Scottish Labour MPs say enough is enough over benefits cuts
Keir Starmer hasn't had to worry too much about his 37 Scottish Labour MPs so far. They've been a pretty loyal bunch. And why wouldn't they be?
All but one of them owe their elections to Labour's turnaround under Starmer – and the only one not elected last year, Ian Murray, is in the Cabinet.
They all went through a ruthless selection process tightly controlled by Starmer and Anas Sarwar. Having had to deal with some tricky customers in the past, Labour HQ knew going into the general election that selection equals discipline, and by and large, they got the people they wanted.
Because they're all new to Westminster, their expectations were limited when it came to big promotions – and Starmer delivered on his promise to put Scottish Labour at the heart of government, with many of the new MPs being given bag-carrying roles on the bottom rung of the front bench, as Parliamentary Private Secretaries.
It takes being passed over for promotion at a reshuffle to really make an MP disgruntled and rebellious, and we haven't had one of those yet, so that's still to come.
So far, only one Scottish Labour MP has become a serial rebel, and for a very specific cause: Brian Leishman, who represents Alloa and Grangemouth, has always been vocal in demanding more action on the closure of Scotland's last oil refinery in his constituency.
The rest of the group has kept pretty quiet. That's not to say they've been totally happy – like Labour MPs across the board, there was real anger at the way cuts to Winter Fuel Payments were handled. But Scottish Labour MPs did most of their lobbying behind the scenes.
Until now. For some of them, at least – enough is enough.
This morning, we learned the names of more than 100 Labour MPs who have signed an amendment to welfare reform legislation that will cut around £5bn from the benefits bill. In England and Wales, the plans will restrict access to disability benefits, while across the UK, top ups to Universal Credit for those with long term health conditions will also be squeezed.
Among the rebels are nine Scottish Labour MPs. Brian Leishman is among them, but the rest of the list are not your usual suspects. These aren't MPs on the left of the party, who have an ideological problem with Keir Starmer's government.
A rebellion of over 100 MPs is more than enough to wipe out Labour's majority. If opposition parties also vote against the plans when they're scheduled to come before the Commons, it will inflict a huge blow on the Prime Minister.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will be weighing up what would be more damaging and embarrassing for Starmer – defeating his flagship welfare reforms, or having them passed only thanks to Tory votes.
The scale of the rebellion means some kind of u-turn is inevitable. Politics is about numbers, and the rebels have shown they have the numbers. By u-turning over Winter Fuel Payments earlier this month, Starmer will have emboldened Labour MPs and shown them that they could force more concessions elsewhere.
A year into the Labour government, and finally we're seeing the Scottish group of MPs go in different directions. Labour whips won't forget the names of the nine Scots on the list, even if the government ends up conceding over its welfare reform plans.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
15 minutes ago
- Times
Rachel Reeves warns welfare rebels they could devastate government
Rachel Reeves has warned Labour MPs they will devastate the government if they vote against plans to cut Britain's £80 billion sickness benefits bill, amid a last ditch effort to salvage the reforms. In an attempt to see off a rebellion by more than a hundred Labour backbenchers, the chancellor told MPs in a series of calls defeat would damage Sir Keir Starmer's authority to such an extent that it had effectively become a confidence vote in the government. Privately, some around the prime minister are preparing to delay next Tuesday's vote in an attempt to buy time and find concessions to win enough of the rebels around. One minister described the mood in government as one of 'panic'. The renewed lobbying effort came after 108 Labour MPs, including ten select committee chairs, signed an amendment on Monday that would effectively kill off the government's plans. There were claims the number of signatories to the amendment had increased to around 130 and up to a dozen junior ministers were said to be prepared to resign to vote in favour of the plan. 'We need to see movement,' said one rebel.
Times
16 minutes ago
- Times
End of hotels for asylum seekers unrealistic, borders chief says
Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to 'smash the gangs' is the wrong way to tackle the small boats crisis and his pledge to end the use of migrant hotels by the next election is unlikely to be achieved, the head of the borders watchdog has warned. David Bolt, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, told peers he had written to ministers warning that he 'wasn't convinced smashing the gangs was the right way of thinking about things' in tackling Channel crossings. Bolt also said there was not enough housing stock to deal with the number of people in the asylum system. His comments came a fortnight after Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced the government's new pledge to stop using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers by the end of the current parliament — expected in 2029 — as part of her spending review earlier this month.
Times
16 minutes ago
- Times
This is how you get the sick back to work
T he government is in trouble on welfare, again. Just a few short weeks after the U-turn on the winter fuel payment, a huge backbench rebellion is brewing against planned reforms to the personal independence payment (Pip), a benefit paid to those who need help with the costs of living with a disability. With more than 100 of their own MPs seeking to block upcoming legislation it's hard to see how ministers move forward without major new concessions. Yet this stand-off could have been avoided. Labour's failure lies not just in the policy but in the absence of a coherent narrative to match the reality of its proposals. Last November's white paper was entitled Get Britain Working, and the latest reforms were announced under the banner of Pathways to Work, so it's clear what story they want to tell. They claim to be on a moral crusade towards employment for all — but the policy substance doesn't back it up.
