The Prime Minister is expected to face a rebellion from his own Cabinet as the Labour Left lament his “Trumpian” plans to shrink the state.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and energy secretary Ed Miliband are expected to lead the charge against Sir Keir Starmer’s larger plan to make spending cuts of up to £6billion from welfare, it has been reported.
The Labour leader has been informed of the possibility that Miliband “would walk” if Rachel Reeves took aim at the energy secretary’s extensive budget for his quango GB Energy.
Other ministers have backed Miliband’s potential resignation as he was “associated with failure” and “plays badly in the Red Wall seats”.
The Prime Minister is expected to face a rebellion from his own Cabinet
PA
Nevertheless, it has been reported that Miliband has managed to keep his budget intact as a result of concerns that his resignation might damage the Government’s image.
He is not the only leading Cabinet figure to reveal his distaste for government cuts as a number of other ministers have come out against Starmer’s plans.
Rayner and the former party leader joined forces with justice secretary Shabana Mahmood and House of Commons leader Lucy Powell as they collectively railed against planned spending cuts of up to 11 per cent across environment, local government and justice.
A Cabinet close to the PM said that Starmer had been “emboldened” by President Trump’s reforms of his federal government as the Republican searches to streamline his workforce, overseen by tech tycoon Elon Musk.
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“You won’t see Keir appearing onstage with a chainsaw, like Musk did,” the source told the Daily Mail.
“But there is no doubt that we feel emboldened by the pace and extent of change in Washington.”
Last week, Keir Starmer announced that he was going to axe NHS England – which is run by around 14,000 staff.
Now, Works and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is set to reveal possibly mammoth cuts to welfare spending this week as ministers have planned to make it more challenging for individuals to qualify for personal independence payments.
Works and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is set to reveal possibly mammoth cuts to welfare spending this week
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The plans have followed data that shows that the cost has doubled over the course of five years.
Mother of the House Diane Abbott criticised Starmer after she and other MPs were denied the opportunity to hold the PM accountable during an event last week as they were told the meeting was “full”.
She said: “Keen on dissent in other countries – not so much here.”
She added that it would be “good” if frontbenchers resigned over potential plans to freeze disability payments and said: “If anyone in Labour came into politics to cut welfare, they joined the wrong party.”