Ministers are discussing the prospect of further concessions to win over Labour MPs preparing to rebel over the Government’s plans to cut disability benefits ahead of a crunch vote next week.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said talks with backbenchers were “ongoing” amid a looming revolt over the welfare Bill, which she insisted is set to come before the Commons on Tuesday.
Some 120 Labour MPs have put their names to a bid to block the legislation in its tracks, arguing that disabled people have not been properly consulted about the plans and further scrutiny is required before making any changes.
Asked what concessions could be offered to convince rebels to back the Bill, Ms Rayner sought to reassure backbenchers that they would not be expected to betray the party’s traditional values.
“I’m not going to get into that on your show tonight,” she said in an interview on ITV’s Peston programme.
“Those discussions are ongoing around making sure that the welfare reforms that we’re bringing in support people into work who need that, and we’re putting a huge amount of investment into doing that, but also protecting the most vulnerable.”
She acknowledged that “a lot of people are very scared about these changes” but added: “I haven’t changed my Labour values and we’re not expecting our benches to do anything that isn’t in check with them.
“What we want to do is support people, and that is the crucial bit around these reforms of what Labour are trying to achieve, and we’re discussing that with our MPs.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, who has already taken steps to soften the impact of the welfare Bill, has been locked in talks with backbenchers as she seeks to talk round those opposed to the measures.
The plans restrict eligibility for personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability payment in England, and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit, with the aim of getting more people back into work and saving up to £5 billion a year.
Existing claimants will be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support, a move seen as a bid to head off opposition.
But the fact so many Labour MPs are prepared to put their names to the “reasoned amendment” calling for a change of course shows how entrenched the opposition remains.
One backbencher preparing to vote against the Bill told the PA news agency: “A lot of people have been saying they’re upset about this for months. To leave it until a few days before the vote, it’s not a very good way of running the country.
“It’s not very grown up.”
They said that minor concessions would not be enough, warning: “I don’t think you can tinker with this. They need to go back to the drawing board.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer defended his leadership against accusations he had misjudged the mood in his party, insisting he is “comfortable with reading the room”.
At a press conference at the Nato summit in The Hague, the Prime Minister said: “Is it tough going? Are there plenty of people and noises off? Yes, of course, there always are, there always have been, there always will be.
“But the important thing is to focus on the change that we want to bring about.”
Ms Rayner earlier told MPs in the Commons the vote will take place as planned despite the rebellion, saying: “We will go ahead on Tuesday.”
The Prime Minister had earlier indicated he was not willing to compromise, telling reporters travelling with him to the Netherlands that he would “press ahead” with the reforms which he says are needed to fix a broken system.
Later on Wednesday, armed forces minister Luke Pollard echoed the Deputy Prime Minister, telling Sky News’s Politics Hub show that “of course” the Government was in talks about possibly making changes.
“Of course we are, and I think there’s a concern that’s very valid and real for lots of my colleagues. They’re not doing this to cause trouble or be argumentative,” he said.
“They’re doing it because they have a genuine, heartfelt concern about some of the impacts. ”
He said some of the reforms would be supported across the party but “where there is concerns … those discussions will continue until the vote and beyond.”
Social security minister Sir Stephen Timms said he was “looking forward to the debate” next week.
He told the Commons Work and Pensions Committee the changes need to be made urgently to cut the spiralling welfare bill.
Committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams, who is one of the Labour MPs to have signed the amendment to block the legislation, asked why the provisions within the Bill had not been consulted on.
Sir Stephen said: “Essentially because of the urgency of the changes needing to be made.”
He said the cost of Pip had gone up from £12 billion before the pandemic to £22 billion last year “and that is not a sustainable trajectory”.
Setting out the impact of the reforms, he told the vommittee 370,000 people getting Pip under the current system would not be receiving it by the end of the decade.
Other senior Labour figures outside Parliament, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, have also publicly expressed their opposition to the plans.
Meanwhile, the Tories seem unlikely to lend the Government their support, with leader Kemi Badenoch setting out conditions for doing so including a commitment to rule out tax rises in the autumn budget and further cut the benefits bill.
