Labour's welfare cuts 'to cost 300,000 Scots £500 per year'
Trussell, the anti-poverty charity which runs some 1400 food banks across the UK, also told MPs that new claimants for the health element of Universal Credit would be £3000 per year worse off if Labour's proposed changes go through.
The UK Government is aiming to cut disability and sickness benefits by £5 billion annually by cutting back who is eligible for Personal Independence Payments (Pip), as well as freezing the health element of Universal Credit at the current rate and halving it for new claimants.
The UK Government's own analysis has found that the cuts would push 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children.
READ MORE: SNP minister hits out at Labour Government's welfare cuts
Labour are facing a major rebellion from more than 120 MPs over the controversial plans, which could be stopped dead if opposition parties unite behind a 'reasoned amendment' against the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, which is due to be voted on on July 1.
In a briefing to MPs reported by the Daily Record, Trussell estimated that there are around 300,000 Scots in receipt of the health element of Universal Credit and associated benefits facing cuts.
"All would stand to be affected by the freeze which by 2029/30 amounts to [a] real terms cut of £500 per year,' the charity said.
It further added: 'Nine in ten new recipients to UC health in Scotland from April 2026 will experience a cut of £3000 per year by 2029/30.'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted he will not change course despite outcry over planned cutsSNP MSP Collette Stevenson said: 'This analysis delivers a damning verdict on the Labour Party's planned cuts to disability benefits which will hit the most vulnerable in our society hardest.
'With over 100 Labour MPs now confirming that they will join the SNP in voting against the cuts if Labour press ahead with them next week, it is imperative that Keir Starmer does yet another U-turn and scraps his plans immediately.
'To press ahead with the cuts would have a devastating impact on families across Scotland, pushing thousands of more people into poverty, and people would never forgive Keir Starmer.'
Speaking from The Hague at a Nato summit on Wednesday, Starmer said he would not back down.
'We have got to make the reforms to our system. It isn't working as it is,' he said.
READ MORE: EU, taxes, and Labour 'out of step': What we learned in John Curtice's polling report
'It doesn't work as it stands for people who desperately need help to get into work or for people who need protection. It is broken.
'We were elected in to change that which is broken, and that's what we will do, and that's why we will press ahead with reforms.'
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has added his voice to the senior figures calling on the Government to reconsider.
He told BBC Newsnight: 'When the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] delivers its collective wisdom in such numbers, it is invariably right. And it is right on this.'
His London counterpart, Sadiq Khan, has said ministers 'must urgently think again' about the plans, while Labour's First Minister of Wales Baroness Eluned Morgan has also called for a rethink.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has previously spoken in support of the reforms, but is facing unrest within his group. So far, 10 Scottish Labour MPs have put their names to the reasoned amendment which would block the welfare cuts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
Anas Sarwar backs UK disability benefit cuts as Labour MPs revolt
By Wednesday evening, 12 Scottish Labour MPs out of 37 had signed their names to a reasoned amendment which would block the UK Government welfare cuts if it passes a vote on July 1. In total, around 130 Labour MPs have put their names to the amendment opposing Keir Starmer's Government's plan to cut some £5 billion from disability benefits annually. This will be done largely by cutting back Personal Independence Payments (Pip) – the main disability benefit which is also paid to people in-work – and the health element of Universal Credit. Speaking to the Holyrood Sources podcast in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Sarwar was asked if he supported the Scottish Labour MPs opposing the welfare cuts. He said: 'Look, my position has been quite consistent on the welfare reforms, which is I support the principle of reform. 'We do have to look at the structural challenges that exist in our welfare system, even with the changes currently being proposed, and I saw the Deputy Prime Minister, just when I came in, saying in an interview that discussions are ongoing around the specifics of the bill. 'Even with the changes that we proposed, welfare spending will be going up over the course of this parliament, not coming down. 'And it's also important to note, and I think this is a fundamental Labour principle, that I believe work is the best route out of poverty, that's a fundamental Labour principle – but not everyone can work and those that can't work should get the support that they deserve. 'There are many positives in this legislation, for example, the end to mandatory reassessments, particularly for those that have lifelong conditions, the billion pounds extra that goes into back to work schemes.' Asked again to state his position on the welfare cuts as proposed, Sarwar suggested that the UK Government's Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill may change before the crunch vote next Tuesday. 'Conversations are underway,' he said. 'As you would expect, people are legitimately raising their concerns, having those conversations … I think it's safe to say that there'll be ongoing conversations with the legislation and legitimate concerns should be addressed, but we should absolutely support the principle of reform.' Sarwar added that although he is 'not party to the direct conversations that individual MPs are having … we have to support the principle of reform'. His comments came after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner insisted the Government was not expecting backbenchers to go against traditional party values by backing the planned welfare cuts. Asked what concessions could be offered to convince rebels to back the bill, Rayner said 'discussions are ongoing'. 'I'm not going to get into that on your show tonight,' she said in an interview on ITV's Peston programme. 'Those discussions are ongoing around making sure that the welfare reforms that we're bringing in support people into work who need that, and we're putting a huge amount of investment into doing that, but also protecting the most vulnerable.' She acknowledged that 'a lot of people are very scared about these changes' but added: 'I haven't changed my Labour values and we're not expecting our benches to do anything that isn't in check with them. 'What we want to do is support people, and that is the crucial bit around these reforms of what Labour are trying to achieve, and we're discussing that with our MPs.' Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, who has already taken steps to soften the impact of the welfare Bill, has been locked in talks with backbenchers as she seeks to win over those opposed to the measures. Other senior Labour figures outside Parliament, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, have also publicly expressed their opposition to the plans. Meanwhile, the Tories seem unlikely to lend the Government their support, with leader Kemi Badenoch setting out conditions for doing so including a commitment to rule out tax rises in the autumn budget and further cut the benefits bill.
