The rally will take over the centre of Bristol’s biggest shopping area on Saturday
Crips Against Cuts have been staging rallies and protests across the country, including this one in Newcastle in May 2025(Image: Simon Greener/Newcastle Chronicle)
Disabled and deaf people from across the Bristol area are staging a large demonstration in the middle of Broadmead on Saturday, which will culminate in a ‘die-in’ in protest at the Government’s plans to cut the welfare payments they receive.
The campaign group Crips Against Cuts, a grassroots, disabled-led pressure group, is holding demonstrations in towns and cities across the UK from 2pm on Saturday, June 7, and in Broadmead protesters will meet in the central square.
Crips Against Cuts say the planned cuts to PIP payments will negatively affect at least 1.2 million people.
“Seven in ten PIP claimants already live in families in poverty, in the poorest half of the income distribution,” said a spokesperson for Crips Against Cuts Bristol. “These cuts will be punitive and devastating for some of the UK’s most vulnerable disabled and d/Deaf people.
“Cutting welfare will punish those unable to work and fail to improve access to the workplace, instead plunging people into further poverty, exacerbating a growing mental health crisis, and worsening inequality, inaccessibility and a lack of support for disabled people in this country,” they added.
Beth O’Brien, from Crips Against Cuts, said the Government’s plans will leave almost three-quarters of a million people struggling to survive in poverty.
“This is nothing short of an assault on the dignity and rights of Disabled people in the UK,” she said. “Human life has dignity regardless of work or productivity. Removing entitlements which help pay for basic care and necessary support creates far bigger barriers to work and independent living.
“Charities have warned the new 4-point rule will leave 700,000 people struggling to survive in poverty. Without PIP, you cannot claim other disability benefits. GPs lose their vital role assessing and signing people off work, instead referring them to a ‘back to work program’ – not what you need alongside a new cancer or dementia diagnosis.
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“Instead of punishing disabled people, this Labour Government must invest in sickness prevention, research and treatment, and address widespread inaccessibility, prejudice and abuse. One in four working age adults have some form of disability, and most of us will experience disability in our lifetime. It’s time to cut the discrimination, not our lifeline benefits and access to society,” she added.
The protest is taking place in the middle of Broadmead between 2pm and 4pm with ‘crafts, music, ‘screaming’ and an open mic for all, and a ‘die-in’ at 3pm.
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