KEIR Starmer and Angela Rayner have confirmed a vote on Labour's welfare bill will go ahead despite more than 100 of the party's MPs opposing reforms.
Overall, 134 MPs are now backing an amendment that would effectively threaten the Government's proposed changes in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, which would cut back disability benefit payments by around £5 billion per year.
A total of 10 Scottish Labour MPs have added their names to the amendment, which notes that the UK Government’s “own impact assessment estimates that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of [the bill], including 50,000 children”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has supported the UK Government's plans to cut welfare
Prime Minister Starmer said on Wednesday morning from The Hague: “We’re pressing on with a vote on this because we need to bring about reform.”
Deputy Prime Minister Rayner clarified that a vote would be going ahead in response to a question from shadow chancellor Mel Stride.
He asked if Rayner could guarantee that a vote on welfare changes will go ahead on Tuesday.
Stride said: “(Rayner) completely sidestepped my question – she can’t even defend her own Government’s policy. Can she at least assure the House that the vote on Tuesday will actually go ahead?”
The Deputy Prime Minister replied: “I don’t know if he, sort of, listened to what I said, because he was reading off the script, but what I can tell him – and I don’t need a script – we will go ahead on Tuesday.”
Appearing in front of MPs at the Work and Pensions Committee, disability minister Stephen Timms also insisted he's "looking forward to the debate" on Tuesday.
Under the proposals in the bill, eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP) will be limited, along with the sickness-related element of Universal Credit.
Scottish Labour MPs which have put their name to the amendment include Patricia Ferguson, Brian Leishman, Tracy Gilbert, Scott Arthur, Richard Baker, Lilian Jones, Elaine Stewart, Kirsteen Sullivan, Euan Stainbank and Maureen Burke.
Defending the plans while at the Nato summit, Starmer said the current system “traps people in a position where they can’t get into work”.
“In fact, it’s counterproductive, it works against them getting into work,” he said.
“So we have to reform it, and that is a Labour argument, it’s a progressive argument.”
Later on at PMQs, ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pressed the Government on Gaza, asking why the UK still supplies parts for F35 jets used by Israel.
Highlighting genocide was being committed in Gaza, he also asked Rayner whether she would support his private members' bill calling for an inquiry into the UK's complicity in Gaza.
Rayner said the UK strongly opposes Israel expanding military operations in Gaza, its blocking of humanitarian aid, as well as Jewish settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
She added the UK had suspended trade agreement talks with Israel and sanctioned individual settlers, but on the matter of genocide, she said that is something for international courts to decide.
