Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride would ‘fundamentally overhaul’ PIP | Personal Finance | Finance
Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride has claimed his party would have pushed for a “fundamental overhaul” of personal independence payments (PIP) had they been in power.
During an appearance on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, he said: “So, on PIP, for example, we had already consulted when we were in government on reforms to personal independence payments, which included an array of different options, some of which we would have taken forward which would have saved more money.”
He further explained the contrast in approaches between his party and the current Government: “What this Government has done is they’ve changed the assessment arrangements to get PIP, that’s how they’ve made the savings. What we would have been looking at is a fundamental overhaul of PIP to make sure that, rather than being a blunt instrument about providing cash, almost irrespective of your condition or whether it continues on through time, we make it more targeted and we save more money.”
Pressed to clarify what “more targeted” meant, Mr Stride said: “What it means is that if you were on PIP, for example, and you had a mental health condition, a reformed PIP would quite possibly say ‘Trevor, rather than giving you amounts of money every year, we will actually provide you with treatment that will help you, and in particular help you, for example, if you’re not in work, to get into work’. So, a totally different approach, which will be better for you and better for the taxpayer.”
The conversation follows recent announcements by the Labour Government regarding changes to the welfare system, including alterations to PIP payments.
Earlier this week, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced that the PIP reforms would “focus support on those with the greatest needs. We will legislate for a change in PIP so people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP from November 2026. This will not affect the mobility component of PIP and only relates to the daily living element”.
She stated that the Government was “overhauling our safeguarding processes”, adding: “My objective is to improve the lives and life chances of sick and disabled people – for those who can work, to support them to get into work.
“For those who will never work, to protect them, switching off the reassessments that have been done to give them dignity and respect, and I believe that that mission not only to ensure that those who can work do work but to secure the sustainability of the social security for the long-term is precisely the responsibility of a Labour Party that founded the welfare state.”
