Cliff Notes
- Labour backbenchers are expressing strong opposition to proposed welfare reforms aimed at restricting sickness and disability benefits, particularly concerning the personal independence payment (PIP).
- Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is set to announce these reforms, which are forecasted to encounter significant internal dissent amid concerns about the impact on vulnerable populations.
- The upcoming changes are part of wider efforts to address soaring welfare costs, with total spending projected to rise to £378bn by the end of the decade, highlighting the need for fiscal savings.
Welfare reforms to PIP disability benefit trigger intense row within Labour
Labour faces a major challenge from its own backbenchers ahead of an announcement to restrict some sickness and disability benefits.
The plans are likely to be opposed by those in the party who are concerned about attempts to slash the ballooning welfare bill and encourage adults back to work.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to set out the reforms on Tuesday, but details of where those cuts could fall is proving highly divisive within Labour.
Total welfare spending in 2023-23 was about £296bn, by the end of the decade it is forecast to reach almost £378bn.
Explainer: Where could welfare cuts be made?
The Chancellor needs to find savings to meet her strict fiscal rules and Rachel Reeves has previously insisted “we do need to get a grip” on the welfare budget.
One proposal reportedly under consideration is to save around £5bn by freezing or tightening the rules around the personal independence payment (PIP).
But Labour’s Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, a former Labour health secretary, has “urged great caution on how changes are made” although, writing in The Times, he accepts “the benefits system needs a radical overhaul”.
“I would share concerns about changing support and eligibility to benefits while leaving the current top-down system broadly in place. It would trap too many people in poverty,” he added.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting argued on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the current system is “unsustainable” and welfare reforms are needed. He also said mental health conditions are often overdiagnosed.
