Sir Keir Starmer has been left bracing for the biggest rebellion of his premiership over his plans to “take a sledgehammer” to Britain’s benefits bill.
The Prime Minister, who stripped the whip from seven Labour MPs over their two-child benefit cap revolt last summer, is looking to free up funds to cover his £13.4billion surge in defence spending.
However, the decision puts 80 Labour MPs on the cusp of staging a rebellion in the House of Commons.
After speaking to prominent Labour rebels, one MP told The Telegraph: “The first thing they’ve said to me after a few minutes saying how things are going is: ‘I’m going to give the Government a slap, I’ve had enough, I don’t know what it will be, but I’m at the end of my tether. I need to show my constitutents, I need to show people that I have my own brain, that I’m not going to suck up all of this.”
Sir Keir Starmer
PA
Addressing Starmer’s slight boost in the polls over his handling of events in Ukraine, the MP also claimed the “electorate is fickle” and warned that “this isn’t going to be his Falklands moment”.
Despite Reform UK’s civil war erupting over the weekend, Labour MPs remain concerned about disaffected voters heading towards either the populist party or the Greens.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell openly addressed the fears held by potential Labour rebels, claiming that “taking a sledgehammer to benefits” is “not the right approach”.
The potential cuts to Department for Work & Pensions expenditure puts further pressure on Liz Kendall just months after the Government axed Winter Fuel Payments and refused to cover compensation payments for Waspi women.
The Treasury is expected to push ahead with significant cuts to the welfare budget ahead of the Spring Statement at the end of this month.
Cuts have been pencilled in to make up for tightening fiscal headroom and fund a drastic increase in defence spending.
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A copy of the supportive letter sent to Liz Kendall
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to unveil a set of cost saving measures and push for greater efficiency throughout Whitehall.
A leading trade union chief has also joined up to 80 MPs in voicing opposition to the welfare cuts.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright urged Reeves against adopting Tory-style welfare cuts.
He told The Independent: "Cutting billions of pounds from Welfare would be a return to the austerity of George Osborne and the Tories."
"It would be an outrageous attack on the poorest and most vulnerable.
Wright added: "Rachel Reeves must not become Labour's 'austerity chancellor'. The Fire Brigades Union will fiercely resist any cuts announced in the Spring Statement."
DWP Minister Liz Kendall has promised sweeping changes to the welfare state PA Despite up to 80 MPs preparing to rebel against the move, more than 30 Labour MPs will label the decision a "truly progressive endeavour".
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said there is a "moral case" for cutting the welfare bill.
She added: "We know that there are many people who are currently receiving state support for being out of work who want to be in work. We know that we have too many of our young people currently out of work, not in education, employment or training.
“There is a moral case here for making sure that people who can work are able to work and there’s a practical point here as well, because our current situation is unsustainable.”
Kendall has already told her Cabinet colleagues that the current system is “holding back the economy” and “bad for people’s wellbeing and health”.
