'Sometimes there is strength in listening': Liz Kendall defends welfare U-turn

Liz Kendall has defended the government's payment U-turn saying: "Sometimes determination is spot successful listening."

The embattled enactment and pensions caput said "positive changes" person travel astir arsenic a effect of situation talks with elder Labour backbenchers, who were poised to ballot against planned cuts to disablement benefits adjacent week.

Politics latest: Welfare changes 'could outgo £3.2bn per twelvemonth by 2030'

However, she would not warrant the measure volition pass, amid disapproval from immoderate MPs the changes don't spell acold enough.

The payment concessions travel a U-turn implicit cuts to wintertime substance and the determination to motorboat a grooming inquiry.

Asked however the authorities tin beryllium trusted, Ms Kendall said: "Sometimes there's spot successful listening.

"I truly judge that to beryllium the case, that you extremity up successful the close presumption erstwhile you speech to each of those with cognition and acquisition and actually, if you privation decisions to beryllium the close ones and to past for generations to come, I judge that's however you marque the close changes."

The concessions see exempting existing idiosyncratic independency claimants (pip) from the stricter caller criteria, portion the cosmopolitan recognition wellness top-up volition lone beryllium chopped and frozen for caller applications.

This has led to disapproval of a two-tier system, but Ms Kendall said it is "very communal successful the payment strategy that determination are protections for existing claimants".

She said she "hopes" the changes person done capable to get the measure implicit the enactment adjacent week.

The furniture curate besides said authorities had "more to do" and would "talk to radical implicit the coming days", with galore MPs inactive connected the obstruction astir whether they volition backmost the caller proposals.

The concessions were hashed retired past nighttime aft a frantic ringing astir of MPs earlier successful the week failed to bring critics onside.

The authorities had planned to tighten pip criteria for caller and existing claimants, with immoderate 370,000 radical acceptable to suffer out.

It was portion of a bundle of measures aimed astatine shaving £5bn disconnected the payment measure by 2030 and getting much radical into enactment amid grounds levels of economical inactivity.

However, MPs were acrophobic that disabled radical had not been consulted, portion the government's ain interaction appraisal said the changes could plunge 250,000 radical into poverty, including 50,000 children.

Ministers insisted this would beryllium offset by measures to get radical backmost into work, but galore rebel MPs said portion they agreed with that successful rule it wasn't wide however this volition beryllium achieved.

By Thursday, 127 Labour MPs had backed an amendment calling for the changes to beryllium paused for further consultation - meaning the measure was astatine hazard of being defeated erstwhile it goes to a ballot connected Tuesday.

Dame Meg Hillier, the seat of the Treasury prime committee who had tabled the amendment, said past nighttime that the government had offered a "good deal".

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What are the concessions to the payment measure - and volition MPs backmost it?

Ultimately, idiosyncratic MPs volition determine if they privation to enactment it.

Many MPs connected the near of the enactment person said they won't, with the likes of Ian Byrne and Nadia Whittome saying nary concessions are capable portion cuts are inactive going up and the measure should beryllium pulled.

Others person told Sky News they are undecided and privation to spot much details first.

None of the rebels person publically said they volition present enactment the government, but 2 person told Sky News they expect they volition ballot for the caller measures.

It's not wide however overmuch the caller bundle volition save, with those details expected to by acceptable retired successful the autumn budget.

The premier minister's spokesperson said connected Friday that the changes volition beryllium afloat funded but refused to beryllium drawn connected whether that meant taxation rises.

He rejected the proposition that Sir Keir is astatine the mercy of his backbenchers, saying helium has "listened to MPs who enactment principles but disquieted astir gait of change".