The British are a fair-minded people. They believe we should help people in difficulty. That’s why we have a welfare system.

At any time on any day, any one of our family might fall into need. But equally as a nation we don’t like cheats and fraud which we should crack down on.

But that is not what the government is proposing. They are saying that they will cut the welfare bill by £5bn a year. This can only mean that many truly vulnerable people will lose their benefits. Maybe it is your mum, your son, a neighbour or a friend.

Cuts to welfare for the sick and disabled will make life miserable for millions; it’s a cruel way to treat people. It is wrong both morally and economically. I will vote against it.

We’ve already lived through fourteen years of cuts under the Conservatives. The nasty party created a cold and cruel system that denied the poor and the sick the dignity they deserve. Nobody can defend such a heartless system.

The disability charity, Scope, has said that this government’s plans “will be catastrophic for disabled people’s living standards” and “should shame the government to its core.” Many trade unions have demanded a rethink.

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We live in a deeply unequal and unjust society. There is great wealth in our country but there are also huge amounts of poverty. This is not by chance. Our economy is designed to make the wealthiest richer at the expense of making working class people poorer. It's Labour’s historic job to put this right, not to make it worse.

We are better than this as a country. However there is a small crumb of good news. The government is consulting the country on its proposals. We can change their direction of travel. Make your voice heard. We can win this battle for the soul of our nation.