Suffolk DPAC to organise demonstration outside Ipswich Town Hall to protest Government PIP cuts

Disabled people and supporters will take to the streets of Ipswich next weekend to protest Government cuts to disability benefits.

Suffolk DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) will organise a demonstration outside Ipswich Town Hall from noon to 2pm on April 19.

It is being held in protest at Government plans to slash personal independence payments (PIP), set to come into effect in November 2026.

Martin Tolley, from Suffolk DPAC, described the cuts as an attack on disabled people.

He said: “We are protesting because the Labour Government has brought in so-called welfare reforms.

“Anyone could become disabled at any point. This is just another exercise in bashing disabled people. We've been putting up with this since 2010.

“Between 2010 and 2024, we estimate there have been about 200,000 deaths of disabled people due to disability cuts.

“Under these reforms, more disabled people will die, more will be kicked out of their homes and local councils will have to take up the slack, which could lead to an increase in Council Tax. They’ve not really thought this through, that’s why we’re protesting.”

Under the new system, claimants will require at least four points in an activity to quality for support.

Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that 370,000 current PIP claimants could lose access, while a further 430,000 future recipients would not get the claims they otherwise would have, with an average claim of £4,500.

It estimated that a further 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be in relative poverty after the cuts.

Figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimated that, as of the 2021/22 financial year, 31 per cent of disabled people lived in poverty.

This is partially attributed to the higher costs associated with being disabled.

The DWP also said that the number of people in the UK with a health-limiting condition increased 41 per cent since 2015, to 8.7 million people.

This includes 1.2 million 16 to 34 year olds and 500,000 50 to 64 year olds.

The Government has said the changes to PIP would save about £5 billion and would aim to get people working again.

On March 26, the national DPAC organisation organised a demonstration in London to protest the changes.

At the Ipswich protest, Suffolk DPAC will be joined by colleagues from Norfolk.

In addition to money, Mr Tolley said losing access to the daily living portion of PIP could rob people of key amenities such as a bus pass, rail card or Blue Badge.

Mr Tolley worked in archaeology for 20 years but now suffers from Ankylosing spondylitis – an inflammation of the spine and other parts of the body – and Iritis, which can cause blurred vision.

He added: “We’ve chosen this day because that will be when MPs are back in their constituencies.

“What the Government are doing is what the Tories were doing, but on steroids and if they let the bull out of the ring.

“We want the Government to do a u-turn, to admit they made a mistake. But we expect they’ll say one thing and do another, against the interests of disabled people.”