Sir Keir Starmer is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership over welfare reforms. Around 40 Labour MPs have written to the Prime Minister telling him that plans to slash the benefits bill are “impossible to support” ahead of a crunch vote expected next month.
The letter warns that the proposals have “caused a huge amount of anxiety and concern among disabled people and their families”. It says: “The planned cuts of more than £7 billion represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over three million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.
“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”
The letter urges the Government to “delay any decisions until all the assessments have been published into the impact the cuts will have on employment, health and increased demand for health and social care”.
It adds: “In the meantime, the much needed reform of the benefits system needs to begin with a genuine dialogue with disabled people’s organisations to redesign something that is less complex and offers greater support, alongside tackling the barriers that disabled people face when trying to find and maintain employment.
“We also need to invest in creating job opportunities and ensure the law is robust enough to provide employment protections against discrimination. Without a change in direction, the green paper will be impossible to support.”
Signatories include backbenchers on the left of the party, as well as centrists and MPs from the 2024 intake.
There has already been disquiet among some Labour MPs about the proposed benefit changes set out in March which include tightening the eligibility criteria for the personal independence payment (Pip).
But the Prime Minister has defended the package which is aimed at getting more people into work.
Sir Keir suspended seven Labour MPs who voted against the party on keeping the two-child benefit cap in place last year.