Campaign win: Changes to PIP scrapped, thanks to your hard work!

Last week, we nervously waited for the outcome of the second reading of the UK Government’s Welfare Bill. But the government made the right call by scrapping the proposed harmful changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP). This was a huge relief for many of us.

Thank you

We couldn’t have achieved this win without our community. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone involved for all their hard work. We’re so grateful to everyone who shared their views on their personal or group social media channels, wrote to their MP, or got involved in co-production. You made us stronger by helping us to raise our voices as one.

We were clear from the start: the proposed changes to PIP risked pushing people with MS into poverty and worsening health outcomes. But together, we’ve stopped them in their tracks!

We estimate that we prevented a loss of up to almost £100 million a year for people with MS. If the PIP proposals had gone ahead, thousands of people with MS would’ve lost out on vital support.

Our campaign to protect PIP

In recent months, we’ve seen how powerful we can be when we campaign together. Our MS community sent thousands of postcards and emails to MPs and made hundreds of phone calls. Our campaign has been featured on TV and the radio and in newspapers across the UK.

We put so much pressure on MPs that over 120 challenged their own government – something we don’t often see!

This is a major victory, and everyone deserves to share in celebrating this win. We can’t thank everyone involved enough for their support on this campaign.

Keeping on the pressure

We’ve got PIP on the front pages, but we can’t afford to lose momentum. We must keep working together to call for a welfare system that works for, not against, disabled people. Last week we celebrated. Now we begin planning our next steps in this crucial campaign.

The government is still pushing through cuts to the Universal Credit health element. The changes will impact people with MS who’re no longer able to work and are on the lowest incomes. And the promised review of PIP, the Timms Review, will only serve people living with MS if it’s properly independent, fair and inclusive of disabled people. Over the next month, we’ll also see the results of the independent review of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) in Scotland, which could have a major impact on people in Scotland living with MS.

These reviews provide opportunities for us to make sure the government fixes the welfare system once and for all. Keep your eyes peeled for our next steps!

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Thank you again for all your incredible work. We achieved this together – and together, we’re powerful.