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Rachel Reeves has doubled down on the need to reform the welfare system, insisting the government needs to “get a grip” on it. The chancellor’s comments come amid concerns from Labour MPs about the impact of expected cuts to the welfare budget, as the government attempts to ease worries among backbench MPs.
The detail of the plans will be unveiled next week by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, and the full scale of spending reductions will be revealed by the chancellor in the Spring Statement.
The health and disability-related benefits bill is currently £65bn a year and projected to increase to £100bn over the next four years.
Sir Keir Starmer has called the current benefits system unsustainable, indefensible and unfair, and said the government could not “shrug its shoulders and look away”. But how the cuts are made and how far they go has created unease. MPs on the left of the party have called for wealth taxes rather than welfare cuts, but that is a non-starter with the chancellor.
Some of those usually loyal to the leadership have been privately advocating more flexibility on her fiscal rules to stave off painful cuts.
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