127 Labour MPs have officially signalled they are willing to rebel over the government’s welfare cuts after Keir Starmer declared he would “press ahead” with next week’s vote.
Overall, around 134 MPs are now backing a “reasoned amendment” to quash the proposed legislation, the House of Commons order paper published by parliament late on Wednesday indicated.
If passed, the amendment would kill the government’s plans to save £5 billion a year by overhauling the welfare system with cuts to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the health component of Universal Credit (UC).
Among the new signatories on Tuesday night from Starmer’s party were Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel, as well as Danny Beales, who represents Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Hertford and Stortford MP Josh Dean and Bradford West MP Naz Shah are also among the new Labour signatories, taking the official total of rebels from Starmer’s party to 127.
A number of MPs from Northern Irish parties have also backed the amendment, as well as former Labour MPs who currently sit as independents in the commons, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, and Rosie Duffield who resigned the Labour whip last year.
The Labour rebels include senior select committee chairs, such as former minister and long-serving MP Meg Hillier, in whose name the amendment stands.
Debbie Abrahams, chair of the commons work and pensions committee, is another notable signatory.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is also among those urging the prime minister to drop his welfare proposals.
***Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.***
Sadiq Khan warns welfare cuts will ‘destroy financial safety net’ for vulnerable Londoners
It means the government is faced with the prospect of a major revolt when the welfare bill comes before the commons in a vote set for 1 July.
In full, the reasoned amendment reads: “That this House, whilst noting the need for the reform of the social security system, and agreeing with the government’s principles for providing support to people into work and protecting people who cannot work, declines to give a Second Reading to the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill.
“Because its provisions have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers. Because the Office for Budget Responsibility is not due to publish its analysis of the employment impact of these reforms until the autumn of 2025.
“Because the majority of the additional employment support funding will not be in place until the end of the decade; because the government’s own impact assessment estimates that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of these provisions, including 50,000 children. Because the government has not published an assessment of the impact of these reforms on health or care needs.
“Because the government is still awaiting the findings of the Minister for Social Security and Disability’s review into the assessment for Personal Independence Payment and Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent review into the role of employers and government in boosting the employment of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.”
The prime minister vowed to “press ahead” with the government’s planned welfare changes on Tuesday despite the growing rebellion.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO leaders, Starmer said the current welfare system was “unsustainable” and could not be left unreformed.
Asked by reporters if he would consider pausing the reforms given the size of the rebellion, he added: “I intend to press ahead”.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said on Tuesday morning it would be a “very serious thing” for Labour MPs to vote down the legislation at its first commons hurdle.
Below is a full list of signatories to the reasoned amendment to the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, according to the latest commons order paper:
- Dame Meg Hillier
- Debbie Abrahams
- Helen Hayes
- Sarah Owen
- Florence Eshalomi
- Paulette Hamilton
- Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
- Cat Smith
- Ruth Cadbury
- Patricia Ferguson
- Ruth Jones
- Louise Haigh
- Vicky Foxcroft
- Olivia Blake
- Anneliese Midgley
- Antonia Bance
- Laurence Turner
- Anna Dixon
- Dawn Butler
- Yuan Yang
- Richard Baker
- Kirsteen Sullivan
- Lee Barron
- Jonathan Brash
- Ms Stella Creasy
- Ben Coleman
- Clive Betts
- Matt Bishop
- Sadik Al-Hassan
- Abtisam Mohamed
- Lee Pitcher
- Lauren Edwards
- Tony Vaughan
- Connor Naismith
- Matt Western
- Paul Davies
- Charlotte Nichols
- Kate Osamor
- Chris Webb
- Josh Fenton-Glynn
- Sarah Hall
- Dr Scott Arthur
- Tracy Gilbert
- Gill Furniss
- Dr Beccy Cooper
- Adam Jogee
- Maya Ellis
- Alison Hume
- Daniel Francis
- Jo Platt
- Patrick Hurley
- Kirith Entwistle
- Henry Tufnell
- Darren Paffey
- Yasmin Qureshi
- Mohammad Yasin
- Peter Lamb
- Elaine Stewart
- Dr Allison Gardner
- Lillian Jones
- Marsha De Cordova
- Kevin McKenna
- Clive Efford
- Lizzi Collinge
- Melanie Onn
- Andrew Cooper
- Fabian Hamilton
- Ms Polly Billington
- David Williams
- Richard Quigley
- Ms Marie Rimmer
- Sam Rushworth
- Dr Rosena Allin-Khan
- Emma Lewell
- Richard Burgon
- Kate Osborne
- Rachael Maskell
- Amanda Hack
- Rebecca Long Bailey
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy
- Paula Barker
- Cat Eccles
- Jon Trickett
- Dr Simon Opher
- Ian Lavery
- Neil Duncan-Jordan
- Apsana Begum
- Chris Hinchliff
- Ian Byrne
- John McDonnell
- Nadia Whittome
- Ms Diane Abbott
- Kim Johnson
- Andy McDonald
- Brian Leishman
- Imran Hussain
- Euan Stainbank
- Lorraine Beavers
- Steve Witherden
- Mary Kelly Foy
- Clive Lewis
- Jen Craft
- James Naish
- Terry Jermy
- Grahame Morris
- Navendu Mishra
- Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
- Tahir Ali
- Claire Hanna
- Dave Robertson
- Josh Newbury
- Sorcha Eastwood
- Colum Eastwood
- Paul Foster
- Robin Swann
- Andrew Gwynne
- Andrew Ranger
- Danny Beales
- Luke Myer
- Margaret Mullane
- Naz Shah
- Josh Dean
- Rosie Duffield
- Alex Easton
- Martin Rhodes
- Afzal Khan
- Maureen Burke
- Chris Evans
- Gavin Robinson
- Gregory Campbell
- Sammy Wilson
- Jim Shannon
- Carla Lockhart
- Alex Sobel
Josh Self is editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here and X here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
Welfare rebellion leaves Keir Starmer stranded
