LONDON — Keir Starmer’s authority was dealt a significant blow Tuesday night after he was forced to pull a key plank of his flagship welfare reform program just an hour before a House of Commons vote.
Faced with a sizable Labour rebellion and possible defeat on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, Starmer’s government parked a major, multibillion pound cost-saving plan which would have tightened eligibility criteria for support payments for disabled people.
It marked an extraordinary climbdown by Starmer less than a year after he won power with a landslide majority, and throws the government’s fiscal plans into disarray.
It was the latest concession after days of behind-the-scenes wrangling with Labour rebels.
One of Starmer’s junior ministers, Stephen Timms, announced at the 11th-hour in the Commons that the government would drop a clause in the bill bringing in the controversial planned changes to personal independence payments. Some MPs expressed confusion about what they were now being asked to vote on.
“I popped out for a banana earlier on, and when I came back in things had changed again, so I’m more unclear on what I’m voting on,” Labour MP Mary Foy told MPs at one point.
In the event, the gutted bill passed by 335 to 260 votes — a majority of 75. Labour has a working majority of 165.
Some 49 Labour MPs voted against the flagship piece of domestic legislation, with 19 choosing to abstain. It marked the biggest rebellion of Starmer’s premiership so far.
‘Right and fair’
Ministers began the day on the back foot after more than 120 MPs signaled last week they would back an amendment to the legislation effectively blocking its passage.
The government had on Monday already made a multibillion-pound climbdown which would mean no existing claimants of the payment would be subject to new, stricter eligibility rules. A freeze to the health-related component of the Universal Credit welfare payment would also be reversed — a U-turn the government admitted would cost the Treasury £2.5 billion.
During an emotive House of Commons debate Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall had urged MPs to back the legislation, insisting plans to protect existing claimants while ensuring new PIP awards are focused on those with higher needs in future “strikes the right and fair balance going forward.”
But disabled Labour MP Marie Tidball grabbed the attention of the debating chamber when she told MPs she would vote against the bill “with a heavy, broken heart” and spoke of her past vow to create a Britain “which treats disabled people with dignity and respect.”
The move will raise fresh questions about Starmer’s political judgement after he last week dismissed concerns from MPs as “noises off” as the rebellion gained ground.
It further raises the prospect of tax rises in the autumn if Chancellor Reeves is to stick to her self-imposed rule to be on course to balance her budget by 2029/30.
Timms was unable to tell MPs how much the scaled back bill would now save.
“This is an utter capitulation,” said Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch on X.
“Labour’s welfare bill is now a TOTAL waste of time. It effectively saves £0, helps no one into work, and does NOT control spending. It’s pointless. They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern.”
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