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Iain Duncan Smith resigns from cabinet over disability cuts Iain Duncan Smith resigns from cabinet over disability cuts
(35 minutes later)
Iain Duncan Smith has dramatically quit the cabinet, branding cuts to benefits for the disabled in George Osborne’s budget as “indefensible”. Iain Duncan Smith has dramatically quit the cabinet, branding cuts to benefits for the disabled in George Osborne’s budget “indefensible”.
In an excoriating parting shot at the chancellor, the work and pensions secretary complained of pressure to “salami slice” welfare and a failure to spread the burden of spending curbs. In a parting shot at the chancellor, the work and pensions secretary complained of pressure to “salami slice” welfare and a failure to spread the burden of spending curbs.
The cabinet minister, who has been in post since 2010, said he disagreed with the cuts to personal independence payments (PIP) as a “compromise too far” and had too often felt pressured to make huge welfare savings before a budget or Autumn statement.
In an implicit attack on George Osborne – and the biggest resignation since Cameron became prime minister – Duncan Smith said the disability cuts were defensible in narrow terms of deficit reduction but not “in the way they were placed in a budget that benefits higher earning taxpayers”.
He said he was stepping down because Osborne’s cuts were for self-imposed political reasons rather than in the national economic interest.
In a resignation letter released on Friday evening, he wrote: “I have for some time and rather reluctantly come to believe that the latest changes to benefits to the disabled, and the context in which they have been made are, a compromise too far.In a resignation letter released on Friday evening, he wrote: “I have for some time and rather reluctantly come to believe that the latest changes to benefits to the disabled, and the context in which they have been made are, a compromise too far.
“While they are defensible in narrow terms, given the continuing deficit, they are not defensible in the way they were placed within a budget that benefits higher earning taxpayers. They should have instead been part of a wider process to engage others in finding the best way to better focus resources on those most in need.“While they are defensible in narrow terms, given the continuing deficit, they are not defensible in the way they were placed within a budget that benefits higher earning taxpayers. They should have instead been part of a wider process to engage others in finding the best way to better focus resources on those most in need.
“It is therefore with enormous regret that I have decided to resign.”“It is therefore with enormous regret that I have decided to resign.”
The news came hours after the Treasury signalled a retreat from its controversial cuts to disability benefits, amid a mounting rebellion from Conservative backbenchers. Related: Iain Duncan Smith's resignation letter in full
A growing number of Tories have signalled their alarm over reductions in personal independence payments (PIP), which the chancellor said would save £4.4bn over the course of this parliament.
Just hours earlier, the Treasury signalled a retreat from its controversial cuts to disability benefits, amid a mounting rebellion from Conservative backbenchers.
A growing number of Tories showed concern over reductions in PIP, which the chancellor said would save £4.4bn over the course of this parliament.
The pause in the plans is a humiliating blow for the Osborne, who had hoped to use his eighth budget on Wednesday to burnish his credentials for the Conservative leadership.
The changes to the way PIP assessments work were announced the previous Friday by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Treasury stressed that the figures included in the budget were the DWP’s work; but DWP insiders complained that they were bounced into publishing the proposals without the time to build support.
The apparent climbdown came as Conservative rebels turned their fire on Osborne over what they see as the toxic politics of the budget, which juxtaposed the PIP cuts with tax giveaways for businesses and higher earners.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the cuts, which help people pay for the costs of living with a disability, would hit 370,000 people, with an average loss of £3,500 a year.