Keir Starmer faces a rebellion from his own MPs (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister is facing a “sizeable rebellion” from his own MPs over plans to cut £6bn in benefits, insiders close to matter have revealed. One insider told the a “colllision” was immiment as backbench MPs and even members of Starmer’s own cabinet express dismay about the proposal.
Many are said to still be upset by Starmer’s decision last year to cut winter fuel payments and worry what might come out of the white paper on immigration expected in the Spring. According to , a vast majority of MPs opposing the cuts have formed a “group of resistence”.
The insider also claims cabinet members, who have not been named, have privately railed against Starmer’s bold plan. So strong is the angst it may end up uniting the far-left wing of the party with moderates.
A source said: “[There’s] a potential to broaden this out and team up with people who don’t want to see benefits cut after 15 years of austerity. The challenge for us on the left is to work with those people – then we’ll have a sizeable rebellion.”
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Chanellor Rachel Reeves will present her Spring statement on March 26 (Image: Getty)
Newly-elected MPs are reportedly throwing their support behind Starmer. One told the cuts to welfare “are not that troubling” and backed the PM over his cuts to aid in order to fund an increase in defence spending to 3% of GDP.
They said: “We have come of age politically in a time when chaos is the norm and the world feels like it is continually going to hell.” Earlier this week, Starmer said Britain’s welfare system and insisted a failure to act would see costs hitting £70bn a year.
Chancellor will deliver her Spring statement on March 26, with increased borrowing costs and weak economic growth likely to require spending cuts in order to meet her commitments on managing the public finances. Curbing the cost of welfare is expected to be among a number of measures to try and rein in public spending.
The bulk of the savings are likely to come from making it harder to get personal independence payments (PIPS), while disability handouts could be frozen in cash terms. However, ITV News reported there could also be a consultation on measures to protect a small group of the most disabled people who receive PIPs.
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Speaking on a visit to Hull, Sir Keir said: “The welfare system as it’s set up can’t be defended. On economic terms or moral terms. Economically the cost is going through the roof, so if we don’t do anything the cost of welfare is going to go to £70 billion a year.
“That’s a third of the cost of the NHS, that’s more than the Home Office and our prisons combined. So, we’re making choices here.” He added: “We have basically set up a system which says if you try the journey from where you are into work and anything goes wrong you’ll probably end up in a worse position than when you started.”
Sir Keir said it was “really shocking” that one in eight young people are “stuck in a world of benefits and support” rather than being in work or training. He said: “That’s not defensible. So, it’s got to change. We’ve got to reform it.”
In a bid to avoid a damaging showdown with MPs and peers, Downing Street has been inviting groups of Labour backbenchers to meetings on Wednesday, stressing the “moral case” for changes designed to get people back to work as they made the case for painful changes.