Keir Starmer is gearing up for a showdown with his party as the Prime Minister prepares to unveil his welfare reforms. On Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will announce the details of the government’s plan to shake up the benefits system in a bid to reduce the ballooning welfare bill and get more people back into work. The measures mooted have already proved controversial – there was talk of an announcement last week, for example, only for it to be delayed as final details were thrashed out.
The measures Kendall is expected to include in what is being touted as £5 billion in savings involve tightening the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) welfare payments and freezing or cutting Universal Credit payments to long-term sick and disabled people. The general idea is to change the system so only the most severely disabled apply and incentivise the rest of the claimants to return to work.
Speaking on Sunday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting suggested that some claiming sickness benefits were able to work.
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