Government officials have admitted they made a mistake by making the financial case for cutting benefits as they brace for as many as 50 Labour MPs rebelling against the welfare bill published on Wednesday. Sources told the Guardian that the party should have focused on the moral case for reforming the welfare system, arguing it was letting down millions who could be supported into work.
Labour insiders believe they could have kept more MPs on side if they had not highlighted the £5bn savings the Treasury would make from cuts to health and disability benefits. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs the reforms would make the system more sustainable and support more people back into work. However, plans to overhaul personal independence payments (Pip) and carers’ benefits have triggered alarm, with experts saying up to 1.2 million disabled people could lose thousands of pounds a year.
The government is not expected to make further changes to the bill. “The £5bn is already spent,” said a senior government source, adding that any tweaks would mean spending money they do not have. Senior No 10 figures said the number of rebels could reach 50 but did not believe Labour was at risk of losing the vote, expected in early July. Whips are intensifying efforts to quell the rebellion, offering extra support for those losing benefits while warning MPs of consequences.
Neil Duncan-Jordan, a Labour MP opposing the reforms, said: “The government will only withdraw its damaging disability benefit cuts if Labour MPs make clear they will vote against them. These cuts won’t create jobs – they’ll only push 3 million people deeper into hardship.” Government insiders admitted deep unease across the party meant there was no single rebel leader, making the scale of any mutiny difficult to predict.
