The government is keeping secret the location of venues for public consultations about the Pathways to Work Green Paper.  Individuals who manage to get a ticket will be informed of the venue by email only after bookings have closed, presumably in an effort to reduce the possibility of demonstrations taking place outside.

Tickets are now available for nine in-person events between 30 April and 24 June in London, Manchester, Plymouth, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Reasonable travel costs will be reimbursed for those attending in a personal capacity.

People hoping to get tickets may be greeted by a notice saying the event is sold out or closed, even though it isn’t.  The organisers say that “To ensure we hear from a range of voices ticket releases will be automatically staggered so please check back later. “  There is no indication of what the final date for bookings will be.

There will also be a series of six virtual events.  However, each of these is very limited in scope, dealing with a single chapter in the Green Paper such as “Supporting people to thrive”.

More information and links to booking forms are on this page.

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      · 2 days ago
      @Scorpion Even Monty Python's crew could not have it done better! The whole of the government and their civil services minions are not their for public service but for self service!
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      · 2 days ago
      @Bern400 "The millions of benefit claimants affected by Labour’s planned changes to welfare will soon be able to have their say on the controversial package, but with one crucial catch: they aren’t allowed to talk about the planned cuts.

      I like that!

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    · 2 days ago
    I think this has been planned for long time ive read forums from a few year back saying they were changing benefits system in 2025 so I think whatever government we got were going to do something with sickness benefits and when the Tories Got beat by not consulting with public in proper manner labour have done just that and believe they Will get the votes they need to make it law it's very sad I'm an amputee and severe rheumatoid arthritis changing goal posts like taking away daily care but leaving mobility in place very clever meaning you will still get your blue badge but lose others ways basically taking other support off you leaving people with no choice to look for work I can't get me head round it all it's like been set up too fail terrible it's the harsh reality of it all they Will be seeing what you can't do and what can do and that is what I was reading back in 2023 I'm just going to accept what is coming I'm dreading it 
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    · 3 days ago
    Am I the only one who thinks that disabled people as a whole could benefit from a single social media account that retweets all the news stories, petitions, etc, that are being published from dozens of different sites and accounts.  I realise that's exactly what is happening on this site - but it doesn't get anything like the amount of traffic as X or Facebook or even Bluesky.   
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      · 2 days ago
      @Anon Good suggestion SLB, however, Zuckerberg’s pivot to active support of the Trump Administration makes me allergic to Facebook. This site is specific, if it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.
      Benefits and Work doing a superb job.
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      · 2 days ago
      @SLB Great idea. A central point of communication.
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    · 3 days ago
    Well Done gingin

    However, in MY situation my care is via Adult Health and Social Care and they commission the care firms who attend

    Believe me the care workers I have are totally IGNORANT to what we as clients are being put through. At the moment., by the proposals. 

    Indeed upsetting an elderly lady to the point that they care for to the point where she was suicidal.

    Indeed I have NEEDED to contact social workers to request that they pass onto the care firms that they commission to request that care workers STOP upsetting the clients that they deliver care to by their absolutely ignorant and dangerous comments.

    I ADMIRE you for all that you are doing you CARE FOR A LOVED ONE. As so many relatives do care for their loved ones often having to give up their own careers as I have heard from so many on this site and you being their voice is ADMIRABLE and I KNOW you will make those 5 minutes count.

    However, a lot of us are cared for by strangers as in my situation and it can be horrific.


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      · 1 days ago
      @DJ Hi DJ
      The abuse should be reported to their line managers, their agency area supervisor, and also the county social care services if it is doing damage to the person they are suppose to be caring for. They get paid low wages but they certainly get a lot more then their actual patients and should only be doing the job if they are dedicated towards helping people not as a mean to only make a living. I do feel many of the care workers are not trained or dedicated enough and are people who would not be employable in other work. We need better trained and better paid staff who are dedicated towards care!
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      · 2 days ago
      @James Hi James

      You are absolutely RIGHT but it is NOT stopping the abuse in the interim.

      It only seems to be pockets of like minded people who get it because we are going through it.

      Your posts are always encompassing everyone 

      Thank you for that.
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      · 2 days ago
      @DJ Personally I would tell those agency based care workers that there jobs are also at risk, because no benefits for people means no money for care assistants and thereby they will lose their jobs too or a good proportion of them
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    · 3 days ago
    Can you sign and share this link please 

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      · 2 days ago
      @Anon I signed that petition and then found another petition further down the list demanding a general election so I signed that one as well.

