UK Welfare Cuts Face Backlash from Critics

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced significant welfare cuts projected to push 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty by 2030. The cuts are part of a £5 billion reduction in disability and sickness benefits, including freezing incapacity benefits for new Universal Credit claimants and reducing Personal Independence Payments (PIP) eligibility. Critics, including disability charities and economists, warn these measures will disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, potentially worsening poverty and increasing pressure on public services. Reeves argues that the cuts aim to encourage employment and that the government's £1 billion annual investment in employment support will mitigate poverty effects. Despite assurances, backlash continues from Labour MPs and anti-poverty organizations, who see the measures as counterproductive and harmful. These welfare reforms coincide with minor increases in other benefits, such as a 1.7% inflation-linked rise in some benefits from April 2025.