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Keir Starmer’s Labour government is locked in urgent talks with its own backbench MPs as the backlash intensifies against planned disability benefit cuts.
Starmer is desperately searching for a face-saving compromise before Tuesday’s vote.
But the headline number says it all: 162 MPs from all parties have now signed an amendment calling for the bill to be scrapped entirely – more than double the count when the amendment was tabled, earlier this week.
Downing Street’s tone has softened notably, with ministers now speaking of the need to “get it right.”
But while there may be agreement on intent—to improve the benefits system—the fight over implementation is only just beginning.
The fact is, even Labour MPs who want to reduce the overall cost of the disability benefits system know that it cannot be done by pushing people into poverty.
But that is exactly what the government’s own analysis says these reforms will do.
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A growing revolt—and a leadership under pressure
What started as a low-level murmur of discontent has become a full-blown parliamentary rebellion.
Many Labour MPs were alarmed from the outset by the tone of the policy—framing mental health as suspect, disability as an obstacle to economic growth, and poverty as a consequence of personal failure.
But what really triggered the revolt was the March impact assessment, which found the changes could push 250,000 people—including 50,000 children—into poverty.
Subsequent reports, including Pathways to Poverty by Citizens Advice, have put the total number of people affected as high as 3.2 million families.
The Labour leadership now says it agrees with backbenchers about why reform is needed, but insists the vote will go ahead on Tuesday.
Ministers are said to be open to “improvements”—but thus far, the government has offered no clear path to prevent the most damaging consequences of the bill.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The false choice: reform or fairness?
Let’s be clear: saying the system needs reform doesn’t mean supporting this bill.
The government is now trying to paint opponents as either obstructive or sentimental.
But the rebellion is being led by MPs who do want change—just not at the expense of disabled people’s safety and dignity.
If this is truly a government that wants to “get it right,” then here’s what getting it right must look like:
1. No cuts before support.
Labour’s proposals currently front-load £5bn in cuts, while employment support remains vague and unfunded. If work is the goal, then investment in support must come first—and must be proven to work—before any reductions in entitlement.
2. No-one pushed into poverty.
This must be a red line. Means-testing, tightening eligibility for PIP, or redefining mental health as less “real” than physical illness—all these measures are designed to reduce claimant numbers, not meet need. If poverty is the outcome, the policy is a failure.
3. Scrap reassessments, yes—but don’t tie them to cuts.
The idea of ending repeated reassessments for severely disabled people is popular and overdue. But it is being used as a political sweetener to sell cuts elsewhere. Decouple this promise from the savings drive. Deliver it regardless.
4. Protect mental health parity.
Any reform that frames anxiety or depression as somehow “less deserving” of support is not only regressive—it’s medically illiterate. If Labour wants to rebuild trust, it must loudly and explicitly reject the Tories’ “makers and takers” narrative.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
No need to cut the benefit bill
And here’s the elephant in this particular room: there is no need to cut the benefit bill, if the intention is simply to save – or redirect – funds.
The line that the cuts are needed in order to fix public finances has been disproven many times, with experts and MPs showing that numerous alternatives exist.
Proposals include:
-
Restoring the 50p top tax rate and aligning capital gains with income tax (Neil Duncan-Jordan)
-
Wealth taxes worth up to £25 billion (from MPs and unions)
-
New windfall taxes on pandemic profiteers
-
Doubling taxes on online gambling firms (Gordon Brown)
-
Reform of OBR accounting rules that ignore the economic benefits of investment
-
A land tax, higher levies on the savings/investments of high earners, and revaluation of council tax
Even Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, proposed £3–4 billion in wealth-based tax changes instead of cuts to support for disabled people and pensioners.
She was ignored – and, sadly, now seems to have given up this line in favour of the government’s harsh policy.
A vote that still matters
Despite the ongoing talks, the vote on Tuesday has not been withdrawn.
