Why the Tories think giving disabled people vouchers will be a vote-winner

With the government’s latest salvo against Britain’s ‘sick-note culture’, some disabled people look set to lose their monthly PIP payments. But, says James Moore, it’s a blatant misrepresentation of what the benefit is for – and the clearest indication of which section of society will be in the firing line come the general election

The work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said getting back to work is ‘good for mental health’ (PA Wire)

I’ve been searching for the right word to best describe the government’s latest raft of proposals to cut – sorry, reform… – disability benefits. Twisted? Cynical? Nasty? They’ll all do you. There are plenty more available in a good thesaurus.

For there is simply no sugar-coating what the Conservatives’ plans, as set out by work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, amount to: they are a calculated and vicious assault on disabled Britons.

As part of its wider crackdown on “sick-note culture”, disabled people – notably, those with depression or anxiety – face being stripped of monthly cash payments in favour of therapy, or having their monthly support payments given as vouchers, rather than cash.