Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet is “united” regarding plans to slash billions of pounds from the UK’s benefit bill amid a growing backlash among the party’s backbenchers.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall is expected to set out plans for welfare reform to get more people back to work and cut the cost of the benefits bill by as much as £5 billion.
The proposals have been met with fierce criticism from Labour backbenchers, with veteran left-winger Diane Abbott branding the overhaul “not a Labour thing to do”.
However, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said that the Cabinet is “united” behind the move, and that people on long-term sickness benefits should not “languish there forever”.
There has been mounting unease over potential changes to the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit, with backlash prompting a rethink of rumoured plans to freeze the payments rather than increase it in line with inflation.
There are fears as many as 1 million people could see their benefits reduced, while charities have warned thousands of disabled people could be forced into poverty.
Cuts come after Labour’s November welfare reforms – what were they?
DWP secretary Liz Kendall’s announcement on welfare spending today comes just four months after Labour set out initial plans for ‘radical reform’ to the benefits system.
These came in the government’s ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper, which laid out how ministers planned to achieve their ambition of 80 per cent employment.
For those in need of a refresher, the paper included a pledge to transforming Jobcentres into the new national jobs and careers service. They will work radically different to the current system, with a renewed focus on skills and careers, plus more use of AI.
The document also included the Youth Guarantee Scheme, to ensure every 18- 21-year-old in England has access to an apprenticeship, training or education opportunities.
Alongside this was a renewed promise to fix the NHS to prevent long-term sickness. While all of these plans remain in place, the £240 million pledged in investment is set to be dwarfed by the billions in spending cuts that could be announced today.
Could the ‘right to try’ be a last-minute inclusion?
It has been reported that DWP secretary Liz Kendall will include a a ‘right to try’ policy in today’s announcement, which will see health and disability-related benefit claimants able to retain their entitlement should they undertake employment that does not become long-term.
It’s understood that this may have been a late addition to the plans, implemented to quell rising backbench anger over the massive cuts to welfare spending.
The policy is designed to incentivise people to seek employment without fearing that their benefit entitlement will be stripped if the job does not pan out.
DWP polling earlier in the month found that 44 per cent of disabled people and those with a health condition don’t trust the department to help them find work. At the time, Ms Kendall suggested that the solution to this was about providing the “right support.”
Motion heard to trigger by-election to replace Mike Amesbury
A motion to trigger the by-election to replace Mike Amesbury, who has formally resigned as the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, has been tabled in the House of Commons.
Business in the House of Commons on Tuesday started with Government chief whip Sir Alan Campbell asking for the writ for the vacant seat to be issued on 26 March.
The by-election has to take place between 21 and 27 working days from the issuing of the writ, suggesting it will take place on 1 May.
Live: Ed Miliband grilled on energy and net zero
Welfare reforms announcement coming at 12.30pm
We are expecting work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall to deliver Labour’s package of welfare and benefits reform at around 12.30pm this afternoon in the House of Commons.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates and analysis
Minister vows ‘life on sickness benefits to end’ for millions
Read the full article here:
ANALYSIS: Kemi Badenoch toes a careful line in her net zero criticism
Kemi Badenoch toed a careful line in her criticism of net zero today. On the one hand, she is attempting to appeal to Reform voters who are anxious about the rising cost of energy and have been taken in by Nigel Farage’s promise to ditch net zero entirely.
But on the other hand – her insistence that she is not sceptical of the existence of climate change makes clear she is still trying to maintain appearances as a party guided by science.
The challenge facing the Tory leader is an attempt to retain traditional Conservative voters who would likely be turned off by outright climate denial – whilst also attempting to win over Reform voters who are sceptical of net zero targets.
Labour cuts could be ‘the biggest since 2010’
DWP secretary Liz Kendall is expected to announce welfare reforms amounting to £6 billion in cuts later today. The bulk of these are expected to fall on health and disability-related benefit spending as Labour looks to bring down the rising cost of providing this support.
Analysis by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that, if this full amount in cuts were to go ahead, it would be the biggest cut to disability benefits since the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was created in 2010.
Peter Matejic, chief analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: “If the government cuts benefits, this will only serve to deepen hardship. As we’ve demonstrated, cuts on this scale would be unprecedented. It is no answer to the nation’s health or employment prospects.
“If a disabled person needs financial support to be able to live and work, taking that support away or freezing it risks pushing them further away from a job. It is an unethical and short-sighted approach.”
Increase in number of PIP claimants under the age of 30
The proportion of personal independence payments claimants in England and Wales who are under the age of 30 has increased in recent years, from 14.5 per cent of the total in January 2020 to 16.4 per cent in January 2025.
People aged 30-44 made up 18.8 per cent of the total in January 2020 and 20.9 per cent in January 2025.
By contrast, the proportion of claimants who are aged 45-59 has fallen from 36.3 per cent in January 2020 to 30.1 per cent in January 2025, while the figure for 60 to 74-year-olds is broadly unchanged, rising very slightly from 30.5 per cent to 30.9 per cent.
Badenoch denies changing her mind after previous support for net zero target
Kemi Badenoch said she is not going to “rush out” and set a target to reach net zero.
“Why is it 2050 in the first place? No-one knows,” she said.
She said the Conservatives would come out with new policies at some point which could focus on a better way of delivering net zero or just focusing on clean energy and energy security.
She said she has not changed her mind after showing support for the net zero by 2050 target in government.
“I haven’t changed my mind. What you are describing is collective responsibility.”
Source: independent.co.uk
