I’m hungry, cold and have multiple disabilities. Is Starmer’s promise of real change for me? | Marie

WWhen Keir Starmer stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street as our new Prime Minister, he spoke of hope and a promise that things would change for the better. But hope is in short supply in my household. At 44, I have never been so broke, so hungry, so cold or so worried.

I am unable to work due to multiple disabilities and the last few months have been a very frightening time to be on benefits. While I understand that people are cheering the end of 14 years of Conservative rule, I fear that when Starmer promises change he is not thinking of people like me. In his victory speech he spoke of cleaners, builders and nurses who face uncertainty despite doing the right thing. I feel that uncertainty every minute of every day but I simply cannot work because of my disabilities. It means I cannot make ends meet at all.

Personal Independence Payments (PIPS) are supposed to cover the additional costs of my disabilities, such as a chiropractor to treat my fibromyalgia pain, or holistic therapy for my mental health. But the cost of living is so high that they never go that far. The Conservative Party has even discussed replacing some of the support I receive with vouchers. This feels like discrimination: it’s demoralising to be trusted with vouchers instead of money. I’m glad the Tories are gone, but it’s hard to be enthusiastic about a Labour government when it hasn’t made any promises to invest in social security.

I know many are saying that we need to be patient and that change will come. But my children are having empty food cupboards every week. We can’t wait for this change. It has to come now. The political debate over this election has focused on immigration and promises to support “hardworking Britons” while people like me struggle to make ends meet. What about people who are sick and can’t work? When we do appear in the political debate, it is only as a problem to be solved: cut our benefits, say the Conservatives; get us back to work, say Labour.

Every day I wake up and try to figure out how I’m going to make ends meet. My situation is desperate: I can’t afford a weekly supermarket shop and haven’t bought my own shampoo and conditioner for two weeks now. Instead, I have to rely on charity. Things weren’t much better when I was working; my job as an administrator still meant I had to go to the food bank. The level of welfare payments leaves families like mine below the poverty line, and yet far too often we hear comments that imply that people are choosing a life on benefits. But no one would choose this life, my life, and I want to change that so that families everywhere can have hope for something better. Families like mine, where no one works, have lost an average of £5,500 a year since 2010.

And disabled people often face additional costs. My health means I have to wash and shower more often than most people – as do many disabled people – so capping the price of energy bills would really help. Benefit caps should also be abolished and free school meals should be universal. That’s not much to ask – if only to cover our basic needs. Starmer said on the steps of Downing Street that the work of change would begin immediately. I really hope so. But to trust him, he needs to listen to people like me and change our broken welfare system to create a better future for us all.

• Marie (an alias) is a single mother of three living in the South of England. She takes part in Changing realitiesa coalition of low-income parents and carers, researchers from the University of York and Salford and the Child Poverty Action Group, working together for change