Lancashire MPs fighting back against government plans to cut welfare
PLUS: Silence from County Hall and government over referendum plans
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
Today we report on the government’s welfare reform bill, which it is estimated could push 250,000 people (50,000 children included) into relative poverty.
Labour MPs are broadly supportive of the idea of welfare reform - but insist it must be done in a way that supports the most vulnerable in society.
An amendment has been tabled and signed by well over 100 Labour MPs - including a great number in Lancashire (though not all have confirmed or been willing to confirm).
And we’re able to be the first to report that the roots of that amendment began here in Lancashire.
We also have the very latest on the idea of a devolution referendum.
MPs in Lancashire lead fightback against government’s welfare reform bill
By Luke Beardsworth
Lancashire’s cohort of MPs are among the dozens who have mounted a major bid to block benefit changes.
More than 100 Labour MPs have signed an amendment that would give them the opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill.
The welfare reform bill - called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payment (Pip).
The bill is expected to push around 250,000 people into poverty, with Labour MPs especially feeling the backlash from constituents - many of whom represent constituencies that would be strongly impacted.
Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster and Wyre, was one of the 13 Labour select committee chairs who was behind the amendment.
She told The Lancashire Lead: “I, along with over 100 colleagues, are calling on the government to pause it’s legislation and work with disabled people, their carers, and charities to work up reform which will work for disabled people.
“We are calling for a pause whilst we wait for the impact assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility so we can truly understand the impact of these changes.”
Maya Ellis, MP for the Ribble Valley, is also among those who believes this Labour government can do better than what is currently on the table.
Confirming she signed the amendment, she told The Lancashire Lead: “I support this government’s aims of reducing a welfare bill that continues to rise exponentially, and I do believe that the most vulnerable will be protected by the current plans. However, of all the big plans we are making, I think we can do better than some of the timings and reductions currently proposed, particularly around removing personal independent payments for those with less severe but still debilitating needs.
“I have been working with colleagues to understand what other routes there may be to making this work with timing that feels more appropriate to my Labour values, and have been one of the MPs to sign a reasoned amendment that will be published today, that asks for more time and analysis to properly mitigate the impacts of these proposed changes.”
Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, told The Lancashire Lead: “Yesterday, I joined over 100 colleagues from across the party in signing a Reasoned Amendment to the UC and PIP Bill.
“This amendment reflects deep concern that the proposed welfare reforms, in their current form, may not adequately support those who need help most, and that more work is needed to get this right.
“I signed the amendment because I believe no major policy change should risk pushing 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – into poverty, especially without a full and transparent impact assessment.
“Blackpool has some of the highest rates of disability and child poverty in the country. I cannot support measures that risk worsening those challenges. We need meaningful welfare reform – reform that is built on compassion, backed by evidence, and focused on lifting people up rather than leaving them behind.”
Lorraine Beavers, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, said: “I publicly stated in March that I would not support the proposed Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill. I recognise the need to review the Welfare System and support people into work, while protecting those who cannot work. This is why I have supported calls for appropriate reviews, consultations, and mechanisms to revise these reforms. Unfortunately, these calls have gone unanswered, and the reforms remain the same.
“I have, therefore, signed Dame Meg Hillier’s ‘reasoned amendments’ and publicly state that I will not support this Bill in its current form. I do so alongside over 100 other Labour MPs with similar concerns. These reforms may push thousands of my own constituents into poverty. They will push hundreds of thousands of disabled people across the country into poverty. These reforms will impact most, those who cannot withstand that impact after years of austerity and a cost-of-living crisis. I cannot support welfare reforms which take money out of the pockets of disabled people.”
Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, said: “The majority of reforms proposed by the Government are both necessary and welcome but I can't support changes to PIP eligibility.
“We need to reduce numbers by actually preventing ill health. Our other actions in Government are all pushing the right way in getting the economy sorted and making people healthier, so it's with a heavy heart that I have taken this step.”
Paul Foster, MP for South Ribble and former leader of South Ribble Borough Council, said: “I have been a member of the Labour Party for almost 20 years and a Labour Councillor for over 17 years, successfully leading the council for over five years. I am a loyal and proud member of the Labour Party and have never before been placed in a position where I have ever had to vote against the whip. Never.
“While I accept that changes need to be made to the Welfare System, these changes to the parameters to PIP are unacceptable.
“I have requested for my name to be added to the ‘reasoned amendment’ which outlines within it the shared concerns of over 100 MPs.”
Sir Mark Hendrick, MP for Preston, declined to comment at this stage but has previously written to the Secretary of State voicing his concerns about the proposals.
The full text of the amendment states:
“That this House, whilst noting the need for the reform of the social security system, and agreeing with the Government’s principles for providing support to people into work and protecting people who cannot work, declines to give a Second Reading to the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill.
“Because its provisions have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers. Because the Office for Budget Responsibility is not due to publish its analysis of the employment impact of these reforms until the autumn of 2025.
“Because the majority of the additional employment support funding will not be in place until the end of the decade; because the Government’s own impact assessment estimates that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of these provisions, including 50,000 children. Because the Government has not published an assessment of the impact of these reforms on health or care needs.
“Because the Government is still awaiting the findings of the Minister for Social Security and Disability’s review into the assessment for Personal Independence Payment and Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent review into the role of employers and government in boosting the employment of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.”
While his name is not on the amendment, Conservative Fylde MP Andrew Snowden was critical of the planned cuts and their failure to protect the vulnerable.
He told The Lancashire Lead: “It is clear for all to see that this is a rushed and panicked move by the government to try and plug the gap they have created in the nations finances, by taxing growth to a near halt, massively increasing spending they can’t afford, and driving up unemployment.
“Whilst I fully support the need to bring down the welfare bill, this has to be done in a considered and managed way to protect the most vulnerable in society, whilst moving more people who can work into full employment.
“I will be considering very closely what the government has to say at all stages as this moves through parliament, to hold them to account and oppose any rushed measures that will have terrible consequences”.
In a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday evening, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall defended the welfare reforms, arguing greater spending on benefits alone was "no route to social justice".
"The path to fairer society – one where everyone thrives, where people who can work get the support they need, and where we protect those who cannot – that is the path we seek to build with our reforms," Kendall said.
"Our plans are rooted in fairness – for those who need support and for taxpayers.
"They are about ensuring the welfare state survives, so there is always a safety net for those who need it."
The government has previously shown willingness to u-turn when it comes to unpopular policy, with winter fuel payments returned to pensioners after cross-party pressure.
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