Labour will not take away safety net – PM

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer has said "everyone agrees" the welfare system needs to be fixed but that Labour will not "take away the safety net" vulnerable people rely on.

- HELEN CORBETT, GEORGE LITHGOW and RUTH MOSALSKI

In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the “broken” system must be done in a “Labour way”.

“We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can’t let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,” he said.

“Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control.

“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.”

He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a “fierce champion” and “the best person to lead Wales into the future” to applause and cheers from the audience.

Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed.

Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC she was “right to raise concerns” and promised to “deliver on those as far as we can".

In her speech to the conference, Ms Morgan said she was pleased the UK Government listened to her concerns and reversed planned welfare cuts.

“I’m glad the UK Government is a listening government and they heard our concerns and changed their approach to welfare cuts,” she said.