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Government Steps Up Tactics to Head Off Labour Revolt on Welfare Bill

Intensified whip outreach aims to secure support as strategists ready contingency appointments ahead of the welfare reform bill's introduction.

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Disabled activists protest outside Downing street in March as Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out her Spring Statement to Parliament containing plans to cut £5bn from disability benefit. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will enshrine “non-negotiable” protections in law for terminally ill and lifelong conditions, including an automatic 13-week transitional PIP payment.
  • New PIP eligibility rules will require claimants to score at least four points in one daily living activity to qualify for the benefit’s daily living component.
  • The welfare reform bill, due in Parliament next week, is projected to save £5 billion annually by tightening PIP criteria and reducing Universal Credit health top-ups when it takes effect in November 2026.
  • More than 100 Labour MPs have signaled potential rebellion, prompting threats of whip suspensions and planning for a possible mini-reshuffle to replace dissenting ministers.
  • Sir Stephen Timms has confirmed the DWP will proactively contact claimants with chronic or lifelong conditions to reassure them they will not face unnecessary reassessments.