Labour's over-50s benefits crisis deepens as disability campaigners say inaccessible infrastructure is driving up the welfare bill

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026.

Anna Landre, a wheelchair user in her twenties, argues that PIP costs are high because politicians refuse to invest in accessible infrastructure, leaving disabled people with no choice but to rely on benefits to cover costs that better planning would eliminate. She points out that nearly two-thirds of London Underground stations lack step-free access, forcing disabled people to pay for taxis — one of the exact costs PIP exists to offset. The over-50s crisis is compounding Labour's welfare headache at the same time, with a growing cohort falling out of work before pension age and swelling the disability benefits bill further.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers says making rail stations fully accessible would add £176bn a year to the economy, for a one-off investment of £20-24bn.

Landre warns that underfunded social care forces families to quit jobs to fill gaps, pushing yet more people onto out-of-work benefits rather than reducing the bill.

Labour faces a welfare crisis on two fronts: a swelling over-50s cohort dropping out of work, and disabled people trapped in dependency by the very infrastructure failures ministers refuse to fix.