Thank you very much to everyone who came along to our event on Thursday 22nd May 2025 at Mitcham Parish Centre. Almost 50 people attended, including Disabled residents, supporters of our work, local professionals, two Liberal Democrat Councillors, staff and trustees.
Unfortunately, the MP for Wimbledon, Paul Kohler, and the MP for Mitcham and Morden, Siobhain McDonagh, were unable to attend, to hear directly what people had to say. However, Paul has agreed to meet with us at a later date, and we are hopeful that Siobhain will do the same.
At the event, our Policy and Campaigns Manager, Pippa Maslin, shared a summary of the government’s proposed changes to the benefits system, and then chaired a discussion about what the changes would mean for Disabled people receiving PIP (Personal Independence Payment), UC (Universal Credit), ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) and/or JSA (Job Seeker’s Allowance).
You can read a summary of the proposed changes here.
The collective feeling was that:
1. We are already navigating a hostile benefits system, the extra costs that come with being Disabled, and inadequate Access to Work processes.
2. The proposed changes would create huge financial difficulties for people who are already finding it difficult to pay for the basics, and have an extremely negative impact upon people’s health and wellbeing.
As the event progressed, it became clear that people want to see changes to the benefits system, but not what the government is putting forward. People want a simpler and more humane benefits system, and think that a lot of work needs to be done to help employers to provide meaningful opportunities for Disabled people before any changes to benefits are explored.
We will use everybody’s comments to inform both our response to the government’s consultation and our engagement with the two local MPs, in the hope that we can influence those who are elected to represent us.
We urge you to share your views with your MP and your ward Councillors:
Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon, Paul Kohler:
- 020 7219 0496
- House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, Siobhain McDonagh:
- House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or 1 Crown Road, Morden, SM4 5DD
Find your ward Councillors here.
If you were unable to attend the event, there is still time to let us know what you think.
During the event, we asked people four questions:
1. What do you think of the government’s proposals?
2. If the government goes ahead with making the changes that are proposed, how will it affect you and/or people that you know?
3. If you disagree with any of the government’s proposals, do you have any suggestions as to what should be done instead? If yes, what do you suggest?
4. Are you planning to make your views known to anyone after this meeting? If yes, what are you going to do?
Please share your thoughts with Pippa, in a format that works for you – email, text, WhatsApp message, voice note, video, drawing or photo.
Email: pippa@mertoncil.org.uk
Phone call/text/WhatsApp: 07884 232391
Our Chair of Trustees, Estifanos, said: “This event has shown us how powerful it is to come together to address issues impacting our community. Our hope is that the discussion and the actions planned demonstrate that we will do all that we can, together, to challenge the government’s proposals.”
Please keep an eye on our website and social media for content from those who attended the event, as well as further developments.