Labour rebels offered 11th-hour concession over welfare reform
The latest concession follows a partial U-turn last week in the face of a possible defeat over the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill.
The legislation faces its first Commons vote on Tuesday night and the 11th-hour concession on timing for the changes suggests the Labour hierarchy is still concerned about the scale of the revolt, which is set to be the largest of Sir Keir Starmer's premiership.
Disability minister Sir Stephen Timms told MPs that the Government had listened to the concerns raised about the timing of the changes.
The climbdown will cause a major headache for Chancellor Rachel Reeves as the welfare squeeze was originally meant to save £4.8 billion a year, which was subsequently reduced to £2.3 billion when the Bill was first watered down.
Tuesday's changes leave any future savings uncertain as the scale of the squeeze on Pip is unclear.
Sir Stephen's intervention, which came in the middle of debate on the legislation, followed frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations involving Cabinet ministers, Sir Keir himself and wavering Labour MPs.
Some 39 Labour MPs have signed an amendment which would see the Bill fall at its first hurdle in the Commons.
A previous effort to kill the Bill had attracted more than 120 Labour supporters, but was shelved after the first partial U-turn on the legislation last week, which restricted the Pip changes to new claimants from November 2026.
That date has now been abandoned in the latest climbdown, with any changes now only coming after Sir Stephen's review of the Pip assessment process.
Sir Stephen acknowledged 'concerns that the changes to Pip are coming ahead of the conclusions of the review of the assessment that I will be leading'.
He said the Government would now 'only make changes to Pip eligibility activities and descriptors following that review', which is due to conclude in the autumn of 2026.
The concession appeared to have won round some Labour doubters.
Josh Fenton-Glynn, who was one of the 126 Labour MPs who signed the original rebel amendment to the welfare reform Bill last week, described the move as 'really good news'.
He said he wanted to support the Government at 'every opportunity' and was glad changes to personal independence payment eligibility would be delayed until after the Timms review.
But other Labour MPs appeared exasperated, with one telling the PA news agency that no-one 'knew what they were voting on anymore'.
And rebel ringleader Rachael Maskell said she was determined to press for a vote on her 'reasoned amendment' which would halt the legislation in its tracks.
'The whole Bill is now unravelling and is a complete farce,' she said.
This is an utter capitulation. Labour's welfare bill is now a TOTAL waste of time. It effectively saves £0, helps no one into work, and does NOT control spending.
It's pointless. They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern. https://t.co/fJJ78lPkX0
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) July 1, 2025
'What it won't do is stop the suffering of disabled people which is why we are determined to go ahead with the reasoned amendment and attempt to vote down the Bill at second reading.'
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused ministers of 'utter capitulation' and said the legislation was now 'pointless'.
She said: 'They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
32 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Pound drops and UK bonds suffer big selloff after finance minister cries in parliament
British prime minister Keir Starmer's office rushed to give finance minister Rachel Reeves his full backing on Wednesday after she appeared in tears in parliament following a series of U-turns on welfare reforms that blew a hole in her budget plans. Reeves looked exhausted and appeared to brush away tears during the half-hour session of prime minister's questions in the House of Commons. Her spokesperson said it was a personal matter. Advertisement British borrowing costs rose and the pound fell as the weekly question-and-answer session unfolded on TV, with market analysts saying the moves reflected fears that Reeves would be replaced, throwing the government into further turmoil. Asked about Reeves, a Treasury spokesperson said: "It's a personal matter, which – as you would expect – we are not going to get into." Starmer's press secretary told reporters: "The chancellor is going nowhere, she has the prime minister's full backing." The pressure on Reeves comes after the British government managed to pass its welfare reform bill, but only after it removed measures that would have led to savings in the long run. Advertisement Reeves has repeatedly emphasised her commitment to self-imposed fiscal rules, limiting the amount Britain will borrow to try to build the confidence of investors. But that ambition collided with Labour members of parliament who were opposed to the scale of the cuts to welfare, and who said Reeves was being cruel in pushing for billions of pounds of savings from some of the most vulnerable people in society. Opposition politicians and economists said the decision to sharply scale back the welfare reforms meant the government would have to raise taxes or cut spending elsewhere to balance the public finances in the annual budget later this year. Looking miserable One Labour member of parliament, who asked not to be named, said Reeves was upset after an argument with the House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle. A spokesperson for Hoyle declined to comment. Advertisement The opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch singled out Reeves during the weekly set-piece parliamentary session, in which lawmakers put questions to the prime minister in often-raucous exchanges, saying: "She's pointing at me, she looks absolutely miserable." Reeves animatedly gestured back. Badenoch said: "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?" Starmer then responded that Badenoch would not be in her job by then, but did not explicitly back Reeves. Business Michael O'Leary says Rachel Reeves 'hasn't a clue'... Read More The appearance of Reeves in tears put British government bonds on track for their biggest daily selloff since October 10th, 2022, when financial markets were still reeling from former prime minister Liz Truss's decision to announce big, unfunded tax cuts. The pound fell almost 1 per cent on Wednesday. Starmer's press secretary later said the prime minister had expressed his confidence in Reeves many times and did not need to repeat it every time a political opponent speculated on her position. The Treasury spokesperson said Reeves would be working out of Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon. Asked if Reeves had offered her resignation, Starmer's press secretary said: "no".
