Starmer has climbed down on disability benefits cuts. Read full article at source...
The government is in talks with Labour MPs about possible changes to its welfare policies, Downing Street has confirmed. In a notable softening of tone, No 10 said that they “want” to hold a vote on Tuesday – as is currently planned – and admitted that getting the policy right was “not easy”. It follows...
Elizabeth Butler goes from one supermarket to the next in her hometown of Martinsburg, West Virginia, to ensure she gets the best price on each item on her grocery list. Along with 42 million Americans, she pays for those groceries with federal food subsides. That cash doesn’t cover the whole bill for her family of...
Iain Watson, Henry Zeffman and Harry Farley Political correspondents Reuters Angela Rayner has declared that the government will go ahead with its controversial legislation, aimed at reforming the welfare system, next week. But a well-placed source told us it could still be pulled: “It’s a live discussion.” Conversations are continuing at the heart of government...
Getty Images A significant number of Labour MPs are threatening to vote against the government’s working-age welfare reform plan when it comes before the House of Commons next week. The reforms are designed to reduce the overall working-age welfare bill by about £5bn a year by the end of the decade. The rebel MPs have...
Sir Keir Starmer has defended his leadership as he confirmed the government will push ahead with a vote on welfare reforms, in spite of a large number of Labour MPs opposing the measures. Despite efforts to stop a growing rebellion, more than 120 Labour backbenchers have signed an amendment calling for the proposals to be...
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “press ahead” with the government’s planned welfare changes, despite a growing rebellion from Labour backbench MPs. More than 120 Labour MPs have signed up to an effort to block plans to cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5bn a year by 2030. The threatened rebellion is enough...
Henry Zeffman & Iain Watson & Chris Mason PA Media All of a sudden, this is a grave crisis for Sir Keir Starmer, perhaps the gravest of his year in Downing Street so far. Politically, it looks very hard for the government to proceed with its flagship welfare policies. Economically, it is very hard to...
Iain Watson Political correspondent Christina McSorley Political producer BBC Britain’s welfare system is broken. Just about every Labour MP – maybe every member of Parliament – agrees with this. But fixing the system is proving to be a problem. The most divisive decision taken so far by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is to...
Felicity Evans Money editor, BBC Wales News EPA At a protest in London, people expressed their upset at the UK government’s disability welfare reforms The incomes of people in Wales could be cut by £466m by 2029-30 as part of the UK government’s disability welfare reforms, according to new analysis. Data analytics company Policy in...
Joshua Nevett Political reporter House of Commons Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a growing rebellion by Labour MPs over planned welfare cuts some have warned are “impossible to support” without a “change of direction”. In a letter to The Guardian, 42 MPs said proposed welfare savings worth £5bn a year by 2030 had...
Gareth Lewis Political editor, BBC Wales News Getty Images First Minister Eluned Morgan will “call out” UK government welfare cuts but will stop short of demanding they be scrapped In her speech, which marks a year until polling day, Morgan will bill next year’s Senedd election as a “battle for the future of Wales”. She...
Iain Watson Political correspondent EPA There has been some unease in Labour’s ranks over the planned savings in the welfare budget. The government’s newly published assessment of the impact of the changes has increased that anxiety. The contents – with its estimates of increased poverty levels – show that talk of difficult decisions is not...