As long as it remains on the calendar, so does the risk of irreversible harm.
Labour is now signalling it may amend its approach.
But that’s not a guarantee.
The goal of the rebellion was never just to get a meeting—it was to stop a bill that would harm hundreds of thousands of people.
This week is still the decisive moment.
If MPs vote to pass the bill and promise to “fix it later,” they will have signed away their leverage.
Once the £5 billion in savings is baked into the budget forecast, it will become much harder to undo.
The Treasury won’t forget.
What you can do – right now
The pressure is working—but it must be sustained and sharpened.
1. Keep contacting your MP.
The rebellion has doubled in size because of public pressure. Don’t stop now. If your MP hasn’t signed the amendment, demand to know why.
2. Reject spin about ‘shared values’.
The leadership now says everyone wants the same outcome. But if that’s true, demand guarantees—no poverty, no mental health stigma, no cuts before support. Vague assurances aren’t enough.
3. Call for publication of full impact data.
If the government wants to move ahead, it must do so transparently. Demand full, independent modelling of any proposed changes. Don’t accept “policy by press release.”
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
The window for change is open—but closing fast
Starmer’s leadership is being tested not just on competence—but on conviction.
Does he listen when the party pushes back?
Or does he press on, even when warned that Labour is drifting into Tory territory on social security?
The number of MPs opposing the bill is growing daily.
The leadership knows it.
And if it’s truly listening, it has one obvious choice: scrap the bill, start again, and build reform that lifts people up instead of cutting them down.
This is a crisis—but it’s also a moment of possibility. With enough pressure, the government could still change course. But only if we make them feel that Tuesday’s vote has a cost.
The clock is ticking.
Oh, and if you don’t want to do anything because it makes you feel awkward putting your head over the parapet?
Just think of all the other people who feel the same way.
If none of you do anything, then nothing will change and the government will have no reason not to plunge those millions of people into poverty. Do you want that on your conscience?
Share this post:
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And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Cuts in crisis: will Starmer blink before he breaks Labour?
Share this post:
Keir Starmer’s Labour government is locked in urgent talks with its own backbench MPs as the backlash intensifies against planned disability benefit cuts.
Starmer is desperately searching for a face-saving compromise before Tuesday’s vote.
But the headline number says it all: 162 MPs from all parties have now signed an amendment calling for the bill to be scrapped entirely – more than double the count when the amendment was tabled, earlier this week.
Downing Street’s tone has softened notably, with ministers now speaking of the need to “get it right.”
But while there may be agreement on intent—to improve the benefits system—the fight over implementation is only just beginning.
The fact is, even Labour MPs who want to reduce the overall cost of the disability benefits system know that it cannot be done by pushing people into poverty.
But that is exactly what the government’s own analysis says these reforms will do.
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A growing revolt—and a leadership under pressure
What started as a low-level murmur of discontent has become a full-blown parliamentary rebellion.
Many Labour MPs were alarmed from the outset by the tone of the policy—framing mental health as suspect, disability as an obstacle to economic growth, and poverty as a consequence of personal failure.
But what really triggered the revolt was the March impact assessment, which found the changes could push 250,000 people—including 50,000 children—into poverty.
Subsequent reports, including Pathways to Poverty by Citizens Advice, have put the total number of people affected as high as 3.2 million families.
The Labour leadership now says it agrees with backbenchers about why reform is needed, but insists the vote will go ahead on Tuesday.
Ministers are said to be open to “improvements”—but thus far, the government has offered no clear path to prevent the most damaging consequences of the bill.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The false choice: reform or fairness?
Let’s be clear: saying the system needs reform doesn’t mean supporting this bill.
The government is now trying to paint opponents as either obstructive or sentimental.
But the rebellion is being led by MPs who do want change—just not at the expense of disabled people’s safety and dignity.
