Bristol Disabled Community Mobilizes Against Government Benefit Cuts
Soon after the Labour government announced its planned cuts to disability benefits, I came across ‘Crips Against Cuts’ on Instagram – a movement that would soon transform Bristol’s disability rights activism.
I immediately felt represented by the term ‘Crip’. It’s a word that cuts through all the culture-war debates over medical terminology and identity, and seeing it made me hopeful we would be fighting for what’s right, not crumbs of liberation from our oppressors.
How Disability Radicalises Your Worldview
Being a Crip is a radicalising experience because you immediately start being treated differently by people. It affects how you view an individual’s worth, prioritise your time, and often limits how busy you can be. All these things mean you get a good insight into other people’s priorities, and a lot of time to reflect on everything you experience.
Several local groups formed under the Crips Against Cuts banner across the UK, with one of the biggest being in Bristol, to protest against the Labour government’s plans for drastic cuts to disability benefits. We all chipped in where we could to create a powerful day of education and resilience, based on the idea that it’s not Crips versus the people, it’s the people against austerity.
In the face of these planned cuts, intended to push disabled and unwell people into work and off benefits and which will have a devastating impact on so many, there is a growing movement of resistance that the government should fear.
Living on Disability Benefits: A Personal Story from Bristol
I grew up in a neurodivergent, working-class household in Bristol, which came with cycles of mistreatment by the state. I’m chronically ill, crippled in my skeletal structure, and mad. This is not a sob story.
I live on both PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and Universal Credit. Without these disability benefits, my health would perish and I would be at risk of becoming sicker than when I was bed-bound at primary school.
How Medical Trauma Shaped My Disability Experience
At the age of 6, I received an appendectomy which the doctors realised was unnecessary once I was already on the operating table. My health has never been the same since.
became unable to attend school and quickly became bed-bound in year 4. My dad had to stop working to care for me, leaving our family finances to dwindle.
My health fluctuates. It always has since those days, which was hard to comprehend as a child, let alone communicate. Since getting Covid twice within a month a few years ago, though, my symptoms are constantly disabling. Particularly my chronic nerve and joint pain.
After many years of difficult living situations, my family (now all adults) live and coexist together in Bristol. The family members that I live with do their best to contribute to my assisted living requirements.
Daily Reality of Living with Disability in Bristol
This isn’t easy when they have to work and cope with everything they have going on. Some things I need help with on a day-to-day basis include moving my wheelchair in and out of our front garden steps, cooking and cleaning up, and remembering to drink water.
Why the Labour Government Should Fear Bristol’s Disability Rights Movement
In the face of these planned cuts, there is a growing movement of resistance that the government should fear.
The Labour government’s planned disability benefit cuts announced in mid-March will push disabled people into poverty. They are proof that we are perceived only as an extension of their version of what life should be, and I am angry, both for myself and for all the people who are going to die and suffer deeply if they come into action.
But despite this, and despite still struggling every day without the treatment that I need, it’s empowering to know that I am exactly what the Labour government fears. As are all of those who are willing to resist these kinds of devastating cuts. We utilised this fear on 22 March, outside City Hall on College Green in Bristol.
Bristol Crips Against Cuts: Organising Accessible Protest
The March 22nd Bristol Demonstration
We had lots of beautiful speakers, both young and old, as well as Green MP Carla Denyer and representatives from Queers4Palestine, UNISON, DPAC, and Bristol Museums.
The open mic had an incredible reception, to the extent that we unfortunately couldn’t fit everyone in – but we definitely learnt how ready the wider Bristol community is to speak when given a platform and a microphone.
How to Make Protests Accessible: Lessons from Bristol
The day proved how easy accessibility can be at protests. We had FFP2 masks to hand out to (nearly) everyone, to help our immunocompromised comrades. We also had:
- A quiet zone set up with a windbreaker
- A wellbeing team available for supplies and first aid
- Referral for therapy for short-term support
- A dog with pink fur to match the wellbeing team’s pink outfit theme
We still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but we managed to organise all of this in just eight days. This was not just a moment of resistance, but instead a wonderful beginning of a disability rights movement in Bristol.
The Three Pillars of Bristol Crips Against Cuts
From what I’ve observed, Crips Against Cuts acts through three community pillars:
- Horizontal organisation: We believe that no one’s voice is more valuable, or has more authority, than anyone else’s
- Respect for those who fought before us: We draw on the intersectional struggles of Disabled, Mad, Queer and Black communities
- Mutual aid: We ensure that every Crip in our community can survive, and hopefully join in
All of these principles mean the movement is magical to take part in and watch happen— whether it be emergency mental health calls with comrades, providing support with accessing resources or just carrying someone else’s stuff home when they can’t. They help remind me that liberation is possible.
Join Bristol’s Disability Rights Movement
CUT THE RICH NOT THE CRIPS
Upcoming Bristol Crips Against Cuts Events
- Next Bristol Crips day of action: 26th April 2025
- Next event: 19th April 2025, PRSC The Space, Jamaica Street, Bristol
Connect with Bristol Disability Activists
BandCamp: JIGSAW EYES
Bristol Crips Against Cuts Instagram: @bristol_crips_against_cuts
Find Teo on Instagram: @cup.o_teodor
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