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      · 2 days ago
      @Anon I have but very disappointed, do far, with the small number of signatories. By comparison, well over 100,000 signed a petition calling on the Government to raise the tax threshold to £20,000. We MUST become as vocal at the ballot boxes as the pensioners are.
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      · 3 days ago
      @Anon Done. 
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    · 3 days ago
    This idea that disabled and sick people are scroungers and it is costing the tax payers money while they work is a disingenuous one designed to take away your own protection and rights. Nobody will live forever and nobody can predict what will happen to them during the course of their lives or those of the lives of their friends and families. You may get cancer, have a heart attack or end up with a incurable disease and then you will be left on your own to die or eke out a meagre living because others will then say you are a scrounger and are costing them too much while not realising their own human frailty. If you are not rich but an average person you will suffer and end up in abject poverty and despair because you will have cut the very protections there are for your own self and those of your own children, parents, and friends and make this a much poorer and worse society where every person is out for themselves in a dog eat dog world.

    When you attack the people who are sick and disabled you are in fact attacking yourself because like everybody you are frail and you can never predict what could happen in the future. Perhaps you may have an accident, or have a stroke, or a heart attack, or develop depression, or even have a mishap during a medical procedure. You just don't know. By attacking the very system that protects you, you will unwittingly end up paying for it one way or the other. So don't listen to our politicians as they are soothsayers who speak not for you but the very rich and will get rid of your rights and protection in order to do what they please to you!
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      · 2 days ago
      @CJA Thank you. We the current people who are disabled and ill are not just fighting for us but also for all future people who today may be well or yet unborn. The "benefit" is an insurance policy for use by anybody who may end up needing it and the people who deny it to us are really the crooks. We don't need politicians who come up with schemes to swindle us but those who exist to do public service for us and the future generations to come. To hell with the corruption and lets bring in people who have values that are dedicated towards honest public services rather than chameleons and blood suckers who pretend to be but are there to line their own pockets and those of their masters. It is time politics was for the people not for the rich and privileged!
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      · 2 days ago
      @James Very well said sir an excellent point and very accurate. If your fit and healthy physically and mentally then everything in the gardens rosey but anything could happen illness, accident, mental health or a bereavement then you too would need the benefits system. There's too much of the government pitting the taxpayer against the benefits claiment. I've been both so I completely understand the situation.
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      · 2 days ago
      @James very well said James
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    · 3 days ago
    "At least three legal firms are examining ways in which they could support disabled people and their organisations to challenge some of the government’s proposed cuts to disability benefits in the courts."

    From Disability News Service:

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    · 3 days ago

    From Disabled People Against Cuts Facebook site 
    Official Petition please share widely 
    I've signed this as well as others



    Petition
    Protect Disabled people who cannot work from planned cuts to benefits
    We want the Government to halt all planned benefit cuts for disabled people unable to work. Instead of reducing benefits, we want them to rise in line with inflation. We want support, not hardship and deprivation, for those who cannot work.




    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/721547?fbclid=IwY2xjawJknpBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmtuex7oeXBTqFLx4GyezuL9_LAiKpNy5FuZC3kcD3625YKQKu0kup06GPi4_aem_67mXOLqk3kaN3F9NzprctA



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    · 3 days ago
    Hi Why I admire all the people who are commendable in standing up to the Government what about people like myself whose main income is CB ESA ? To merge 2 benefits into one JSA and ESA and making it time limited will mean I will lose £600 a month and for people like myself in the support group. The point is not about just cutting PIP/ADP (in Scotland) . Benefits and Work Team deserve commendations for their hard work and dedication and support. It is all the welfare cuts are unjust as everyone knows. I am worry not for myself but for other disabled people in difficult circumstances. My heart goes out to all of you who have so much courage and strength to make your voices heard and it upsets me that all disabled people are being treated this way and how the proposed measures will impact on them. Thank you to everyone for making your points and the kindness and support of all who work at the Benefits and Work Team in the  valuable contribution they make.
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      · 2 days ago
      @Anon Article 54 of the green paper suggests the time limiting of CB ESA is only for new claimants by saying:

      "Alongside levelling up the rate, this change would end the indefinite entitlement
      to contributory ESA for those assessed as having limited capability for work related activity (for new people claiming). Those unemployed after the time limited period would be able to claim UC, depending on their personal
      circumstances. We believe this reform would align with the removal of the
      WCA, by offering a route to financial support for those with temporary and
      short-term health conditions, including for those who may not be entitled to PIP
      and therefore not entitled to the health element of UC."

