THE announcement about cutting disability benefits will be terrifying to many people across Bristol – I’ve already had hundreds of people write to me about the impact the cuts will have to them or their loved ones. Across the country, research shows that these cuts will plunge 250,000 people into poverty.
I joined a ‘Crips against Cuts’ demonstration in Bristol, standing alongside disabled people to make clear that I’ll do everything I can to fight these cuts. I’ve also been in touch with organisations representing disabled people in Bristol to discuss the impacts of the cuts on them and their members – including a meeting with Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL), and in Parliament I met disabled people at an event hosted by Scope, to hear about their experiences with the benefits system and how the cuts will affect them.
These cuts are not just cruel but unnecessary, and I will take every opportunity to oppose them. In Parliament, I confronted Keir Starmer about this choice – asking why he is forcing disabled people to bear the brunt of this country’s economic woes rather than choosing to tax the extreme wealth of multi-millionaires and billionaires fairly. Sadly, he didn’t have an answer.
That question won’t go away, though. Last month I spoke alongside union leaders, campaigners and economists to call for a tax on assets above £10 million, which would raise up to £24 billion a year – nearly five times more than the government is hoping to save by slashing support for disabled people. My fellow Green MPs and I took this same message to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves – you may have seen pictures of us outside the Treasury with a set of scales representing how much more the wealth tax could raise compared to the welfare cuts. A wealth tax is a popular, common-sense idea – and I’ll keep pushing the government to take it up.
I’ve also continued to receive a lot of letters and emails from people in Bristol concerned about the crisis in Gaza. I secured a debate on the Israeli government’s announcement that it will seek to annex more land in Gaza, forcibly displacing Palestinians from their home, which is illegal under international law. And while I was pleased to hear the government condemn these plans, the minister would not commit to stopping all arms sales to Israel – something I’ll keep fighting for.
Meanwhile, I’ve been heartened as always to spend time in Bristol with people working towards a better world. I recently joined the St Werburgh’s Green Feast, where I took part in an event with ‘Nature Rising’, a Global Majority-led environmental project based in and around St Pauls. It was wonderful to share food and discuss how we can work together to tackle the climate and nature crises].
• If you live in Bristol Central and have a local issue you need support with, you can email me at bristolcentraloffice@parliament.uk or write to Carla Denyer MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA For enquiries about national issues email me using carla.denyer.mp@parliament.uk