Jo Stevens and Eluned Morgan interviews on ‘overblown’ welfare civil war claims, Sennedd elections and Plaid ‘fantasists’

Media suggestions of a civil war in the Labour Party over controversial welfare reforms are “overblown”, according to a Cabinet minister.

Speaking to LabourList at Welsh Labour Conference, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said that the package of reforms being put to Parliament tomorrow is “in a good place and has a significant amount of agreement”.

As many as 50 Labour MPs are reported to be planning on voting against the bill tomorrow evening, despite concessions from the government that would spare current claimants of personal independence payment (PIP) from any cuts.

More than 100 Labour backbenchers had initially signed an amendment that would torpedo the bill, prompting the government to make adjustments and pledge to consult with disability groups.

READ MORE: Majority of Labour members want party to move to left, exclusive poll finds

Stevens said: “I think you’d be hard pressed to find anybody across the Labour Party who does not agree that we need to do welfare reform. We inherited a broken system. It was unfair. It was unfair for the people who are stuck in it. It’s indefensible that it incentivises people not to look for work when they want to look for work. It’s unsustainable in the long term, because of the rising social costs, which means that the social security net that we all need in the future would be put at risk.

“I think where we’ve got to is a good package. I hope all my colleagues will support it – and then we can get on with delivering the reform, and most importantly the ministerial review around PIP changes, which will be co-produced with disabled people so that we get this system right for the future.”

READ MORE: ‘Promises made, promises kept’ – Eluned Morgan’s Welsh Labour Conference speech

“If somebody changes their minds, we don’t go after them and start yelling at them’

Asked whether suggestions of a “civil war” were overblown, she said: “Absolutely overblown.” She said that when you explain to people that policy changes are a result of listening and reflecting on concerns, “people find that as a strength rather than weakness”.

“In any other aspects of our lives, if somebody changes their mind, we don’t go after them and start yelling at them.  I think it’s a sensible, grown-up way to deliver change in the country and we were elected on a mandate of change. 

“We’ve listened, we’ve made the adjustments, we’ve got a good package, we’re going to work with people with disabilities to do that review and co-produce that new system, and I think this is something that we just need to get underway now.

READ MORE: Farage ‘wolf in Wall Street clothing’: PM’s speech at Welsh Labour Conference

Eluned Morgan: ‘They’ve listened, they’ve learned and they’ve acted’

Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan praised the government for listening to the concerns around the welfare reforms and told delegates at the Welsh Labour Conference she is “not afraid to speak up when it matters… because I know that when I speak, when we speak, it makes a difference”.

Speaking to LabourList after her speech, she said: “I’m really delighted that the Prime Minister has listened to the concerns of the public and certainly here in Wales – there was going to be a disproportionate impact on the number of people in Wales.

“Around 200,000 people could have been in real trouble, and they’ve listened, they’ve learned and they’ve acted – and that is something I think we should welcome.”

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‘Stark choice’ at Senedd elections next year

Both Stevens and Morgan said that voters in Wales will have a clear choice at the next Senedd election, with the threat of nationalists in the form of both Plaid Cymru and Reform UK being in a position of power next May.

Stevens told LabourList: “I think the question for voters in Wales next year will be ‘Who do you want running Wales?’ Do you want Eluned Morgan working with the Labour government in Westminster – we’ve done so much in the first 12 months – or do you want Nigel Farage running Wales?

“He may not be a candidate in the Senedd election, but he’s the man who’s calling all the shots – so whoever is elected from his party, it’ll be Nigel Farage telling them what to do.

“It’s a very stark choice, and it puts at risk everything we have worked for, that we enjoy; the protection of our NHS, free prescriptions, all the investment we’ve announced, the green energy jobs. There’s thousands of jobs that are coming to Wales as a result of our green power mission – that’ll all be gone.”

READ MORE: PIP – Reeves and Kendall members’ picks for chop in reshuffle – even before U-turn

Morgan hit out at both Reform and Plaid in her conference speech, branding Farage’s party as a “force for division” and branding the Welsh nationalists as “inexperienced economic fantasists – big slogans, no serious plan, and an independence agenda that collapses under the weight of scrutiny”.

In her interview with LabourList, she stressed the importance of experience in government when voters go to the polls and said: “This is a time of real instability, but at the moment, we have two Labour governments working together after 14 years of austerity.

“After 14 years of rubbing up against the Tories in Westminster, the taps have now been switched on.

“We’re able to spend that money that we’re getting from Westminster on the things that matter to the people of Wales, like the health service, like housing, like transport – all of those things that are the bread and butter issues that people talk about.”

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