The Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft has resigned as a whip in protest at the government’s welfare plans, saying she will not be able to vote for the cuts to disability payments.
The government is braced for a major rebellion on the welfare bill, which includes significant changes to personal independence payments for disabled people.
Foxcroft, the MP for Lewisham North who was shadow disability minister before the general election, said she was unable to do her job as a whip because she disagreed with the changes and did not believe that cuts were part of the solution to rising inactivity.
In a letter to the prime minister, Foxcroft said the benefits system was “in desperate need of reform” but her experience as shadow disability minister had showed her that the struggles of disabled people and organisations were “even tougher than I had imagined”.
She said: “The last Conservative government left many in poverty and living life in fear of losing their support, not getting access to the right medical care, not having suitable housing and not being able to participate fully in society. The real and ongoing distress was palpable.
“I absolutely understand the need to address the ever-increasing welfare bill in these difficult economic times, but I have always believed this could and should be done by supporting more disabled people into work.
“I do not believe that cuts to personal independence payment [Pip] and the health element of universal credit should be part of the solution.”
Foxcroft, 48, who is among a number of frontbenchers uncomfortable with the proposed changes, said she had wrestled with whether to fight the changes from within the government.
“Sadly it is now seems that we are not going to get the changes I desperately wanted to see. I therefore tender my resignation as I know I will not be able to do the job that is required of me and whip – or indeed vote – for reforms which include cuts to disabled people’s finances,” she said.
“I am incredibly proud to have served as part of the first Labour government in 14 years and hope that ministers will revisit these reforms so that I can continue to support the government in delivering for the people of this country.”
Responding to Foxcroft’s decision to resign as a whip, a government spokesperson said: “This Labour government was elected to deliver change. The broken welfare system we inherited is failing the sick and most vulnerable and holding too many young people back. It is fair and responsible to fix it.
“Our principled reforms will ensure those who can work should, that those who want to work are properly supported, and that those with most severe disabilities and health conditions are protected.”
The work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, plans to save £5bn a year by overhauling the welfare system, including by cutting eligibility for Pip.
Claimants only able to wash half of their body or who are unable to cook a meal for themselves will no longer be able to claim Pip unless they have another limiting condition.
The welfare reform bill, published on Wednesday, confirmed it would lead to benefit cuts for 950,000 people by 2030. Kendall said the country’s £326bn social security net might cease to exist if costs continued to escalate.
Under the terms of the bill, people losing their disability benefits will get additional financial support for 13 weeks, while those with severe conditions such as heart disease or spinal injuries will not have to face reassessments.
Kendall has set out a separate £1bn plan to help unemployed people get back to work, but this is not related to Pip, as these payments are unconnected to employment status.
At least 42 MPs have publicly said they will not support the bill, expected to be put to a vote on 1 July. But about 170 are believed to have signed private letters to whips expressing significant concern about the changes.