KEIR Starmer is reportedly readying for another battle with his backbenchers on benefit cuts.
The Prime Minister remains determined to cut benefits for disabled people, despite widespread opposition from disability charities and his own party, according to The Telegraph.
A reshuffle of staff within Downing Street this week is said to have been devised with cutting social security in mind.
A new top team in No 10, which is being seen as an attempt to sideline embattled Chancellor Rachel Reeves, will have a special focus on slashing the welfare bill.
It will reopen a major internal battle within Labour, after plans to cut Personal Independence Payments were gutted in chaotic scenes in the Commons – less than a year after the party had swept to power in a landslide victory.
The reset, which has seen Starmer draft new economic advisers to his office, means the Prime Minister will put his personal authority on the line in a future showdown with his backbenchers, The Telegraph reports.
A review into how to cut Personal Independence Payments, a benefit for disabled people which has mostly been replaced by Adult Disability Payments in Scotland, will have its terms of reference set and a co-chair announced in the coming weeks.
In another sign that Downing Street is preparing for a renewed battle on benefits cuts, Starmer’s new appointments include people with direct experience of managing the welfare system.
Daniel York-Smith, who is now the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary, was the Treasury’s director general overseeing welfare policy.
