Welfare Reform

Connor Naismith Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Let us be honest: that is not what we are doing. I do not accept the status quo—it is miserable for people who can work, and miserable for those who cannot. That is what I want to change.

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for the tone that she has struck today. We are talking about people’s lives, not figures on a spreadsheet, and I hope to see that reflected in the delivery of these plans.

Disabled people’s trust in the system is low following 14 years of a failed punitive approach by the Conservative party, and speculation in recent days has left my constituents feeling fearful. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that those with the most severe disabilities—those who are genuinely unable to work—will be no worse off under these plans?

[Liz Kendall]

I can absolutely give that commitment. Many hon. Members have raised the issue of culture, which is about how people feel they have been treated and the headlines that they see in the papers. It is really important that we change that. I know that we cannot do so overnight, but the entire team in the DWP—our Ministers and officials—want to change things so that we can get people on a pathway to success.