PIP claimants will see huge changes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a massive shake-up to the welfare system in the Spring Budget. One disability activist has shared her story
A woman revealed what it’s really like being disabled in 2025 Britain – as she condemns the latest government cuts to PIP and Universal Credit.
Disability advocate and journalist Holly Fleet, 30, who is known as ‘Stoma Babe’, was first diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis – a form of IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) – four years ago.
Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic inflammatory condition that causes inflammation and ulcers within the lining of the large intestine, which can lead to a whole array of nasty, and often life-threatening, symptoms.
Holly was on the “brink of death” after experiencing a bout of complications with the condition, that ultimately caused her rectum and colon to become inflamed and led to the perforation of her bowel.
She was rushed for ‘life-saving’ surgery in November 2021 where she had a stoma bag fitted – a pouch that essentially collects poo. The disability advocate then underwent a proctectomy, where she had her rectum sewn shut leaving her with a ‘Barbie bum’.
Despite the above sounding traumatic, the stoma surgery not only gave Holly her life back, but a new lease of life altogether. During this period of time of deterioration of health and hospital admission, Holly struggled to even make it out of bed.
But, she was still not eligible for PIP (personal independent payment) – which is essentially extra money for those with a physical and mental disability to offset costs of their condition, regardless of employment status.
Holly, who collectively boasts over 160,000 TikTok and Instagram followers, has now spoken out regarding Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ controversial Spring Statement announcement.
The disability advocate blasted: “They’ve [the government] announced that they want to cut billions of welfare spending for those living with disabilities even though inflation is increasing life costs non-stop.
“They’re making out that it’s just so easy for people with disabilities to claim PIP. When DWP did a 2024 survey themselves they found to be 0% PIP fraud.
“So why are they so obsessed? Why do they think the people are claiming fraudulently? Do you know last year they disallowed nearly 330,000 PIP applications. Can you imagine how many of those people live with absolutely debilitating chronic conditions?”
The government payment is rewarded on a points system, but now it’s getting major reform – something that has been condemned by disability campaigners and charities.
Usually, to successfully claim PIP, you need to undergo an assessment to determine what tasks you struggle with and how your condition affects your daily life. This is done using a points system.
Yesterday (26 March), Chancellor Rachel Reeves stood in front of Parliament to lay out her Spring Statement, where she laid out several cuts to the welfare system that could affect over one million Brits financially and is billed to save the government £4.8billion by 2029-30.
It’s a bid by the government to not only to save money but to get people ‘back into work’, with Reeves stating these welfare cuts will ‘lift people out of poverty’ and put a focus on stabilising the workforce.
However, her own government has stated that these changes to welfare could push 250,000 into poverty.
The Resolution Foundation has warned that changes to criteria of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) could see between 800,000 and 1.2million people lose support of between £4,200 and £6,300 annually by 2029-30.
In Holly’s emotionally-fuelled TikTok clip, she laid out her own personal experience when trying to claim PIP and the general ‘increasing intolerance’ she has personally witnessed as a disabled person.
She continued: “I’ve been turned down for PIP, I’ve never received PIP. But there was a period in my life where genuinely there was not a single chance in hell you could have got me working.
“And people do work with PIP as well, PIP is used for extra costs. People always question that – why? If you have a physical disability, do you know how expensive life is? It costs so much money!
“They keep stressing about going back into the work force, but guess what? The work force doesn’t want disabled people – they’re not interested.”
Holly’s post has racked up thousands of views and likes from disabled people sharing their own stories of struggle, and their fears about losing or having their PIP decreased.
It’s a sentiment shared by many disability charities in light of the Spring Statement. Crohns and Colitis UK, who Holly has collaborated with, explained that they are already aware that the “benefits system isn’t working for people with Crohn’s and Colitis” and are currently being “let down.”
However, they predict that these changes to criteria to PIP will only “make things even harder.”
Holly concluded: “Workplaces don’t want to make adaptations, they just want people who are going to work and not complain and do the job and work all kinds of hours.
“We used to have this flexible working just after Covid and during Covid, that’s going out the door now. Most companies want you in a chair five days a week.”
“So if you’re suffering, how on earth do they expect you to do [work]?
“Most job roles aren’t suitable for people living with disabilities and companies don’t want to make adaptations so I ask you, Rachel Reeves, whoever else is deciding all of this, what do you want disabled people to do?
“You want to take away their money, do you want to create any jobs for disabled people – do you want us to die?
“It feels like you want us to be penniless and punished.”