Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr MP, Steve Witherden, says he will vote against the UK Labour government’s plans to slash welfare payments, saying he has been contacted by hundreds of constituents who are ‘deeply alarmed’ by the proposals.

The reform plans for Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in March, with a vote due in June.

No details have been revealed as to how many people will be impacted.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Mr Witherden said: “There are some welcome changes in the Green Paper, including abolishing three-yearly assessments for the most severely disabled, proposals on Unemployment Insurance, a billion pounds for helping people get work, no freeze in PIP, the ruling out of the voucher system the Tories desired and a ‘Right to Try’, allowing disabled people to see how they cope with work without losing their support.

“The big picture, however, is that these changes will pull the rug out from under many of my disabled constituents at a time when the poorest and sickest in society face awful pressure on their living standards.

“Through changing the points scoring system, there will be a significant cut in the number of people eligible for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Many who already qualify for PIP will stop receiving it.

“I was a secondary school teacher for 20 years and an elected trade union rep since the age of 28. I know that honest work is a source of dignity and pride.

“This is true for disabled people as much as anyone else. It is also true that the benefits system helps those who can’t work go about their lives with dignity too.

“We do have a responsibility to encourage people back into work when ever-increasing numbers of people drop out of the workforce due to ill health. Mental health problems are the single biggest driver of this rise and represent the largest contingent of PIP recipients too.

“Around a quarter of working age people are no longer in work. This needs to be addressed. But the way to address is it not by further penalising the people who need the most help.

“There are 275,000 PIP recipients in Wales. That is around one in seven working age people, a higher proportion per head than in England. 7,367 of these are within Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr. Again, we face the sharp end of austerity.

“There are alternatives available for the government to meet its fiscal rules, not least taxes on extreme wealth, without which we will simply see the yawning gap between the ultra-rich and everybody else continue to widen.

“Without taking steps to address this we will be having the same debates in five, ten, fifteen years’ time, as wealth continues to flow away from the state and from ordinary people.

“I did not stand to be the MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr to make my disabled constituent’s lives harder. That is why I will be voting against the government over these plans.”