Just weeks after forcing through cuts to ESA for people in the WRAG (Work-Related Activity Group), the Conservatives also announced swingeing cuts to PIP (Personal Independence Payment) that will negatively affect the most severely disabled people in the UK.
A group of 60 disability charities condemned the cuts to ESA, and other disability charities also attacked the Tories for their proposed cuts to PIP.
And now Tory MPs Kit Malthouse and James Cleverly have been told to resign their positions as Patrons for disability groups. However, one thing the Conservative Party probably didn’t expect is for their cynical cuts to affect their own.
Alas, Iain Duncan Smith and David Cameron probably forgot that the Conservative Party had their very own affiliated disability group. Yes, the Conservative Disability Group is listed on Wikipedia as being affiliated with the Tories.
It is unclear whether the group is officially recognised by the Party, but what is clear is that the founders of the group are either Conservative Party members, or supporters.
And you’ll never guess what’s happened now.
That’s right. The Conservative Disability Group have temporarily closed their website ‘owing to disability cuts’.
When clicking through to the website, you are now greeted with the message: ‘The owner of the hosting package Graeme Ellis has resigned over disability cuts from the group and will no longer develop or host this site.’
Well at least we know there’s at least one Tory a some sense of perspective.
