Welfare rebellion: leading disabled Labour MP hits out at government over lack of consultation ahead of vote

Yet it was only last week, in the face of a potentially huge rebellion, that Sir Keir Starmer agreed to make changes to its bill, which seeks reform to the welfare system.

Confirming the U-turn in the House of Commons yesterday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said people who currently claim personal independence payments (Pip), the main benefit for disabled people, would not be affected by new eligibility criteria.

This is expected to cost the taxpayer around £2.5bn by 2030, less than half the £4.8bn the Government had expected from its initial proposals.

MPs will vote on the bill for the first time today yet it remains unclear whether the legislation will pass, with influential rebels coming out against the revised proposals.

In the Commons yesterday, Dr Tidball hit out at the lack of consultation with disabled people, saying their voices had been excluded.

She told Ms Kendall: “Since April, I have engaged with the Government making it clear that I could not support the proposals on Pip.

“Our manifesto committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with disabled people.

“Having no public consultation of these plans excludes the voices of disabled people. This is not just about process - this makes disabled people worse off.

“Why did the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) choose not to consult with disabled people on Pip proposals and what work will her department do to win back the trust of disabled people?”

Ms Kendall responded by saying the Government was “absolutely committed to co-producing this Pip review led by Sir Stephen Timms”.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said: “She may know we are also setting up collaboration committees on access to work and on pathways to work to make sure we really get this right.

“I look forward to meeting with her and many other disabled people and their organisations to absolutely make sure we get this right as we go forward.”

Ms Kendall was in the House of Commons yesterday to try and sell the new bill, yet received anger and concern from the Labour benches.

It is understood that Sir Keir had not been lobbying MPs yesterday, despite having few formal engagements, and instead this was left to the whips.

Earlier in the day, modelling from the DWP suggested the Government’s proposals would push 150,000 more people into poverty by 2030.

The figure is down from the 250,000 extra people estimated to have been facing relative poverty after housing costs under the original proposals.

Modelling published by the DWP said the estimate does not include any “potential positive impact” from extra funding and measures to support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions into work.

A Number 10 spokesman also said that the modelling was “subject to uncertainty” and did not “reflect the full picture”, including investment in the health service to help people get back to work.

While Ms Kendall insisted that changes to her proposals on Pip and universal credit would “ensure no existing claimants are put into poverty”.

However, it is understood that many Labour rebels are still going to vote against the bill, with York Central MP Rachael Maskell pledging that something “big” was being planned.

“We just want to see the bill voted down, the time for normal reasoned amendments has probably passed now,” she told The Yorkshire Post.

“Until further changes are made I’m not going to be able to support the legislation.

“It’s really clear that this is going to cause a lot of harm to disabled people in the future.”