At the end of April the government announced its intention to overhaul the current Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system. Covered in language of care and support, the considered reforms will in actuality continue a campaign of cuts that has already attacked disabled peoples’ ability to live.

The government’s green paper has announced a consultancy period to explore ways to radically upheave the whole PIP system. While a complete plan has yet to be revealed, the proposed reforms are largely way to make it harder to access PIP, reduce the number of people receiving it and reduce the ammount recieved by those who still qualify.

What is PIP?

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is a benefit to help offset some extra costs faced by disabled people. It’s not means tested so while it’s available to anyone with a qualifying condition, it can be necessary for comfort or survival for those with low income.

Disabled people occur a large number of costs that PIP is meant to help adress such as transport costs, home adaptations, specific dietary requirements and shopping deliveries.

PIP was brought in to partially replace Disability Living Allowance in 2013. The current PIP system has already been criticised by doctors and disability rights activists as being insufficient and hard to access.

What are the proposed reforms? What’s the problem with them?

In their article outlining the reform proposal, SCOPE has highlighted the following potential change from the longer government green paper:

“•Vouchers for specific services, instead of cash payments

•One-off payments for home adaptations, rather than ongoing payments

•Asking disabled people to provide receipts for one-off purchases, which would then be reimbursed.

•Changing the criteria and questions that determine whether someone is eligible for PIP. This means some people who are currently eligible might not be in the future.

•Changing the qualifying period for PIP, and the test that determines if a condition is ‘long-term’.

•Directing people with mental health conditions towards treatment, rather than of payments.

•Requiring a formal diagnosis by a medical expert. And focusing much more on what condition you have, rather than its impact on your life.

•Ending the PIP assessment altogether for people with certain long term conditions. This includes people with terminal illnesses.”

These proposals that have come from the government may be dressed up as attempting to create a better working system but it is no secret that the change is driven by economic factors, not any good intention. In their statement on the consultancy period, the DWP has highlighted that “[PIP] costs are now spiraling”, while Rishi Sunak has stated it’s part of his plan to “make the benefits system fairer to the taxpayer”. SCOPE approximates that disabled people must on average take home an extra £975 per month just to reach the same living standards as an able bodied person. PIP never comes close to offsetting this cost, and reducing the ammount spent on PIP will widen the gap, pushing more disabled people into poverty.

The results of any such changes are likely to cut costs for the state while reducing access to funding for people who need it most. It is just another step in an austerity plan that have seen Labour, Tories and Lib Dems all making it harder to access benefits to deadly effect. Forcing ill and disabled people into work, setting targets to deny benefits and making it ever harder to access benefits have resulted in thousands of deaths in Britain.

Austerity, ableism and capitalism go hand in hand

The policy of austerity has resulted in massive cuts to vital services and a creeping privatisation of the NHS. These policies affect all working people, but especially affect disabled people and those facing both short and long term illness.

The post-war consensus, funded by the capitalist boom due to rebuilding and imperialist plunder after the second world war, created a state saftey net to look after british citizens “from cradle to grave”. As this boom died off it gave way to the ruthless cutting of the neo-liberal ideology in the late ’70s. Even in the imperialist core, the state can no longer maintain social programmes to support the working class without threatening imperialist super-profits.

Spending on social programmes has not kept up with inflation and in fact has seen massive cuts in funding, while PFI contracts and other insidious privatisation policies have lined the pockets of the already wealthy. Both Labour and the Tories have overseen this austerity and privatisation. The Labour party equally cannot be looked to to end this war on the working class, as they now preach “fiscal responsibility” i.e. more cuts, less funding. The state can no longer be seen as providing a saftey net and this process cannot be undone under the neoliberal capitalist model.

Meanwhile, the DWP has launched an unholy crusade on the unemployed and especially those claiming disability benefits. The DWP is well known for it’s culture of persecution, finding any excuse to deny claims. The whole DWP system has become a dehumanising factory of misery. The number of people found fit for work then dying within six months has skyrocketed in the last decade or so. While figures are incomplete and the full scale is not completely understood, between the end of 2011 and early 2014, 2,380 people died within months of being found fit for work.

The capitalist system, especially in it’s modern imperialist neo-liberal form, runs on a ruthless economic logic. Social programmes only exist as long as they are economically beneficial. They are not products of a system that attempts to serve the needs of the people, but exist to push as many people into being as economically active as possible, even to the end user’s detriment or death. Human life, to the British capitalists, is a pound sterling value on a page.

How do we fight back?

Build the united front against austerity and imperialism

Our struggle against austerity and war may seem worlds apart from those fighting to kick imperialism out of their own countries but we must understand they are united against the same enemy. The same british state that devalues the lives of disabled people is the same one funding Israeli genocide and supporting international companies that plunder the third world. We strive to topple the same giant that has one foot on Britain and another on the colonised and exploited nations.

