Action Against Cuts
- SMEFG
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
Sheffield ME and Fibromyalgia Group Joins National Campaigns to Fight Harmful Disability Benefit Cuts
The Benefits Team at Sheffield ME and Fibromyalgia Group is proud to announce that we are now members of two major national coalitions: the Disability Poverty Campaign Group and the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC).
The Disability Poverty Campaign Group is a network of Disabled people-led organisations united in the fight to end poverty among Disabled people in the UK. The DBC is a national coalition of over 100 charities and organisations committed to ensuring a fair and just disability benefits system.
As part of these coalitions, we stand in strong opposition to the government’s alarming proposals outlined in the recent "Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper." These proposals threaten to make sweeping cuts to essential support for disabled people, support that is already inadequate for many of the people we assist.
We are urging our members, supporters, and the wider public to:
Sign petitions
Write to your MP
Respond to the government’s consultation
Petitions
Scope’s petition can be found here: https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/the-cost-of-cuts
There is a petition backed by disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) that aims to unite opposition to the government’s disability benefit cuts and reforms by calling for every one of the measures to be abandoned. You can read more about this here.
An open letter to the PM
Campaign for Disability Justice have created an open letter to the PM that you can sign.
Write to your MP
Inclusion London has created a simple tool to help you contact your MP. You can personalise your message by sharing your experiences, but if you’re short on time, you can send the letter as it is.
There is also a letter available for family, friends, professionals, or concerned members of the public who want to support disabled people.
Early Day Motion - Write to your MP
Green Party MP and former co-leader Siân Berry has proposed a cross-party motion in Parliament calling for a welfare system based on dignity and respect, and for the Government to stop scapegoating Disabled people.
This cross-party motion, or Early Day Motion, as it's known in Parliament, needs the support of MPs to pressure the Government to drop their harmful benefit cuts agenda. You can find out more here.
Emma Kirby our Benefits & Social Care Senior Adviser has wrote a template letter you can use to write to your MP in relation to the Early Day Motion. You can find this here.
MP's are more likely to read/respond to letters that aren't mass produced, therefore, we recommend writing your own letter If you're able.
Demonstrations
Disability Rebellion are holding an online protest to support the People’s Assembly protest on 7th June from 12pm onwards on all their platforms. The links to all their platforms are here: https://linktr.ee/disabilityrebellion
People’s Assembly National Demonstration (in-person) - Saturday 7 June 2025, Central London. Anti-austerity march to oppose Labour government cuts, more information can be found here: https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/
Please contact Carrie Hedderwick about the Sheffield Coach to London for this demonstration hedderwickc@gmail.com
Respond to the Consultation
Deadline: 11:59pm, 30 June 2025
We encourage responses to the consultation:
Online submission: via the DWP’s consultation portal. Go to www.gov.uk and search for Pathways to Work or click the link above
By email: consultation.pathwaystowork@dwp.gov.uk
By post: Pathways to Work Consultation, Disability and Health Support Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions, Level 2, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9NA
The DPO Forum England has released an in-depth explainer on the Benefits Green Paper.
We are also working with Disability Rights UK, contributing to their co-produced online consultation response sessions to ensure that the voices of people with ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, and Long Covid are heard loud and clear.
If you want to share your story with us at SMEFG about how you may be affected by the proposals, please get in touch emma@sheffieldmegroup.co.uk
