Angela Rayner has refused to rule out punishing Labour MPs who vote against the government’s plans to cut disability benefits in the coming weeks, as ministers prepare to publish the full details of their proposals for the first time.
The deputy prime minister defended the plans in the Commons on Wednesday during a session of prime minister’s questions in which she was deputising for Keir Starmer. She told MPs the party was pursuing the plan – which is predicted to result in 1.2 million people with disabilities losing thousands of pounds a year – in the interests of both fairness and getting people back into work.
But with dozens of Labour MPs preparing to vote against the measures, Rayner failed to deny recent reports that party bosses would remove the whip from those who rebel.
Responding to a question from the SNP’s Pete Wishart about whether the prime minister intended to remove the whip from rebels, she responded: “We’re absolutely committed to ending child poverty. We’ve already introduced free school meals. We’re already supporting families. We’ve given a living wage rise to over millions of workers that need it. We’re getting on the job.”
The welfare bill is due to be published on Wednesday, with a vote on the measures due in the next few weeks.
At their heart are cuts to personal independence payments (Pips) and carer’s allowance, which form the bulk of the £4.8bn in savings the government is hoping to realise. The plan will tighten the eligibility for Pips so that even those who are not able to wash half of their body or who are unable to cook a meal for themselves will no longer be able to claim them, unless they have another limiting condition.
The proposals have sparked uproar among Labour MPs, with as many as 170 saying they could vote against them – enough to defeat the government for the first time.
The Guardian revealed last week that ministers had softened their plans slightly, giving a longer transition period for people who no longer qualify for the benefits, and paying more in universal credit to people with less than 12 months to live.
But with many Labour MPs saying privately the changes do not go far enough, whips have instead gone on the offensive, warning members about the consequences if they rebel against the government and insisting there will be no further changes to the bill.
Speaking to reporters in Canada at the G7 this week, the prime minister said: “We have got to get the reforms through and I have been clear about that from start to finish. The system is not working. It’s not working for those that need support; it’s not working for taxpayers.
“Everybody agrees it needs reform. We have got to reform it and that is what we intend to do.”