Going deep on Labour's disability cuts

In this highlight from today's podcast, Oli and Seán unpack the Labour Party’s deepening internal conflict over disability benefit reforms, particularly the proposed changes to PIP payments.

Following Liz Kendall’s recent concessions, which aimed to reduce the number of disabled people pushed into poverty by the bill from 250,000 to 150,000, the question remains: what kind of party is willing to accept that 150,000 people are still 'f-cked'? Despite attempts to frame the policy as helping people into work, many see it as a punitive measure targeting those least able to fight back.

And how is Labour is attempting to appease the right-wing press with hardline rhetoric while avoiding difficult conversations about taxing wealth or corporations? Seán describes it as 'Benefits Street on steroids', policy built not on economic necessity, but on media optics and fear of looking soft.

We also hear how Labour MPs are being sent out to defend policies like scrapping winter fuel payments, only to see them reversed days later. Some backbenchers, especially in marginal constituencies where Reform UK is gaining ground, are now openly defying the whip. The rebellion may have shrunk since the concessions, but many MPs are lying low, waiting until the vote to show their true stance.

If Labour wants to continue governing, can it really afford to alienate the very people the welfare state was designed to protect?

Like PoliticsJOE? We need your support: