A major Labour rebellion is underway, with Sir Keir Starmer facing demands from over 100 MPs and peers to reverse his plans to cut disability benefits.
The Labour leader has announced he will stick to the government’s controversial changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system, even though there has been serious party dissent.
More than 100 Labour MPs, peers, and trade union leaders have attached their names to an open letter calling for Starmer to abandon the policy that leaves the most vulnerable “sink deeper into poverty.” The proposed changes would mean losing financial support for thousands of disabled people.
The dispute comes as Labour’s left-wing MPs blame Starmer for bringing in the austerities of the Tories when it comes to welfare reforms. The letter, organized by the Labour Campaign for Disability Rights, stated, “These cuts will have a devastating impact on disabled people, many of whom have already been struggling to get by.”
Starmer, however, insists the reforms are necessary to put the welfare system on a so-called “sustainable” basis, targeted at those most in need. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall backed this view, arguing that Labour must be “fiscally responsible.”
But opponents argue that the scheme flies in the face of Labour’s social justice commitment. “This is a betrayal of our values. We cannot be fiscally prudent on the backs of the most vulnerable.”
The debate is heating up as Labour inches closer to forming a government, with Starmer coming under pressure to clarify his welfare policies for the general elections. Disability rights groups have cautioned that a cut to PIP will leave many with little or no support for essential daily living costs.
A Labour spokesperson said: “We will always support disabled people, but we have to reform the system to make it fair and sustainable for the future.”
Any rebellion bodes ill for Starmer, who now has to try to bring the disparate elements of his party together toward his policy agenda.
