A York MP led a rebellion against the government’s welfare reforms in the House of Commons this evening (Tuesday).
Rachael Maskell said she did it for her disabled constituents.
She tabled an amendment in the House of Commons which proposed to scrap the Government’s plans to overhaul the system.
Ms Maskell was one of 44 Labour MPs to rebel against the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill.
But a government defeat was averted after ministers offered a further concession.
Changes to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip) could now be delayed until after a review of the key disability benefit instead of coming into force in November 2026 as planned.
Ms Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, said she was determined to press for a vote on her “reasoned amendment” which would halt the legislation in its tracks.
“The whole Bill is now unravelling and is a complete farce,” she said.
“What it won’t do is stop the suffering of disabled people which is why we are determined to go ahead with the reasoned amendment and attempt to vote down the Bill at second reading.”
Earlier she told the Commons: “These Dickensian cuts belong to a different era and a different party.
“They are far from what this Labour Party is for, a party to protect the poor, as is my purpose.
“For I am my brother’s keeper. These are my constituents, my neighbours, my community, my responsibility, and I cannot cross by on the other side for one let alone for the 150,000 who will be pushed further into poverty.
“I will fight for the purpose of politics, for their livelihoods and their lives. It is a matter of conscience, deep conscience for me, to ensure that these precious people are treated for once with dignity, so they matter for being and not just doing.”
The concessions will cause a headache for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has seen a forecast £4.8 billion saving from the welfare budget whittled away through a series of concessions, leaving her to seek extra money through spending cuts, tax hikes or borrowing to balance the books.
The Resolution Foundation’s chief executive Ruth Curtice said the concessions meant the reforms would now make no “net savings” in 2029/30 – a key year for Ms Reeves’s fiscal targets – even if they did reduce costs in the longer term.