'This feels like an attack', protests in Glasgow over spring budget welfare cuts
But the chancellor insists every household will be £500 better off.
Dozens of activists have been protesting outside the Ministry of Defence building in Glasgow today.
They’re unhappy about the cuts announced by Rachel Reeves in the budget.
In her spring statement, the Chancellor announced that the health element of universal credit would be halved and frozen for new claimants.
“This feels like a universal attack on disabled people."
Speaking to Clyde 1 at the protests, Euan Mitchell from Disabled People Against Cuts said: “This feels like a universal attack on disabled people.
“Across Scotland, there are carers, disabled people and people who work with disabled people who are terrified that they’re under threat of losing their jobs or services.
“It’s a significant change, it’s one of the biggest changes anyone in the movement has ever seen.”
It comes a week after controversial changes to disability payments were announced.
The budget watchdog says Labour's cuts to welfare services will save nearly five billion pounds.
"Why does money always need to come from the poorest?"
However, these cuts come with an increase in defence spending, which led to the protests outside the MoD this afternoon.
Mitchell added: “My question is always ‘why does money always need to come from the poorest in society?’.
“It’s fairly unavoidable to identify the fact that war creates disabled people, both here and abroad – injuries, disabled people.
“The reality is that soldiers are going to be coming back injured to a gutted welfare state and getting no benefits.”
Other demonstrators said they're fed up with 'going through the same vicious cycle of reductions every few years' and that they feel that ‘choices have been made’ which say that disabled people and their carers 'do not deserve this money'.
'Every household will be £500 better off.'
The Department for Work and Pensions own analysis of the changes says ‘it is estimated that in 2029/30 there will be 3.2 million families – some current recipients and some future recipients - who will financially lose as a result of this package’ and that ‘ there will be an additional 250,000 people (including 50,000 children) in relative poverty’.
But the chancellor insists disposable income will be twice as high by the end of the year, and every household will be £500 better off.
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