Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the government’s compromise welfare bill proposals as “common sense” and striking “the right balance”, despite a rebellion by Labour MPs over cuts to disability benefits. The concessions, estimated to cost around £3bn a year, were announced overnight in an attempt to avert a major defeat in Tuesday’s vote.
Speaking on Monday, Starmer insisted the welfare system “doesn’t work and it traps people”, adding that the reforms are necessary to ensure those who can work are supported to do so, while protecting those who cannot. However, the claim that the system “traps people” has angered campaigners, who note that Personal Independence Payment (Pip) is paid to disabled people with extra costs, including those in work.
Despite the concessions, at least 50 Labour MPs remain determined to oppose the bill, according to Labour MP Cat Eccles. Disability rights campaigners have also urged MPs to continue opposing the legislation, arguing the changes do not go far enough and would deepen poverty. Meg Hillier, who tabled a reasoned amendment to kill the bill, welcomed the U-turn but many backbenchers remain unconvinced.
When asked how the government would fund the £3bn-a-year concessions, Starmer said the funding would be “set out in the budget in the usual way” later this year. Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly expected to extend a freeze on income tax thresholds to raise additional funds to cover the growing budget hole created by the U-turn.
In other developments, Starmer expressed “deep regret” over a speech in which he warned the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers” without tough immigration curbs. He also secured a long-delayed phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, discussing UK-Egypt trade relations, which raised cautious optimism for the release of British-Egyptian dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah.
