Minister Warns Labour Rebels That Watering Down Welfare Cuts Came 'At A Cost'

Minister Bridget Phillipson has warned Labour rebels that the government’s concessions over its planned welfare bill have “come at a cost”.

After Labour backbenchers repeatedly threatened to vote against Downing Street’s plan to slash universal credit and personal independence payments (PIP), ministers were forced to water down their plans this week.

In doing so, they effectively wiped out £5bn of savings from the original bill.

The weakened proposals were then voted through, although 48 MPs still opposed it – sparking speculation backbenchers would now be more inclined to rebel the government again in the future.

HuffPost UK understands rebels have set their sights on lifting the two-child benefit cap after the welfare U-turn. 

Education secretary Phillipson subsequently tried to send a rather firm message to MPs on Times Radio this morning.

She said: “We are determined to bring down the numbers of children growing up in poverty.

“But we do have to be upfront about the fact that the changes in the last week have come at a cost.

“And whilst many will make the argument for changes around social security, they too come at a cost.

“So all of this will have to be taken together at a later date by the chancellor.

“We’ll make sure the voice of disabled people and charities and others are reflected in changes to personal independence payments. But I do believe there is a need to reform the social security system.”

She also admitted to that the government had gone “too fast” with welfare reforms, and told Sky News that Labour have not “got everything right” while in office, 

But it does not look governing is going to get any easier for Keir Starmer now he’s completed his first year in office.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell told LBC that the government was to blame for the chaos of the last few weeks, adding: “When the prime minister’s door is shut, wrong decisions are made.”

Similarly, Labour mayor of Liverpool city, Steve Rotherham, told the Guardian: “We could have avoided some of this by just listening to some of the people in the party who want to support Starmer, want to support Labour, but are finding it difficult because the mistakes are made and they could have been avoided.”

He noted: “I do think it’s about the feeling that there’s a lack of connectivity between different bits of the party.”