LABOUR MPs are predicting the biggest rebellion of this Parliament to date over Rachel Reeves’s planned welfare cuts, it has been reported.
According to the Labour-leaning New Statesman, one of Keir Starmer's MPs has said “plenty” of their colleagues are looking for “a hill to die on” after it was confirmed the Chancellor is looking to make billions of pounds of cuts to welfare spending.
Rachel Reeves will deliver her spring statement on March 26, but her financial headroom has reportedly been wiped out since the October Budget, meaning she will have to find more money in order to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules.
Reeves is planning to save several billion pounds by making austerity cuts to the welfare budget, with health-related benefits being targeted.
Labour MPs are reportedly fearing welfare could be the tipping point for those already aggrieved by the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment, the failure to compensate women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension age (Waspi women), and the cut to the foreign aid budget.
YouGov polling shows that 53% of the public believe the qualifications for receiving benefits aren’t strict enough, while just 25% believe they are too strict.
Last year, in one of their first big moves in office, the Labour UK Government opted to make the previously universal Winter Fuel Payment means-tested so it is now only handed out to the poorest pensioners – those eligible for pension credit or other means-tested benefits.
Last year the parliamentary ombudsman recommended payouts of up to £2950 each because of a 28-month delay in writing to inform the women affected of the changes. Campaigners have now threatened the Government with legal action unless it reconsiders.
Last week, it was confirmed the defence budget will rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, but this will be funded by a cut to the international aid budget from 0.5% of national income to 0.3%.
A cross-party group of MPs has written to Keir Starmer to express “deep concern” about the cuts while international organisations have accused the government of “balancing the books on the backs of the world’s most vulnerable people”.
Anneliese Dodds quit her role as international development minister over the decision last week.
