Overview

• The Labour government is planning to cut up to £6 billion from the welfare budget, including freezing Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for one year and tightening eligibility criteria for disability benefits.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves argue the reforms are necessary to address rising welfare costs, projected to hit £70 billion annually by 2030, and to incentivize work for those able to re-enter the workforce.
• Labour MPs, including some rebels, have expressed strong opposition to freezing PIP, warning it would disproportionately harm vulnerable people and deepen poverty among disabled individuals.
• Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall highlighted that millions of people on sickness benefits receive no support to return to work, citing a nearly fourfold increase in the number of claimants since the pandemic.
• Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls and other prominent figures criticized the proposals, with Balls calling the cuts to disability benefits incompatible with Labour's values and unlikely to succeed.