Sweeping cuts to disability benefits will have a “catastrophic” impact on some of the country’s most vulnerable, MPs have warned.

Up to 800,000 people stand to lose support entirely under proposals from the Department for Work and Pensions, while the poorest disabled claimants could be stripped of as much as £886 per month, it is claimed.

The stark warning comes from the cross-party group of MPs on Poverty and Inequality, who say the reforms – part of Labour’s ‘Pathways to Work’ green paper – will make a “dire situation” even worse for families already struggling with soaring bills and hardship.

Siân Berry, Green MP and co-chair of the parliamentary group, said: “Disabled people are already squeezed beyond belief, they’re already living in much deeper poverty [than the general population]… The new proposals will make things much, much worse. The government needs to start from scratch. It’s just a disaster on every front.”

The plans have sparked alarm from all corners – with campaigners, charities and more than 40 Labour MPs urging ministers to abandon the changes, branding them “impossible to support”.

Last week, in an apparent bid to defuse a brewing revolt on the Labour backbenches, Welfare Secretary Liz Kendall offered “non-negotiable” protections for the most vulnerable. These include a 13 week transition period for those who lose Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

One submission to the APPG’s inquiry said: “The cuts/changes to eligibility for PIP will decimate my life if they go ahead. It will cost me £8,400 a year. How am I meant to survive?”

Another wrote: “In short: people will die. It remains to be seen if I’ll be one of them because, if things go ahead as planned, I don’t see a way forward.”

The APPG’s report found evidence of widespread “deep fear” among claimants, with many describing suicidal thoughts.

The government has insisted the proposals are aimed at encouraging more people back into work, with Ms Kendall telling Parliament that “millions who could work are trapped on benefits”.

But Ms Berry countered: “PIP helps so many stay in work. And they’re talking about restricting it. It doesn’t make sense.”

Even government-backed forecasts estimate the cuts will drive 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – into poverty. Independent analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggests the real figure could hit 400,000, with 100,000 of those children.

Disabled people are already twice as likely to live in poverty, and more than a quarter (26%) experience food insecurity – nearly three times the rate of non-disabled people. On average, they face over £1,000 a month in extra costs for essentials like heating, travel and care.

One respondent cited in the report warned: “Countless governments have said we’re going to provide work coaches and get disabled people into work. It never works. A small minority of people may get into a job, but most employers do not want us.”

Resolution Foundation analysis suggests the shake-up may result in just 38,000 to 57,000 additional people in work by 2029-30 – a modest gain, critics argue, at huge social cost.

The APPG is now calling for the plans to be scrapped entirely, urging ministers to raise benefit rates to reflect real-world costs of living with a disability.

Ms Berry said: “Many people know the solution, which is to find more money through taxation to restore the social contract, the social safety net that ought to be provided by those with the broadest shoulders.”

She added: “Apart from the people leading this – Liz Kendall, her department, and the prime minister and the chancellor – there must be other cabinet members who are arguing against this. Local councils are going to be left to pick up the pieces. And so I hope Angela Rayner is providing some opposition within cabinet, at the very least.”

While Labour has come under fire for the benefits cuts, both the Conservatives and Reform say they would pursue much bigger cuts to the welfare budget.

This weekend Keir Starmer insisted the government’s welfare plans have to be pushed through.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the G7 summit in Canada, the prime minister set out his determination to get the plans through parliament, after ministers warned mutinous MPs about the consequences of voting against the government.

“We’ve got to reform the welfare system,” Starmer said when asked about the prospect of a rebellion, with some estimates saying as many as 170 MPs could oppose the plans.