Starmer U-turns on welfare reform to avoid Labour rebellion

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

"This is not the society we should try to build," he added. "I will not support this."
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The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill faced almost certain defeat in the Commons on Tuesday after 126 Labour MPs backed an amendment that would have effectively derailed the flagship reforms.
The legislation aimed to restrict eligibility for PIP in England and limit sickness-related payments under Universal Credit, as part of a package aimed at saving up to £5 billion a year.
PIP has been mostly devolved to the Scottish Government, which began replacing it with Adult Disability Payment (ADP) in 2022. The SNP administration has ruled out replicating the changes. However, any changes in PIP spending will have an impact on the block grant.
Last-ditch talks with some of the rebels saw No 10 promise to make the reforms to eligibility apply only to new claimants from November 2026.
Current Universal Credit recipients will also have their incomes protected in real terms. A review of the PIP assessment process will also be led by Disabilities Minister Sir Stephen Timms and "co-produced" with disabled people.
The changes are expected to cost around £1.5bn.
Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, who led the rebellion, said the concessions represented "a good and workable compromise".
"This is a positive outcome that has seen the Government listen and engage with the concerns of Labour MPs and their constituents," she said. "It's encouraging that we have reached what I believe is a workable compromise that will protect disabled people and support people back into work while ensuring the welfare system can be meaningfully reformed."
But Dame Meg also admitted that the handling of the reforms had damaged trust between the Government and its own benches.
Asked what had gone wrong, she said: "There's huge talent, experience and knowledge in Parliament, and it's important it's better listened to. I think that message has landed."
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Health Minister Stephen Kinnock insisted the U-turn did not reflect weakness from the Prime Minister. "People respond very positively to politicians listening, engaging, recognising that we don't get everything right and making the adjustments and changes that are needed," he said.
Asked whether the Government still expected the Bill to pass, he replied: "Yes."
SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn said the Prime Minister was "on the brink of creating a two-tier disability system where the young will be treated worse than the old."
He added: "The message from the Labour Party is clear – if you have an accident that causes a disability, develop a disability over time or if you have a child with a disability you will receive less support than those who have come before you.
"I was a perfectly fit and healthy kid when I collapsed at school before spending eighteen years on crutches. To think that a child in the same position now would be treated differently than I was, simply to save the Prime Minister's reputation, is disgusting.
"If these rebels truly care about the cause in the way that they suggest, then they will tell the Prime Minister to think again, again."
Charities were split in their response. Mencap described the concessions as "a huge relief" and "the right thing to do", while the MS Society said they did not go far enough.
Charlotte Gill, the society's head of campaigns, warned: "We urge MPs not to be swayed by these last-ditch attempts to force through a harmful Bill with supposed concessions. The only way to avoid a catastrophe is to stop the cuts altogether."