A good reason to protest

As Lib Dems gather in Sheffield with the advice from Nick Clegg still ringing in their ears as to how they must get used to being protested against – rather than being the protestors – government figures show about 450,000 disabled people will see their incomes cut under a series of arbitrary changes planned for housing benefit payments.

From April 2013, working age people in social rented homes will see their housing benefit linked to the size of property that local councils say they need. The ConDem philosophy is that claimants should not be eligible for payments to rent the kind of properties they could only afford if they were in work.

Campaigners from a cross section of charities and disability groups - who will be protesting outside the conference hall today - fear that thousands will be forced from their homes as a result of what is seen as an attack on the poor. They argue that DWP assessments already show how up to 450,000 disabled people will be an average of £13 a week worse off as a result of the changes voted through in parliament following the Lib Dem “rebellion” which merely delayed the measures.

A spokesman for Scope, mental health charity said: "Under these proposals councils could decide not to provide any services to disabled people, including residential care and respite for families and carers. This is a very real threat to the lives, security and future of disabled people."

The government has delayed plans cut the travel money for disabled people in residential care from the existing Disability Living Allowance – but only because the DLA is due to be replaced with a new benefit under plans set out in the Welfare Reform Bill.

In his 2010 budget speech, Chancellor George Osborne claimed that housing benefit reforms would deliver savings of £1.8bn a year. This was subsequently revised to around £1.5bn – the same figure paid out in annual bank bonuses that year.

Update: Liberal Conspiracy has picked up on further evidence of how Lib Dems are backing off from taxing the rich but remain willing to penalise the less well-off.

Further Update: Conference sends a health warning to Clegg.