Polling suggests a staggering 75% of the UK believe the Government’s plan to take   PIP away from people who need it is cruel  

69% of respondents prefer the UK government to tax the super-rich rather than cut social security  

‘The message from the public is clear: poverty is a political choice, and this Government is dangerously close to choosing poverty and party politics over people’s rights’ – Jen Clark 

New polling reveals that the vast majority of the UK public opposes the UK government’s plans to cut disability benefits, as Amnesty International UK warns the proposed changes to PIP are discriminatory and fundamentally out of step with public opinion. 

Polling by Savanta, commissioned by Amnesty, reveals that 75% agree that taking PIP away from people who may need help is cruel - a view held consistently across all political, gender and age groups. 

The findings come as Parliament considers a Bill that Amnesty says would entrench poverty, discriminate against disabled people, and fail to meet basic human rights standards. 

Other key polling findings: 

• 94% of people living with a disability say cutting PIP is cruel. 

• 69% of respondents would prefer it if the UK government raised money through wealth taxes on the super-rich compared tocuts to social security. 

• 59% believe that cutting PIP will not help more people get into work - undermining one of the UK government’s stated goals. 

• 54% of UK adults say they do not support the UK government’s changes to PIP eligibility. 

Jen Clark, Amnesty International UK’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Lead, said: 

“The message from the public is clear: poverty is a political choice, and this Government is dangerously close to choosing poverty and party politics over people’s rights. 

“Across every age group, background, and political belief, people agree that cutting PIP is cruel and they can see these proposals for what they are - unfair, unnecessary, and unjust.  

“Disabled people are being targeted with harmful, ill-conceived changes that the majority of the public do not support. Taking vital support away from those who need it isn’t reform - it’s cruelty by policy. 

“We’ve said it before: poverty is a visible sign of a failing social security system. When the Government knowingly pursues policies that make poverty worse, it is deliberately violating people’s basic human rights. The Government is steering us even further away   from being a society that support those most in need.   

“Parliament must stand firm and refuse to back a Bill that risks rolling back disabled people’s rights and driving more people into poverty.” 

Despite some proposed changes limiting the cuts to new claimants, Amnesty is calling on all MPs to stand firm and reject the current version of the Bill and demand a full human rights impact assessment, meaningful consultation with disabled people, and genuine reforms that reduce poverty rather than deepen it. 

Amnesty’s key concerns with the Bill are: 

• Cuts and freezes will push people into poverty, especially disabled people and those on low incomes. 

• The Bill creates a two-tier system of support that deepens generational and economic inequality. 

• The Government has failed to consult with disabled people and has not published a human rights impact assessment. 

• PIP assessments remain discriminatory and unfit for purpose, with no guarantee that the upcoming review will address the reality. 

‘Consciously cruel' – UK’s social security system  

Amnesty’s recent report took a deep dive into the murky and divisive world of the UK’s social security system from the perspective of people’s human rights. The unique research examines violations of people’s basic rights to housing, food, education, healthcare and social security.   

The report ‘Social Insecurity’ was a collaboration with over 700 benefit claimants and advisors to provide a platform for the people most gravely affected and show how politicians are playing with people’s lives and ignoring our most basic rights.  

Regional polling results 

Across the UK, people agree that taking PIP away from those who need it is cruel (the regions are polled as subsets within the wider poll): 

• The North-West had the highest percentage of people in agreement, with a staggering 82% believing that PIP cuts are cruel.  

• This was closely followed by 80% of people in the South-East.  

• Of those polled in both Scotland and Wales, 77% believed that taking payments away from those who needed it is cruel and in Northern Ireland, the statistic was 74%.  

• Other results included 76% in Yorkshire & Humber and in the East, 75% in West Midlands, 72% in East Midlands, 71% in London and 67% in both the North-East and South-West.