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The National (Scotland)

National

Xander Elliards

Scottish Labour MPs set to rebel on UK welfare reform – see the full list

Scottish Labour United Kingdom Brian Leishman Patricia Ferguson the UK Government UK Government Debbie Abrahams Euan Stainbank Florence Eshalomi Helen Hayes

MORE than 100 Labour MPs have lined up to oppose the UK Government’s proposed changes to disability benefits, threatening Keir Starmer with the first major defeat of his time as Prime Minister.

Some 127 MPs’ signatures appeared on a reasoned amendment spelling out why they cannot support the Labour Government’s Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, which would cut back disability benefit payments by around £5 billion per year.

If passed – which it could do with support from Westminster’s opposition parties – the amendment would block the bill from progressing to its second reading when it returns to the Commons on July 1.

The amendment 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".

Of the 127 Labour MPs who have signed the amendment, 10 are from Scottish Labour. They are:

Patricia Ferguson
Tracy Gilbert
Scott Arthur
Kirsteen Sullivan
Richard Baker
Euan Stainbank
Lilian Jones
Elaine Stewart
Brian Leishman
Maureen Burk

Scottish Labour's nominal leader Anas Sarwar has supported the UK Government's plans to cut welfare.

Leishman, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, urged his colleagues to oppose the cuts.

He told The Record: "Labour MPs have a choice to make. Do they believe that the most vulnerable people should be looked after, or not? That’s what the vote on these welfare reforms ultimately boils down to. This vote will define careers and this Labour Government."

There are 28 Scottish Labour MPs who have not signed the amendment, including those in the more right-wing faction the "Labour Growth Group". These include Blair McDougall, Johanna Baxter, Gordon McKee, Zubir Ahmed, and Melanie Ward.

Labour committee chairs oppose the UK welfare reforms

Ferguson, the MP for Glasgow West, is also chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster.

A further nine Labour select committee chairs have also signed the reasoned amendment, underlining the scale of the challenge facing the UK Government. These are:

Tan Dhesi
Helen Hayes
Florence Eshalomi
Ruth Cadbury
Meg Hillier
Ruth Jones
Sarah Owen
Debbie Abrahams
Cat Smith

Other senior Labour MPs to have signed the amendment include former transport secretary Louise Haigh.

The Times reported that although the list does not include current ministers, as many as a dozen are said to be privately opposing the welfare reforms.

All the Labour MPs opposing the UK welfare reforms

Here is a full list of all the MPs to have signed the reasoned amendment against the UK Government’s welfare changes, as of Tuesday morning. More will be confirmed on Tuesday evening: