Sir Keir Starmer has faced a backlash over rumoured welfare cuts, with one Labour MP pleading with the Prime Minister to make the “moral” choice.
Richard Burgon told the Commons disabled people are “frightened” as he urged Sir Keir to introduce a wealth tax instead of “making the poor and vulnerable pay”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir pledged to “protect those who need protecting”, but later added there isn’t a “bottomless pit”.
Labour MP John Slinger also pressed the Government to “provide compassion to those who can’t work”, as he called for the “broken” welfare system to be fixed.
On Wednesday, Mr Burgon, Leeds East MP, said: “Disabled people in my constituency are frightened and they’re frightened because they’re again hearing politicians use the language of tough choices, and they know, from bitter experience, when politicians talk about tough choices it means the easy option of making the poor and vulnerable pay.
“So instead of cutting benefits for disabled people, wouldn’t the moral thing to do, the courageous thing to do, be to make a real tough choice and introduce a wealth tax on the very wealthiest people in our society?”
Sir Keir replied: “The party opposite left a broken welfare system, which locks millions out of work, that is indefensible, in my view, economically and morally. Of course, we need to support people who need support, we need to help those who want to work to get back into work, and I think there’s a moral imperative in that.
“He talks about a wealth tax, we have raised money – the energy profits levy, taxing non-doms, and air passenger duty on private jets. But this isn’t a bottomless pit, and we must kick-start growth to get the economic stability that we need.”
In July last year, Mr Burgon lost the Labour whip after he rebelled against the Government in a vote on the two-child benefit cap. He has since had the whip restored.
Labour MP for Leeds East, Richard Burgon (Yui Mok/PA)
Earlier in the session, Mr Slinger, Rugby MP, said: “Will the Prime Minister set out how this Government will give everyone who is able to work the support they need, provide compassion to those who can’t work, and fix the broken welfare system left behind by, you guessed it, the Conservatives?”
Sir Keir replied: “I come from a family that dealt with a disability through my mother and brother over many years, so I do understand the concerns that have been raised by him, but we inherited a system which is broken, it is indefensible, economically and morally, and we must and we will reform it.
“We will have clear principles, we will protect those who need protecting. We will also support those who can work, back to work, but Labour is the party of work, we’re also the party of equality and fairness.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked Sir Keir to calm the fears of disabled people who are unable to work ahead of possible changes to their support.
He said: “The Prime Minister has rightly spoken about the need to get more people into work, and he repeated that now, so people have more dignity, we can get the economy going, and we can cut the benefits bill after the disgraceful legacy left by the Conservatives.
“But does the Prime Minister recognise that for many disabled people the best way to help them into work is to support them properly, with more special equipment, with training, with better healthcare and so on. And will he also today calm anxieties that he himself has raised for many of us that the disability benefits for people who simply cannot work will not be cut?”
Sir Keir, referring to the opposition benches during his response, said: “We will of course support those who need support, but help those who can work into work. They’ll be the guiding principles. But what we’ve inherited is shocking, and they ought to be silent.
“One in eight young people not in education, work or training. That is a lost generation. That is their inheritance. They’ve got plenty to say now, they did nothing for 14 years and that is a terrible inheritance.”