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
British woman stranded in Israel remains in dark about evacuation flights
The first RAF flight set off from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon carrying 63 British passengers, who landed in Cyprus and were then flown back to Birmingham Airport, where they arrived in the early hours of Tuesday. In the days since, more Britons have made the journey home as part of the Government's evacuation strategy. It comes as Israeli airspace reopened on Monday after being closed for 10 days following the start of the conflict between Israel and Iran on June 13. British-Israeli Mali Smith, 66, said she has not heard from the Foreign Office since registering for the repatriation flights on Wednesday June 18, leading her to book a flight home to London for 600 US dollars (£439) as she 'can't bear the stress anymore'. Mrs Smith, a solicitor born in Tel Aviv but who now lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, with her husband, had arrived in Israel on June 11 to see her mother and friends. The mother-of-two has twice booked flights to Luton Airport, one with Wizz Air and one with Israir, which were both cancelled. She said: 'After my flights were cancelled, the Foreign Office sent many of us an email saying that they were planning on sending an RAF plane to rescue us and take us back to the UK. 'But it's been days now and I'm still waiting for a response – even though we had to pay them £350 for the pleasure. 'They have been in touch with some Brits but many of us are still waiting and I don't understand why they are sending such a small aeroplane with only 63 seats, while there are thousands who have applied for the flights. 'I sent them emails and I called them, but they couldn't give me an answer – I have been in touch with my MP and she has tried hard to help some of us here, but we've had no success. 'It's nerve-wracking and it's really hard to sit around and wait for them to do something. 'Now the war has a ceasefire, so I don't know what's going to happen – they might cancel it all even before they have rescued us.' Mrs Smith says that the lack of information about the flights has left those who remain in the country feeling stranded waiting for more support. She said she had also been told that British nationals have had phone calls from the Foreign Office as late as 3am in the morning, asking them to be at the airfield just six hours later at 9am, only for their flight to be delayed until 1pm. Mrs Smith said: 'The organisation of the evacuation has not been good enough. 'I'm in Tel Aviv, right next to the Iron Dome, and the noise is really loud and scary, and it means you can't sleep properly. 'The community has been great, they've been so supportive and there's a lot of warmth from everyone. 'But the UK Government has been so slow to respond and I'm just disappointed that it's taken them that long and that the communication is that bad. 'I don't know whether to book another flight and forget about the evacuation flight, and whether I can claim the money back. 'The situation has improved here with the ceasefire which seems like it's holding, but the Foreign Office needs to be so much better.' The FCDO has been contacted for comment.
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Welfare concessions being discussed with Labour rebels, Rayner suggests
Angela Rayner insisted the Government was not expecting backbenchers to go against traditional party values amid a looming revolt over the welfare Bill set for a Commons vote next week. Some 120 Labour MPs have put their names to a bid to block the legislation in its tracks, arguing that disabled people have not been properly consulted about the plans and further scrutiny is required before making any changes. Asked what concessions could be offered to convince rebels to back the Bill, Ms Rayner said 'discussions are ongoing'. 'I'm not going to get into that on your show tonight,' she said in an interview on ITV's Peston programme. 'Those discussions are ongoing around making sure that the welfare reforms that we're bringing in support people into work who need that, and we're putting a huge amount of investment into doing that, but also protecting the most vulnerable.' She acknowledged that 'a lot of people are very scared about these changes' but added: 'I haven't changed my Labour values and we're not expecting our benches to do anything that isn't in check with them. 'What we want to do is support people, and that is the crucial bit around these reforms of what Labour are trying to achieve, and we're discussing that with our MPs.' Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, who has already taken steps to soften the impact of the welfare Bill, has been locked in talks with backbenchers as she seeks to win over those opposed to the measures. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill faces its first Commons test on Tuesday. The plans restrict eligibility for personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability payment in England, and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit, with the aim of getting more people back into work and saving up to £5 billion a year. Existing claimants will be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support, a move seen as a bid to head off opposition. But the fact so many Labour MPs are prepared to put their names to the 'reasoned amendment' calling for a change of course shows how entrenched the opposition remains. Earlier on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer defended his leadership against accusations he had misjudged the mood in his party, insisting he is 'comfortable with reading the room'. At a press conference at the Nato summit in the Hague, he said: 'Is it tough going? Are there plenty of people and noises off? Yes, of course, there always are, there always have been, there always will be. 'But the important thing is to focus on the change that we want to bring about.' Ms Rayner earlier told MPs in the Commons the vote will take place as planned despite the rebellion, saying: 'We will go ahead on Tuesday.' Social security minister Sir Stephen Timms said he was 'looking forward to the debate' next week. He told the Commons Work and Pensions Committee the changes need to be made urgently to cut the spiralling welfare bill. Committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams, who is one of the Labour MPs to have signed the amendment to block the legislation, asked why the provisions within the Bill had not been consulted on. Sir Stephen said: 'Essentially because of the urgency of the changes needing to be made.' He said the cost of Pip had gone up from £12 billion before the pandemic to £22 billion last year 'and that is not a sustainable trajectory'. Setting out the impact of the reforms, he told the Committee 370,000 people getting Pip under the current system would not be receiving it by the end of the decade. Other senior Labour figures outside Parliament, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, have also publicly expressed their opposition to the plans. Meanwhile, the Tories seem unlikely to lend the Government their support, with leader Kemi Badenoch setting out conditions for doing so including a commitment to rule out tax rises in the autumn budget and further cut the benefits bill.
