Dozens of Labour MPs back bid to block benefits changes

BBC News

4 hours ago

About 80 Labour MPs are supporting a fresh effort to block the government's planned changes to the benefits system, the BBC has been told.The MPs have signed an amendment that would give them an opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill in its entirety.Dozens of Labour MPs have expressed concerns about the plans to cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5bn a year by 2030.Ministers have attempted to soften the impact of the welfare changes, but many Labour MPs remain discontented with the package of benefits reforms.
The welfare reform bill - called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payment (Pip).The amendment, which has been seen by the BBC, notes "the need for the reform of the social security system" before outlining reasons why the bill should be rejected.The reasons it lists for thwarting the bill include the number of people the plans are expected to push into relative poverty, a lack of consultation, and an inadequate impact assessment on the consequences on the jobs market and on people's health.It is known as a reasoned amendment, which is a parliamentary mechanism which allows MPs to record their reasons for objecting to a bill.If the reasoned amendment is selected by House Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the majority of MPs vote in favour of it, the bill will not be allowed to continue its passage through Parliament.While the success of the amendment is not assured, the level of support for it among Labour MPs indicates the extent of the potential rebellion facing ministers.
A list of the Labour MPs who have signed it – which, the BBC has been told, includes 10 Labour select committee chairs – is expected to be published on Monday evening.It is understood that many members of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs have not yet had the opportunity to sign it, which may mean the number of signatories heads beyond 100 in the coming days.This number of Labour opponents to the government's welfare plans could be enough to inflict defeat on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the House Commons, were all the opposition parties to oppose the plans too.Earlier, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she did not want to alert Labour to her plans before the welfare reform bill was voted on.It is thought about half the amendment's signatories so far are from the new intake of Labour MPs – those elected at the general election last year.The vote on the government's bill is currently due to take place a week tomorrow – on Tuesday 1 July.
On the defensive
In a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday evening, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall defended the welfare reforms, arguing greater spending on benefits alone was "no route to social justice"."The path to fairer society – one where everyone thrives, where people who can work get the support they need, and where we protect those who cannot – that is the path we seek to build with our reforms," Kendall said."Our plans are rooted in fairness – for those who need support and for taxpayers."They are about ensuring the welfare state survives, so there is always a safety net for those who need it."One of the main co-ordinators behind the amendment, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC the government's U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners "demonstrates that they are susceptible to pressure".They said the decision emboldened many of those who have signed the amendment, saying MPs "all voted for winter fuel [cuts] and have taken so much grief in our constituencies, so colleagues think why should I take that on again?".It is understood that plans for the amendment began when the government offered a partial olive branch, by expanding the transition period for anyone losing the personal independence payment.The same MP who has been helping to co-ordinate the amendment said the offering by the government earlier this month was "pathetic" and "angered people even more".They said direct phone calls from Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves that were supposed to placate would-be rebels had instead "been entrenching people" to vote against the bill.They accused Number 10 of thinking MPs can be "bullied into voting with them" and said the aim of the amendment was to "send the government back to the drawing board" by forcing them to withdraw next week's vote.The welfare package as a whole could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty, according to the government's impact assessment.The Department for Work and Pensions says it expects 3.2 million families – a mixture of current and future recipients - to lose out financially, as a result of the total package of measures, with an average loss of £1,720 per year.This includes 370,000 current Pip recipients who will no longer qualify and 430,000 future claimants who will get less than they would previously have been entitled to.But ministers have stressed the figures do not factor in the government's plans to spend £1bn on helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work, or its efforts to reduce poverty.Ministers hope these efforts will boost employment among benefits recipients, at a time when 2.8 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness.If nothing changes, the health and disability benefits bill is forecast to reach £70bn a year by the end of the decade, a level of spending the government says is "unsustainable".The government is planning to put the welfare reforms in place by November 2026 and no one will lose out on benefits payments until that happens.