Tory MPs press ministers on sickness benefit cuts

The Welfare Reform and Work Bill has its third reading in the House of Lords on Monday before returning to the Commons for consideration of amendments. Jeremy Corbyn raised one of the controversial aspects of this bill, which is to cut the amount of money paid to people who are judged too ill to work currently but with the potential to return to the workplace in the future, at Prime Minister’s Questions this week. Peers have defeated this measure, but the government intends to reverse it.

But there are Tory MPs who are worried about the cut to employment and support allowance, too. Heidi Allen, she of the dramatic Commons speech on tax credit cuts, raised it at Work and Pensions questions this week, and Jeremy Lefroy has also been pressing ministers on the matter as he is worried that the cut will mean people who are suffering from illnesses such as cancer will not be able to cope with the higher cost of living associated with being ill.