Keir Starmer caves in to Labour rebels as he refuses to reform benefits spending

This would make it increasingly unlikely that any contentious welfare reforms will be implemented before the next general election, currently expected in 2029.

Two major reviews into the welfare state, which ministers hope will eventually curb the rising cost of the benefits bill, are due to report later this year.

However, both are expected to require primary legislation to take effect, now unlikely to be forthcoming.

A review into disability benefits, launched after a Labour backbench rebellion derailed plans to make £5billion in savings, is due to report in the autumn.

Separately, Alan Milburn, the Government’s work tsar, is examining how changes to the benefits system could reduce the number of young people not in employment, education or training.

Another proposal set to be dropped is a plan for so-called “unemployment insurance”, unveiled as part of a package of welfare reforms last March.

The scheme would have increased payments for people recently leaving work, while reducing long-term support for some claimants with health conditions.

Downing Street is now drawing up plans for the King’s Speech, due in May, which will set out the Government’s legislative agenda for the next session of Parliament, expected to run until at least mid-2027.

Senior Labour figures have privately acknowledged the political difficulty of pressing ahead on any attempt to rein in welfare spending.

One minister said benefits reform was “very difficult with the back benches”, adding that “the closer you get to a general election the less you want to do the difficult stuff”.

Another warned that excluding welfare from the King’s Speech sent the wrong signal, saying it made it appear the government had “no plans to change anything for a year”, per The Times.

Sir Keir's apparent surrender comes as the welfare bill is forecast to balloon by £35billion over the next five years.

Official forecasts show total welfare spending is set to reach £368billion by the end of the decade, with disability benefit claims rising sharply.

By 2031, the average household is projected to be paying more than £12,000 a year to fund the system, almost £2,300 more than in 2023.

Labour has commissioned a series of reviews intended to underpin reform, including reports by Alan Milburn on youth worklessness and Sir Stephen Timms on disability benefits.

However, critics warn that delaying legislation risks running down the clock.

Joe Shalam, of the Centre for Social Justice, said that while ministers understood the need for reform, “the closer we get to the next election without measures announced or legislated for, the harder real reform becomes”.

Downing Street insisted that welfare reform remained a priority and could still be legislated for later in the parliamentary session.

A spokesman said the government was already “fixing the broken welfare system we inherited” and would set out further plans in due course.

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