      You can read it here: 

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      · 2 days ago
      @Jamie Hi there, thank you for your answer in regard to CB ESA, but due to my own financial circumstances I will not get UC. Those who receive income related benefits receive more than those who rely on contribution based benefits as a sole income apart from receiving either PIP/ADP. People and others like myself on CB ESA  will not be protected. While I appreciate your very polite and kind reply all of us as disabled people irrespective of our disability or circumstances will be impacted by these changes. All the benefit changes being proposed are unfair to all disabled people. I feel worried and anxious not about myself but those who are less fortunate. By only standing collectively and uniting together can disabled people make a positive message by opposing the proposed changes through the Green Paper Consultation. Again I send my heartfelt thanks to the Benefits and Works Team who work so hard , are kind and positive and are brilliant at the support they give to all disabled people. Thanks to all disabled people who are so courageous to tell their own stories of and my heart goes out to everyone full of support. Thank you to one and all for what you do to give support to one another in these difficult times we are experiencing. 
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      · 2 days ago
      @Anon @Anon I am also on CB ESA and will possibly stand to lose a similar amount to you alot is said about PIP which I get but only mobility but virtually nothing about CB ESA and what will happen to those of us set to lose that with the time limited period, and then nothing.
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      · 2 days ago
      @Anon You won't lose anything. Yes, it's time limited, however, you will just move to UC on the same amount.
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    · 3 days ago
    From Disabled People Against Cuts Facebook site 
    Official Petition please share widely 
    I've signed it


    Petition
    Protect Disabled people who cannot work from planned cuts to benefits
    We want the Government to halt all planned benefit cuts for disabled people unable to work. Instead of reducing benefits, we want them to rise in line with inflation. We want support, not hardship and deprivation, for those who cannot work.




    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/721547?fbclid=IwY2xjawJknpBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmtuex7oeXBTqFLx4GyezuL9_LAiKpNy5FuZC3kcD3625YKQKu0kup06GPi4_aem_67mXOLqk3kaN3F9NzprctA





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    · 3 days ago
    Just a quick note to say that the House of Commons is currently in their Easter recess.  The recess dates for the next two months or so are:

    Easter - 8 to 22 April
    May bank holiday - 1 to 6 May
    Whitsun - 22 May to 2 June

