24th Jun 2025 14:44
(Alliance News) - Keir Starmer faces a showdown with Labour rebels after vowing to press ahead with welfare reforms despite a brewing revolt over planned cuts to disability benefits.
The UK prime minister on Tuesday said the government must take "hard, honest choices" in a defiant message after some 108 MPs from within his party signed a Commons bid to stop the changes in their tracks.
Meanwhile Work & Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, who has already agreed to soften the impact of the welfare Bill, is locked in talks with backbenchers as she seeks to win over those opposed to the plans.
The size of the rebellion is enough to threaten Starmer's majority and defeat the government's plans if opposition MPs sided with the backbenchers.
The amendment was published on Tuesday's order paper and calls for a pause allowing for further scrutiny of the Bill and for support to be in place before any further cuts are made.
Asked whether he would consider pausing his plans in light of the rebellion, the prime minister told reporters travelling with him to the Nato summit in the Netherlands: "We were elected to change what is broken in our country.
"The welfare system is broken and that's why we will press ahead with our reforms. It's very important that we do so, because the current system is not working for anybody.
"People are trapped in it and I'm not prepared to allow that to happen. So, we will press forward with our reforms."
He added that there was "a clear moral case" for the changes, with 1,000 people per day going onto personal independence payments, Pip.
Starmer said: "The additions to Pip each year are the equivalent of the population of a city the size of Leicester.
"That's not a system that can be left unreformed, not least because it's unsustainable and therefore you won't have a welfare system for those that need it in the future."
Earlier, the prime minister had told his ministers at a Cabinet meeting "we will reform welfare" and defended the government's efforts to fix what he called a "broken" system.
Downing Street declined to say whether any Cabinet member expressed concern about the welfare Bill when asked by journalists on Tuesday, insisting it would "never get into details" of the high-level ministerial meeting.
The Cabinet "collectively" supports the government's agenda, a Downing Street spokesman said.
In a readout of the meeting on Tuesday, he said: "The prime minister opened Cabinet by setting out that the government has a clear mission to rebuild Britain, fix what is broken and restore hope, and that requires hard, honest choices.
"He said nowhere is that clearer than in the welfare system the government inherited. He said the system is currently failing people, trapping millions, telling them the only way to get help is to declare they will never work again, and then abandoning them without hope and opportunity.
"The prime minister underlined that the government does not accept that.
"We will reform welfare to provide one to one support to help people try work safely, protect people with lifelong conditions from endless reassessments, and increase the basic level of support for low income families.
"That means the government will always protect those who can't work, will provide real opportunity for those who can, and will build a welfare system that's fair, strong and there for the people who need it for years to come.
"The Work and Pensions Secretary said these reforms are about creating a society rooted in fairness with strong safeguards to protect the most vulnerable."
Several Labour select committee chairs were among those who put their name to the amendment, including Treasury committee Chair Meg Hillier and work & pensions committee Chair Debbie Abrahams.
Vicky Foxcroft, the former government whip who resigned over the welfare plans, has also signed.
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle would need to select the amendment when MPs debate the legislation at its second reading.
Three other amendments also call for the Bill to be denied a second reading, one signed by Independent MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and Plaid Cymru's MPs, another by the Green Party, and a third by the Westminster SNP cohort.
Under the proposals in the Bill, ministers will limit eligibility for the personal independence payment, the main disability payment in England, and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit, UC.
However, the legislation published last week will give existing claimants a 13-week period of financial support, including those losing eligibility to carer's allowance, in what was seen as a bid to head off opposition.
Ministers have previously said the reforms could save up to GBP5 billion-a-year.
Downing Street declined to explicitly rule out offering further concessions when asked on Tuesday what would be done to reassure uneasy backbenchers before a vote scheduled for next week.
"We'll talk to them over the next week but the government believes this is a good package of reforms," a Number 10 spokesman said.
"We hope that colleagues will engage positively over the next few days."
Number 10 said the government recognised the "strength of feeling" surrounding the issue but rejected suggestions the plans were "dead on arrival".
It declined to say whether it was confident that the Bill would make its way through Parliament when asked by reporters on Tuesday.
"We are focused on delivering last week's Bill and engaging, talking to colleagues … as to why this reform is so important," the spokesman said.
By Nina Lloyd, David Lynch, Helen Corbett and Christopher McKeon in the Hague
Press Association: News
source: PA
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