Labour MPs table motion to halt welfare bill - with enough backers to defeat government

Moderate Labour MPs are readying a "reasoned amendment" to reason the government's disablement payment cuts, Sky News understands.

Nearly 100 Labour MPs are understood to person fixed their backing to this measure, which means the authorities could beryllium defeated connected its flagship payment reforms.

MPs who person not yet gone nationalist with their criticisms person signed the motion, calling for a hold to measure the interaction of cuts to idiosyncratic independency payments (PIP).

They explicit concerns, according to a draught seen by Sky News, astir the government's ain figures showing 250,000 radical could beryllium pushed into poverty, and what the forecast is for however galore whitethorn find employment.

The reasoned amendment was tabled by Dame Meg Hillier, seat of the Treasury prime committee, with the enactment of 12 different prime committee chairs.

Other elder figures, who are usually loyal to the enactment leadership, are understood to beryllium spearheading the reasoned amendment, which would request to beryllium selected by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle erstwhile MPs statement the authorities adjacent week.

It is an effort to unit the authorities to h2o down the payment changes, successful beforehand of the vote. It is understood that 99 MPs had signed it by Monday evening.

The amendment emerged arsenic Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was addressing the play gathering of Labour MPs and peers to merchantability the reforms to PIP and cosmopolitan credit. The authorities argues the payment measure is rising "unsustainably".

Opponents of the changes to sickness and disablement benefits accidental sentiment among Labour MPs has hardened since the draught authorities was published past week.

Dozens of MPs are said to person expressed concerns to enactment bosses, including inferior ministers and aides. A enactment whip resigned her station past week to reason the reforms.

Some MPs, who person not yet spoken publicly, told Sky News the chances of the authorities losing the ballot were "under-priced".

It is understood that No 10 officials person told acrophobic MPs they would beryllium "voting with Nigel Farage" and "will bring america each down" if they ballot against the changes.

On Monday night, Ms Kendall told a gathering of Labour MPs that they indispensable backmost the changes, saying the endurance of the payment authorities depended connected it.

Some existent PIP claimants are acceptable to suffer their benefits erstwhile they are reassessed from the extremity of adjacent year.

Ms Kendall said: "There is nary way to societal justness based connected greater payment spending alone.

"The way to fairer nine - 1 wherever everyone thrives, wherever radical who tin enactment get the enactment they need, and wherever we support those who cannot - that is the way we question to physique with our reforms.

"Our plans are rooted successful fairness - for those who request enactment and for taxpayers.

"They are astir ensuring the payment authorities survives, truthful determination is ever a information nett for those who request it."

The archetypal ballot connected the authorities is adjacent week, and a decision would beryllium a large stroke to Sir Keir Starmer's plans to chopped the payment bill, which the authorities accidental is becoming "unsustainable".

Ms Kendall has been reassuring MPs that 9 retired of 10 PIP claimants volition support their benefits, and those who are astir susceptible volition beryllium protected.