Latest news with #UniversalCreditandPersonalIndependencePayment
North Wales Chronicle
9 hours ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Gwynedd and Anglesey MPs vote against ‘cruel' welfare bill
MPs voted through the government's Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill by 335 votes to 260 yesterday, but only after offering late concessions to Labour rebels. The government also revealed another U-turn by saying it would not change PIP rules until it had time to consider recommendations and conclusions made by an impending review. Llinos Media (Ynys Môn) and Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) were among the 260 MPs who voted against the bill in Parliament yesterday. Ms Medi also highlighted her disappointment that only one Welsh Labour MP (Steve Witherden, Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) voted against the bill. She said: 'We must do more to help disabled people to play their fullest possible role in society. Cutting support is not the way to do that. 'Last night's chaos in Parliament proved the government should have pulled the welfare bill and paused. You can't build durable policy by making it up as you go along. 'Disabled people were outside pleading to be heard - but only one Welsh Labour MP voted against. Many will feel disappointed.' All 335 MPs who voted in favour of the bill were from the Labour party, while 55 abstained. PIP is paid to England and Wales residents who have difficulty completing everyday tasks due to a long-term physical or mental health condition. It is not means-tested and is available to people who are working, but its eligibility criteria is proposed to be tightened from November 2026. MPs will continue to scrutinise the bill when it returns to the House of Commons on July 9. Ms Saville Roberts added: 'Plaid Cymru MPs listened to disabled people and voted against the welfare bill last night. This bill was cruel from the outset and remains unfit for purpose. 'Shambolic is the only word to describe yesterday's debate. A panicked U-turn midway through the debate exposed Labour's complete lack of direction. 'These measures will hit Welsh communities hardest - yet the vast majority of Welsh Labour MPs nodded them through. 'Plaid Cymru have consistently opposed these cruel welfare reforms, recognising that targeting the most vulnerable is both morally indefensible and economically short-sighted.'
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Leishman: 'More austerity to fix austerity makes no sense'
Speaking to Unspun Live, The Herald's politics podcast, the Alloa and Grangemouth MP said: 'This is a welfare reform that will be critically important for people. It could be lethal. "We've seen what austerity did for 14 years. It was the cause of hundreds of excess deaths. More austerity to combat initial austerity makes no sense.' His intervention came as Health Secretary Wes Streeting insisted the revised plans had 'put us in a much better position' and would give 'peace of mind' to existing claimants. READ MORE 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 aims 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 mostly been 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 change in PIP spending will have an impact on the block grant. Last-ditch talks with rebels saw No 10 promise to apply the reforms 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 be led by Disabilities Minister Sir Stephen Timms and 'co-produced' with disabled people. The tweaks are expected to cost around £1.5 billion. While the vote may still be close, the Prime Minister is now expected to win. Mr Leishman said that despite the changes, he would not vote for the bill. He told The Herald he believed the legislation was being 'rushed through' and was 'certainly not going to be fit for purpose'. Asked what changes he would like to see, the MP said Labour should start again and 'engage with the organisations and charities, people that work on the front line, and see exactly what life is like for disabled people, for some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society'. The Prime Minister admitted this weekend that he had not fully focused on the scale of the rebellion until late last week, saying international commitments had taken priority. He told the Sunday Times: 'Getting it right is more important than ploughing on with a package which doesn't necessarily achieve the desired outcome... I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this Government.' But Mr Leishman said there was a broader failure of political listening. 'I think it's fair to say there's a whole multitude, a whole raft of issues that the leadership haven't been listening nearly enough to—certainly not to backbench MPs, but also, as well, to the grassroots Labour membership.' 'When I went to Scottish Labour conference in February, and when I went to the STUC Congress in Dundee only a couple of months ago, the rank-and-file Labour Party membership and the trade union movement were not happy,' he added. 'They're not content with what we've done in our first year in government. We must do better.' The MP has become a prominent voice among Labour's Scottish left. He said his loyalty was to his constituents, the Labour Party and the wider movement. 'If every MP just relied on the lines from the party and never deviated, that breeds disenchantment and disenfranchisement with politicians,' he said. 'Say what you mean, and mean what you say. That's what I'm trying to do with my time in Parliament.' READ MORE Mr Leishman, who has called for a 2% annual wealth tax on multimillionaires, said the leadership needed to offer a clearer vision. 'We have got to present a change that the country needs, and that means a redistribution of wealth, power and opportunity for the benefit of the many in society. 'That's what we've got to do and if we do that—forget the SNP, forget Reform, forget the Tories, forget all of them. Because if we as a Government actually improve people's living standards and give them better public services, give them more money, give them reduced bills, actually allow them to participate in society... it's great for the economy, and we've improved people's living standards—and we'll get a second term. "It's very simple, in my opinion.' Speaking ahead of tomorrow's vote, the SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn said the last minute deal was "rapidly unravelling as the details emerge." "It is becoming clear that it was a deal designed to save the skin of the Prime Minister, but a deal that will end up punishing those who are young or newly disabled." He said Anas Sarwar should instruct his MPs to "stand firm against this two-tier disability system."