    If you want to contact your local MP during these dates it may be worth contacting their constituency offices.
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      · 2 days ago
      @Matt How long has a bank holiday lasted six days? 
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      · 3 days ago
      @Matt You wonder why they bother turning up at all, but I guess we should be thankful for the holidays - at least they can't do much harm during them.
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    · 3 days ago
    Disabled People Against Cuts
    I meant to put
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 3 days ago
    It remains important that we don't treat the consultation as merely a chance to bash the government. I know it is tempting! There are questions in there where we can press for transitional protection if we lose benefits. That could be hugely important, and it's mentioned in the green paper. But we don't want them to say "no-one mentioned it so we didn't go through with it."
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      · 2 days ago
      @Slb I agree with Gingin, you start playing their game talking about transitional protection and you are giving them tacit approval, you are admitting defeat and acceptance. If they don't realise themselves that there must be transitional protection then they are even worse than I think already. 
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      · 3 days ago
      @Slb My post of my consultation answers wasn’t meant as a bashing- my motivation is to expose the deceit and to move them
      to shame and a change of direction, although obviously my anger comes across loud and clear. Perhaps it’s the wrong way to go about it, but I don’t like being lied to, or the public being lied to, especially when it is a means to violating the basic human rights of disabled people. Everyone will have their own approach and I do get your point. I feel like accepting that transitional protection is needed is giving them permission to take these proposals foreword though. Just my opinion. 
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    · 3 days ago
    Correction to my previous post about taking part in an APPG emergency meeting on 7th May - its the APPG for Carers, not for Poverty and Inequality. I've emailed 5 APPGs so i'm getting mixed up!
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    · 3 days ago
    Labour are doing this to save money but also to been seen as sweeping up the Welfare scroungers. Because there is votes in that. Sorry to be doom and gloom but we are pretty much on our own. Some chap was on here telling us it will be okay and lambasting the naysayers for ages (he doesn't post so much now) but we haven't the public on our side.  From the middle class saying why are my taxes paying for these malingers to the working class on minimum wage saying those so and soes are getting as much as me. Don't shoot the messenger. This is what we are up against; I see it and hear it. So do you. How do we change the perception.  We can't. We never will. I say this through gritted teeth. I'm a realist. But we must however fight our corner. Do everything we can. And action those charities to do so. 
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      · 2 days ago
      @SLB Well I do. A couple saying not to worry it might be okay giving people false hope. And yes lambasting the naysayers like myself for saying this is not going to be okay, this is going likely to be bad, and I was criticised for saying that, being told you don't know, you could frighten people saying that. Nobody was trying to "scare the crap" out of people I was trying to be honest and realistic. There were some others the same. No I wasn't 100% but it was fairly obvious this was going to be bad. 
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      · 3 days ago
      @Ala To be honest, voting Labour was the best of a bad bunch at the election.  Remember that a year ago we were facing no PIP money at all, and with it all being replaced by vouchers.  Nobody could have foreseen what Labour have come up with, though, and part of me wonders if the people who came up with these ideas even understand how the system works. 
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      · 3 days ago
      @James Couldn’t agree more James 
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      · 3 days ago
      @MJ They are wrong, people who they are targeting will NEVER vote for them!   Such peolple are telling me-dissabled: we've told you dont vote Labour, don't trust them!  
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      · 3 days ago
      @MJ I don't remember anyone on here saying it will be ok, or for lambasting naysayers.  What they were saying was to not scare the crap out of people months before any announcements were made, and to wait for the announcements.  I really fail to see how all of that talk and rumour in the months leading up Kendall's speech helped anyone. 
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    · 3 days ago
    I just had a call from the media assistant for Carer's UK, having previously agreed to engage with their campaign against these proposals. She said they are working urgently to mount their campaign. She asked if I would be willing to speak to a Guardian journalist who she's meeting this afternoon and I said yes, but will discuss with husband about how I would do this (share photo or not etc). She also asked me to take part in an in person emergency meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Poverty and Inequality on 7th May in Westminster. I would have about 5 mins to speak. So i'm booking leave from work to do that now. 
    If any carers have points they think I should make, please let me know. They will probably only want to hear about my personal experience but it would be helpful to know any points I should include anyway about how in general these proposals will affect carers and their families. 
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      · 3 days ago
      @gingin I’m sorry it’s  the Carers APPG, not the Poverty and Inequality one (I got mixed up because I originally emailed 5 of them) 
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      · 3 days ago
      @Pixelmum Of course (-:
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      · 3 days ago
      @gingin Hi gingin, firstly I would like to say thanks for agreeing to speak with carers uk and taking it further with the all parliamentary group at Westminster, I was asked if I would like to take part too but it wouldn't be possible, even though I want to do all I can to show my support for against these cruel cuts. As a carer to my disabled sister I am worried sick about these proposals, what the future will hold for us if she loses her pip and lcwra and I would lose my carers allowance and council tax support. I recently had to give up my job of 24 years to care for her when our mum passed away, she was her carer and now we could have our benefits taken away. Just how does the government expect carers who cannot work live without benefits? How are we going to pay the bills,  rent, food etc? If you could raise these points when you speak I would be grateful. Once again, thanks for considering other carers and good luck. 
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      · 3 days ago
      @gingin Well don gingin, please let us know how everything goes!
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      · 3 days ago
      @gingin One thing very relevant to this as it relates to care is that it will trap people, particularly women, in domestically abusive situations with burnt-out carers, as people won't be able to pay for care after they lose their PIP. 

      I know a number of people in this situation where they were reliant on PIP to change the caring situation and now cannot leave. The 4 point rule worsens this as it means carers have to be in more constant attendence to merit points. Carer burnout is a real problem and though most do an amazing job it must be factored in as Disabled women are twice as likely to face domestic abuse.
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    · 4 days ago
    Just been on Instagram, and there is an advert from Amnesty International about how the poorest 10% in the UK pay proportionately more than the richest in taxes.  Then it says:

    "According to the UK government's own analysis, 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty by the latest social security cuts.  Call on the prime minister to stop the cuts now."

