6 February 2023
The UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, announced his resignation following statements that social benefits for people with disabilities would be reduced as part of Chancellor George Osborne's budget measures.
In his statement, Smith drew attention to the fact that cutting the social benefits paid to citizens with disabilities under the latest budget measures in the UK was “indefensible”.
Noting that the single-party Conservative government placed too much emphasis on its austerity policies, Smith said: “I cannot passively watch certain policies being implemented in order to meet a set of targets. I believe more and more people think these steps are being taken for political reasons rather than economic ones.”
Under the budget measures announced in the UK this week, payments made to citizens with disabilities under the heading of “personal independence payments” (PIP) are to be cut by 4 billion pounds.
This planned cut in the budget is expected to affect 640,000 people with disabilities directly.