Sir Keir Starmer is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership as more than 150 MPs are preparing to vote against his forthcoming welfare cuts.
It is understood that there is growing upset among both parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) and even government ministers, who are said to be considering quitting if the government doesn’t water down its proposals. It comes amid deep concern over the impact of the proposed changes, which will see personal independence payments cut for around 800,000 people.
One PPS told The Independent she is horrified by the direction of the government, claiming that the prime minister simply doesn’t care what his MPs think.
It comes after more than 100 MPs – understood to comprise primarily those who won their seats for the first time in 2024 – signed a letter to the chief whip warning that they are unable to support the proposals in their current form.
It is understood that a separate letter signed by around 40 MPs was sent to Sir Keir just days earlier, warning against proceeding with the changes in their full form.
Meanwhile, sources told The i Paper that around five PPSs are prepared to quit if changes are not made to the upcoming cuts.
While a rebellion of this scale would not be enough for the proposals to be defeated, it would be a significant knock to the prime minister’s authority and represent wider disquiet about the direction of the government.
It comes despite the prime minister’s U-turn on his controversial cuts to winter fuel payments earlier this week, which followed months of mounting anger from voters and Labour MPs.
In a major climbdown over Rachel Reeves’s decision to strip payments from 10 million pensioners, the prime minister said he wanted to look at widening eligibility “as the economy improves”.
The decision to means-test the annual payment of up to £300, rather than give it to all pensioners, was widely blamed for Labour’s disastrous recent local election results, which saw Nigel Farage’s Reform party surge to take 677 council seats in England.
The reversal was part of an attempt by Sir Keir to turn around his party’s fortunes amid fears of a rebellion from backbenchers over benefit cuts, anger over his language on immigration, and difficult poll ratings.
However, The Independent understands that many MPs who are concerned about the welfare cuts have not been won over by the U-turn, primarily because the changes offered by the government are so thin on detail.
So far, No 10 has refused to say whether the changes will be in place by this winter – or who will be affected – meaning that cash-strapped pensioners could face another winter of misery.
To make matters worse, it emerged on Friday that Labour has delayed a flagship plan designed to cut child poverty until the autumn.
Just weeks after coming to power, ministers said they would consider ditching the “cruel” two-child benefit cap in a bid to head off a revolt by backbench Labour MPs.
But the overall strategy in which the policy was expected to be included has now been pushed back, despite fears of a rebellion on welfare cuts within weeks.
The package of welfare cuts is aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, which grew during the pandemic and has remained high ever since.
While the government hopes the proposals can save £5bn a year by the end of the decade, there are fears they could push thousands of disabled people into poverty.
In recent days, Downing Street has indicated that the government plans to press ahead with the reforms in full, with the prime minister’s official spokesperson saying the welfare system is “fundamentally not working and the argument for reform is overwhelming”.
A government spokesperson said: “We are determined to support people in all parts of the country by tackling poverty and creating secure, well-paid jobs.
“That’s why we’re creating a sustainable welfare system, so it will always be there for those who need it, while genuinely supporting sick and disabled people into work.
“Alongside this, as part of our Plan for Change, we’ve increased the ‘national living wage’, uprated benefits, and are helping over 1 million households by introducing a fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions.”
