On Thursday 27 November, 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented the Autumn Budget, with a heavy focus on “working people.” However, one group of individuals felt left out of this terminology – those with disabilities. Stripy Lightbulb CIC, a community interest company, is challenging the government’s use of labels such as “economically inactive” for those living with M.E./C.F.S. They argue that every person, regardless of their health, plays a role in the economy through their spending, consumption, and participation in society.
While Reeves claimed that Universal Credit reforms would bring 15,000 people back into work, Stripy Lightbulb CIC believes that investing in biomedical research for M.E./C.F.S. could have a far greater impact, potentially enabling hundreds of thousands to regain their health and return to employment.
Managing Director of Stripy Lightbulb CIC, Sally Callow, stated, “Talented and highly skilled people are being forced to watch from the sidelines after M.E./C.F.S. has taken them out of the workforce. Without treatments or a cure, they have no realistic hope of returning to employment, and that is a loss both to them and to the wider economy.”
The company also calls attention to the inefficiencies and waste within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They believe that the DWP’s complex and fragmented systems, along with burdensome processes, deter people from accessing the support they need. Stripy Lightbulb CIC suggests that the government should begin by reforming the DWP to deliver efficiency and fairness if they are serious about cutting costs.
Their message is clear: stop dismissing disabled and chronically sick communities as “inactive,” invest in research to unlock long-term workforce participation, and reform the DWP to deliver efficiency and fairness. Stripy Lightbulb CIC urges the government to adopt a genuine long-term strategy for disabled and chronically sick communities, one that recognizes everyone’s contribution to the economy and creates real pathways back to work.
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