The United Kingdom Government, in the hands of, is mired in an important crisis because of a rule that clashes with the supposed progressism of its training, the Labor: one that announces important cuts in the welfare state, to which part of its members has been opposed. The text has ended up coming forward, but with concessions, and has generated unusual scenes, such as the tears of the Minister of Economy.
On Monday, the Executive managed to carry out in the second reading in Parliament his controversial draft cuts to the aid for disability or illness, after renouncing essential parts of the text for fear of a rebellion in his own ranks.
The uncertainty about the result in the House of Commons (Low), which even endangered the survival of the Executive, forced new last minute concessions that, according to experts, will make the savings provided for in the Universal Credit Law and Personal Independence Payment (PIP, in English) almost disappear. Finally, the bill was approved with the vote in favor of 335 deputies, by 260 who suffered against.
After having already made concessions that were equivalent to half of the savings that he was looking for with the reform, about 4.8 billion pounds to about 2,500, the prime minister was forced only 90 minutes from the vote to give up restricting the aid for disability until there is a review of that benefit. These changes will force the Minister of Economy to seek additional savings or to raise taxes to cover that fiscal hole when presenting the budgets in autumn.
Just before the law voted, an amendment promoted by 42 rebel lists who would have directly cast the project, but was widely rejected by the majority of the Chamber, had been submitted.
It has been agreed that the new criteria for access to the PIP do not affect those who already receive it and only apply to future applicants, as of November 2026. According to official figures, spending on disability and inability subsidies for people of work age has increased almost 60 % in this country from the pandemic, to about 45,000 million pounds (52,375 million euros) in 2023-24, and It is estimated that it could exceed 70,000 million (81,475 million euros) in 2029-30.
Starmer’s leadership, who despite everything enjoys a comfortable parliamentary majority in the common ones, appears fragilized after weeks of internal struggles on his own bench, which have led him to have to yield to try to carry out one of his main social reforms. “Listening is a strength in politics as it is also in life,” the Minister of Labor, Liz Kendall, who is also very weakened after this trance, told the BBC.
Crying for the law?
Yesterday, Starmer expressed through his spokesman his “total support” to the Minister of Economy, Rachel Reeves, whom he was shortly crying in her seat of Parliament. The spokeswoman of the Chief of the Government assured the press that Reeves “is not going anywhere”, after the Starmer himself did not make clear the support to his colleague during the control session to the Executive in the House of Commons.
A spokesman for the minister pointed out for her part that her tears, captured live by the cameras, “were due to a personal matter”, which will not give details.
Reeves was filmed with tears on the cheeks during the exchange in the commons this noon between Starmer and the opposition leader, the conservative KEMI Badenoch, who asked if the minister would continue in her position until the next elections in 2029, which he avoids answering. “It is absolutely unfortunate. Labor deputies publicly declare that it is finished, and the reality is that it is a human shield for its incompetence (of Starmer),” Badenoch said from his seat, just in front of those of the Prime Minister and the Treasury head. “What a pity for the minister that he cannot confirm that he will remain in office,” he added.
Satisfied
Starmer, yesterday, in the control session in the commons, defended again the relevance of his project, considering that he will be better for people, taxpayers and the economy of the United Kingdom. At the beginning of the control session, the leader of the Conservative Party, Badenoch, said that this had been a “difficult” week for Starmer, whom he accused of being “too weak to do something” because last night’s concessions made the savings provided for in the bill practically stay at all.
However, the prime minister defended that the reform is intended for more people who receive aid can work. “If you can work, you should work. If you need help to work, the state should provide it,” he said. “If you cannot work, you need support and protection. The renovated social welfare system that we are implementing will be better for people, for the taxpayer and for the economy,” he insisted.
