Latest news with #Commons
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Disabled Labour MP says welfare U-turn would create ‘unethical two-tier system'
A disabled Labour MP has said Keir Starmer's chaotic U-turn on welfare reform will create an 'unethical two-tier system', in a damning intervention which will put further pressure on the prime minister to change course. Olivia Blake, one of only nine MPs in parliament who has a disclosed disability, said the proposed changes to the welfare bill have been 'plucked from the air' by ministers scrambling to secure support for the bill in Tuesday's crunch vote in the Commons. 'The first thing I thought when I heard the concessions was, wait, we've not taken the step back that's needed here, we're working to improve a bill which is really harmful,' she said. 'This could form an unethical two-tier system that treats two people with the exact same injury or illness differently.' Blake, who has genetic pain disorders and is neurodivergent, said she has repeatedly warned ministers and whips for months about the inadequacy of the plans, but described the process of trying to communicate with government as like 'shouting at a brick wall'. 'They will meet you and chat with you but not respond. They need to learn lessons from that.' She added: 'I'm disappointed that something has been plucked from the air without engaging disabled people.' There have been after several days of frantic negotiations by the government as ministers tried to quell a rebellion of 120-plus Labour MPs over next week's welfare bill. Under the original plans, the personal independence payments (Pip) system would have its eligibility significantly tightened while out of work sickness benefits would be cut. The work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, has now promised to exempt current disability claimants from the changes, and to increase the health element of universal credit in line with inflation. Blake is adamant this is not enough. 'There are other ways forward and concessions made on this bill can't lead to future claimants suffering consequences that today's claimants may be able to avoid,' she said. 'We can't kick the can down the road. We certainly can't take away the already limited support disabled people rely on, condemning many to a life of poverty and deteriorating health.' The government has promised that the entire criteria system will be reviewed in conjunction with disabled people, but there is growing resentment among disability advocates that this was not done sooner. Blake said she agrees with their anger. 'I think the government needs to listen to disabled people, starting with its own backbenchers because it's clear our voices are still locked out,' she added. Vicky Foxcroft, who has rheumatoid arthritis, resigned as a whip in protest over the bill. With so few MPs in the party having a disclosed disability, Blake is disappointed the leadership has sidelined their input. 'It's hugely frustrating especially when colleagues have been going on the media day after day [incorrectly] calling Pip an out of work benefit,' she said. 'I've tried to flag that.' Blake is also one of the few MPs who has direct experience with the disability benefits system. In 2023, she applied for Pip herself, in part to understand what her constituents are facing. 'I'm in daily pain. I have to plan around flare-ups, hospital visits, and treatments that wipe me out for days,' she said. 'Even getting to work can mean pushing through fatigue and discomfort most people never experience. Sitting in the chamber is often excruciating.' Despite this, she was rejected for Pip, scoring just 2 points overall. She said: 'I found it staggering that the only one of my conditions that scored a point was my dyslexia. 'Even though I'd sent off reams of reports, test results, appointment notes and letters, correspondence with consultants. I thought there was a deep irony that the accessible form I had requested [for my dyslexia] arrived after their own deadlines.' Blake recalls there were multiple factual errors in the report but didn't feel confident enough to appeal. 'It made me question myself, as if I'd done something wrong.' The experience left her with an understanding of what other disabled people who rely on benefits are going through. 'This is not a system designed to support, it is a system that is toxic and makes people more ill.' This is the first time Blake, who was elected in 2019, has spoken publicly about her physical disabilities. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion She said that she has not done so lightly. 'I worry people will think it means I can't do my job effectively or as a weakness,' she said. 'But I think it makes me a better representative because I get it.' Now, that means making a plea to her colleagues: 'This isn't about us. It's not about the games in Westminster. This is about the lives of disabled people that have continuously been undervalued.'
Spectator
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Lord Falconer's selective constitutional memory
Good old Charlie Falconer. For more than 15 years now, the noble Lord has been trying, desperately, to ram assisted dying through parliament. Kim Leadbeater's Bill represents his eighth attempt at legalising suicide following previous efforts in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2024. Now, with a narrow majority of just 23 MPs backing Leadbeater's legislation, Falconer clearly senses the victory that has eluded him for so long… The New Labour grandee penned a piece in the Times last week headlined 'Assisted dying will end the anguish. We won't let wreckers derail it.' It concluded that MPs had 'decided the law must change. The Lords will scrutinise and improve but it will respect and give effect to that decision.' In short, what MPs say, goes. Appearing subsequently on Tuesday's edition of the Today programme, he was asked whether the role of the Lords was to 'ultimately uphold something that the directly elected members of the Commons have decided to go ahead with.' 'Correct', replied Falconer. But has the good Lord himself stuck to this self-denying ordinance? A quick look at his voting record would certainly suggest not. For back in October 2011, he was one of 220 Peers, mostly Labour, who tried to vote down the Coalition's Health and Social Care Bill – despite it having passed the Commons with a majority of 65 MPs at Third Reading. He subsequently tried to delay Tory changes to tax credits in October 2015, despite it passing the Commons with a majority of 22. And, more recently, he voted against the 2023 Illegal Migration Bill – despite a Commons majority of 59. The point here is *not* that the Lords cannot vote down legislation passed by MPs. It is that those supporting assisted dying ought to recognise the rights and responsibilities of the Upper House – and be honest about their own voting records in parliament. Otherwise there will be inevitable talk of rules for thee but not for me…
Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
This pub has been named the best in Wales in a village with some of the best views you will find
This pub has been named the best in Wales in a village with some of the best views you will find The National Pub and Bar Awards 2025, organised by Pub and Bar magazine, were held in London on Tuesday night, with pubs across the UK recognised. (Image: Britannia inn ) The charming little village of Llanmadoc sits above Cwm Ivy and Whiteford Sands. To the north is a nature reserve, to the south stunning Llangennith. But it's in the village itself you can find Wales' best pub. The beloved 17th-century Britannia Inn has been given the prestigious title at the 2025 National Pub and Bar Awards. Inside the pub you will find an inviting and original inglenook fireplace with a leg warming log burner. Whatever the time of year, the 17th century bar feels particularly cosy and welcoming with its low beamed ceilings, old tiled floor, exposed stone walls, and old wooden tables and chairs. (Image: Rob Scott ) The pub still has its original bread oven and in parts of the pub you can still see the old gas lamps. Article continues below The beams in the lounge are reputed to be from shipwrecks which were 'lanterned' ashore by wreckers for their valuable cargo. The bar serves a great menu with an extensive specials board also available and excellent service. There is also a restaurant serving special set menus, a specials board, and an a la carte menu that runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday evenings. They also serve a traditional Sunday roast, along with locally sourced Gower Salt Marsh Lamb, Selwyn's seaweed, Swansea smoked salmon and Gower gold Ale. If the weather's good, the pub also has an extensive garden area with children's play equipment , a decking area and views across the Loughor estuary which are to die for. And it's a particularly beautiful part of the world for a walk. (Image: Martin Edwards/Creative Commons ) Head up the hill from the Britannia Inn pub and you will see a sign saying Whiteford Burrows and a lane going along between two cottages. It takes you down the side of a valley with lush views over the Loughor estuary and across to the Carmarthenshire coast. At the bottom of the hill take a left through the trees, leading to Cwm Ivy where you will find a café and some cute little cottages. (Image: Google maps ) Turn right and a path will take you down to Whiteford Sands and acres of pine forest that line the huge expanse of sand. Article continues below There is plenty to explore here, including Whiteford Lighthouse, the only sea-washed cast iron lighthouse in the UK, but if the lure of the pub at the end of the walk is calling, then head left, up the hill, to the top of Llanmadoc village. As far as circular pub walks go, circles, pubs and walks don't get much better than this.
Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Tories fume at council by-election results
It seems that all is not well with the once-mighty Tory ground game. After a thumping set of election defeats last month, a worrying new trend has developed for the Conservatives. They are not only losing more wards in council by-elections; they now seem unable to field candidates, even in seats still represented at Westminster by the surviving 120 Tory MPs. Hardly a healthy sign… Three weeks ago, the party was unable to field candidates for two by-elections in King's Lynn and West Norfolk – a seat still held in the Commons by the Tory James Wild. Then, this week, the party could not find someone to stand for a vacant ward in Mel Stride's patch on Mid Devon District Council. Even when the party does field a candidate in Tory-held constituencies, it seems that there are very few wards that could now be considered truly safe territory. A devastating example of that was offered last night in Essex. Reform UK won its first seat on Basildon Council after polling 922 votes in the Wickford Park ward, ahead of the Tories on 840. It prompted a late-night ding-dong on the official Tory MPs' WhatsApp group between local MP Mark Francois and Nigel Huddleston, the party's co-chairman. Shortly after the count, amid some crowing on the group about a seat held in South Staffordshire, Francois wrote at 00:56 that: We lost in Wickford.. by 82 votes. Despite absolutely knocking ourselves out, for the best part of six weeks. The fault didn't lie with the front line troops – it was back at the Chateau. It prompted Huddleston to reply: 'Sorry Mark. Know how hard team worked.' Francois responded 'No you don't – you've no idea.' Ouch. One MP told Mr S tonight: 'It's hard to say what's more embarrassing: not fielding a candidate – or losing supposedly safe wards. No change, no chance.' Let's hope the renewal programme starts soon eh?
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This week will haunt the prime minister after his most damaging U-turn yet
It has been a painful week to watch. A U-turn in slow motion, culminating in a midnight climbdown as Number 10 agreed to concede to defiant MPs on Thursday night. The concessions are considerable. They mean, among other compromises, that existing claimants of personal independence payments (PIP) and the health aspect of Universal Credit will be protected from welfare reforms. 👉 Follow Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Some MPs, like and Nadia Whittome, remain unconvinced, but they were never high on the list of rebels the government expected to persuade. Ministers now hope that with the backing of MPs like Dame Meg Hillier, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, the bill will pass the Commons. Their problems won't end there, though. Firstly, there is the question of money. The Resolution Foundation estimates the concessions will cost £3bn of the £5bn the hoped to save from the welfare reforms. The 's spokesperson says the changes will be fully funded in the budget and there will be no permanent increase in borrowing. They won't comment on any potential tax rises to plug the gap in Rachel Reeves' finances. The bigger cost, though, is the political one. A year ago, when Sir Keir Starmer strode into Downing Street with a thumping majority, few could have imagined how the last few days would play out. Read more: More than 120 MPs, nearly a third of the parliamentary party and more than the total number of Tory MPs, publicly prepared to rebel on a flagship policy. How did it come to this? How did the prime minister, and the people around him, not see a rebellion coming when there had been signs MPs weren't happy for weeks? Those are the questions being asked by senior Labour figures behind the scenes. Sir Keir's spokesperson says the prime minister consistently engages with colleagues, and parliamentary engagement takes many forms. But a lack of engagement with backbenchers has led to the prime minister's most damaging U-turn yet, and this week will haunt the prime minister beyond Tuesday's crunch vote.
