Starmer tries to contain Labour rebellion over welfare reforms

Sir Keir Starmer had a bid of one-on-one meetings with Labour MPs connected Friday to effort to incorporate a rebellion connected the government's payment reforms.

Ahead of the assisted dying vote, the prime minister met privately with immoderate of the dozens of MPs with concerns astir the projected cuts to sickness and disablement benefits.

The archetypal ballot connected the legislation, which the chancellor says volition prevention £5bn a twelvemonth from the payment bill, volition beryllium held successful aboriginal July.

The premier minister's engagement astatine this signifier suggests a large effort is underway to quell a imaginable rebellion.

Cabinet ministers accidental they bash not expect wide resignations, but 1 inferior curate told Sky News that absorption to the reforms was "pretty strong".

One frontbencher, authorities whip Vicky Foxcroft, resigned her station yesterday, penning that she understood "the request to code the ever-increasing payment bill" but did not judge the projected cuts "should beryllium portion of the solution".

Other inferior ministers and whips person not, arsenic yet, moved to travel her. But 1 authorities insider said: "It's hard to archer if the temper volition harden arsenic we get closer. There's a batch of enactment going on."

The bundle of reforms is aimed astatine encouraging much radical disconnected sickness benefits and into work, but dozens of Labour rebels said past period that the proposals were "impossible to support".

Welfare caput Liz Kendall is besides gathering individually with MPs.

She said earlier this week that the payment strategy is "at a crossroads" and the measure was astir "compassion, accidental and dignity".

Read much from Sky News:
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Ministers are trying to person MPs that a £1bn money to enactment disabled radical into work, and the scrapping of the Work Capability Assessment, a cardinal request of disablement groups, marque the cuts bundle worthy voting for.

They importune that 90% of existent claimants of idiosyncratic independency outgo (PIP) volition not suffer the benefit.

But disablement groups accidental the cuts volition person a "disastrous" effect connected susceptible people.