DISABLED campaigners held a national day of action yesterday calling on the government to halt the roll-out of its “truly disastrous” universal credit (UC).

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Single Mothers’ Self-Defence and WinVisible activists demonstrated in Westminster against the national introduction of the new benefit system.

Large and angry protests were held in Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Manchester, Norwich and many other parts of the country.

Frasier Watt, who was attending the Westminster protest, was angry at the “chaos” that UC brings.

“If things are not already dire enough for people in this country, then this will make it worse for the already worse off,” he said.

“Universal credit has been truly hated and truly disastrous wherever it has been implemented.

“The government has to start treating the unemployed and the disabled with a bit of compassion and stop beating them with harsh measures that could drive many to their deaths.”

Audrey Wood-Byrne, a supportive passer-by, compared UC to “something from a totalitarian state.

“It’s treating people like they’re problems that need to dealt with rather than people who have been hit hard and are suffering. It’s a disgrace.”

Activists who couldn’t make the protest were asked to bombard the government with #StopAndScrapUniversalCredit tweets during yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

The benefit scheme, which is now being introduced nationally by Prime Minister Theresa May after being “trialled” in some areas, is highly controversial.

To date, the government has spent at least £15.8 billion on UC, with several billion more pounds expected to be spent on it before 2020.

This has led many to doubt the economic usefulness of such a scheme, with critics claiming that the entire project is an ideologically driven financial drain.

Protesters emphasised the human suffering at its heart. Once nationally implemented, the scheme looks set to affect more than seven million low-paid families.

In areas where UC has been tried out, such as in central Lancashire and south-east England, the number of people reliant upon food banks has soared.

The new insensitivity with which it treats women has also been singled out for criticism. Under UC, women only receive child tax credit payments for their first two children.

There are some exemptions, however, including forcing women who have had a child after being raped to fill out an additional eight-page form about the assault.

The number deprived of benefit money for more than three months also rose. DPAC claims that the petty, punitive measures enabled by UC are driving people to poverty and, sometimes, suicide.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting people into work while making sure the right care is in place for those that can’t.
 
“Unlike the previous system, universal credit provides tailored and flexible support that is focused on the needs of the individual. Transitional protections are in place for those transferring onto the new system, such as the two-week housing benefit run on, and 100 per cent advance payments are available so there is no delay in people receiving their first UC payment.”

• In an earlier version of this story, the Star incorrectly reported the length of the notorious “rape clause” form, and also incorrectly stated that it was the only exemption from the universal credit two-child policy.