Welfare reform tweaks given to MPs just 90 minutes before vote

Montgomeryshire’s MP has revealed the chaotic scenes that ran up to the controversial welfare reforms vote that was eventually passed in Parliament on Tuesday evening.

Steve Witherden MP has said that MPs were presented with a softer version of the bill just 90 minutes before the vote, which was too late for him to change his mind and he continued to vote against his Labour Government.

In a statement issued in the wake of the vote, Mr Witherden made his position clear to his constituents, saying he could well change his mind after having chance to fully absorb the impact of the newly presented changes.

Full statement:

“I voted against the UC and PIP Bill last night. The Bill passed and will now go to committee stage before a Third Reading scheduled for next week.

“With another major government concession on implementing changes to PIP scoring coming only 90 minutes before the vote, I could not be confident – given the short notice – that the Bill would not impoverish some of my disabled constituents.

“I now have reasonable confidence that an amended Bill will include many welcome reforms to help those who can work, into work, while no longer making savings off the back of PIP recipients who cannot use the toilet without help, eat unaided, or even wash themselves.

“As such, I will now consider whether I can support this Bill at its Third Reading. Nevertheless, it is a great shame that the government did not go back to the drawing board in a more ordered and reasoned manner.

“This must be the origin point of any reforms in future, not the need to satisfy spreadsheets. The stability of the public finances must be ensured but there are alternatives.

“The tax system needs to properly tax wealth, it needs to be simplified, it needs major reform itself to be able to support a modern welfare state that truly looks after the most vulnerable, both now and into the future.

“The government should try starting with how it wants to achieve transformational change in this country and go from there. I believe it has done so on wages, on rail and bus renationalisation, on greater rights at work for employees, on water, on trade deals, on EU relations, and much more.

“This was not the case with this Bill. Thankfully, owing to backbench pressure, the vast majority of disabled people will no longer lose out.

“This is a complex and fast-moving issue, so I would encourage constituents with any questions to get in touch with me by emailing steve.witherden.mp@parliament.uk to book a surgery or correspond directly.”