Starmer has announced hurried alterations to the Labour welfare bill after more than 120 Labour MPs signalled their intention to vote against it, threatening to deliver the new government its first major parliamentary defeat.
The changes, outlined in a letter from Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall on Thursday evening, include exempting existing disability benefit recipients from the reforms and increasing the health component of universal credit in line with inflation.
Kendall also pledged a broader review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system and additional funding for back-to-work schemes.
Framed by the government as a ‘fair package’, the revised measures do not alter the core structure of the proposals.
Future claimants will remain subject to the original restrictions, prompting concerns across the party and from disability campaigners that the changes have simply created a future cut-off point for the same policy.
Several MPs have continued to express strong opposition. Alex Sobel said: ‘Whether you acquire disability at birth, five years ago or tomorrow, it should be the same for everyone.’
Nadia Whittome warned: ‘These concessions aren’t enough and they should worry us all. If you become disabled tomorrow, you risk not having the support you need.’
Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, added: ‘I and many more cannot accept this backroom deal.’
While the leadership succeeded in peeling away some support for the planned rebellion, particularly among select committee chairs, many Labour MPs remain unconvinced.
The most common criticism centres on what is widely viewed as the introduction of a ‘two-tier’ welfare system, which divides support between current and future claimants based purely on timing.
There is no clarity on how the government intends to pay for the reported £3 billion in concessions.
Kendall claimed in her letter that the package would be ‘fully funded’ and involve ‘no permanent increase in borrowing’, but no details were given as to whether this would be achieved through departmental cuts or increased taxation.
Disability groups have responded with scepticism.
Jackie O’Sullivan of Mencap said the exemption for existing claimants was ‘the right thing to do’, but the MS Society criticised the changes as ‘kicking the can down the road and delaying an inevitable disaster’.
Despite the backlash, government figures have insisted the bill will go ahead as planned. Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said on Friday: ‘I am confident that this bill will come forward on Tuesday and will receive its second reading.’