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Kuwait Times
UK climbs down on welfare cuts in latest U-turn
LONDON: The UK government backed down Friday on controversial plans to slash disability and sickness benefits after a major rebellion by MPs, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's authority. The climbdown is the third U-turn that Starmer has been forced into making in less than a month, leading to questions about his political acumen and the direction of the ruling Labour party. Only days after Starmer insisted he would plough ahead with the reforms, the government confirmed concessions had been made to 126 rebel MPs who had threatened to scupper the proposed changes. Tuesday turnaround comes just before Starmer marks the first anniversary of what has been a rocky return to power for Labour after 14 years in opposition to the Conservatives. He said that following 'constructive discussion' with Labour rebels his welfare reforms now struck 'the right balance'. 'We've got a package which I think will work, we can get it right,' Starmer told broadcasters. The retreat means the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (Pip) Bill, which contains the welfare reforms, will likely make it through a parliamentary vote due on Tuesday. 'It's always best to concede and then get it through in some way, shape or form. This is sort of damage limitation,' political scientist Steven Fielding told AFP. The concessions, due to be set out in parliament before Tuesday, include a 'staggered approach' to the reforms, care minister Stephen Kinnock said. This means the narrower eligibility criteria proposed will only apply to new claimants, not those already receiving the benefit payments. Starmer's government had hoped to make savings of £5.0 billion ($6.9 billion) as a result of the changes, which have now been partly abandoned. That means finance minister Rachel Reeves will need to find the money elsewhere. It has been a bumpy 12 months in office for Starmer during which Reeves has struggled to generate growth from a sluggish UK economy. On June 9, the government declared it had reversed a policy to scrap a winter heating benefit for millions of pensioners, following widespread criticism, including from its own MPs. Less than a week later Starmer—a former chief state prosecutor in England and Wales—announced a national inquiry focused on a UK child sex exploitation scandal that had attracted the attention of US billionaire Elon Musk. Starmer had previously resisted calls for an inquiry into the so-called 'grooming gangs' that saw girls as young as 10 raped by groups of men, mostly of South Asian origin. He favored a series of local probes. On Friday, the prime minister also backtracked on a speech given in May in which he warned that the UK was in danger of becoming an 'island of strangers' without stricter immigration curbs. 'That particular phrase—no—it wasn't right,' he said in an interview with the Observer newspaper. 'I'll give you the honest truth: I deeply regret using it,' he added. The prime minister has a massive majority of 165 MPs, meaning he should be able to force whatever legislation he wants through parliament. But many of his own MPs complain of a disconnect between Starmer's leadership, which is focused on combatting the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, and Labour's traditional centre-left principles. 'Labour is meant to stand for fairness, and those two flagship mistakes are all about being unfair,' Fielding said of the winter fuel and the disability cuts. The rows have overshadowed Labour's tightening of employment rights and its investment in housing and green industries, he added. A YouGov poll of more than 10,000 Britons released this week found that while Labour is losing voters to Reform, it is also forfeiting supporters to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the left. 'They've been making so many unforced errors,' said Fielding, a politics professor at Nottingham University in central England. 'I think there is now being a very reluctant recalibration of things.' — AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
UK Govt Climbs Down On Welfare Cuts In Latest U-turn
The UK government backed down Friday on controversial plans to slash disability and sickness benefits after a major rebellion by MPs, in a blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's authority. The climbdown is the third U-turn that Starmer has been forced into in less than a month, leading to questions about his political acumen and direction of the ruling Labour party. Only days after Starmer insisted he would plough ahead with the reforms, the government confirmed concessions had been made to 126 rebel MPs who had threatened to scupper the proposed changes. Tue turnaround comes just before Starmer marks the first anniversary of what has been a rocky return to power for Labour after 14 years in opposition to the Conservatives. A spokesperson for Number 10 said the government had "listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system". It said a revised package of measures would preserve the welfare system for those "who need it, by putting it on a sustainable footing". The backtrack means the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (Pip) Bill, which contains the welfare reforms, will likely make it through a parliamentary vote due on Tuesday. "It's always best to concede and then get it through in some way, shape or form. This is sort of damage limitation," political scientist Steven Fielding told