Keir Starmer places frontbench Labour MPs on 'resignation watch list' as PM faces benefits cuts civil war

More than 40 Labour MPs have already publicly confirmed that they will defy the Prime Minister’s orders to vote down the measures, with an additional 170 signing a letter to N010 expressing their concerns.

Following Foxcroft’s resignation last night, a Labour rebel told Politico: “[It’s] almost impossible to believe it’ll be the last.”

Work & Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has been accused of stripping thousands of pounds from 1.2 million disabled Britons, despite the UK's benefits spend facing a raw increase of £8billion by 2030.

She said: "Our social security system is at a crossroads. Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it.

"This legislation represents a new social contract and marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity.

"This will give people peace of mind, while also fixing our broken social security system so it supports those who can work to do so while protecting those who cannot - putting welfare spending on a more sustainable path to unlock growth as part of our Plan for Change."

READ IN FULL:Keir Starmer hit by frontbench resignation as Labour rebels plot to defeat PM over £5bn benefits cut

The proposed legislation, which was introduced into Parliament on Wednesday, includes a tightening of the criteria for the Personal Independence Payment (Pip).

Ministers also want to cut the sickness related element of Universal Credit and introduce measures to ensure that claimants must be at least 22-years-old.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner also refused to rule out punishing Labour MPs who defy Starmer's orders.

Responding to a question from SNP MP Pete Wishart about whether the Prime Minister intended to strip the whip from Labour rebels, Rayner said: “We’re absolutely committed to ending child poverty.

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"We’ve already introduced free school meals. We’re already supporting families.

"We’ve given a living wage rise to over millions of workers that need it. We’re getting on the job."

Starmer responded with fury last year when seven Labour MPs revolted to support an SNP amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

All seven MPs were stripped of the Labour Party whip, with ex-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Poplar & Limehouse's Apsana Begum and Coventry South's Zarah Sultana still awaiting their return to the parliamentary Labour Party.

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And the Prime Minister has already been rocked by five frontbench resignations since entering No10 last July.

Ex-Transport Secretary Louise Haigh resigned in November after it emerged that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.

Tulip Siddiq, then-City Minister, quit in mid-January over allegations linked to her aunt’s political movement in Bangladesh.

Andrew Gwynne was forced to resign from the Department of Health just a few weeks later after making "vile" comments in a WhatsApp group chat.

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Anneliese Dodds, who had previously served as Starmer's Shadow Chancellor, later resigned as International Development Minister over the Prime Minister's cuts to the UK's aid budget.

In Foxcroft’s 535-word resignation letter, the Lewisham North MP wrote: "I absolutely understand the need to address the ever-increasing welfare bill in these difficult economic times, but I have always believed this could and should be done by supporting more disabled people into work.

"I do not believe that cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit should be part of the solution.

"I have wrestled with whether I should resign or remain in the Government and fight for change from within.

"Sadly, it now seems that we are not going to get the changes I desperately wanted to see.

"I therefore tender my resignation as I know I will not be able to do the job that is required of me and whip – or indeed vote – for reforms which include cuts to disabled people’s finances."

Responding to Foxcroft’s resignation, a Government spokesman said: “This Labour Government was elected to deliver change. The broken welfare system we inherited is failing the sick and most vulnerable and holding too many young people back. It is fair and responsible to fix it.

“Our principled reforms will ensure those who can work should, that those who want to work are properly supported, and that those with most severe disabilities and health conditions are protected.”

Ahead of Foxcroft’s resignation, ex-deputy Labour leader suggested No10 was keeping an eye on jittery frontbench MPs.

She told Sky News: "There is people on a watch list at the moment, but not Cabinet ministers."