Dusty Wentworth

An Introduction: Beyond Suspicion and Hostility Disabled people in Britain are living with the consequences of an underfunded NHS, a fragmented social care system and a political climate that has normalised suspicion and hostility. Public debate has shifted its focus to welfare spending, overlooking the human lives at stake. The result is a country where disabled people are routinely failed by the systems designed to support them. My life as a 52 year old father of three young children, living with complex neurological and psychological conditions following a catastrophic medical event, is a case study in how severely the British state is failing its most vulnerable citizens. Catastrophe and the Absence of Support In October 2023 my life changed instantly. A brain aneurysm ruptured at home, causing a subarachnoid haemorrhage. I collapsed and awoke in intensive care a month later. The rupture left me with an acquired brain injury that affects memory, cognition, processing an...

As a country, we pride ourselves on compassion and a commitment to supporting those in need. Yet recent rhetoric around welfare reform paints a deeply troubling picture—one that portrays disabled people as burdens and scapegoats for rising costs.   This narrative is not only deeply offensive, but also a calculated distraction from the real financial mismanagement taking place within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).   It’s time to challenge this unacceptable blame game and demand genuine accountability. The Stigmatising Language: An Attack on Disabled People Just this week, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch made comments that were, frankly, outrageous. In a speech on 10th July 2025, she criticised the Motability scheme, claiming:   “People are getting taxpayer-funded cars for having constipation.”   She further suggested that “food intolerances” and “ADHD and obesity” should not warrant support, and alleged that “90 per cent ...

“It’s the political equivalent of putting a fox in your henhouse and asking it to count the chickens.” This is precisely the scenario unfolding with the newly announced review of Personal Independence Payments (PIP)—a supposedly impartial reassessment of the benefits system, led not by an independent body, but by the very minister who oversees it: Sir Stephen Timms, Minister of State for Social Security and Disability. The government wants us to believe this review is about fairness and modernisation. But from where I’m sitting—in a wheelchair I never planned for, navigating a system I never imagined I’d need—it looks more like a politically controlled damage limitation exercise than genuine reform. A Review Already Tainted The review, announced just days before Parliament passed the controversial welfare reform bill, is set to run until Autumn 2026. It was presented as a concession—a reason not to worry about proposed cuts to PIP. But let’s be clear: appointing...

Imagine waking up tomorrow and discovering your essential support—your lifeline—is suddenly worth less than someone else’s. Not because your needs have changed, but because of an arbitrary date on a calendar. This is the stark reality now facing disabled people across the UK after last night’s parliamentary vote. Parliament voted 335 to 260 in favour of the government’s amended welfare reform bill. On paper, it passed with “concessions.” In reality, it passed with a chilling message: disabled lives are not equal—they are politically expendable. With that vote, the UK has solidified a disturbing new phase of social policy: one that brazenly creates a two-tier disability support system. A system where the date you became disabled now determines the level of help you receive. Not your condition. Not your needs. Not your humanity. Just your timing. This is more than policy—it’s precedent. What the Bill Really Does Under the new legislation, the split is clear: Existing claimant...