Welfare reform vote: 70 councillors in hardest-hit region write to Kendall

More than 70 Labour politicians in part of the region likely to be hardest hit by welfare reform changes have signed an open letter to Liz Kendall, urging the Work and Pensions Secretary to “rethink” the changes, LabourList can reveal.

More than half of the elected Labour councillors across five local authorities in Teesside, north-east England, including three council leaders, said they were “deeply concerned” by the changes, putting fresh pressure on Keir Starmer as the government scrambles to find a compromise with rebel MPs ahead of next week’s vote. See the full letter and signatories below.

The letter was also signed by Middlesbrough’s directly elected mayor, and Cleveland’s police and crime commissioner, and names on the list include former Labour national executive committee chair Norma Stephenson and two representatives on Labour’s National Policy Forum. Research by consultancy Policy in Practice found the North East had the highest percentage of residents affected nationally.

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It came just as Keir Starmer told the Commons that a “conversation will continue” with colleagues in the coming days, with concessions now widely expected despite the Prime Minister reiterating the “urgent need for reform”.

“We want to see reform implemented with Labour values of fairness,” he said in a clear nod to his backbenches as signatory numbers on the reasoned amendment continue to grow.

One government source said: “There is widespread consensus we need to reform the broken welfare system we inherited from the Conservatives.

“We are working and engaging with colleagues to make sure our reforms are implemented in line with Labour values.”

Teesside Labour politicians’ letter in full

“Dear Liz, Since the general election almost a year ago, our Labour government has done much that we as Labour councillors are proud of. From strengthening workers’ rights to driving down NHS waiting lists. From starting the job on 1.5 million new homes to free breakfast clubs to tackle child poverty. After 14 years of Conservative underinvestment, Labour is fixing the foundations of our public services.

“There is much in the government’s welfare reform proposals that we support. It is right that we support people off benefits and into work. More tailored support to people to access work, abolishing the Work Capability Assessment and creating a new employment insurance benefit are all much-needed reforms which will benefit people in the communities we represent.

“However, we are deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment, impacting disabled people across our communities. Changing the rules to require four points in one daily living award category rather than a number of points over a wider range of categories will have a huge impact on people in our area. 65% of people in work and on PIP in Hartlepool alone score less than four points on any daily living activity.

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“Nationally, this policy risks pushing 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children – undoing many of the steps already taken by the government to tackle child poverty.

“As councillors, we hear directly from local people about how fearful they are about the impact of these changes. Local people rely on support from PIP to pay for care and manage the impacts of their disabilities – for many, it keeps them in work and living independently.

“These changes will have wider impacts too. Across the Tees Valley, an estimated £115 million would be ripped out of the local economy as a result of changes to PIP. We will no doubt see further pressure placed on our NHS and local government services in our area too.

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“For these reasons, we urge the government to pause the proposed PIP changes, to engage comprehensively with disabled people and disability rights groups and to rethink these reforms.”

Full list of signatories

Cllr Sajna Ali, Darlington Council
Cllr Gary Allen, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Quewone Bailey-Fleet, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Jack Banks, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Jim Beall, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Pauline Beall, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Clare Besford, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Marc Besford, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Michelle Bendelow, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Neil Bendelow, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Ian Blades, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr David Branson, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Adam Brook, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Ceri Cawley, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Carol Clark, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Ben Clayton, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Edward Clynch, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Fiona Cook, Hartlepool Council

Mayor Chris Cooke, Mayor of Middlesbrough

Cllr Julia Cooke, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Janine Craven, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Rachel Creevy, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Matthew Dodds, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Martin Dunbar, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Ursula Earl, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Jill Ewan, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Lisa Evans, Leader of Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Theo Furness, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Nathan Gale, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Peter Gavigan, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Pamela Hargreaves, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Brenda Harrison, Leader of Hartlepool Council

Cllr Luke Henman, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Phil Holbrook, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Michael Jorgeson, Hartlepool Council

Cllr John Kabuye, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Naweed Hussain, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Linda Lewis, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Corinne Male, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Ann McCoy, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr John McCue, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Tom Mohan, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Melanie Morley, Hartlepool Council
Cllr John Nelson, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Steve Nelson, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Karen Oliver, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Lynn Pallister, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Carrie Richardson, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Owen Riddle, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Amanda Riley, Darlington Council
Cllr Anne Romaine, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Lisa Robson, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Julia Rostron, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Lynne Rynn, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Jan Ryles, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Martin Scarborough, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Norma Stephenson OBE, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Mick Stoker, Stockton on Tees Council
Matt Storey, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland

Cllr Philippa Storey, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Carl Quartermain, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Carole Thompson, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Janet Thompson, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Zafar Uddin, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Christopher Wallace, Hartlepool Council

Cllr Katie Weston, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Paul Weston, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Barry Woodhouse, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Linda White, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Nicky Walker, Middlesbrough Council

Cllr Lewis Young, Middlesbrough Council

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