Sir Keir Starmer has invited Labour MPs for crunch No10 talks as the Prime Minister tries to prevent a potential rebellion over his plan to cut Britain’s benefits bill.
Downing Street will host roundtable discussions on Wednesday and Thursday after as many as 80 Labour MPs were reportedly preparing to defy the Prime Minister’s plan to curb welfare spending.
The 30-minute discussions are being hosted by the Downing Street Policy Unit, ITV News has revealed.
Starmer was just yesterday spooked into pushing back his crunch benefits vote to next week.
Sir Keir Starmer
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The decision came after the Prime Minister handed Labour MPs an ultimatum.
Addressing Labour MPs behind closed doors on Monday night, the Starmer said: “We’ve found ourselves in a worst of all worlds situation – with the wrong incentives – discouraging people from working, the taxpayer funding a spiralling bill, £70billion a year by 2030.”
He added: “That’s unsustainable, it’s indefensible and it is unfair, people feel that in their bones.
“It runs contrary to those deep British values that if you can work, you should. And if you want to work, the Government should support you, not stop you.”
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DWP minister Liz Kendall is leading the charge on reforming the DWP PAHowever, Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan warned against a rerun of “austerity” suggesting the Starmer should “tax the super-rich” instead.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell openly addressed the fears held by potential Labour rebels, claiming that “taking a sledgehammer to benefits” is “not the right approach”.
The potential cuts to Department for Work & Pensions expenditure puts further pressure on Liz Kendall just months after the Government axed Winter Fuel Payments and refused to cover compensation payments for Waspi women.
The Work & Pensions Secretary has already told her Cabinet colleagues that the current system is “holding back the economy” and “bad for people’s wellbeing and health”.
Keir Starmer
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Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood also said there is a “moral case” for cutting the welfare bill.
She added: “We know that there are many people who are currently receiving state support for being out of work who want to be in work. We know that we have too many of our young people currently out of work, not in education, employment or training.
“There is a moral case here for making sure that people who can work are able to work and there’s a practical point here as well, because our current situation is unsustainable.”
More than 30 Labour MPs signed a letter supporting the Government’s proposal, labelling the decision a “truly progressive endeavour”.