Keir Starmer will face vote of no confidence if MPs reject benefits bill, Lord Blunkett tells LBC
Sir Keir Starmer will face a vote of no confidence if his upcoming benefits bill is rejected by Parliament, former work and pensions secretary Lord Blunkett has told LBC.
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Ministers are discussing how to stop the major rebellion of 120 Labour MPs who oppose the welfare reforms.
Sir Keir has insisted possible welfare reforms are "progressive", arguing the current system is "broken".
But the Prime Minister is expected to face a massive rebellion from his own MPs when the measures are voted on next week.
Despite reports of at least 130 MPs planning to vote down cuts to Personal Independence Payments, the Prime Minister will push ahead with a vote on the bill.
Former work and pensions secretary Lord David Blunkett has told LBC a failed vote could see the end of the Prime Minister, just 12 months into his time in Downing Street.
Lord Blunkett told LBC’s Andrew Marr: "If 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. You know, the welfare issue has not gone away, so solving the problem, not taking the hit, is the sensible solution.”
"We were elected into change and change that which is broken," The Prime Minister told LBC from this week’s NATO summit.
"The welfare system was broken by the Tories in their 14 years in power, we are elected into mend it. It doesn't work for anyone. It traps people in a position where they can't get into work."
Under the proposals, ministers will limit eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability payment in England, and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC).
So far the bill's amendment has been signed by at least 130 MPs in a major rebellion that could see the welfare bill stopped in its tracks.
Sir Keir said: "It's a progressive argument, and we need to make sure that the welfare system is there, not just for today, but for the future so we need to change it to make sure we have the welfare system we need for the future.
"And that's the change we'll bring about."
Sir Keir previously declined to say if he’d be prepared to pass the new changes on the back of Tory votes.
Kemi Badenoch’s party has said the changes won’t go far enough to make the savings required, but it’s not clear whether the Conservatives will vote for them or not.