AFP. The concessions, due to be set out in parliament later on Friday, include a "staggered approach" to the reforms, care minister Stephen Kinnock said. This means that the narrower eligibility criteria proposed will only apply to new claimants, not those already receiving the benefit payments. Starmer's government had hoped to make savings of GBP5.0 billion ($6.9 billion) as a result of the changes that have now been partly abandoned, meaning finance minister Rachel Reeves will need to find them elsewhere. It has been a bumpy 12 months in office for Starmer during which Reeves has struggled to generate growth from a sluggish UK economy. On June 9, the government declared it had reversed a policy to scrap a winter heating benefit for millions of pensioners, following widespread criticism, including from its own MPs. Less than a week later Starmer announced a national enquiry focused on a UK child sex exploitation scandal that had attracted the attention of US billionaire Elon Musk. Starmer had previously resisted calls for an enquiry into the so-called "grooming gangs" -- that saw girls as young as 10 raped by groups of men mostly of South Asian origin -- in favour of a series of local probes. The prime minister has a massive majority of 165 MPs, meaning he should be able to force whatever legislation he wants through parliament. But many of his own MPs complain of a disconnect between Starmer's leadership, which is focused on combatting the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, and Labour's traditional centre-left principles. "Labour is meant to stand for fairness, and those two flagship mistakes are all about being unfair," Fielding said of winter fuel and the disability cuts. The furores are also overshadowing Labour's tightening of employment rights, and investment in housing and green industries, he added. A YouGov poll of more than 10,000 Britons released this week found that while Labour is losing voters to Reform, it is also forfeiting supporters to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the left. "They've been making so many unforced errors," said Fielding, a politics professor at Nottingham University. "I think there is now being a very reluctant recalibration of things."
France 24
5 days ago
- Business
- France 24
UK govt climbs down on welfare cuts in latest U-turn
The climbdown is the third U-turn that Starmer has been forced into in less than a month, leading to questions about his political acumen and direction of the ruling Labour party. Only days after Starmer insisted he would plough ahead with the reforms, the government confirmed concessions had been made to 126 rebel MPs who had threatened to scupper the proposed changes. Tue turnaround comes just before Starmer marks the first anniversary of what has been a rocky return to power for Labour after 14 years in opposition to the Conservatives. A spokesperson for Number 10 said the government had "listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system". It said a revised package of measures would preserve the welfare system for those "who need it, by putting it on a sustainable footing". The backtrack means the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (Pip) Bill, which contains the welfare reforms, will likely make it through a parliamentary vote due on Tuesday. "It's always best to concede and then get it through in some way, shape or form. This is sort of damage limitation," political scientist Steven Fielding told AFP. The concessions, due to be set out in parliament later on Friday, include a "staggered approach" to the reforms, care minister Stephen Kinnock said. This means that the narrower eligibility criteria proposed will only apply to new claimants, not those already receiving the benefit payments. Starmer's government had hoped to make savings of £5.0 billion ($6.9 billion) as a result of the changes that have now been partly abandoned, meaning finance minister Rachel Reeves will need to find them elsewhere. 'Unforced errors' It has been a bumpy 12 months in office for Starmer during which Reeves has struggled to generate growth from a sluggish UK economy. On June 9, the government declared it had reversed a policy to scrap a winter heating benefit for millions of pensioners, following widespread criticism, including from its own MPs. Less than a week later Starmer announced a national enquiry focused on a UK child sex exploitation scandal that had attracted the attention of US billionaire Elon Musk. Starmer had previously resisted calls for an enquiry into the so-called "grooming gangs" -- that saw girls as young as 10 raped by groups of men mostly of South Asian origin -- in favour of a series of local probes. The prime minister has a massive majority of 165 MPs, meaning he should be able to force whatever legislation he wants through parliament. But many of his own MPs complain of a disconnect between Starmer's leadership, which is focused on combatting the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, and Labour's traditional centre-left principles. "Labour is meant to stand for fairness, and those two flagship mistakes are all about being unfair," Fielding said of winter fuel and the disability cuts. The furores are also overshadowing Labour's tightening of employment rights, and investment in housing and green industries, he added. A YouGov poll of more than 10,000 Britons released this week found that while Labour is losing voters to Reform, it is also forfeiting supporters to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the left.
