Over 100 UK Disabled Celebrities Oppose Planned Benefit Cuts

More than 100 of the UK’s most prominent disabled celebrities have signed an open letter urging Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to abandon proposed cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the health component of Universal Credit, describing the plans as "inhumane and catastrophic." The letter warns that these changes would strip vital financial support from the most vulnerable, push 700,000 families already in poverty into further hardship, increase social exclusion, and potentially lead to more disability-related deaths. It highlights that the cuts would also negatively impact thousands of unpaid carers by removing eligibility for Carer's Allowance and placing additional burdens on local councils, which rely on PIP for social care assessments. The signatories reject the government’s framing of the cuts as incentives for disabled people to work, emphasizing that disabled lives have inherent value regardless of employment status. The campaign, under the hashtag #TakingThePIP, calls on disabled and neurodivergent people to share their experiences, contact MPs, and advocate against the changes ahead of a House of Commons vote. The government argues that the reforms will save around £5 billion and encourage employment, but critics warn these measures amount to "cruelty by policy" amid a decade of austerity and pandemic-related losses.