Welfare reform: List of Labour MPs prepared to rebel on benefit changes

Around a quarter of the Parliamentary Labour Party are thought to expressed concerns around the government’s welfare reforms, with dozens prepared to vote against when the measures come to a vote next month.

More than 100 Labour MPs are understood to have signed a private letter urging the government to delay the plans and rethink, while 42 MPs have publicly said the cuts to disability benefit are “impossible to support”.

In March, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall unveiled the “biggest shake up to the welfare system in a generation” in a bid to cut the country’s benefits bill by around £5bn.

However, measures to restrict eligibility for personal independence payment and cutting and freezing the health element of Universal Credit for new claimants have proved controversial among some Labour MPs.

Following the publication of an impact assessment into the reforms by the Department of Work and Pensions, at least eight Labour MPs have said they will vote against the reforms to the welfare system, with several more signalling their opposition to the plans.

Those indicating they will vote against the proposals cross party factions, with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also saying that the government is making “the wrong choice” by restricting eligibility for disability benefit.

Trade union leaders have also been critical of the government for the proposal and called for a change in course.

We are keeping a rolling list of MPs who have said they are prepared to rebel against the government over the changes to health-related benefits – if you see an MP who should be on our list, please email us at [email protected].

Labour MPs who have indicated they will rebel against the government

• Diane Abbott, Hackney North and Stoke Newington
• Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree
• Lee Barron, Corby and East Northamptonshire
• Lorraine Beavers, Blackpool North and Fleetwood
• Olivia Blake, Sheffield Hallam
• Richard Burgon, Leeds East
• Ian Byrne, Liverpool West Derby
• Stella Creasy, Walthamstow
• Neil Duncan-Jordan, Poole
• Cat Eccles, Stourbridge
• Barry Gardiner, Brent West
• Mary Glindon, Newcastle-upon-East and Wallsend
• Sarah Hall, Warrington South
• Chris Hinchliff, North East Hertfordshire
• Alison Hume, Scarborough and Whitby
• Imran Hussain, Bradford East
• Kim Johnson, Liverpool Riverside
• Mary Kelly Foy, City of Durham
• Peter Lamb, Crawley
• Ian Lavery, Blyth and Ashington
• Brian Leishman, Alloa and Grangemouth
• Emma Lewell, South Shields
• Clive Lewis, Norwich South
• Rebecca Long-Bailey, Salford
• Rachael Maskell, York Central
• Andy McDonald, Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
• Abtisam Mohamed, Sheffield Central
• Navendu Mishra, Stockport
• Grahame Morris, Easington
• Connor Naismith, Crewe and Nantwich
• Simon Opher, Stroud
• Kate Osborne, Jarrow and Gateshead East
• Richard Quigley, Isle of Wight West
• Andrew Ranger, Wrexham
• Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Clapham and Brixton Hill
• Jon Trickett, Normanton and Hemsworth
• Chris Webb, Blackpool South
• Nadia Whittome, Nottingham East
• Steve Witherden, Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr

Zarah Sultana, Apsana Begum and John McDonnell, who remain suspended from the Labour Party, have also said they will not vote in favour of the government’s welfare reforms.

Labour MPs who have expressed opposition to welfare reforms

• • Dan Aldridge, Weston-super-Mare
  • Polly Billington, East Thanet
  • Marsha de Cordova, Battersea
  • Lauren Edwards, Rochester and Strood
  • Paul Foster, South Ribble
  • Mark Hendrick, Preston
  • Kate Osamor, Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
  • Alex Sobel, Leeds Central and Headingley
  • Yasmin Quershi, Bolton South West

Read more of our Spring Statement news and analysis:

• ‘Ill thought out’ or ‘strong performance’? Reeves’ Spring Statement divides MPs
• Reeves under fire from Labour’s three biggest unions
• List of councillors quitting over welfare amid further cuts
• The four Labour achievements Reeves is trumpeting
• MPs: ‘Let’s soothe the nation, not kick it in the teeth’
• Reeves ‘confident’ civil service could cut 10,000 roles as Blunkett decries fiscal rules

And read more commentary on the Spring Statement:

• ‘Why not draft in Martin Lewis to fill the fiscal hole?’
• ‘Ministers must reject failed Tory orthodoxies of the past and put people before profit again’
• ‘The Chancellor must not make foreign aid cuts worse’
• ‘People want New Labour-style spending now. Here’s why it’s just not possible’

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