Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall hid away during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons as Sir Keir Starmer struggled to defend his remarkable benefits cuts U-turn. Ms Kendall was officially responsible for plans to remove Personal Independence Payments from 800,000 people, which were first watered down and then axed entirely.
Usually, she would have sat on the front benches alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Prime Minister. But instead, she was standing near the Speaker’s chair, out of sight of the television cameras. It was widely thought that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was the person pushing the benefit cuts, even though Ms Kendall was nominally in charge.
The Work and Pensions Secretary loyally defended the proposals in the House of Commons on Tuesday – only for the rug to be pulled out from under her feet when welfare minister Stephen Timms announced the plan had been axed.
Sir Keir defended his welfare reform plans despite being forced into a humiliating climbdown, which leaves an almost £5billion black hole in the Government’s spending plans.
The Prime Minister was forced to scrap plans to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP) to avoid a Labour rebellion, which could have led to him losing a crunch Commons vote.
The change could force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise taxes in order to balance the books without the expected savings in the welfare budget.
But at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir defended what was left of the welfare reform package, telling MPs it will be “better for individuals, better for the taxpayer and better for the economy”.
Ms Reeves, sitting next to Sir Keir, appeared to be crying on the front bench.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Ms Reeves looked “absolutely miserable” and challenged the Prime Minister to say whether the Chancellor would keep her job until the next election.
Sir Keir dodged the question about whether Ms Reeves would be in place for the remainder of the parliament, saying Mrs Badenoch “certainly won’t”.
Sir Keir failed to repeat his promise on whether Rachel Reeves will stay as Chancellor until the next election, as Kemi Badenoch said she was a “human shield” for the Prime Minister’s “incompetence”.
The Conservative leader had said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the Chancellor. Instead, they’re creating new ones. They’re creating new ones.
“(Ms Reeves) is pointing at me, she looks absolutely miserable. Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the Chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”
Sir Keir replied: “(Mrs Badenoch) certainly won’t. I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.
“She talks about the black hole, they left a £22 billion black hole in our economy and we’re clearing it up, and I’m really proud that in the first year of a Labour Government, we got free school meals, breakfast clubs, childcare, got £15 billion invested in transport in the North and the Midlands.
“We’re cutting regulation, planning and infrastructure is pounding forward, building 1.5million homes, the biggest investment in social and affordable housing, and of course the three trade deals.”
Mrs Badenoch replied: “How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
