9 h. ago Voices: ‘I feel like an expensive pet’: Independent readers open up on the human cost of disability cuts

Our community says disability benefit cuts will ‘break people,’ leave carers ‘destitute,’ and cause a human cost many say is being ignored

Politics

24 h. ago Starmer braces for biggest backbench rebellion yet as ‘horrendous’ welfare cuts spark immediate backlash

Charities warned Keir Starmer’s cuts will drive disabled people into poverty

Politics

5 d. ago ‘On a peak under a blue sky’: the joy of summer in Europe’s mountains

Our writer recalls his favourite mountain experiences, from hard-won views to splendid isolation and the comforts of simple refugesAfter a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises.I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn’t be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Voices: Dear Vix: I feel ashamed to admit it – but I really don’t like my parents

Do you have a problem you would like to raise anonymously with Dear Vix? Issues with love, relationships, family and work? Email dearvix@independent.co.uk

Politics

9 d. ago In limbo: families hoping for change to UK income rules for spousal visas

The migration advisory committee is due to release a review of the UK’s minimum income requirement for family visas – currently set at £29,000. Many British families are in a state of enforced separation. Family visas represent just 5% of total UK visa applications, yet are a key focus of a migration crackdown. Working with Reunite Families, photographer Frankie Mills documents the lives of nine families whose stories illustrate the human cost of this policy thresholdThree weeks ago, Keir Starmer said the UK was at risk of becoming an “island of strangers”. But for countless British citizens across the country, that isolation is already a lived reality by design of immigration rules that force them to choose between their homeland and family.The minimum income requirement dictates how much a person needs to earn in order to bring their non-British partner here. Set at £18,600 for a decade, the Conservatives announced plans to raise it dramatically to £38,700 before backtracking afte...

Politics

2 w. ago Voices: I went to a DwP benefit cut consultation: Here’s what I found

Attendees were told how important their views were – but it speaks volumes that we were handed leaflets with the number of the Samaritans on it, writes James Moore

Politics

2 w. ago 'There will be more Jodeys': Mother of disabled woman who killed herself after her benefits were cut urges Labour to rethink plans to slash welfare

Jodey Whiting, 42, from Stockton-on-Tees, had been asked in January 2017 to attend a work capability assessment before her payments were stopped, but she was not well enough to go.

Events

2 w. ago Housebound disabled woman who killed herself after her benefits were cut left notes saying she was unable to pay her bills and had no food, inquest hears

Jodey Whiting, 42, from Stockton-on-Tees, had been asked in January 2017 to attend a work capability assessment before her payments were stopped, but she was not well enough to go.

Events

3 w. ago Almost 300 killed or badly hurt by speeding drivers in N Ireland in four years

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins described the figures as a ‘sad and stark reminder of the human cost of speeding’.

Events

3 w. ago Labour is taking the Pip – and disabled people have had enough | Cherylee Houston

I am in tears reading the stories of what might happen if these further cuts go ahead, which is why I’ve joined forces with others to demand actionDisabled celebrities urge Keir Starmer to scrap ‘inhumane’ benefit cutsWhy have so many deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent public figures pulled together to launch the campaign #TakingThePIP?Every area of life as a disabled person is difficult – employment, social situations, healthcare, education, transport and by far the most pervasive and arduous: other people’s attitudes. Everything is a fight, but this feels like a fight too far. If Labour goes ahead with its proposed benefits cuts to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment (Pip) and reduce or lose the health element of universal credit, many people in my community don’t know how they will survive. Make no bones about it: this could be a matter of life and death for some people. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Disabled celebrities urge Keir Starmer to scrap ‘inhumane’ benefit cuts

Exclusive: More than 100 people including Liz Carr and Rosie Jones sign letter criticising Pip and universal credit changesMore than 100 of the UK’s most high-profile disabled people, including Liz Carr, Rosie Jones, Ruth Madeley and Cherylee Houston, have called on the prime minister to abandon “inhumane and catastrophic plans to cut disability benefits”.In an open letter to Keir Starmer before a planned Commons vote next month, they argue that the government’s plan to reduce eligibility to personal independence payment (Pip) and the health component of universal credit is a matter of “survival” and “basic human rights”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Marks & Spencer blames ‘human error’ as cyber attack set to cost £300m

The high street retail giant halted orders on its website and saw empty shelves after being targeted by hackers around the Easter weekend.

Economics