Disabled Tory Activist Quits In Budget Protest

George Osborne has claimed disabled people are getting more benefits every year despite the £4.4bn cuts to payments for the country's most vulnerable announced in his Budget.

Speaking on Sky News, the Chancellor defended himself against accusations made by a Tory member and disability campaigner that he was "robbing" disabled people.

Among signs of unease over the move from some Conservative backbenchers, Mr Osborne said the disability budget would rise every year in this Parliament and that benefits to the most vulnerable would increase.

However, he said changes had to be made to the way Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were assessed after an independent report indicated they were needed.

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Labour has estimated the measures will see 200,000 of the 640,000 disabled people denied benefits worth £3,000 a year that help people get dressed and washed, and find work.

Mr Osborne told Sky News: "If you look at the numbers, we are spending more in every year in disability benefits, the amount of money going to the most disabled is going up.

"The disability budget is going up every single year of this Parliament."

However, Mr Osborne, who was forced to about-turn on his tax credit cuts, suggested he would be willing to listen to proposals and "ideas" from others on the measures.

Conservative party member and campaigner Graeme Ellis resigned his position and brought down the website of the Conservative Disabilities Group, an affiliate of the party, in protest at the cuts.

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He told Sky News that he felt the Chancellor was "robbing the vulnerable to pay the rich" by simultaneously cutting disability benefits and raising the 40p income tax threshold.

The 59-year-old, from Lancaster, said: "The first thing I saw from George Osborne's budget was his announcement on Personal Independent Payments (PIPs), then I saw that he was offering a tax cut to higher earners.

"I thought: 'He's robbing the vulnerable to pay the rich.'"

Mr Ellis, who has diabetes, neuropathy and a visual impairment, added: "I no longer want to be a Conservative. I'm disabled first and that's the corner I'll continue fighting."

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Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: "Up to 600,000 disabled people could lose over £100 a week.

"I think that's unacceptable and the reason it's unacceptable is because that's paying for a cut to Capital Gains Tax for the richest 5% in our country."

Mr Osborne's announcement has sparked anger from disability groups.

Parkinson's UK policy adviser Phil Reynolds said the cuts would be "devastating".

He said: "Thousands of people with Parkinson's, who rely on aids and appliances for basic tasks like using the toilet or dressing themselves, will now find PIP even tougher to claim.

"Instead of being able to receive the support they so desperately need, they're being penalised and shut out at every turn."