BRITAIN’S soaring welfare bill is “unsustainable, indefensible and unfair”, Sir Keir Starmer warned tonight as he faced down a Labour rebellion.
The PM vowed to slash sickness benefits spending to stop it spiralling to £70billion by the end of the decade.
At a late night meeting of MPs – many of whom are threatening a left-wing revolt – he insisted he would not be cowed from acting.
He said: “We’ve found ourselves in a worst of all worlds situation – with the wrong incentives – discouraging people from working, the taxpayer funding a spiralling bill, £70billion a year by 2030.
“A wasted generation. One in eight young people are not in education, employment or training and the people who really need that safety net still not always getting the dignity they deserve.
“That’s unsustainable, it’s indefensible and it is unfair, people feel that in their bones. It runs contrary to those deep British values that if you can work, you should.
“And if you want to work, the government should support you, not stop you.”
Ministers have delayed the benefits announcement until next week as divisions deepen over the welfare shake-up.
Supporters argue Britain has a “moral duty” to rein in soaring sickness benefits, while MPs on the left of the party warn of “draconian cuts” that could push disabled people into poverty.
The crackdown could see 2.4 million claimants required to prepare for work, with hundreds of thousands facing benefit cuts if they refuse.
Ministers also plan to tighten access to personal independence payments, aiming to save over £5 billion, while raising Universal Credit and investing £1 billion in job coaching.
A group of 36 Labour MPs, calling themselves the “Get Britain Working Group,” insist the reforms are “a truly progressive endeavour.”
But dozens on the Left are gearing up to rebel, with Rachael Maskell urging ministers not to “start with the stick.”
Several leading charities, including Disability Rights UK, Citizens Advice, Scope and Sense, also wrote to the Chancellor yesterday urging for a “safeguard” to disability benefits from cuts.
