27 February 2014
War on Welfare (WOW) petition secures debate in House of Commons.
What: A parliamentary petition by the War on Welfare (WOW) campaign, calling for the government to carry out a cumulative impact assessment of its cuts on disabled people, secured more than 100,000 signatures. This leads to a debate in the House of Commons, led by Labour’s John McDonnell.
Why significant: It is the first time that disabled people have secured a debate in the main chamber of the House of Commons on an issue they had chosen. The government continues to refuse to carry out such an assessment.
Citations
'Welfare Reform (Sick and Disabled People)', 2014
'WOW petition debate: Government refusal is due to ‘fear of revolt’', Pring, 2014