Harriet Harman has just finished addressing the PLP about the party’s official position on welfare cuts. There was a reasonable amount of applause for the interim Labour leader when she finished speaking, but party sources described the meeting as ‘quite split’ and that ‘obviously there were a lot of people who were quite uncomfortable’.
She started by telling MPs that all of them recognised what a profound shock the election result was, and that many of her constituents will be affected by the changes that will take place as a result of this Budget. But she also reminded people that in the last phase of Opposition, Labour voted against every measure on welfare, and voted against all 13 bills, and the only thing that the public picked up on was the bedroom tax, while Labour failed to make an impression on any other welfare measures. She argued that if you mount a blanket opposition to everything, it is really difficult to make a mark on the things that you really want to change.
The party will campaign on the four issues already set out in this post, and may table amendments to detailed measures.
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