Rachael Maskell has suggested she has detected “deep, deep concern” from colleagues in the Commons, amid risks of a rift between the Government and the back benches
A Labour MP has issued a stark warning to ministers over potential “draconian cuts” in the lead-up to anticipated welfare system changes. Rachael Maskell expressed “deep, deep concern” among her parliamentary peers, hinting at possible discord between the Government and its backbenchers.
With the Spring Statement looming at the month’s end, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to seek significant public spending reductions due to limited fiscal space.
During an appearance on BBC’s Westminster Hour on Sunday, York Central MP Ms Maskell revealed she’s been inundated with a “flurry of emails” from individuals deeply worried about potential alterations to the welfare system.
She told the show: “We recognise the economic circumstances that we’re in and the hand that we were given and of course it is right that the Chancellor has oversight over all those budgets but not at the expense of pushing disabled people into poverty.”
She continued: “There’s got to be a carrot approach not a stick approach. We’ve got to make the right interventions and that doesn’t start with the stick.”
Ms Maskell shared that she had “picked up […] deep deep concern” from fellow MPs and advocated for a “compassionate system and not taking just draconian cuts”.
In related news, The Times reported on Sunday evening that a contingent of 36 new MPs are rallying behind the Government, having penned a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall in support of the proposed system reforms.
In recent weeks, ministers have indicated that an overhaul is imminent due to the “unsustainable rise in welfare spending”. Ms Kendall has already expressed to her Cabinet colleagues that the current system is detrimental to both the economy and people’s wellbeing and health.
Downing Street declared on Friday that the “broken security system is holding our people back”. The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson highlighted the “unsustainable rise in welfare spending”, adding: “Left as it is, the system we’ve inherited would continue to leave more and more people trapped in a life of unemployment and inactivity, and that’s not just bad for the economy, it’s bad for those people too”.
On Sunday, the shadow home secretary argued that the benefits system needs to be stricter, claiming it’s too easy for individuals to receive welfare payments. Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Chris Philp stated: “People are now being able to be signed off because they’ve got anxiety and they are not having to even look for a job.
“I think it’s gone far too far and it is costing us billions and billions of pounds a year, and we need to make the system, frankly, a little bit tougher. Benefits have actually gone up quite significantly, the level of benefits have actually gone up quite significantly.
“I’m sure that is something the Government ought to be looking at as well.”
