THE BBC has called out the five Scottish Labour MPs who support the UK Government’s plans to slash disability benefits for declining to answer questions.
Last week, the group of MPs – Blair McDougall, Joani Reid, Graeme Downie, Frank McNally, and Gregor Poynton – were criticised for their support for reported plans to cut the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit.
The plans are due to be outlined by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall on Tuesday, with Labour claiming the current cost of a benefits bill is “unsustainable”.
On Monday, BBC Radio Scotland led its news coverage on the pressure facing Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the expected cuts – and invited all five of the Scottish Labour MPs who support them to speak.
However, they all declined to appear, with BBC listeners being told: “We did ask to speak with someone from the Department of Work and Pensions and the five MPs who backed these cuts, but none of them were available.”
Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman, who has criticised the UK Government on a range of issues from Gaza to Grangemouth, was invited to speak instead.
He told the BBC: “We've seen the social consequences of 14 years of Conservative austerity, and last summer I was proud to stand on a mandate and a manifesto of change.
“Now, change has got to be positive change and reducing billions from the welfare bill and basically consigning a cohort of people, a section of society, some of the most vulnerable people, into forever poverty, that’s not the positive change that we should be delivering in government.”
Asked if he could continue to represent Labour if it brings in sweeping cuts that he disagrees with, Leishman said he “absolutely” could.
As the interview with Leishman closed, the BBC thanked him “for joining us this morning when so many of your colleagues couldn't”.
Elsewhere, the PA news agency reported that multiple Labour backbenchers had expressed frustration at a lack of communication from ministers, with one describing “engagement sessions” held by Number 10 as “a tick box exercise” and another saying many of their colleagues had made it clear they would vote against such proposals.
Reports suggest the scale of the backlash has prompted a rethink of rumoured plans to freeze the level of PIP rather than increase it in line with inflation, delivering a real-terms cut to 3.6 million claimants.
But other backbenchers have expressed anger that proposals such as the PIP freeze had leaked out, suggesting to PA this had been done in “bad faith” before anything had been agreed by Kendall and the Treasury.
Clare Moriarty, the chief executive of Citizen's Advice, warned that the UK Government’s actions do “not feel consistent with a government that really wants to raise living standards, tackle child poverty, end mass dependence on emergency food parcels”.
Ministers insist that reform is necessary given the number of people in England and Wales claiming either sickness or disability benefit has soared from 2.8m to about 4.0m since 2019.
The benefits bill has risen with this increase, reaching £48bn in 2023-24, and is forecast to continue rising to £67bn in 2029-30 – a level that would exceed the current schools budget and the Government regards as unsustainable.
On Sunday, English Health Secretary Wes Streeting (below) said the full proposals are yet to come before Cabinet and urged the public not to listen to “speculation”.
He said: “I would share concerns about changing support and eligibility to benefits while leaving the top-down system broadly in place. It would trap too many people in poverty.
“And to be clear: There is no case in any scenario for cutting the support available to disabled people who are unable to work.”
