Voter ID rules are blocking people from casting their ballot at today’s local elections – including a Tory MP who backed tightening the requirements. Today (2 May) is a big day for democracy. Voters are going to the polls in 107 local authorities across England – while London, Manchester and eight other cities will decide who they want to be mayor. But not everyone has been able to cast a vote. Under rules introduced last year, voters across the UK are required to show photographic identification before being given their ballot paper – and the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) has already field ..read more

You can tell a general election is coming. In the last fortnight alone, we’ve seen a succession of announcements on ‘welfare’ as Rishi Sunak seeks to mobilise harsh rhetoric, underpinned by punitive policy pledges, to win him support at the polls. As well as committing to keep the two-child limit, a poverty-producing policy, which harms children simply because they are born into a family with two or more other children, Sunak has commenced an all-out assault on disabled people. He promises that his Conservatives will rip up a so-called sick note culture, reform the work capability assessment ..read more

While most London mayoral candidates centre their campaigns around being lifelong residents of the capital, one shiny example has travelled further than any other candidate to place his name on this year’s ballot. Intergalactic space warrior and part-time politician Count Binface is one of 13 candidates standing for the office of mayor of London for the next four years. His competition includes current mayor, Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party, and Conservative challenger Susan Hall. While Sadiq Khan made headlines earlier on the campaign trial by pledging £10m to end rough sleeping by 2030, Cou ..read more

Government plans for disability benefits cuts are already causing “unimaginable terror” among disabled and seriously ill people, MPs have warned. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) set out the reforms on Monday (29 April). Proposals include stopping regular personal independence payments (PIP) and replacing them with one-off grants or vouchers for things like home adaptations and expensive equipment. A 12-week consultation has been launched into the planned reforms, during which people from across the country are encouraged to share their views. Speaking in parliament on Monday ..read more

A record 145,800 children are now homeless in England as the country’s spiralling crisis has seen record-shattering numbers of people without a home. Official government figures show 112,660 households were living in temporary accommodation at the end of 2023. That has seen the number of homeless children skyrocket by 15% in the last year alone, with 19,460 more kids in temporary accommodation in the last 12 months. The spiralling homelessness crisis also saw a record-high 317,430 households assessed as homeless or at risk of homelessness by local authorities in 2023. Matt Downie, chief exec ..read more

The number of people rough sleeping in London has surged by a third in a year, official figures show just days before the London mayoral election. A total of 4,118 people were spotted sleeping rough on the English capital’s streets between January and March this year, according to the London Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain). While that’s down on the 4,389 people counted in the three months before Christmas, comparing the stats to the first quarter of 2023 shows a rise of a third in total, while the number of people deemed to be living on the streets long-term is up 36 ..read more

Millions of children are “inheriting poverty,” Big Issue founder John Bird has warned, calling for an “enormous mind shift” in how we tackle destitution. Lord Bird’s impassioned plea – made during a special debate in the House of Lords – comes as the number of children in poverty reaches record highs. A total of 4.3 million children are impoverished in the UK – a staggering one-in-three kids – up from 3.6 million in 2010/2011. And according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, around one million children lived in “horrifying levels of destitution”. In a special debate, Lord Bird called for a ..read more

The government has officially announced proposals which could see personal independence payments (PIP) replaced with one-off grants, as part of reforms which experts fear could have “dangerous” and “tragic” consequences for disabled people. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has today (29 April) launched a 12-week consultation into the plans, during which people will be invited to share their views. It comes as a green paper, Modernising Support, is published and sets out the proposals in full. Speaking in parliament, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said: “This government’s pr ..read more

The government is plotting reforms to the benefits system which could impact millions of disabled people across the UK. Changes to disability benefits could see regular personal independence payments (PIP) replaced with one-off grants or vouchers to cover costs of things like home adaptations or appliances. The plans have been called a “reckless assault” on disabled people by charities, which fear people will be plunged into deeper poverty and face further hostility as a result of government rhetoric. DWP sparks outcry as disabled people face end to cash benefits: ‘This won’t solv ..read more

Humza Yousaf has resigned as first minister and campaigners for rent reforms have warned it must not derail long-term commitments to deliver rent controls in Scotland. Tenants’ union Living Rent hailed the embattled Scottish first minister for delivering the “leadership we need” when he laid out plans to introduce long-term rent controls in September’s Programme for Government. But Yousaf quit after a year in the job as the fallout over the end of the power-sharing Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens left him facing a series of no-confidence votes. Announcing his resignation, Yousa ..read more