MPs warn cuts would leave disabled £10k a year poorer

No more benefits concessions, Starmer tells Labour rebels

- DAVID MADDOX ARCHIE MITCHELL

Disabled people could lose more than £10,000 a year as a result of Sir Keir Starmer's benefit cuts, a group of MPs has warned, but the prime minister is insistent that he will not budge any further on the issue.

In a damning report, the all-party group (APPG) on poverty said some claimants who will be made ineligible for personal independence payments (PIP) face losing £886 per month. And, as ministers try to slash £5bn from the welfare bill, the group said up to 800,000 face losing their PIP support completely.

Poverty APPG co-chairs Sian Berry and Ruth Lister said: "Disabled people already face unacceptable levels of hardship. These proposals won't remove barriers to employment - they will add new ones by stripping people of the income they rely on to survive. The evidence is clear: these cuts will deepen inequality and force people further into crisis. We urge the government to listen to those most affected and change course immediately."

Already, there had been rumblings about economic policy during the run-up to the spending review, with a number of MPS supportive of a proposal by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner to impose eight new wealth taxes on the super-rich and corporations instead of making cuts.

The prime minister has already had to U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners at a cost of £1.25bn a year, and he will need to find cash to end the two-child benefit cap after hinting he was in favour of axing it.

But with the welfare reform legislation being tabled this week and a vote on it expected before the end of this month, Sir Keir was bullish about standing up to rebels.