Labour MP warns against ‘draconian cuts’ ahead of expected welfare reforms

A Labour MP has warned ministers against “draconian cuts” ahead of expected changes to the welfare system.

Rachael Maskell suggested she had detected “deep, deep concern” from colleagues in the Commons, amid risks of a rift between the Government and the back benches.

Reforms to the welfare system are expected ahead of the Spring Statement at the end of this month, as Rachel Reeves will likely look to make a raft of public spending savings given tighter fiscal headroom.

Speaking to the BBC’s Westminster Hour on Sunday, Ms Maskell, the MP for York Central, said that she has had a “flurry of emails” from people who are “deeply concerned” about the prospect of changes to the system.

She told the programme: “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 added: “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 said that she had “picked up […] deep deep concern” from colleagues and called for a “compassionate system and not taking just draconian cuts”.

Meanwhile, The Times reported on Sunday evening that a group of 36 new MPs would be rowing in behind the Government and had written a letter to the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall backing reforms to the system.

Ministers have made clear in recent weeks that there will be an overhaul given the “unsustainable rise in welfare spending”.

Ms Kendall has already told Cabinet colleagues that the current system is “holding back the economy” and “bad for people’s wellbeing and health”.

Downing Street said on Friday that the “broken security system is holding our people back”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that there has been an ““unsustainable rise in welfare spending”, and added: “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”.

The shadow home secretary said on Sunday that the benefits system needs to be made tougher and claimed it is too easy for people to get welfare payments.

Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Chris Philp said: “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.”