Tell your MP: Vote NO to PIP cuts
MPs will soon vote on harmful cuts to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - a vital disability benefit that helps people severely affected by mental illness cover the extra costs of living with a long-term condition.
The government's proposed changes will make it much harder for people to qualify for PIP. Carers could also lose Carer's Allowance.
These cuts could strip essential support from those who need it most.
Many people severely affected by mental illness tell us they use PIP to access private mental health treatment because NHS waiting times for mental health care are too long.
All this is happening while 1.6 million people are stuck on NHS mental health waiting lists.
Many MPs have spoken out against these cuts – but we need to keep the pressure on.
Please tell your MP: Don’t cut disability benefits – cut mental health waiting times.
Follow these steps to email your MP:
-
Find your MP and their email address here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
-
Email your MP - Here are some pointers to help you write your email:
-
You may want to open your email by stating that you are a constituent and that you are writing to urge your MP to vote against the government's proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), expected on 1 July.
-
If you feel comfortable doing so, share with your MP how the upcoming changes to PIP could impact you or a loved one. Sharing your own story in a few lines can help bring this issue to life for your MP.
-
You could also make your MP aware that the changes, which include adjusting the PIP scoring system and cutting access to Carer's Allowance, would strip vital support from those who need it most.
-
Let your MP know that the government's aim to get more people into work cannot succeed without action to tackle mental health waiting lists.
-
Emphasise that people need timely care to be well enough to work - not cuts to the support they rely on. Don’t cut disability benefits – cut mental health waiting times.
-
To finish your email, you could urge your MP to stand up for constituents who are severely affected by mental illness by voting against the damaging proposals when they come before Parliament on 1 July.
-
Remember to copy the Rethink Mental Illness campaigns team when you email your MP: campaigns@rethink.org.