MP votes for benefits reform insisting Lanarkshire constituents won't receive less money
Pamela Nash MP backed Keir Starmer plans to cut benefits for people with disabilities and insisted that constituents in North Lanarkshire won't see any reduction in the amount they receive when the system is reformed.
The MP for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke had previously criticised the Tories when they were in power over cuts to disability support but voted in favour of her own party's Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill at the Second Reading, which she believes will create a fairer benefits system.
A revolt in the party led to 49 Labour MPs voting against the motion but it had threatened to be many more as the government made a number of eleventh hour adjustments to gain support for the Bill.
Only four Labour MPs out of 37 in Scotland voted against the watered-down Bill following a five-hour debate in the House of Commons.
Brian Leishman MP for Alloa and Grangemouth was one of the four who voted against, he had labelled the Bill "shameful".
He added: 'I did not come into politics to impoverish some of the most vulnerable people in society, and I did not join the Labour Party to make life even more difficult for the working class."
Eligibility for new PIP (Personal Independence Payment) claimants will change from November 2026, but this won't apply to people in Scotland, as PIP here has been replaced by the Adult Disability Payment which has been protected by the Scottish Government and is delivered by Social Security Scotland.
Pamela Nash MP cited her own experiences of being a benefits claimant, saying: 'I know what it is like to live on benefits, the unrelenting stress of trying to make ends meet while trying to find a job. Living with a health condition or disability brings additional pressures.
'It is important to me that these reforms do not add to this stress but alleviate it.
'Labour MPs have worked tirelessly together to make significant improvements to the bill, including making sure that no current claimants of PIP or Universal Credit will have their benefits cut, and bringing forward and increasing the support to provide genuine help for people to get the correct skills and find suitable work.
'This is a bill that takes action to improve our broken benefit system. But I know that there will be many who are worried as there has been much coverage in the media of this bill, and much misinformation spread too.
'Let's be crystal clear - no one currently in receipt of benefits in Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke will see any reduction in the amount they receive as a result of this bill.
'Changes to Universal Credit will only apply to new claimants from April 2026, those currently in receipt of Universal Credit will see no reduction to their income.
'Changes to PIP do not apply to people in Scotland, as we now have a different, equivalent benefit called the Adult Disability Payment (ADP).'
However, the Lanarkshire MP highlighted that the Bill includes an above-inflation rise to Universal Credit and an investment of £2.2 billion over four years on health, skills and work support.
She continued: 'Welfare exists to provide a safety net for all of us for the times when life does not go to plan, when we are out of work or unable to work.
'But over the last few years it has been failing to achieve this. Benefits paid to jobseekers are not enough to live on, and people who can work go on to disability benefits with fewer and fewer prospects of ever coming off them.
'The reforms to Universal Credit this Labour Government has put forward will take steps to fix this.'
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