I wanted to point out that I am not associated with the Labour MPs rebelling over severe cuts to benefits that will throw many disabled people into poverty other than supporting their objectives. I wish them luck and expect that they will be jobless come next election if they stick with Starmer & Co and their evil policies.
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Dozens of backbench MPs have signed the amendment. Government whips have already been steeling themselves for a rebellion on the welfare bill when it is first voted on next week.
A senior MP said: “The government hasn’t listened to private concerns so now will have to address these very public ones.”
The aim would be to pass a so-called “reasoned amendment”, which halts the passage of a bill. It means the bill would not pass its second reading, saying that provisions “have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers”.
It also says the bill should not pass until the Office for Budget Responsibility can publish its analysis of the employment impact of the changes this autumn. The amendment adds that most of the additional employment support funding will not be in place until the end of the decade.
It notes the government’s own impact assessment estimates that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of the provisions, including 50,000 children. It calls for an assessment of the impact of the changes on health or care needs and for the conclusion of other reviews.
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Original article at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/23/labour-mps-launch-major-rebellion-to-stop-benefits-cuts-bill
The government has told MPs it will not back down from its controversial reforms to disability benefits, which are set to be introduced to parliament later this month.
More than 100 Labour MPs are thought to have concerns about the plans to cut nearly £5bn from the welfare bill by restricting personal independence payments (PIP) and the health top-up to Universal Credit.
Charities say the changes will have a “catastrophic” effect on vulnerable people.
The chair of the Commons’ Work and Pensions Committee wrote to the secretary of state, Liz Kendall, last month, calling on the government to delay the changes until a full assessment is carried out of the impact on employment, poverty and health.
Labour MP Debbie Abrahams wrote that while there was a case for reform to disability benefits, “the evidence indicated [these changes] might not improve outcomes for most claimants, but instead push many into poverty and further away from the labour market”.
‘Reforms are needed now’
But Ms Kendall has written back, in a letter made public on Wednesday, to reject the idea because the bill needs final approval from parliament in November in order for the changes to take effect in 2026.
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Article continues at https://news.sky.com/story/work-and-pensions-secretary-tells-mps-controversial-disability-benefit-reforms-will-go-ahead-next-year-13382300
Reacting to the Strategic Defence Review and Keir Starmer’s speech earlier today outlining the government’s defense spending plans, Ellie Chowns MP, who holds the defence brief for the Parliamentary Green Party, said
“Keir Starmer is sounding like he is on a war path with his “battle-ready, armour-clad nation” rhetoric. Security is not just based on arms expenditure and threats, but on real leadership that uses diplomacy and development too. There must be a real commitment to an international order based on human rights, equality and genuine cooperation.
“To avoid the horrors of war and armed conflict, we need to look at the deeper causes of insecurity, including poverty and climate breakdown. This is why the Green Party strongly supports the restoration of the international aid budget to at least 0.7% of GNI. And we will continue to argue that real patriotism means ending UK-made weapons or components being sold to dictators, human rights abusers or for use against civilians anywhere in the world.
“The prime minister has talked up the boost to jobs and the economy through increased defence expenditure, but there are many more jobs of the future to be created right now in the clean, green – and peaceful – economy, a sector growing four times faster than the rest of the economy. This is where the government’s focus for investment should be if they are serious about a secure and resilient future.”
https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/benefit-cuts-pip-dwp-labour-disabled-people/
More than half of disabled people with daily living needs in parts of England and Wales could lose their benefits under the government’s welfare cuts, the Big Issue can reveal.
Analysis of data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which was published in response to a written parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Steve Darling, shows that at least half of all current claimants of the personal independence payment (PIP) daily living allowance in ten constituencies could lose this benefit under the government’s plans, which MPs are set to vote on next month.
These include highly deprived Labour seats such as Tipton and Wednesbury and Wolverhampton South East – the constituency of senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden. Meanwhile the least affected constituencies tend to be those with much lower deprivation levels such as Guildford – although even here, more than a third of PIP daily living claimants are at risk from the cuts.
The most exposed constituency is Boston and Skegness, where 52% of claimants are at risk. The seat is represented in parliament by Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice. Polling for the Big Issue recently found that 68% of Reform voters believe Labour is failing on poverty.
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The DWP’s dataset is detailed, showing what proportion of current PIP daily living claimants with each type of disability scored under four points in all daily living assessment categories, putting them at risk from Labour’s plans:
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published an interactive breakdown of the figures by constituency, though not including figures for the overall PIP caseload in each seat.
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See the original article at https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/benefit-cuts-pip-dwp-labour-disabled-people/