42 Labour MPs have written to prime minister Keir Starmer to warn him that the Green paper cuts are “impossible to support” and calling for any vote to be delayed until the Autumn, when all the impact assessments relating to the cuts have been published.
The letter has been signed by veteran MPs and new intake MPs from all wings of the party. It tells the prime minister:
“The Government’s Green Paper on welfare reform has caused a huge amount of anxiety and concern among disabled people and their families. The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over three million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.
“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.
“Ministers therefore need to delay any decisions until all the assessments have been published into the impact the cuts will have on employment, health and increased demand for health and social care. This is likely to be in the Autumn and only then will MPs be able to vote knowing all the facts.
“In the meantime, the much needed reform of the benefits system needs to begin with a genuine dialogue with disabled people’s organisations to redesign something that is less complex and offers greater support, alongside tackling the barriers that disabled people face when trying to find and maintain employment. We also need to invest in creating job opportunities and ensure the law is robust enough to provide employment protections against discrimination.
“Without a change in direction, the Green Paper will be impossible to support.”
Signatories include:
Diane Abbott
Paula Barker
Lee Barron
Lorraine Beavers
Apsana Begum (currently suspended from Labour)
Olivia Blake
Richard Burgon
Dawn Butler
Ian Byrne
Stella Creasy
Neil Duncan-Jordan
Cat Eccles
Barry Gardiner
Mary Glindon
Sarah Hall
Chris Hinchliff
Imran Hussain
Terry Jermy
Kim Johnson
Mary Kelly Foy
Peter Lamb
Ian Lavery
Brian Leishman
Emma Lewell
Clive Lewis
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Rachel Maskell
Andy McDonald
John McDonnell (currently suspended from Labour)
Abtisam Mohamed
Grahame Morris
Charlotte Nichols
Simon Opher
Kate Osborne
Richard Quigley
Andrew Ranger
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Zarah Sultana (currently suspended from Labour)
Jon Trickett
Chris Webb
Nadia Whittome
Steve Witherden
Read more in the Guardian and Labour List.
