I spoke during the Third Reading of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill, opposing this legislation and supporting amendments that would have removed £2 billion of disability benefit cuts. I was one of over 100 Labour MPs putting my name to a reasoned amendment to throw this legislation out the previous week. In response to this rebellion, the government made an eleventh-hour u-turn, withdrawing billions of pounds of proposed cuts to Personal Independence Payments.

However, even after these changes, a range of concerns remained. Fundamentally, this legislation would strip £3,000 a year from people who are too ill to work and largely on low incomes. We are talking about people living with severe illnesses like Parkinson’s, bipolar and MS. This decision would only deepen the poverty many already face.

I supported a range of amendments to strip out these cuts and improve safeguards for disabled people. Amendments I backed included:

• Amendment 38 to protect those with fluctuating conditions, tabled by Rachael Maskell (York, Labour)
• New clause 8, tabled by John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlingon, Independent) and new clause 11, tabled by Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge, Labour), which would fix concerns about the Timms review by ensuring it is followed by primary legislation and by mandating its implementation and co-production with disabled people.
• Other amendments that I supported included those protecting carers and those ensuring that due regard is given to the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The entire process of this bill has been a mess, which showed desperation and disregard for those it would impact. Even at this late stage, dropping this legislation would be a better option than rushing changes through without thorough consultation and due consideration.