Unfair welfare: disability cuts will widen England’s north-south divide
Welfare cuts will hit the most deprived areas and the north of England hardest, with long term health and economic harms, write Clare Bambra and colleagues In her Spring Statement in March 2025, the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced several changes to personal independence payments (PIP)—a non-means tested benefit to help with the additional costs of living with a disability or long term health problem.1 The government’s proposals, which also impact on the carer and health related aspects of universal credit, are being framed as a strategy for economic growth and increased workforce participation.1 Beneath this rhetoric, however, lies an unavoidable truth: regions already weakened by austerity stand to lose tens of millions more from their economies and the most deprived and vulnerable communities will be disproportionately affected. The Pathways to Work Green Paper laid out proposals to reform several welfare measures that currently support people with disabilities and long term h
