Keir Starmer will press ahead with his disability benefit reforms despite a growing rebellion from Labour MPs, as he said there was a “clear moral case” for change.
Speaking before next week’s Commons vote on the measures, the prime minister defended plans to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment (Pip), arguing that the current system was unsustainable.
“There is a clear moral case, which is: the current system doesn’t help those who want to get into work,” Starmer said. “It traps people. I think it’s 1,000 people a day going on to Pip. The additions to Pip each year are the equivalent of a city the size of Leicester. That is not a system that can be left unreformed.”
When asked if he would consider delaying the vote due to the scale of opposition, Starmer replied: “We were elected to change what is broken in our country. The welfare system is broken, and that’s why we will press ahead with our reforms. It’s very important that we do so, because the current system is not working for anybody.”
More than 100 Labour MPs, including senior committee chairs and former shadow ministers, have signed an amendment calling for the government to pause the bill. The amendment raises concerns that the proposals could push up to 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty.
Vicky Foxcroft, the former government whip who resigned over the welfare plans, has also signed the amendment, along with the former cabinet minister Louise Haigh.
It also criticises the government for failing to publish the Office for Budget Responsibility’s impact assessment before the vote, and for pursuing changes without adequate consultation with disabled people.
The proposed legislation would make it harder to qualify for Pip by requiring claimants to meet a higher threshold in their assessments. It also includes plans to halve the health top-up in universal credit for new claimants from 2026 and phase out the Work Capability Assessment.
Meg Hillier, who is leading the amendment, said: “We all want the Labour government to succeed in getting people back into work and supporting those who can’t. We don’t want to defeat the government but we want the government to think again.
“We are being asked to vote before consultation with disabled people and before impact assessments.”
The amendment was unveiled after the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, addressed a private meeting of MPs at which she told them there was “no route to social justice based on greater benefit spending alone”.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Downing Street “recognises the strength of feeling” about the welfare changes, but reiterated the case for reforming a “broken” system.
Asked whether concessions would be offered, a No 10 spokesperson said: “We’ll talk to them over the next week but the government believes this is a good package of reforms. We hope that colleagues will engage positively over the next few days.”
They reiterated the government’s position that Labour “inherited a broken system that does not support people, that does not treat them with dignity and respect, and does not support people to work”.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said on Tuesday it would be a “very serious thing” for Labour MPs to effectively vote down the legislation at its first major outing in the Commons.
Disability charities have criticised the reforms, warning they will disproportionately impact people with mental health conditions, women with fluctuating illnesses, and unpaid carers.
Despite backbench pressure, McFadden said the vote would go ahead as planned, although ministers would “continue talking to people between now and then”.