Voices: ‘I feel like an expensive pet’: Independent readers open up on the human cost of disability cuts

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will spearhead changes to the UK’s welfare system - (Lucy North/PA)

As Labour faces mounting backlash over plans to cut disability benefits, dozens of Independent readers have voiced fear, anger and despair over what they see as a betrayal of society’s most vulnerable.

Their comments reveal the human cost behind the headlines: carers facing destitution, disabled people fearing the loss of their last shred of financial independence, and a pervasive feeling that the reforms are not about support, but punishment.