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Int'l Business Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
UK Govt Climbs Down On Welfare Cuts In Latest U-turn
The UK government backed down Friday on controversial plans to slash disability and sickness benefits after a major rebellion by MPs, in a blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's authority. The climbdown is the third U-turn that Starmer has been forced into in less than a month, leading to questions about his political acumen and direction of the ruling Labour party. Only days after Starmer insisted he would plough ahead with the reforms, the government confirmed concessions had been made to 126 rebel MPs who had threatened to scupper the proposed changes. Tue turnaround comes just before Starmer marks the first anniversary of what has been a rocky return to power for Labour after 14 years in opposition to the Conservatives. A spokesperson for Number 10 said the government had "listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system". It said a revised package of measures would preserve the welfare system for those "who need it, by putting it on a sustainable footing". The backtrack means the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (Pip) Bill, which contains the welfare reforms, will likely make it through a parliamentary vote due on Tuesday. "It's always best to concede and then get it through in some way, shape or form. This is sort of damage limitation," political scientist Steven Fielding told AFP. The concessions, due to be set out in parliament later on Friday, include a "staggered approach" to the reforms, care minister Stephen Kinnock said. This means that the narrower eligibility criteria proposed will only apply to new claimants, not those already receiving the benefit payments. Starmer's government had hoped to make savings of GBP5.0 billion ($6.9 billion) as a result of the changes that have now been partly abandoned, meaning finance minister Rachel Reeves will need to find them elsewhere. It has been a bumpy 12 months in office for Starmer during which Reeves has struggled to generate growth from a sluggish UK economy. On June 9, the government declared it had reversed a policy to scrap a winter heating benefit for millions of pensioners, following widespread criticism, including from its own MPs. Less than a week later Starmer announced a national enquiry focused on a UK child sex exploitation scandal that had attracted the attention of US billionaire Elon Musk. Starmer had previously resisted calls for an enquiry into the so-called "grooming gangs" -- that saw girls as young as 10 raped by groups of men mostly of South Asian origin -- in favour of a series of local probes. The prime minister has a massive majority of 165 MPs, meaning he should be able to force whatever legislation he wants through parliament. But many of his own MPs complain of a disconnect between Starmer's leadership, which is focused on combatting the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, and Labour's traditional centre-left principles. "Labour is meant to stand for fairness, and those two flagship mistakes are all about being unfair," Fielding said of winter fuel and the disability cuts. The furores are also overshadowing Labour's tightening of employment rights, and investment in housing and green industries, he added. A YouGov poll of more than 10,000 Britons released this week found that while Labour is losing voters to Reform, it is also forfeiting supporters to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the left. "They've been making so many unforced errors," said Fielding, a politics professor at Nottingham University. "I think there is now being a very reluctant recalibration of things."
