolved nations will organise and participate in alongside the main London action.
The london protest will meet at 12 noon
At Department of Work & Pensions
Caxton House
6–12 Tothill Street
London SW1H 9NA
The London protest will have BSL translation of speakers
Some funding is available for travel costs; please email DPAC mail@dpac.uk.net if you need support with this
Graphic to use on social media with hashtag #NoMoreBenefitDeaths
Please use the following descriptive text with the image:
Image says
#NoMoreBenefitDeaths
National Day of Action
Monday 4th March
12 noon london action
Image depicts white flowers on the grass as disabled people and allies gather to remember disabled people we’ve lost as a result of social security reforms and austerity
Underneath image
Department of Work and Pensions
Caxton House
6-12 Tothill Street
London SW1H 9NA
DPAC logo to right hand side of address