They Don’t Know

In 2010 the UK’s Conservative government announced the country was entering an “age of austerity.” Their plan to deal with the financial crash of 2008, a crisis caused by some of the wealthiest people in society, was to cut public spending that supported some of the most vulnerable people in society.

From 2010 to 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor George Osbourne and their cabinet went on a slashing spree and ordered cuts to welfare payments, housing subsidies and social services across the UK. The pair have since left office. George Osbourne is now the editor of the Evening Standard on a reported salary of over £500,000 and David Cameron brought about a catastrophic EU referendum before leaving to write his memoir with an £800,000 advance in his bank account.

Austerity policies and budget cuts have affected millions of people across the UK but they have disproportionately impacted the lives of disabled people. In 2013 the Disability Living Allowance for people aged between 16 to 64 was replaced with a Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This new system tests a person’s independence and ability to carry out certain tasks. Their benefits are then awarded on the amount of points they have. However, these points rarely illustrate the full story, as Monique Jarrett from our series explained. “I can do certain things like cook a meal because I’ve had to manage and adapt, but it doesn’t mean I should be doing them on a regular basis or that it’s safe,” She has seen the impact of the cuts first hand when it comes to care, disability services and transport. She continues, “These cuts are dangerous and they’re affecting real people’s lives in horrendous ways. There are people who have taken their own lives or sadly passed away after being assessed for PIP and losing their benefits. Politicians have no idea what it’s like.”

According to Unison, the UK’s largest trade union, disabled people have experienced a total drop in income of £500m since the Emergency Budget of 2010. Three quarters of disabled people said that losing Disability Living Allowance means they would need more social care support from their local council, but with severe cuts to public services they don’t have anywhere to turn. These changes to the system were supposed to bring about savings of £2 billion, but have actually ended up costing the government over £4 billion.

At the recent Tory party conference, current Chancellor Sajid Javid announced that the age of austerity was over. It was triumphantly delivered as if to say the work had been done and we can all move on. For millions of people this isn’t the case. Their lives have been irrevocably affected by Tory austerity policies and they’re still dealing with the traumas today.

For this series photographer Bex Day cast and photographed five people who have been affected by disability cuts and we spoke to them about the realities of living in a post-austerity Britain.

Thank you to Monique, Glenn, Jayne, Emily, Tony and his mum Paula.

Emily

I think people are scared of speaking out about this topic in case it impacts on their benefits. It’s already a struggle to get the care you need, you have to really fight for the quality care. One of the big problems is that I don’t think social workers and carers have enough time to get to know their clients and work out what care each person really needs. They have managers keeping track of them.

I want disabled people to be considered more when policies are being made. I don’t see any disabled politicians, I don’t see us represented in parliament.

I also think life is too short to take things too seriously, we should live in the moment more. I hope I put a smile on people’s faces when I talk to them. I like making people laugh.

Monique

I’m the co-founder of Triple-C, an arts-based company that campaigns to get true representation in the media. Politicians have no idea what it’s like to live with a disability, they don’t know.

I love music and dancing. I’m involved in Bee Vocal, a mental health choir. We sang with Emli Sandé at the Royal Variety Show.

I’d love to be able to educate just one person about living with a disability. Don’t judge, don’t assume and see the person not the disability.

Jayne

“Disabled people have experienced a total drop in income of £500m since the Emergency Budget of 2010.” - Unison

Tony

Tony loves life and people. He loves to chat, sing and play. He has swimming lessons and hopefully will one day be a Paralympian.He loves gymnastics and being outdoors.

As a month-old baby, Tony was left on the brink of death at the hands of his biological parents. He had multiple fractures that had been left untreated, his little body gave in to sepsis and he suffered multiple organ failure, but the incredible NHS worked tirelessly and saved his life. He came to us as a foster baby and we adopted him in 2016. He started to develop into a happy little boy, but sadly at the age of two he had to have both his legs amputated due to the horrific damage to them.

Tony was given an NHS wheelchair but he really needed an electric one. This then had to be funded by a charity which, in reality, shouldn’t have had to be the case. Day-to-day care and equipment costs are very expensive. Funding cuts really affect what people have access to and their quality of life.

As told by his mother Paula

Glenn

I have MS, but MS does not have me. I still have my good looks and sense of humour! Smoking a joint and listening to music makes me very happy.

Austerity and cuts to disability benefits affect the services and care that I can access. Politicians should try to live for a month in a disabled person’s environment. They should try the challenge of being confined to a wheelchair and try to do their everyday duties, including traveling into parliament.