Peer: 'Words fail me' over disability benefit cuts

Baroness Campbell of Surbiton says "words fail her" that the government is pressing ahead with a £30 weekly cut to disability benefits in the face of opposition from the House of Lords.

The disability rights campaigner and cross-bench peer was speaking after peers backed down in their opposition to cuts to employment and support allowance contained in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

This came after ministers invoked powers of "financial privilege", which gives the Commons the right to have the final say on budgetary measures, to over-ride opposition in the Lords. Peers defeated the government twice on the issue but the elected chamber backed the cuts on three occasions.

The cuts in weekly support from £103 to £73 will apply to new ESA claimants in the work-related activity group, bringing the rate they receive into line with Jobseeker's Allowance. Campaigners says half a million people, some with severe disabilities, will lose out as a result.