Ministers ‘want’ to hold a vote on the controversial benefit shake-up on Tuesday, a No10 source said – just a day after Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner insisted it would definitely go ahead
No10 is locked in crisis talks with angry backbenchers amid speculation a crunch vote on welfare reform might be pulled.
An insider told the BBC ministers “want” to hold a vote on Tuesday in a hint at a possible climbdown. Yesterday both Keir Starmer and Deputy PM Angela Rayner insisted they would be pushing ahead with the controversial shake-up.
But with 126 Labour MPs signing an amendment that could torpedo the plan, the Government could face an embarrassing defeat if it goes ahead. Last night Ms Rayner said talks were “ongoing” with backbenchers in a bid to find a way forward.
Labour grandeee Lord David Blunkett last night warned that Mr Starmer could face a confidence vote if the legislation is voted down.
In an apparent softening of words, a No10 source told the BBC: “Delivering fundamental change is not easy, and we all want to get it right, so of course we’re talking to colleagues about the bill and the changes it will bring.
“We want to start delivering this together on Tuesday.”
The source added: “The broken welfare system is failing the most vulnerable and holding too many people back. It’s fair and responsible to fix it. There is broad consensus across the party on this.”
This morning trade minister Douglas Alexander said there would be time for discussions with potential rebels before Tuesday’s vote. He told Sky News: “I think we’ve got time. There’ll be discussions that will be happening. There’s discussions that have started happening, and I expect that those conversations will continue.”
Stepping in for the Prime Minister at PMQs, Ms Rayner insisted the vote would go ahead. But she later confirmed that talks were still going on in a bit to get rebels to fall in line.
Asked about possible concessions, she told ITV’s Peston programme: “I’m not going to get into that on your show tonight. Those discussions are ongoing around making sure that the welfare reforms that we’re bringing in support people into work who need that, and we’re putting a huge amount of investment into doing that, but also protecting the most vulnerable.”
She acknowledged that “a lot of people are very scared about these changes” but added: “I haven’t changed my Labour values and we’re not expecting our benches to do anything that isn’t in check with them.
“What we want to do is support people, and that is the crucial bit around these reforms of what Labour are trying to achieve, and we’re discussing that with our MPs.”
The latest names to add their names to the amendment, tabled by Treasury Select Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier include Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee chairman Toby Perkins, and backbenchers Gareth Snell, Sarah Edwards, Irene Campbell and Pam Cox.
Labour peer Lord Blunkett told LBC last night that if Mr Starmer lost, he would have to call a vote of confidence. He said he would postpone the vote until the autumn if he was the Prime Minister.
Lord Blunkett said: ‘”f they lost it, they’d have to go for a vote of confidence, I think. But the embarrassment of that one year in, the difficulty of that leaves you with two problems. One is you’ve been humiliated, and the second is you’ve still got the problem. The welfare issue has not gone away.”
Responding to excitable chatter about “regime change”, Labour MP Josh Genton-Glynn wrote: “This helps absolutely no one. My name is on the amendment and like others I am confident in our leader.
“He’s doing a good job cleaning up the Tory mess. It’s one policy that needs fixing and it sounds like our reasonable concerns are being listened to.”
The Government’s plans restrict eligibility for personal independence payment (PIP) and limit the sickness-related element of Universal Credit. The Government hopes the changes will get more people back into work and save up to £5 billion a year.
Existing claimants will be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support, a move seen as a bid to head off opposition by aiming to soften the impact of the changes.
A disgruntled Labour MP said: “I don’t think you can tinker with this. They need to go back to the drawing board.” According to the Government’s impact assessment, the welfare reforms as a whole could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty.
Asked whether she thought there were hundreds of thousands of people claiming disability benefits who were not disabled, Ms Rayner said: “No, what we’re saying though is that the welfare system has to be able to have longevity.”