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Keir Starmer dismisses Labour welfare cuts rebellion as ‘noises off’ Labour MPs accuse No 10 of being ‘in denial’ about scale of rebellion over welfare cuts
(about 3 hours later)
PM insists party remains ‘pretty united’ despite more than 120 of his MPs signalling they could vote down bill Ministers said to be considering further concessions with more than 120 MPs poised to rebel against government
Keir Starmer has shrugged off mounting Labour unrest over his flagship welfare cuts, dismissing the backlash as “noises off” and insisting his party remains “pretty united” behind the need for change. Labour MPs have accused No 10 of being in denial about the scale of the rebellion over the government’s flagship welfare cuts, amid division at the top of government over whether to pull the controversial bill.
The prime minister is facing the biggest revolt of his premiership as more than 120 MPs signalled in an amendment they could vote against the welfare bill on Tuesday in a rebellion led by select committee chairs and previously loyalist Labour MPs.
Ministers have told the Guardian they do not believe the government has the option to press ahead with the bill in the face of such unrest. However, senior sources in both the Department for Work and Pensions and No 10 have insisted it will be voted on next Tuesday.
Ministers are understood to be considering further concessions to be offered to MPs by the weekend – with more than 120 MPs poised to rebel against the government.
A number of cabinet ministers are now said to believe the bill has no chance of passing in its current form, though some are still being deployed to speak to angry MPs in an attempt to win them over.
Keir Starmer fuelled further anger within the party after he appeared to shrug off mounting Labour unrest over the proposed reforms, dismissing the backlash as “noises off” and insisting his party remains “pretty united” behind the need for change.
The prime minister is facing the biggest revolt of his premiership over the welfare reform bill, which would make it harder for people to access Personal Independence Payments (Pip), the main disability benefit.
Labour whips admitted privately they were having no success convincing MPs to withdraw their names from an amendment which would effectively kill the welfare bill next Tuesday.
The rebellion is being led by select committee chairs and previously loyalist Labour MPs concerned about the scale of the disability cuts.
At least two more MPs were expected to sign the reasoned amendment overnight – making it at least 126 rebel Labour MPs. Just one MP has withdrawn their name, despite significant pressure from whips and cabinet ministers. The chair of the environmental audit select committee Toby Perkins, a former shadow minister, is among the latest to sign the amendment.
Both Starmer and the deputy prime minister Angela Rayner have insisted the vote will go ahead. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is understood to be particularly opposed to pulling the vote.
Sources said there was a considerable difference of opinion within government. “There is a camp for pulling it, a camp for concession and a small but insane camp for ploughing on,” one said, suggesting Reeves was in the latter camp.
Starmer is expected to begin speaking to MPs himself on Thursday when he returns from the Nato summit. But ministers and MPs have told the Guardian they do not believe the government has the option to press ahead with the bill in the face of such unrest. One MP said: “They are in total denial.”
One frontbench source said: “I don’t believe there is a way to win this vote without offering a concession that can peel away a big chunk of those rebels.”
Chief whip Alan Campbell has been telling MPs the government needs to “ameliorate” the situation. “That’s not going to be enough,” one rebel said.
MPs have said they expect ministers and other frontbenchers to resign if no changes are made.
One said: “The PM’s determination to push ahead has gone down like a cold cup of sick. The [frontbenchers] who were hoping that today would see some kind of concession are now being put in a difficult position by him – and the whips know about some of them.”
One senior government source said concessions were now under serious consideration and they would be presented to MPs by Friday at the latest, in order to give the prime minister time to consider them and then to give MPs time to reflect on them over the weekend.
Speaking at the Nato summit in The Hague, the prime minister rejected suggestions he lacked political instinct, pointing to Labour’s landslide election win as proof of his judgment.Speaking at the Nato summit in The Hague, the prime minister rejected suggestions he lacked political instinct, pointing to Labour’s landslide election win as proof of his judgment.
Asked whether he had failed to read the mood of his MPs on welfare, Starmer said critics had made similar predictions before and had been proven wrong. “I’m comfortable reading the room and delivering the change the country needs,” he said.Asked whether he had failed to read the mood of his MPs on welfare, Starmer said critics had made similar predictions before and had been proven wrong. “I’m comfortable reading the room and delivering the change the country needs,” he said.