If this is truly a government that wants to “get it right,” then here’s what getting it right must look like:
1. No cuts before support.
Labour’s proposals currently front-load £5bn in cuts, while employment support remains vague and unfunded. If work is the goal, then investment in support must come first—and must be proven to work—before any reductions in entitlement.
2. No-one pushed into poverty.
This must be a red line. Means-testing, tightening eligibility for PIP, or redefining mental health as less “real” than physical illness—all these measures are designed to reduce claimant numbers, not meet need. If poverty is the outcome, the policy is a failure.
3. Scrap reassessments, yes—but don’t tie them to cuts.
The idea of ending repeated reassessments for severely disabled people is popular and overdue. But it is being used as a political sweetener to sell cuts elsewhere. Decouple this promise from the savings drive. Deliver it regardless.
4. Protect mental health parity.
Any reform that frames anxiety or depression as somehow “less deserving” of support is not only regressive—it’s medically illiterate. If Labour wants to rebuild trust, it must loudly and explicitly reject the Tories’ “makers and takers” narrative.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
No need to cut the benefit bill
And here’s the elephant in this particular room: there is no need to cut the benefit bill, if the intention is simply to save – or redirect – funds.
The line that the cuts are needed in order to fix public finances has been disproven many times, with experts and MPs showing that numerous alternatives exist.
Proposals include:
Restoring the 50p top tax rate and aligning capital gains with income tax (Neil Duncan-Jordan)
Wealth taxes worth up to £25 billion (from MPs and unions)
New windfall taxes on pandemic profiteers
Doubling taxes on online gambling firms (Gordon Brown)
Reform of OBR accounting rules that ignore the economic benefits of investment
A land tax, higher levies on the savings/investments of high earners, and revaluation of council tax
Even Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, proposed £3–4 billion in wealth-based tax changes instead of cuts to support for disabled people and pensioners.
She was ignored – and, sadly, now seems to have given up this line in favour of the government’s harsh policy.
A vote that still matters
Despite the ongoing talks, the vote on Tuesday has not been withdrawn.
As long as it remains on the calendar, so does the risk of irreversible harm.
Labour is now signalling it may amend its approach.
But that’s not a guarantee.
The goal of the rebellion was never just to get a meeting—it was to stop a bill that would harm hundreds of thousands of people.
This week is still the decisive moment.
If MPs vote to pass the bill and promise to “fix it later,” they will have signed away their leverage.
Once the £5 billion in savings is baked into the budget forecast, it will become much harder to undo.
The Treasury won’t forget.
What you can do – right now
The pressure is working—but it must be sustained and sharpened.
1. Keep contacting your MP.
The rebellion has doubled in size because of public pressure. Don’t stop now. If your MP hasn’t signed the amendment, demand to know why.
2. Reject spin about ‘shared values’.
The leadership now says everyone wants the same outcome. But if that’s true, demand guarantees—no poverty, no mental health stigma, no cuts before support. Vague assurances aren’t enough.
3. Call for publication of full impact data.
If the government wants to move ahead, it must do so transparently. Demand full, independent modelling of any proposed changes. Don’t accept “policy by press release.”
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
The window for change is open—but closing fast
Starmer’s leadership is being tested not just on competence—but on conviction.
Does he listen when the party pushes back?
Or does he press on, even when warned that Labour is drifting into Tory territory on social security?
The number of MPs opposing the bill is growing daily.
The leadership knows it.
And if it’s truly listening, it has one obvious choice: scrap the bill, start again, and build reform that lifts people up instead of cutting them down.
This is a crisis—but it’s also a moment of possibility. With enough pressure, the government could still change course. But only if we make them feel that Tuesday’s vote has a cost.
The clock is ticking.
Oh, and if you don’t want to do anything because it makes you feel awkward putting your head over the parapet?
Just think of all the other people who feel the same way.
If none of you do anything, then nothing will change and the government will have no reason not to plunge those millions of people into poverty. Do you want that on your conscience?
Share this post:
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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