MORAY MP CONDEMNS TORY BUDGET’S ‘CRUEL’ DISABILITY CUTS.
Angus Robertson, Westminster Member of Parliament for Moray, has stated his complete opposition to ‘cruel’ disability cuts that were included in the Westminster Tory Government’s budget this week.
The budget included cutting Employment Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 and changing eligibility to Personal Independence Payments, which will slash £130 million worth of support to disabled people in Scotland affecting 40,000 disabled people.
SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said this week that the Scottish Government is “fundamentally opposed” to the cuts to Personal Independence Payments announced by George Osborne yesterday.
The First Minister also made clear the SNP’s commitment to use the Scottish Parliament’s new powers to build a welfare system based on dignity and respect.
Moray’s MP Angus Robertson said:
“The wholesale destruction of the current welfare system by the Westminster Tory Government has horrified those who rely on the support it provides, it has horrified welfare campaigners and it has horrified the SNP.
“We continue to fight against these cruel cuts in Westminster, which are having a major impact on people here in Moray. I continue to get new welfare cases in my constituency office from individuals and families who are simply unable to cover some of the most basic costs.
“The Moray folk coming to see me are not scroungers or workshy, as some ignorant politicians and commentators would have us believe, instead they are hard working but low paid; they are folk who are seriously ill; they are folk who are disabled and they find themselves with no way out of a difficult situation.
“I will continue to oppose these heartless welfare cuts with the support of my SNP colleagues in both Westminster and the Scottish Parliament and I sincerely hope that the Tories will move away from the dangerous path they are currently following.”
Speaking in First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament Nicola Sturgeon MSP said:
“These changes to Personal Independence Payments are cruel on some of the most vulnerable people in our society. They are going to result in Scotland of around 40,000 disabled people being made worse off.
“And of that 40,000, two thirds could be worse off by almost £3,000 per year. And the remainder could be worse off by almost £1,500 a year.
“When these changes were first proposed in January, the Scottish Government, alongside a range of disability charities, made clear to the UK government that we were fundamentally opposed to these changes that would narrow the eligibility of benefits that support disabled people in their daily lives and we will continue to press this case.
“As power over disability benefits come to this Parliament we will make sure we build a social security system that treats people, particularly our disabled people, with dignity and the respect that they deserve.”