Inside the town where PIP cuts could cost Wes Streeting his seat ...Middle East

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting‘s majority in Ilford North already rests on a knife edge and reforms to Britain’s benefits system could make things more difficult for him.

Potential changes to who is eligible to receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are likely to be of particular concern to voters who receive the benefit as the Government looks to bring down Britain’s £300bn welfare bill.

In Ilford, east London, the issue is well known. The 2024 general election saw Streeting narrowly avoid a catastrophic loss, scraping a win by just 528 votes more than the insurgent campaign by Independent runner-up Leanne Mohamad. Living in the constituency are 6,284 PIP claimants, according to recent analysis by The Times, roughly 12 times the number of people currently securing his slim majority.

Voters in the town, which sits on the border of London and Essex, told The i Paper what they really think about their local MP – and how much the issue of PIP cuts could affect his hold on the seat.

‘It’s going to create more worry and more stress’

At One Place East, a user led organisation for disabled people in the borough of Redbridge, Roopal Mehta said losing PIP would be devastating for her and others who use the service.

Mehta, 38, has recieved PIP since 2014, after suffering a stroke which impacted her mobility and has left her using a walking frame. She is now active at One Place East as chair of the wheelchair forum.

The process of securing PIP is already hard enough, she said, without the fear that it could be taken away at any moment. She suspected Labour’s reforms would have an impact on how people vote in the area.

“People on PIP basically just want to live life normally,” she said.

Mehta added cuts “create more worry and more stress. Already before the assessment, people are so worried. It’s going to affect a lot of people it it does get cut.”

The PIP review, lead by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms, delivered its interim report over the summer, calling for significant reform to the system which it decreed was “no longer fit for purpose”.

Under the current system, the four million people in receipt of PIP can receive as much as £194 per week, but there is now a widespread expectation that Andy Burnham will have to cut the number of people receiving PIP in order to make savings.

One Place East’s policy and liaison officer, Erica Miles, said many of their users receive PIP, with a significant number in Streeting’s constituency just down the road from the organisation’s office in the centre of Ilford.

Streeting had actually arranged for the organisation to speak to Timms during the review process, which Miles praised for being “genuinely helpful”.

What she worries about now, she said, is the backlash against PIP, with an increasing sense of ill-will from some towards those in receipt of the benefit for those who have trouble with everday tasks.

“People who come here need support. Some people have a physical disability, but some don’t. Some people are in crisis and it’s really hard,” she said.

Miles added “it already feels like people are making terrible choices between heating and eating,” adding many disabled people “don’t feel safe”.

Feeling the brunt of welfare cuts

Even those who do not directly recieve PIP said they were feeling the effects of welfare cuts and underfunding on essential health and social care services.

Vinay, 43, a cobbler in Gants Hill, said he did not vote for Streeting at the last election, and would not vote for him in a future race either.

He was particularly bothered by his MP’s record as Health Secretary between 2024 and May 2026, particularly with regards to cuts to health services.

Because of NHS underfunding, Vinay’s nine-year-old son nearly missed out on an ADHD diagnosis. It has made the world of difference to his son’s life, the cobbler said, but the unit where he was diagnosed was set to close the following month.

Majad Hussain, 53, is concerned about upcoming welfare reforms, expected to be set out in the coming weeks.

“It’s going to be devastating isn’t it. Inflation and interest rates are going to go up. If you take away PIP, how are they going to explain that?” he said.

Some think PIP reform is necesssary

Not all voters felt the same way, though. Marcia and Paul Hooper, both 73 and married for the past 51 years, typically vote Conservative, and did so at the last election.

But they had made the decision to vote tactically for Labour “for the first time ever” in the recent local elections and would do the same at the next general election if they felt that tactical voting was necessary to keep other opponents out.

Paul said it is clear that cuts to PIP and other benefits are necessary, saying: “There are some people claiming who really shouldn’t be.”

He did stress, though, that this should not come at the expense of those “who really do need it”.

On a bench in Valentine’s Park, retired history teacher Peter Sullivan, 66, said he disagreed with Streeting’s decision to quit Starmer’s government, but would vote for him again.

Sullivan said: “I did vote for him, I always vote Labour.”

He added there has been “a huge diagnosis of ADHD”, reiterating points from the interim report of the Timms review which suggested removing PIP from some recipients with ADHD and anxiety.

Brewing PIP rebellion?

While Sullivan remains a supporter of Streeting, he suggested that he may not have an opportunity to vote for him again in the future.

As the race for the seat is now so contentious, he predicted the party will send Streeting to run in a safer Labour seat, rather than risk losing one of their cabinet ministers to a close race which might not go his way.

Some have speculated that the Government could face another rebellion over planned PIP cuts by Labour MPs unwilling to make the unpopular move in at-risk constituencies.

When Keir Starmer’s government tried to slash its welfare budget last year, it was forced to make an embarrassing U-turn after its own MPs threatened not to back the bill.

According to the analysis by The Times, 212 Labour MPs, 58 per cent, have more PIP claimants in their constituency than their vote majority at the last election.

It presents a difficult bind for MPs, and particularly front benchers like Streeting, for whom PIP cuts could be future electoral suicide.

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