France 24
14 hours ago
- Business
- France 24
UK govt climbs down on welfare cuts in latest U-turn
The climbdown is the third U-turn that Starmer has been forced into in less than a month, leading to questions about his political acumen and direction of the ruling Labour party. Only days after Starmer insisted he would plough ahead with the reforms, the government confirmed concessions had been made to 126 rebel MPs who had threatened to scupper the proposed changes. Tue turnaround comes just before Starmer marks the first anniversary of what has been a rocky return to power for Labour after 14 years in opposition to the Conservatives. A spokesperson for Number 10 said the government had "listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system". It said a revised package of measures would preserve the welfare system for those "who need it, by putting it on a sustainable footing". The backtrack means the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (Pip) Bill, which contains the welfare reforms, will likely make it through a parliamentary vote due on Tuesday. "It's always best to concede and then get it through in some way, shape or form. This is sort of damage limitation," political scientist Steven Fielding told AFP. The concessions, due to be set out in parliament later on Friday, include a "staggered approach" to the reforms, care minister Stephen Kinnock said. This means that the narrower eligibility criteria proposed will only apply to new claimants, not those already receiving the benefit payments. Starmer's government had hoped to make savings of £5.0 billion ($6.9 billion) as a result of the changes that have now been partly abandoned, meaning finance minister Rachel Reeves will need to find them elsewhere. 'Unforced errors' It has been a bumpy 12 months in office for Starmer during which Reeves has struggled to generate growth from a sluggish UK economy. On June 9, the government declared it had reversed a policy to scrap a winter heating benefit for millions of pensioners, following widespread criticism, including from its own MPs. Less than a week later Starmer announced a national enquiry focused on a UK child sex exploitation scandal that had attracted the attention of US billionaire Elon Musk. Starmer had previously resisted calls for an enquiry into the so-called "grooming gangs" -- that saw girls as young as 10 raped by groups of men mostly of South Asian origin -- in favour of a series of local probes. The prime minister has a massive majority of 165 MPs, meaning he should be able to force whatever legislation he wants through parliament. But many of his own MPs complain of a disconnect between Starmer's leadership, which is focused on combatting the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, and Labour's traditional centre-left principles. "Labour is meant to stand for fairness, and those two flagship mistakes are all about being unfair," Fielding said of winter fuel and the disability cuts. The furores are also overshadowing Labour's tightening of employment rights, and investment in housing and green industries, he added. A YouGov poll of more than 10,000 Britons released this week found that while Labour is losing voters to Reform, it is also forfeiting supporters to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the left.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
U.K.'s Starmer faces major rebellion over welfare cuts
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) doubled down on controversial plans to cut disability and sickness welfare, amid the biggest rebellion by lawmakers of his premiership. Labour's Mr. Starmer, who has had a bumpy first year in power since ousting the Conservatives in a landslide election victory last July, insisted that a vote on the proposed legislation would go ahead on Tuesday. His government is under pressure to slash a spiralling benefits bill as Chancellor Rachel Reeves tries to generate much-needed growth from a sluggish U.K. economy. The Premier's defiant words came as at least 120 Labour MPs, nearly a third of the 403 in parliament, publicly backed a move to block the proposals. Media reports pointed to growing alarm behind the scenes in Mr. Starmer's Downing Street office at the scale of the mutiny. One Minister told The Times daily that the mood was one of "panic", while a Labour Party insider told The Sun newspaper that many MPs were happy to rebel because "they are seeing poll after poll showing their seats going to (the anti-immigration party) Reform next election". But Mr. Starmer, speaking from The Hague where he is attending a NATO summit, said he was elected to "change that which is broken", adding that the welfare system "doesn't work for anyone". Spiralling welfare bill "There will be a vote on Tuesday, we're going to make sure we reform the welfare system," he told LBC radio. The rebels, who have signed an amendment that could effectively kill off the legislation, say it is poorly thought out and will push a quarter of a million more people into poverty. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (Pip) Bill aims to restrict eligibility to welfare payments with the aim of getting more people back into work. Latest official figures show that 3.7 million people in England and Wales claimed Pip, up from 2.05 million in 2019, with teenagers and young adults making up a growing proportion of claimants. Leading Labour figures also called on the Prime Minister to reconsider. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that ministers must "urgently think again" while Mayor of Greater Manchester in northwestern England Andy Burnham said that the sheer number of rebels ought to give Starmer pause for thought. "When the PLP (parliamentary Labour Party) delivers its collective wisdom in such numbers, it is invariably right. And it is right on this," he said. Labour's First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, also called for a rethink. Reform challenge The row comes as Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage's far-right Reform UK continues to ride high in the polls. Reform has consistently led national opinion polls for weeks now and won hundreds of councillors at local elections on May 1 amid widespread anger on a range of issues from creaking public services to crime, immigration and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Although Reform only has five seats in parliament, it won 14 percent of the vote at last year's general election. An Ipsos poll last week put the party on 34 percent, nine points ahead of Labour on 25 percent. Although the next election is not due for another four years, the results — if replicated across the country — could hand the keys of number 10 Downing Street to Farage.