“We’ve got a strong Labour government with a huge majority to deliver on our manifesto commitments. And that’s the work that we did over many years to win the election. Now we start the work over many years to change the country. Having changed the party, we now change the country.“We’ve got a strong Labour government with a huge majority to deliver on our manifesto commitments. And that’s the work that we did over many years to win the election. Now we start the work over many years to change the country. Having changed the party, we now change the country.
“And is it tough going? Are there plenty of people and noises off? Yes, of course, there always are, there always have been, there always will be. But the important thing is to focus on the change that we want to bring about.”“And is it tough going? Are there plenty of people and noises off? Yes, of course, there always are, there always have been, there always will be. But the important thing is to focus on the change that we want to bring about.”
Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minster, said the government would press ahead with a Commons vote on the bill next Tuesday. Rayner, the deputy prime minster, said in the Commons the government would press ahead with a Commons vote on the bill next Tuesday.
MPs have been lobbied privately by cabinet ministers including Rayner to remove their support for the reasoned amendment, which would kill the bill if passed. On Wednesday MPs said they expected more names to be added to the list of rebels by the end of the day. But she later hinted the government would be willing to make concessions to encourage Labour rebels to remove their names from the amendment, telling ITV Peston’s show on Wednesday evening that “those discussions are ongoing”.
Rayner said the package included £1bn for tailored employment support and pledged to end repeated assessments for the most severely disabled people, framing the bill as a step toward a “modern, fair and compassionate” welfare system. In the meantime, cabinet ministers continued their attempts to win over rebels, with Reeves making a rare appearance on the Commons terrace to try to persuade wavering MPs. “She doesn’t want to be £5bn out of pocket,” one MP said, referring to the savings that the cuts are intended to make.
The legislation, aimed at changing personal independence payments (Pip), has triggered a major internal test of Starmer’s premiership.
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Senior Labour figures, including the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the Treasury select committee chair, Meg Hillier, have broken ranks to warn the party against pursuing benefit cuts that echo austerity. MPs from opposition parties including the Greens, Plaid and the SNP have also now signed the amendment as well as all the Northern Irish parties including the DUP.
Starmer defended the proposals as necessary to build a “fairer and more efficient” system and said they were squarely in line with Labour’s manifesto mandate. This increases the likelihood of the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, picking it for a vote on Tuesday, as it could be classed as an opposition amendment. If they are joined by the Lib Dems, it further increases the likelihood of selection.
But MPs say the intention of the amendment was to demonstrate the breadth of opposition to the bill – and that it should be taken as an indication of those prepared to vote against the government on the entire bill.
It is so far unclear whether the Tories would abstain, as the government views their conditions for backing the bill as undeliverable. They have asked for an undertaking from the prime minister that the bill will reduce the welfare budget, get people into work and not necessitate a rise in taxes.
At his press conference, Starmer defended the proposals as necessary to build a “fairer and more efficient” system and said they were squarely in line with Labour’s manifesto mandate.
He said Labour was the best party to reform welfare. “The argument I would make is that it is a Labour government that should reform welfare,” he said.He said Labour was the best party to reform welfare. “The argument I would make is that it is a Labour government that should reform welfare,” he said.
“If the welfare system isn’t working for those that need it, and it is not, it’s a Labour government that should make it work for the future. Just as it was a Labour government that created the welfare system, it falls to this Labour government to make sure we’ve got a welfare system that’s sustainable for the future to come.“If the welfare system isn’t working for those that need it, and it is not, it’s a Labour government that should make it work for the future. Just as it was a Labour government that created the welfare system, it falls to this Labour government to make sure we’ve got a welfare system that’s sustainable for the future to come.
“We created the health service, and now we have to ensure that it’s fit for the future. Same with welfare. That is a progressive argument, that is a Labour argument, and it’s the right argument to make.”“We created the health service, and now we have to ensure that it’s fit for the future. Same with welfare. That is a progressive argument, that is a Labour argument, and it’s the right argument to make.”