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'Sometimes there is strength in listening': Liz Kendall defends welfare U-turn
Liz Kendall has defended the government's welfare U-turn saying: "Sometimes there is strength in listening." The embattled work and pensions secretary said "positive changes" have come about as a result of crisis talks with senior Labour backbenchers, who were poised to vote against planned cuts to disability benefits next week.
Politics latest: Welfare changes 'could cost £3.2bn per year by 2030' However, she would not guarantee the bill will pass, amid criticism from some MPs the changes don't go far enough. The welfare concessions follow a U-turn over cuts to winter fuel and the decision to launch a grooming inquiry.
Asked how the government can be trusted, Ms Kendall said: "Sometimes there's strength in listening. "I really believe that to be the case, that you end up in the right position when you talk to all of those with knowledge and experience and actually, if you want decisions to be the right ones and to last for generations to come, I believe that's how you make the right changes." The concessions include exempting existing personal independence claimants (pip) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.
This has led to criticism of a two-tier system, but Ms Kendall said it is "very common in the welfare system that there are protections for existing claimants". She said she "hopes" the changes have done enough to get the bill over the line next week.
The cabinet minister also said government had "more to do" and would "talk to people over the coming days.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
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