    I can't link to it, but thought people would be interested to know it's there.

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      · 1 days ago
      @Anon The real figure is 2 million though. Losing PIP is bad, but needing PIP daily living to get LCWRA is abhorrent
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      · 3 days ago
      @Anon It's just numbers on a screen to them.
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      · 3 days ago
      @Slb It's 400,000 according to JRF.

      Nearly half a million.

      Disabled people.

      No big deal, is it?
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    · 4 days ago
    I know there are people saying they are despondant, depressed, and don't see a way forward.   I realise it's easy to be despondant, especially when everyone else on here is as well.  Me included.  

    But I think we should take some solace that there are little tiny movements - rumblings, if you like - in our favour, or that might help our cause.  We're only four weeks in - there's another eighteen months to go before any of this might kick in.  And benefit changes are notorious for being pushed back for one reason or another.  So I want to list what I see as tiny positive things to try and give some form of hope.

    Anyway, my positive rumblings...  

    1.) There are two inquiries within parliament - one about poverty and the disabled in general, and one about the cuts specifically.  Formalities?  Well, neither HAD to happen, so probably not.  

    2.) Despite Trump hogging the UK news cycle, there have still been prominent pieces about the benefit cuts on the BBC, and in the Indpendent and Guardian in the last couple of days.  And the interview with Timms linked to in the BBC article is an embarrassment.  I'll provide the links to the recent news articles at the bottom of this post.

    3) There is the prospect of humiliating defeats in the elections next month. If councillors etc who lose their seats are reporting back to the govt that it's due in part to the disabled vote, then that might cause some significant issues for the parliamentary party - and might result in more MPs coming out against the cuts.

    4.) Starmer had to defend the cuts yesterday in front of the committees, and the same repeated lines seem to be wearing thin with the MPs who were questioning him.   It wasn't reported positively in the press.

    5.) There is still a backlash after both Darren Jones and Rachel Reeves made references to the cuts as pocket money.  That hasn't gone away.  

    6.)  The backlash from charities seems to be increasing rather than going away. 
     
    7.)  The govt has been criticised again - this time for not having the accessible versions of the consultation ready at the same time as the regular version...despite it being about disabilities.

    8.)  I think the virtual and in person elements of the consultation (which we didn't know were happening until this week) allow for the govt to get a much bigger sense of how the disabled feel about what's going on. I don't think they realise the bashing they are likely to get. 

    9.)  There are various petitions etc to sign, and a couple of sites asking for evidence from us about how we feel about what's going on (including benefits and work, of course). 

    10.)  These changes still have to go through the commons, the committee stage, and the Lords.   There is still hope that there will be amendments to it following the commons debates or when the Lords get their hands on it - and the Lord (agree with them existing or not) caused the last govt quite a lot of problems.  I'm not saying the changes won't go through.  They will.  But a few changes here and there through amendments, while letting the government keep its dignity and not do a complete U-turn, may well be of use to us.  


    Here's some of the articles from the last couple of days in the more serious news outlets.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/labour-benefit-cuts-vote-when-april-pip-b2729582.html





    Sorry for the essay!!!
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      · 3 days ago
      @Neil Cook That's if it goes through as a "money bill."  Some here think that will be the case, others don't.  I don't think anyone knows at this stage.  I don't see how changing PIP eligibility fits into a money bill.  The parliamentary website says that "A money bill is a bill that in the opinion of the House of Commons Speaker is concerned only with national taxation, public money or loans."    Either way, whether its a money bill or not depends on the view of the speaker of the Commons.  I guess we'll find out some point soon!
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      · 3 days ago
      @Anon Aw I love this community too, because we together understand how difficult this is and i feel less alone because of that. But i'm one small drop in the ocean in this opposition fight - I hope everyone will do what they can to shout as loud as they can. 
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      · 3 days ago
      @SLB Good stuff, Shane.
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      · 3 days ago
      @SLB In terms of Lords delays, isn't Starmers trying to put these changes through via an Act of Parliament rather than a Statutory Instrument which effectively accelerates it's passing and massively limits anything the Lord's could do? Basically I think he's running scared coz he knows the Lords would most likely tear it to shreds 
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      · 3 days ago
      @SLB Thank you, really appreciate you doing this 
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    · 4 days ago
    "If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is partly because that is the road they generally start out on."
    -Stephen G. Post