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The National (Scotland)

National

Xander Elliards

Two Scottish Labour MPs among 39 remaining welfare cut rebels – see full list

Rachael Maskell Sir Keir Starmer SNP Brian Leishman Maureen Burke Green Party Disability Cymru (Organization) LibDems Plaid

A REBELLION is brewing on Keir Starmer’s planned cuts to disability welfare – though the concessions offered to Labour backbenchers by the UK Government has more than cut the number of rebels in half.

MPs will vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill on Tuesday. Last week, measures in the bill aimed at cutting some £5 billion per year from disability benefits led more than 120 Labour MPs to sign a “reasoned amendment” which would have stopped its progress.

However, the Labour leadership was forced into a partial U-turn in order to avoid an embarrassing defeat.

People claiming personal independence payments (Pip) will now be protected from changes due to come into effect in November 2026, while new claimants after that date will face the cut back system.

But backbench anger has continued to simmer, after the UK Government’s own figures showed their cuts would push 150,000 people into relative poverty, rather than the original 250,000. A statement from Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall laying out the concessions on Monday further received a negative response.

Asked whether he was “confident” that the concessions had done enough to secure passage of the bill, Disabilities Minister Stephen Timms would only tell Sky News: “I certainly hope it passes.”

The new rebel amendment

A second amendment rejecting the bill has been put forward by York Central MP Rachael Maskell with the backing of 138 disability groups, saying disabled people had “yet to have agency in this process”.

Labour MP and rebel Rachael MaskellMaskell’s amendment has been signed by 39 Labour MPs – far fewer than the 83 needed to overturn Starmer’s majority, but enough to deliver the largest rebellion of his premiership just before the first anniversary of Labour’s election victory.

Other sceptical MPs are expected to abstain on Tuesday, but could vote against the bill next week if there are no further concessions.

Maskell said there were “loads more” who had said they would reject the Government’s plans.

She told BBC Breakfast: “I engaged with so many people yesterday that were saying: ‘I’m not signing the recent amendment but I am voting down the bill.'”

Who are the Labour MPs still opposing the welfare cuts?

There are 39 Labour MPs who have signed the new amendment opposing the welfare cuts, plus three more suspended Labour MPs for a total of 42. This is slightly down on the 50 who were reported to be planning to sign it.

Maskell’s amendment calls on MPs to reject the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill “because its provisions have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers”.

The Labour MPs to have signed it are:

Rachael Maskell – Labour
Neil Duncan-Jordan – Labour
Clive Efford – Labour
Lorraine Beavers – Labour
Chris Hinchliff – Labour
Mary Glindon – Labour
Cat Eccles – Labour
Paula Barker – Labour
Cat Smith – Labour
Olivia Blake – Labour
Peter Lamb – Labour
Richard Quigley – Labour
Marie Rimmer – Labour
Emma Lewell-Buck – Labour
Richard Burgon – Labour
Kate Osborne – Labour
Rebecca Long Bailey – Labour
Bell Ribeiro-Addy – Labour
Jon Trickett – Labour
Dr Simon Opher – Labour
Ian Lavery – Labour
Apsana Begum – (suspended from Labour)
Ian Byrne – Labour
John McDonnell – (suspended from Labour)
Nadia Whittome – Labour
Diane Abbott – Labour
Kim Johnson – Labour
Andy McDonald – Labour
Brian Leishman – Labour
Imran Hussain – Labour
Steve Witherden – Labour
Mary Kelly Foy – Labour
Clive Lewis – Labour
Grahame Morris – Labour
Pam Cox – Labour
Zarah Sultana – (suspended from Labour)
Maureen Burke – Labour
Abtisam Mohamed – Labour
Navendu Mishra – Labour
Terry Jermy – Labour
Stella Creasy – Labour
Yasmin Qureshi – Labour

Which Scottish Labour MPs are still opposing the cuts?

Previously, some 12 Scottish Labour MPs were opposing the planned £5bn cuts to disability benefits. These were:

Patricia Ferguson
Tracy Gilbert
Scott Arthur
Kirsteen Sullivan
Richard Baker
Euan Stainbank
Lilian Jones
Elaine Stewart
Brian Leishman
Maureen Burke
Martin Rhodes
Irene Campbell

Only two Scottish Labour MPs have signed the new amendment put forward by Maskell.

These are:

Brian Leishman
Maureen Burke

Which other MPs have signed the new amendment?

There are 24 MPs from other parties who have also backed Maskell’s amendment which would block the welfare cuts.

Though no LibDem MPs have put their name to it, they have all signed a separate amendment which would serve the same purpose.

The 24 non-Labour MPs to have signed Maskell’s amendment are:

Claire Hanna – SDLP
Sorcha Eastwood – Alliance Party
Siân Berry – Green Party
Carla Denyer – Green Party
Ellie Chowns – Green Party
Liz Saville Roberts – Plaid Cymru
Ben Lake – Plaid Cymru
Ann Davies – Plaid Cymru
Llinos Medi – Plaid Cymru
Adrian Ramsay – Green Party
Shockat Adam – Independent
Ayoub Khan – Independent
Adnan Hussain – Independent
Iqbal Mohamed – Independent
Jeremy Corbyn – Independent
Stephen Flynn – SNP
Pete Wishart –SNP
Kirsty Blackman – SNP
Brendan O’Hara – SNP
Stephen Gethins – SNP
Chris Law – SNP
Dave Doogan – SNP
Seamus Logan – SNP
Graham Leadbitter – SNP

The LibDems' amendment

The LibDems have proposed their own reasoned amendment which would also block Starmer's welfare cuts from progressing. The party has 72 MPs, 71 of whom have signed it.

Alistair Carmichael, the Scottish LibDem MP for Orkney and Shetland, is the only MP from his party not to have signed the amendment.

The LibDem MPs who have signed it are: