Rachel Reeves’s plans to slash billions of pounds in disability payments will hit red wall communities hardest, according to new research.
The move poses a risk to Labour, which won back many of its traditional heartland seats at last year’s general election, having lost them to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in 2019.
The North East and North West of England are set to be the hardest hit. All of the top 10 most-impacted constituencies are located in the two regions and all are in the red wall, including Bootle, Birkenhead and Hartlepool, a report from the think tank Health Equity North found.
The areas that will be least impacted include Theresa May’s former constituency of Maidenhead.
The cuts have been hugely controversial. When the changes were announced by the chancellor last month, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimated that 400,000 fewer people would be eligible for personal independence payments (PIP), which are not linked to work, but designed to help with extra costs incurred due to a disability.
As a result of the changes, 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty, including 50,000 children, according to the government’s own analysis.
The think tank report found that the worst-hit constituencies would lose over £20m each year from the policy alone.
The constituencies with the highest losses also have the lowest life expectancies, which researchers said means health inequalities are likely to widen even further.
Clare Bambra, professor of public health at Newcastle University, said: “Those areas that will lose most from this proposal were already decimated by austerity, Covid and the cost of living crisis. They have worse health than other regions and their local services and economies are already struggling. Losses of this magnitude risk worsening the situation for everyone living in these deprived constituencies.
“Parliament cannot risk rushing proposals like these through without fully considering how they affect local areas that are already struggling.”
Another of the report’s authors, Dr Natalie Bennett, from the University of Sheffield, said: “The government has already indicated the broad impact it expects these changes to have on the country, if approved.
“By breaking the figures down by region, the report makes it clear that northern communities will feel the effects of these changes more keenly than other areas of the country. This will not only have an effect on the amount those affected can spend in the local economy, but also increase the strain on their mental and physical health.”
A DWP spokesperson said it was creating a sustainable welfare system that delivers proper support to help sick and disabled people “break down barriers, unlock work, boost living standards, and grow the economy”.
