Starmer's welfare reform Bill scrapes through after last minute concession to rebels

The legislation cleared its first hurdle by 335 votes to 260, majority 75.

Sir Keir Starmer was forced to abandon a key plank of his welfare reform package in the face of the rebellion.

A further concession was offered to rebel Labour MPs with just an hour to go before the vote.

Cuts to Personal Independence Payments - commonly known as PIP - will now not take place until after a review.

The decision to remove key parts of the Bill is remarkable for a Government with a working majority of 165 and after just under a year in office.

Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, says that the bill should have been pulled and amendment

He told LBC's Aggie Chambre that Labour MPs have been "treated like mugs- they've been asked to vote for a bill, unamended, to save political face."

Mr Burgon continued: "This bill still contains billions of pounds of cuts for disabled people. It's not a good day for the Labour party.

"This is the winter fuel bill x100. This does not pass the test of 'can you explain it to your constituents?"

Rachel Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, said a number of her colleagues had been "bullied" into passing the bill, leaving them "deeply distressed".

The claims were not qualified, nor any detail provided. Labour said they reject the premise and it is not something they recognise. They said the claims were "unsubstantiated".

Mother of the House Diane Abbott, Stella Creasy (Walthamstow), Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford) and Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) were among the 49 Labour MPs who unsuccessfully tried to block the welfare reform Bill at second reading.

Josh Fenton Glynn Labour MP for Calder Valley, who voted for the bill, told LBC: "I was prepared to vote against the government as I was really concerned.

"They changed enough that I felt confident the new bill will help sort out the system."

Mr Fenton Glynn said he changed his mind when it became "clear the government was listening" and did not make changed to the personal independence payment (PIP).

Another supporter, Sadik Al-Hassan, Labour MP for North Somerset, said: "The negative aspects of the bill have been stripped out."

The Government shelved plans to restrict PIP and any changes will now only come after a review of the benefit.

The climbdown came just 90 minutes before MPs were due to vote for the first time on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill.

It will cause a major headache for Chancellor Rachel Reeves as the welfare squeeze was originally meant to save £4.8 billion a year, which was subsequently reduced to £2.3 billion when the Bill was first watered down last week.

Postponing any changes to the eligibility criteria for Pip means it is now uncertain how much the reforms will save from the soaring welfare bill.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused ministers of "utter capitulation" and said the legislation was now "pointless".

She said: "They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern."

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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "I’ve had serious concerns about the impact of the Government’s welfare reforms on hundreds of thousands of disabled and vulnerable Londoners.

“I’m pleased that the Government has started to listen and take on board what disability groups, campaigners and others have been saying about the damaging impact of this bill. It’s important that ministers look again at changing eligibility for PIP. Disabled Londoners rely upon this vital safety net.

“I have always said that more must be done to support those who are able to work to be able to do so. The Government must now be true to their word and engage meaningfully with disabled groups and charities about any proposed changes to welfare eligibility.

"The concerns of disabled people, who have been frightened and anxious since these plans were first announced, mustn’t be treated as an afterthought, but be central to how reforms are designed.”

Earlier, a Labour rebel attempt to halt the legislation was defeated by 179 votes.

A previous effort to kill the Bill had attracted more than 120 Labour supporters, but was dropped after the first partial U-turn on the legislation last week, which restricted the Pip changes to new claimants from November 2026.

That date has now been abandoned in the latest climbdown, with any changes now only coming after disability minister Sir Stephen Timms' review of the Pip assessment process.

Sir Stephen announced the climbdown in the middle of the debate on the legislation.

He acknowledged "concerns that the changes to Pip are coming ahead of the conclusions of the review of the assessment that I will be leading".

He said the Government would now "only make changes to Pip eligibility activities and descriptors following that review", which is due to conclude in the autumn of 2026.

The concession came after frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations in Westminster involving the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and wavering Labour MPs.

Charlotte Gill, head of campaigns and public affairs at the MS Society, said: "We thought last week's so-called concessions were last minute. But these panicked 11th hour changes still don't fix a rushed, poorly thought-out Bill."

But Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: "The last-minute change relating to the review Sir Stephen Timms is leading sounds positive and we are pleased that the Government has listened."

He added: "Disabled people should not have to pay to fix black holes in the public finances."

The Government's concessions have gutted the reforms, leaving only parts of the current Bill still on the table.

Proposals to cut the health element of universal credit by almost 50% for most new claimants from April 2026 remain in place, along with an above-inflation increase in the benefit's standard allowance.

In an earlier climbdown, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said existing recipients of the health element of universal credit, and new claimants with the most severe conditions, would have their incomes "fully protected in real terms".