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Government whip Vicky Foxcroft quits over disability benefit cuts Government whip Vicky Foxcroft quits over disability benefit cuts
(32 minutes later)
Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft has resigned as a whip over the government's plans to cut disability benefits.Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft has resigned as a whip over the government's plans to cut disability benefits.
In a letter to the prime minister, Foxcroft said she understood the need to address "the ever-increasing welfare bill" but said cuts to personal independence payments and universal credit should "not be part of the solution".In a letter to the prime minister, Foxcroft said she understood the need to address "the ever-increasing welfare bill" but said cuts to personal independence payments and universal credit should "not be part of the solution".
She said she had "wrestled with whether I should resign or remain in the government and fight for changes from within". She said she had "wrestled with whether I should resign or remain in the government and fight for changes from within. Sadly it now seems that we are not going to get the changes I desperately wanted to see."
She added: "Sadly it now seems that we are not going to get the changes I desperately wanted to see." Responding to her letter, a government spokesman said it was fixing a "broken welfare system" that was failing the sick and vulnerable.
She said she would not be able to vote for the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, which will be debated in Parliament on 1 July. "Our principled reforms will ensure those who can work should, that those who want to work are properly supported, and that those with the most severe disabilities and health conditions are protected."
More than 100 Labour MPs have expressed concern about the bill and government could face a large rebellion from its own backbenchers when it comes to a vote. Earlier this week, the government published its bill, which tightens the criteria people have to meet in order to get personal independence payments (Pips) and cuts the sickness-related element of universal credit.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his belief in the proposed legislation telling reporters: "We have got to get the reforms through." More than 100 Labour MPs have expressed concern about the bill and the government could face a large rebellion from its own backbenchers when it comes to a vote in a fortnight's time.
On Wednesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told the BBC her "door was always open" to colleagues worried about the bill but that ministers were "firm in our convictions".
Under the current system too many people were being "written off" instead of being given support to find work, she said.
She also argued that claimant levels are rising to unsustainable levels, and figures released this Tuesday found the number of people on Pips had reached a record high of 3.7m.
On Wednesday, impact assessments produced by the government estimated that 370,000 existing Pips claimants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would lose out under the proposed changes, saving £1.7bn by 2029/30.
A further £1.89bn could be saved from a predicted 430,000 drop in the number of potential future claimants.
Another impact assessment, published in March suggested 250,000 people could be pushed into poverty by the cuts - but ministers said the figure didn't take account of the £1bn it would spend to help the long-term sick and disabled find work.
As a government whip, Foxcroft would have been expected to persuade reluctant Labour MPs to back the proposed legislation.
The Lewisham North MP said she was quitting because she knew she would "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 added that she was "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".
Foxcroft was first elected to her south London constituency in May 2015.