Many groups in Britain are fighting their specific struggles against austerity and injustice such as Disabled People Aginst Cuts (DPAC) and Sisters Uncut. Equally there are many groups are fighting to stop British imperialist intervention such as PalAction, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). There is also a large number of trade unions, renters rights groups and others fighting the key economic struggles. All worthy causes who have done great work and made an impact in their fight. The British state cannot be stopped by an attack from one angle, however. It requires all struggles against the common enemy to be linked.

Only by building an active, fighting united front that can coordinate all struggles against the British state within and outside our borders may we be able to find final victory in our causes.

Unity of the struggles against austerity and against imperialism!

Victory to all those who fight against the British state’s injustice!

On Thursday 2nd May 2024, millions of Brits will be going to the polls. Our hard won democratic duty, or so they say. The political system is rigged in favour of the rich and against the working class. No matter who we vote for, we somehow still seem to lose. While capitalism still exists, there cannot be democracy that truly represents the interests of the working class.

Voting supports and vaidates a system that is falling apart and no matter who wins, we lose. The reactionary anti-worker agenda continues no matter what, but it does distract from organising for real change. The crisis of capitalism cannot be voted away but the electoral system attempts to lay fault at the feet of the very people being failed. It distracts. Instead of searching for actual solutions, we find ourselves being told it’s the only way to get anything done.

More than that, there is an entire electoral machine working overtime to secure votes for groups that don’t represent us. Voting in and of itself is practically meaningless but campaigning and supporting candidates can have a real world effect. We must fight against the state machinery that distorts and destroys democracy. Take no part in the electoral system at any level.

The only thing this local election will decide is who gets to implement cuts and declare the local authorities bankrupt. Don’t give them the dignity of your consent.

Why you shouldn’t vote

While the capitalist electoral system has never truly represented us, the case for not voting is stronger than ever. No matter who wins we get cuts imposed on us from Whitehall and the Labour party has abandoned all notions of socialism or a progressive future – though it has always really stood for capitalism, colonialism and imperialism.

1. The system is rigged for the rich

The entire electoral system requires millions of pounds to be pumped in to win, meaning parties must necessarily be on the side of those with millions of pounds to spare.

Electoral parties are beholden to the billionaires and businesses they must court to fund their campaigns. No wonder it seems like their policies always put the rich first!

2. Voting alone makes no impact

Individuals votes are worthless. Dont put the focus on voting; focus on the organising and campaigning. Only winning large distinct sections of the population to your side counts for anything.

Too much credit is given to the individual act of voting when really it’s the larger electoral campaign as a whole that counts.

If you want to make any difference this is done through how you get organised, not how you vote.

3. Our efforts are better spent elsewhere

Why fight for the parties of the rich when groups that actually represent your interests are out there?

From trade unions to anti-racism campaigns, from renters’ groups to international solidarity campaigns, there are groups that actually represent interests of the working class who are doing actual work outside of the election cycle.

4. Are voters complicit in what they vote for?

Some say “if you don’t vote you can’t complain”. We say the road to change is not through voting and none of the candidates are worth supporting.  We don’t want to give them a mandate and be complicit in what they do. Other methods of change are more viable long-term than voting once every five years for who to misrepresent us.

Labour, Tories and Lib Dems have all variously supported cuts to vital services and for war and oppression. They all use the votes they recieve to claim we support these policies.

It would give the electoral system too much credit to suggest voters are responsible for the misery imposed by politicians they vote for, but a large vote share is used to justify a variety of horrific policies.

5. The lesser of two evils is still evil

Just because one party is more progressive in some areas doesn’t mean that they’re not as bad or worse in others. All these parties, in the right situations, are capable of supporting awful things.

Labour has always supported British imperialism. Lib Dems supported Tory austerity. The state machinery forces even those with good intentions to carry out anti-worker policies.

6. A two party system means we all lose

You’re forced to tactically vote one way or another, often voting based upon who you’d rather not have in power. This shuts out alternatives both in and out of the electoral system.

We want a positive politics that represents working class interests, not picking a candidate based on who is least awful.

7. Revolution is the only solution!

The current political system is set up to benefit only the international capitalist system while disenfranchising the working class.

As we have seen recently, any actual opposition is crushed. In periods of crisis the state is willing to openly stamp out opposition though spy-cops, and legislation to limit union power and criminalise protest.

While we can fight for better conditions in the immediate term, the political system is just waiting for the chance to undo all that progress. The only way out is the complete overthrow of capitalism and the state that enforces it.

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The crisis in city councils

At this local election, many council seats and control of many councils are up for grabs. Labour are expected to be the biggest winner but will this make a difference at the local level?

Since 2021 six local authorities have issued a 114 notice, often refered to as “council bankruptcy”. What was once an unheard of practice is becoming commonplace, with dozens of councils at risk of running out of funds in the next couple years. Most of these councils are already Labour controlled.

