After a picture of 64-year-old Stephen Smith’s emaciated frame went viral, the Department for Work and Pensions apologised for passing him fit to work. It was the latest example of how reforms to disability benefits are hitting some of Britain’s most disadvantaged people. The Guardian’s Patrick Butler explains how we got here. Plus: Polly Toynbee welcomes Jeremy Corbyn’s move towards backing a new Brexit referendum

Stephen Smith has a chronic lung condition, osteoarthritis, an enlarged prostate and uses a colostomy bag to go to the toilet. But despite all this, he failed a Department for Work and Pensions work capability assessment in 2017, which meant a cut to the welfare benefits he received.

The tests, which are carried out by a private contractor, have been blighted by controversy. Statistics published in 2015 showed that almost 90 people a month were dying after being declared fit for work.



With nowhere else to turn, Stephen contacted Terry Craven, a benefit claims adviser at the Community Advice Services Association, who took up his case. He describes how his intervention helped Stephen win his appeal.

The Guardian’s Patrick Butler looks back at how major reforms to disability benefits begun under the previous Labour government have resulted in welfare payments being removed from some of the country’s most disadvantaged people.



Plus, in opinion, Polly Toynbee welcomes Jeremy Corbyn’s move towards backing a new Brexit referendum.