Keir Starmer faces humiliating U-turn over £6bn benefit cuts as Labour rebellion brews .hh
Sir Keir Starmer appears to be U-turning on changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for disabled people to ward off a huge backlash among Labour MPs.
Keir Starmer faces the prospect of a humiliating U-turn amid uproar over possible cuts to benefits (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer faces the prospect of a humiliating U-turn over controversial plans to cut up to £6billion from the UK’s rising benefits bill. The Government was planning to cancel a rise to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for disabled people due next spring.
Neither Downing Street nor the Department for Work and Pensions denied they are about to U-turn on the plans, according to a report by the Guardian newspaper. Labour MPs and peers appear to have seen off the proposal, which George Osborne refused to freeze when he was chancellor. Cabinet members are believed to have raised concerns at how the public would view the Labour Government if PIP were to be frozen or eligibility rules be tightened. Doing so would mean legislative changes, which could trigger a major rebellion among Labour MPs and peers, some of whom have already signalled their oppostion to such moves.
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Downing Street hasn’t denied it is about to do a U-turn (Image: Getty)
The plans had reportedly been earmarked for inclusion in a Health and Disability Green Paper due to be published on Tuesday (March 18).
That comes ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivering her spring statement on March 26, when she is expected to announce spending cuts in order to meet her commitments on the public finances.
Curbing the cost of welfare is expected to be among moves to contribute to savings. The sickness and disability bill for working-age people has risen by £20bn since the pandemic and is forecast to hit £70bn over the next five years.
An analysis of official figures by Scope suggested 700,000 disabled households could be pushed into poverty without PIP, which charities and recipients say can be a lifeline and enable people to work.
According to the Guardian, ministers are reportedly looking at changing the rules around PIP eligibility so it wouldn’t be available to people who need someone else to help them “wash below the waist” or need a reminder to go to the toilet.
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Rachel Reeves is expected to announce spending cuts (Image: Getty)
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The Government has insisted the current welfare system is “broken” and needs reform to support long-term sick and disabled people into work so they can live more independent lives. Ministers argue that they want to put the benefits bill on a more sustainable footing for the taxpayer.
Ministers argue that they have a duty to get the welfare bill on a more sustainable path and they will achieve that through “meaningful, principled” reforms as opposed to arbitrary spending cuts.
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has suggested Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “should apologise” to disabled people for “allowing damaging speculation to run wild” over expected cuts to disability payments.
The party’s work and pensions spokesperson, Kirsty Blackman MP, said any planned cuts to disability payments should be “abandoned” and accused Labour of “deliberately fuelling speculation” in the media about its intentions.
Ms Blackman’s comments come after a coalition of charities told Ms Reeves that making cuts to disability benefits would have a “catastrophic” impact on disabled people across the country.
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