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Worcestershire woman 'anxious' over government vote on welfare cuts
A Worcestershire woman said she felt as though she was living in a "little anxious void" as she waited for the government to vote on welfare Tuesday evening, the welfare reform bill passed by 75 votes after offering last-minute concessions to appease Labour Edwards, 21, from Pershore, claims £600 per month in welfare and said: "It has been an absolute emotional rollercoaster because the entire time I've not known what I can do with my life."But the prime minister said the welfare bill ends mandatory reassessment for those with severe disabilities, calling it the "right thing to do". Ms Edwards is unable to work due to her conditions, as she faints multiple times a day, is in "immense pain constantly" and suffers from severe at the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said it also rebalanced universal credit, which he says is "long overdue" and sets out a pathway to reform original welfare reform bill, which would have affected Ms Edwards, included proposals to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip) and cut the health-related element of universal changes made by the passed bill will now not include Pip, which will see no changes until a review has been under the plans, under-22s will also no longer qualify for the health element of universal credit. 'Incredibly stressful' The government initially announced its plans for a shake-up of the benefits system in her life since March, Ms Edwards said it had been "incredibly stressful"."I've not known what I can do with my life," she said."It's like I've had to put my life on pause in like anxious little bubble because I couldn't plan for university."I couldn't even apply for university because I didn't know if I had the financial stability to be able to go. "I was basically sat in this little anxious void waiting for an answer." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Labour urged to ‘have courage' to trigger vote on Chagos deal
Dame Priti Patel has urged ministers to 'have the courage' to trigger a vote on the Chagos Islands deal. The Government won a vote in the Lords on Monday, when 205 peers struck down a Tory bid to reject the treaty which cedes control of the archipelago to Mauritius. But the Conservative Party's shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti has called for a similar vote in the Commons. 'With the 21-day Crag (Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010) process about to conclude, it is a disgrace that Labour have breached the parliamentary conventions and denied this House a meaningful debate and vote on ratification,' she told MPs. To accompany the treaty, MPs will need to sign off on a Bill to wind up the current governance of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The treaty will only come into force once the legislation is 'in place', according to the Government. Dame Priti added: 'Having a vote on the Bill is not the same as voting on the treaty under Crag. Earlier this week, the House of Lords – the other place – had a debate and vote where the Lib Dems sided with Labour in backing this £30 billion surrender treaty, which is subsidising tax cuts in Mauritius. 'So, why can't we have a debate and vote in this House? What are ministers afraid of? 'Are they afraid that their backbenchers, now worried about benefit cuts and the impact of unpopular tax rises, will question why so much money is being handed over for a territory that we own and force them into another embarrassing U-turn?' Dame Priti urged ministers to 'scrap this treaty or at least have the courage to bring it here for a proper debate, full scrutiny, and finally, a vote in this House'. Treaties are laid before Parliament before they are ratified, but there is no requirement for a debate or vote. Peers in their vote, which Conservative shadow Foreign Office minister Lord Callanan triggered, agreed not to reject the treaty by 205 votes to 185, majority 20. Responding, Stephen Doughty told the Commons he was 'disappointed by the tone' of Dame Priti's comments. 'I don't know who writes this stuff,' the Foreign Office minister said. 'I don't know whether it's just performative politics or rhetoric, I don't know what. 'But I should point out that I have received and answered over 100 written parliamentary questions from (Dame Priti), I've answered over 250 questions on this deal and the process in total. 'We've had no less than six urgent questions in this House. We have had two statements from this Government by the Foreign Secretary (David Lammy) and the Defence Secretary (John Healey). 'I personally briefed (Dame Priti) and answered many of her questions in my office just a couple of weeks ago in good faith and in detail, and indeed, I was subjected – quite rightly – to robust scrutiny not only from the Foreign Affairs Committee of this House, but also from the International Relations and Defence Committee in the other House, and indeed the International Arrangements Committee in great detail on these issues.' Mr Doughty said a Bill would follow 'in due course' but added the deal with Mauritius, presented to Parliament in May, 'secures' the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, 'secures our national security and that of our allies'.
