Starmer caves in to rebels on benefits: Sir Keir is forced into a humiliating climb-down by Labour welfare army
By DAVID CHURCHILL and JASON GROVES
Published: | Updated:
Keir Starmer was tonight forced into a humiliating climbdown by Labour's army of welfare rebels.
The Prime Minister is said to have handed them 'massive concessions' in a bid to avoid defeat in a crunch vote on benefit cuts next week.
Experts warned it meant fresh tax raids this autumn were almost inevitable because the reforms, projected to save £5billion, will now save much less.
The concessions are understood to include watering down reforms to personal independence payments (PIP), which would have hit vulnerable people unable to wash or dress themselves.
Privately, ministers were cautiously optimistic last night that the climbdown will enable them to peel off enough of the 126 rebels to press ahead with a Commons vote on Tuesday.
And one rebel told The Guardian: 'They've offered massive concessions, which should be enough to get the Bill over the line at second reading (Tuesday's vote).'
It came following a frantic day of talks after the PM set a deadline of Sunday night for striking a compromise.
Sir Keir is understood to have phoned several of the rebels.
Keir Starmer was tonight forced into a humiliating climbdown by Labour's army of welfare rebels
Protesters march with flags and placards during the Welfare Not Warfare' demonstration on June 7
Insiders acknowledged that the PM would have little choice but to pull the vote – leaving his authority in tatters – if there was no deal by Sunday evening.
The climbdown is still highly embarrassing for Sir Keir as it highlights how drastically he failed to read the mood among his MPs.
It is also the latest in a series of backsliding on policies after he U-turned on cuts to the winter fuel allowance.
Several moderate opponents said they were open to passing the benefit cuts legislation if key elements such as the PIP proposals were watered down, suggesting Sir Keir stands a good chance of winning over enough rebels in the coming days.
But several other more hardline MPs warned that nothing less than ditching the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would placate them.
The Government has a majority of 165 in the Commons, meaning 83 Labour MPs need to oppose the Bill to inflict defeat.
After days of mounting opposition to the benefit cuts, Sir Keir finally acknowledged today that the reforms would not get through without a compromise.
Speaking in the Commons, he said he would start a 'conversation' with rebels because 'colleagues want to get this right, and so do I'.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is pictured on June 26 during a visit
Speaking to ITV, Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: 'We've got to get this right. So of course we've got to take people with us on this journey.
'And over the next few days, we'll continue listening ahead of the vote on Tuesday. Everyone can see the system we've got today isn't sustainable.
Asked about the prospect of tax hikes, she added: 'It is right to say that we're not going to increase the taxes that working people pay – their income tax, National Insurance or VAT. As a government, we do need to get control of the public finances, but we need to in a fair way.'
As the reforms stand, most of the 800,000 affected PIP claimants will lose £3,850 a year as the proposals stand.
Projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies show ditching this proposal could cost up to £2.3billion, further adding to the black hole in the public finances.
Other elements in the proposed new law include halving the health top-up in Universal Credit for new claimants from 2026 and phasing out the work capability assessment.
Watering down the Universal Credit plank would cost up to another £2.5 billion.
With the Government already pledging to reverse winter fuel allowance cuts, poised to lift the two-child benefit cap and spend billions more on defence, it means tax rises or spending cuts elsewhere would almost certainly be needed.
Mel Stride during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons
Eduin Latimer, a senior economist at the IFS, said: 'Scaling these measures back somewhat would boost support for claimants with health conditions but naturally would require the Government to raise taxes or find other savings elsewhere.'
Ben Caswell, of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, added: 'If the Government is unable to pass this Bill, the cost would be large enough to erase the narrow £9.9billion headroom against the Chancellor's stability rule.
This means she will face the difficult choice of either cutting current expenditure or raising taxes.'
Tory Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said: 'This is the latest in a growing list of screeching U-turns from this weak Labour government.'
Asked which benefits she would cut to bring the welfare bill down, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'We have people who... are now claiming disability claims for things like anxiety.
'That is not what welfare was designed for. The system is being gamed.
'There are people claiming it for conditions that probably shouldn't be getting welfare, and also people who don't have conditions at all, who have worked out that you can exploit the system.'
0 Comments