Prime Minister Keir Starmer has launched what he calls a "moral mission" to reform Britain's welfare system, despite his government's recent decision to increase annual benefits spending by a staggering £16 billion.
The Contradiction of Rising Costs and Reform Pledges
In a speech delivered in London on Monday, Sir Keir argued the current system is "trapping people in poverty" and declared it time to "confront the reality" that the welfare state is keeping people out of work. This bold declaration comes just days after his Chancellor's Budget significantly expanded the welfare budget.
The recent financial plans included scrapping the controversial two-child benefit cap, at a cost of £3.2 billion, and abandoning previously planned reforms. This has contributed to a forecast that total welfare spending, encompassing benefits and state pensions, will balloon from £333 billion to £406 billion by 2030.
Targeting Youth and Mental Health Support
Central to the Prime Minister's proposed reforms is a focus on young people and those with mental health conditions. He criticised the previous Conservative government for writing "young people off as too ill to work," labelling it a "total failure."
Sir Keir signalled a shift in approach, suggesting young people with mild mental health disorders should receive more "support" to find employment rather than automatically being granted sickness benefits. "We need to remove all the barriers which hold back the potential of our young people," he stated, warning that early career neglect could trap individuals in "a cycle of worklessness and dependency for decades."
To advance this agenda, Downing Street has commissioned former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn to review ways to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment, or training—a figure nearing one million. Simultaneously, Welfare Minister Sir Stephen Timms is conducting a review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system.
Political Resistance and Charitable Backlash
The Prime Minister's rhetoric has already sparked significant opposition. Disability groups and welfare charities have vowed to rally MPs to block any measures that cut entitlements, echoing a successful campaign earlier this year that forced Labour into a "humiliating retreat" on similar plans.
Charles Gillies of the Disability Benefits Consortium, representing 100 organisations, condemned the PM's comments as "deeply concerning." He argued that "disability benefits are a means of survival for many" and that cutting support would push young people further into poverty, worsening health and distancing them from employment.
Politically, the move is also fraught. Tory policy chief Neil O'Brien dismissed the speech as a "total waste of time," noting that the terms of Sir Stephen Timms's review appear to preclude budget cuts. Furthermore, opinion polls indicate public opposition to Labour's decision to lift the two-child benefit cap, which will add billions to future welfare bills.
Despite the criticism, Sir Keir remains defiant, stating he is "proud" of the decision to scrap the cap, which he insists will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. He framed his reform push not as an attempt to look "politically tough" but as a fundamental duty for "any Labour Party worth the name." The stage is now set for a major political battle over the future and cost of Britain's social safety net.
