Today, there are nationwide protests against planned cuts to support for disabled people. This is the statement of support I sent to the organisers of today’s demo in Norwich.

“Friends,

Let me say this clearly and without hesitation: I stand with all those that refuse to be made invisible.
I stand with all those who fight for a society where we have social security, not a survival-of-the-fittest ideology dressed up as fiscal responsibility.
And I stand with those who understand austerity always has and always will be a choice.

But while the prospect of more austerity in the upcoming Spring Statement is a policy choice—it is also a moral failure.
It’s an attack on the dignity, rights, and livelihoods of people already hit hardest by more than a decade of cuts.

We’ve been here before. Under the false banner of “balancing the books”, successive governments slashed support for those who needed it most—while the wealthiest hoarded obscene profits. Disabled people were scapegoated, marginalised, and made to fight every inch for what should have been guaranteed rights.

This cannot happen again. Not on our watch. Because we should know by now you cannot balance the books on broken backs.

Welfare is not charity. It is solidarity. It is the mark of a decent society. And when that safety net is torn apart, it is not only disabled people who suffer—but the very foundations of our shared humanity that begin to unravel.

So I say this to the Chancellor: we do not accept anyone’s austerity. We do not accept the targeting of disabled people to pay for an economic crisis they did not cause. And we will not sit quietly while the basic right to live with dignity is eroded for the sake of arbitrary fiscal rules designed to protect the interests of the wealthy.

To all those protesting today: your fight is righteous. Your courage is undeniable. And your voice must be heard in every corner of this country and in every chamber of power.

I will continue to stand with you—in Parliament, in protest, and in the struggle for a society that puts care before cuts, compassion before ‘fiscal discipline’, and people before profit.

Solidarity always.
Clive Lewis MP”