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Reform UK's draconian plans to scrap Pip payments for people with anxiety are "already falling apart", Labour has claimed. Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, has pledged a sweeping crackdown on benefits , which he says could save £9 billion a year by 2029. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday alongside Lee Anderson MP claimed only those with serious anxiety should get benefits. However, while the pair promised all appointments would be face-to-face, a policy document from Reform admitted that only the “vast majority [of] assessments are face to face.” A Labour Party spokesperson, responding to Reform’s welfare policy announcement, said: "Like all of Reform’s policies, their latest plan is already falling apart. “It’s no surprise Reform don’t seem to know what their own plan is on face-to-face assessments, given their welfare chief Lee Anderson was a cheerleader for the Tories when they slashed the number by over 90 per cent. Labour is increasing them. “This Labour Government is determined to offer young people hope and real opportunities. Our Youth Guarantee will ensure that 18 to 21-year-olds have a real chance of either learning or earning.” Speaking during the conference, Mr Yusuf had said: “The caseload for new claims for under-25s in this country on Pip have tripled in five years. “So we are betraying our young people. Reassessments are basically not happening anymore. These young people are … being basically tossed onto a scrap heap for the rest of their lives.” MP Lee Anderson, the party’s welfare spokesman, said: “The alarm clock generation is now being replaced by an anxiety generation. “A Reform UK Government would fully remove those with anxiety disorders but not serious psychiatric disorders from Pip eligibility. "This would save the Exchequer £3.2billion per annum based on last year's figures and we will also make sure that every single assessment is done face-to-face Instead of going to work, they are “staying at home all day, courtesy of taxpayer-funded employment support, loans and personal independence payments”, he said. The pledge came in a press conference that also saw Mr Anderson admit he used to “game the system” to help people get on benefits. The Ashfield MP explained: “Before I came into politics, I worked for the Citizens Advice Bureau. We used to fill the form out for clients… I can tell you now, we were gaming system.” He said it was “a competition” between the adviser and the Department for Work and Pensions . The former Tory added said he knew advisers at the organisation who had “a 100% hit rate” on benefits forms and could get “the fittest man in Ashfield” onto personal independence payment.
