Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. 

It’s our first newsletter since Labour won its historic landslide victory. Keir Starmer promised change after 14 years of Tory rule, but the new government faces extensive challenges.

There are 14 million people living in poverty in the UK. Many are going without food and essentials. People are living in cold and damp homes, sleeping rough and relying on food banks.

The benefits system is “broken”. It’s not giving people enough money to survive, but there’s also a soaring welfare bill with which to contend. The number of people out of work because of long-term sickness is at a record high of more than 2.8 million.

Many of these people are relying on disability benefits to survive – yet it’s a system which is worsening people's physical and mental health conditions, pushing them further away from the workplace.

Will Labour offer the change which is so desperately needed? I analysed what the new government has said so far about its plans for the welfare system.

The new work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall is a controversial choice for some in the charity sector. There are signs the MP for Leicester West may take a tough stance on welfare in comparison to previous Labour governments, which you can read about here.

Another new hire as a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions is Sir Stephen Timms, who I spoke to earlier this year. He told me the DWP could be “fantastic” under Labour and that he believes “Jobcentres should be a place you go to be helped, not hit”.

Alison McGovern joins him, and she also has plenty of experience advocating for better employment support and the benefits system to be improved. She’s spoken about reforming Jobcentres, devolution and a focus on good jobs.

“When you grow up knowing what unemployment does to people – what it can do to whole towns or cities – that's a reason to be political. It is mine,” McGovern said.

In this week's issue, we meet people with lived experience of poverty who call on the government to make changes. Also, read to the end for some advice on navigating that tricky disability benefits system.

If you have a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

'Dear Keir Starmer, I'm a single mum and NHS worker. Please don't make me regret voting for you'

Tayyaba Siddiqui is a single mother and key worker in the NHS who voted for Keir Starmer. She believed that the Labour leader could offer change, and she appeals directly to him to stick to his promises. 

“I want my child to thrive and not to be stuck in poverty, by a social security system that is inadequate and seems designed to make us suffer,” she writes. 

“I want to be able to tell my son that tomorrow will be better than today, and that change is really coming. Improvements at work, better child care, and social security that invests in all of us, as part of a better future.”

Read Tayyaba’s letter to Keir Starmer.

In case you missed it

With the new government comes a new opportunity to rethink welfare and benefits. For too long, too much emphasis has been given to sticking-plaster policies but not to social transformation, writes Big Issue founder Lord John Bird. Get his thoughts.

Keir Starmer promises 'sunlight of hope' – but can he offer progress on ending poverty in the UK? Charities have given an urgent warning to the new Labour government – telling Keir Starmer that he must work towards tackling poverty. Find out more.

Inside the years-long pay row in Scotland risking the futures of working-class students. The further education sector has contracted in the face of persistent underfunding, leaving students stranded. Read more.

DWP's 'automation' of universal credit discriminates against single mums, researchers say. Questions are being raised about the fairness of using automated tools to distribute benefits. Get the story.

Things can only get better... if the Labour government takes urgent action to tackle poverty. Helen Barnard at the Trussell Trust calls on the new Labour government to take urgent action to tackle poverty in the UK. Read about it.

Labour is yet to give much hope it will reduce poverty. We need more from the new government. Sabine Goodwin writes about how Labour has showed such caution on ending poverty – but there is still time for change. Read more.

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Phillip's story: 'The biggest problem we've got is homelessness'

Phillip spent years sleeping on the streets and wants to see Starmer’s government deliver greater funding for outreach services to support rough sleepers off the streets, as well as stable accommodation.

“Truthfully, I’m going to wait and see how they perform. Different parliaments get in, different governments get in. Seeing if they stick to their words at the moment. But Labour didn’t really focus on homelessness and stuff like that, did they? They need to pull their finger out now and realise we need help down that route, and do something about it,” he said.

Phillip, who lives in the Emmaus Hull & East Riding community, said he had seen homelessness rise sharply recently after funding for outreach services disappear.

“That’s the biggest problem we’ve got at the moment, is homelessness. Once we’ve got all those people off the street, all contributing towards our communities, then we’ll be in a lot better place,” said Hill.

“You need pride giving back to you. When you’re homeless, you just don’t care, you’ve lost all hope. But once you’ve got that hope, you can build on it.”

Read more about Phillip’s story and what others at the sharp end of the UK’s crises are asking of the new Labour government.

Saving those coins: Tips on applying for disability benefits

People face a notoriously difficult assessment process when applying for disability benefits. 

There may well be changes made under the new Labour government in the long term – but for now, the system remains the same as it did under the Conservatives.

Benefits like the personal independence payment (PIP) are a lifeline for people with long-term health conditions and impairments, and it’s important to apply if you think you might be eligible. 

There are steps people can take to make sure they stand the best chance of securing a positive outcome from the disability assessment process first time round. 

We asked experts for their top tips on navigating the PIP application process, so you’re equipped with all the tools you need to start. Read more here.