Between 2010 and 2020 central funding for councils has fallen by over 40% while the scope of council responsibilities has been steadily increased. Even councils not currently at risk of bankruptcy have had to lay off thousands of workers and reduce funding for vital services. The burden is being passed from the variety of taxes raised by the central government to local councils to raise through council tax and business rates.

Hull itself is at great risk. At the end of 2023 Liberal Democrat and Labour council leaders warned of the council going under in the 2025-2026 financial year. The council is over half a billion pounds in debt, with no clear way out except austerity and cuts. More people will lose their jobs and more people will lose support they rely upon. Our neo-liberal capitalist system has found itself unable and entirely unwilling to provide for the people. As the chains of capitalism are strained, we are seeing the last remnants of the post-war consensus collapse, lest we sacrifice their profits.

We have seen several times that well intentioned local councillors have attempted to resist cuts to their community. There are no stories of victory here. They are defeated by their own parties or central government and cuts are implemented. The austerity agenda will march on as long as we remain in this late-stage capacity system, no matter who is elected and which parties are in charge.

We are entering a period of crisis for the ruling class. The state can no longer maintain itself through the old methods. We may find that they temporarily bail out the councils but it is clear that we are entering a lengthy crisis for the British state.

All the electoral parties serve capitalism and imperialism

Over the last fourteen years we have all seen the untold damage done to the UK by the Tories. Cuts to vital services, benefits sanctions and withheld disability payments costing lives, corruption and much more. Most readers will agree that the Tories have failed this country but unlike some groups on the left we reject the idea that a Labour government is a win for workers. We reject the idea that Labour and Liberal Democracts gaining councils is in our interest.

Labour: Our next government

While Starmer and the Labour party have roundly failed to impress or excite anyone, Tory failings have finally caught up and all but guaranteed that Labour will hold a very large majority government after the next election. Many socialist are rallying behind the slogan of “kick out the tories” to justify campaigning and supporting Labour at local elections and the general elections. While a massive defeat for the tories may be cathartic, a Labour victory does not solve the problems we face. The track record of Starmer’s Labour in parliament and their current stated policies prove this.

Labour has attempted to distance itself from it’s social democratic past and position itself as the party of fiscal responsibility, largely in contrast to the moderate “socialism” of Corbyn and the failures of the Tories. Fiscal responsibility is just a codeword for cuts and not investing in the needs of the people. Growth is a codeword for prioritising business interests. Both terms are new favourites of the Labour party. We can’t trust Labour to protect workers’ rights when they show themselves to be on the side of the bosses.

Labour has also recently made headlines by confirming they will renationalise the rail service. In principle, this sort of policy is greatly appealing to those on the left. Unfortunately Labour’s case for nationalisation is entirely economic. Assuming they even follow through, Labour’s nationalised railway will be entirely in service of the economy, not the people. In fact, Starmer was very resistant to support such a policy until it was clear that the economic case for doing so couldn’t be ignored. This policy isn’t taking a stand. It’s popular amongst everyone. And of course Starmer’s nationalisation has plenty of details left to work out, but will likely leave multiple rail assets in private hands.

From the Malayan emergency to the occupation of Ireland, the Labour party has never shied away from imperialist violence. Not wanting to be seen as anti-British they have often exercised an even tighter colonial grip than the Conservatives. They continue this trend of imperialism to this day with their support for Israel’s atrocities. While some MPs have softened their position slightly in the face of public support for Palestine but we can be sure that Labour as a whole will continue to support Israel. Socialists must necessarily be internationalist, and so those that support Labour because it is better for British workers are taking a chauvinist line that neglects the importance of understanding the imperialist contradiction while simultaneously buying into the lies of the British electoral system.

Labour are preparing to take over the reigns of government. After that, the Tories will likely select a new leader and being their own plans to take back control in 5 or 10 year. And so the cycle will comtinue. This is not democracy. Just switching between two parties because of the constraints of our electoral system is not a system that represents the actual will of the people, especially considering how little public opinion has on policy. As we look towards the general election, we also must look towards the future and building a system that actually represents the interests of the people.

What we are doing instead

Don’t vote, get organised!

We should not get invested in a system that is unable to break away from pandering to the rich. It pretends that power lays only in Westminster and not with the people.

There are many organisations that fight on specific and general issues to improve conditions and for a better system. Only by mass participation and organisation outside of parliament can we begin to challenge the British and international capitalist imperialist system.

Instead of election campaigns, we must build an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist United Front. All those that fight for the rights of workers such as renter’s unions, trade unions, anti-war activists and more must unite in their struggle against the policies of the British state.

In Hull, we ourselves are building a movement to fill the gap. We fight against cuts, for better housing, for better pay, against benefits sanctions, against imperialist war and towards building a movement to challenge the system that oppresses us.

Get involved in this movement! Join the Hull Communist Group!