Angela Rayner has broken cover to publicly back Keir Starmer鈥檚 controversial welfare reforms amid a growing rebellion of Labour MPs that threatens to topple the bill.
The deputy prime minister was filling in for Sir Keir at PMQs, while he is at the Nato summit, and insisted the controversial reforms would help 鈥渕illions trapped in a failing [welfare] system鈥.
She said Labour was still 鈥渢he party of fairness鈥 and was confident the vote on the second reading of the welfare reform bill would go ahead on Tuesday next week, despite the number of Labour rebels backing an amendment to kill the legislation growing to 122.
It came after several Labour MPs had privately commented that she had not been deployed as much as other cabinet ministers in attempting to talk backbenchers down from voting against the government.
Efforts to win over rebels had been led by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, a memo from Ms Rayner was leaked, which revealed that she had pushed for eight wealth taxes on corporations and the richest individuals instead of cuts. She also fought tooth and nail with the Treasury over plans for cuts to her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government during the spending review.
The deputy prime minister鈥檚 job was made easier at PMQs by the fact that Labour MPs avoided asking about the issue of welfare reform. This included Debbie Abrahams, who, as chair of the work and pensions select committee, is one of those leading the rebellion.
But Tories and Lib Dems pounced on the issue and, with some whips claiming it could be a confidence issue in the government, suggested that it might be a pretext for Ms Rayner to replace the prime minister.
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “It is great to see (Ms Rayner) standing in temporarily for the prime minister for the second week running, although I know there are many sitting behind her who wish this was a permanent arrangement.
“Indeed, you will find many of their names amongst the 122 who have signed up to oppose the government’s welfare Bill. They say that the Bill is dangerously rushed and ill thought through. So can (Ms Rayner) explain why she thinks that she is right, and 122 of her own colleagues are wrong?”
Ms Rayner responded: “We won’t walk away and stand by and abandon millions of people trapped in the failing system left behind by him and his colleagues.”
Later when he pressed her on whether the vote will go ahead on Tuesday, she came back: 鈥淚 don’t know if he, sort of, listened to what I said, because he was reading off the script, but what I can tell him – and I don’t need a script – we will go ahead on Tuesday.”
The Tories have offered to support the welfare reform if Labour meets three conditions, including cutting benefits further, not increasing taxes and getting people back into work.
Ms Rayner accused them of not looking at the detail of the legislation, which she said was aimed at getting people off benefits and back into work and accused them of creating the failed system Labour needs to reform.
When Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper took up the issue, Ms Rayner鈥檚 response appeared to be aimed at the Labour backbenches.
鈥淟abour is the party of fairness,鈥 she hit back.