MP Grahame Morris attacks government welfare reforms

Labour’s Grahame Morris has warned that the proposed benefit cuts will push hundreds of thousands into poverty and disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in society.

The Easington MP said he was “deeply disappointed” by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement, which included sweeping changes to disability benefits and plans to slash almost £5 billion from the welfare budget.

Grahame Morris (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) impact assessment, published alongside the statement, acknowledged that 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – could fall into relative poverty due to the changes.

“These cuts will have catastrophic consequences for our poorest families,” Mr Morris said in a strongly worded statement.

“3.2 million households will lose on average £1,720 a year. Those no longer eligible for Personal Independence Payments will lose on average £4,500.”

He added: “A Labour government was meant to usher in a new era, one of change and hope, fairness and equality. It was meant to represent a break from the failed policies of the past, not a continuation of them.”

Mr Morris, a long-standing critic of austerity measures, made it clear he would not back the reforms in Parliament.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Image: PA MEDIA) “I will not vote to make the most vulnerable in our communities poorer. I will not penalise sick and disabled people simply because their health creates additional barriers or prevents them from working,” he said.

He urged the Government to consider alternative revenue-raising measures, including a 2 per cent tax on assets over £10 million, which he said could raise up to £24 billion a year.

“There are means to raise revenues, asking those individuals and corporations that profit most from our society and economy to contribute more,” he said.

“The alternative is to penalise those with the least and turn a blind eye to rampant and widening economic inequality.”

The backlash from Morris comes amid growing criticism from MPs across the political spectrum, including some of his Labour colleagues.

York Central MP Rachael Maskell also called for the Government to withdraw the plans entirely.

English money notes (Image: PA MEDIA) “Now we’ve had the impact assessment, we’ve seen that nearly 400,000 disabled people are going to be pushed further into poverty, 50,000 of them children, and 150,000 carers are going to lose the lifeline in providing that care,” she said.

“Sometimes governments get things wrong, and I ask the Government to seriously reflect on these policies.”

In defence of the reforms, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “I am certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work. And we know that if you move from welfare into work, you are much less likely to be in poverty.”

The Chancellor insisted that the welfare state would remain in place for those who “genuinely need it” and emphasised the importance of employment support as a route out of poverty.

A DWP sign (Image: PA MEDIA) Work and Pensions Minister Sir Stephen Timms echoed those sentiments in the Commons, arguing that the changes were not being rushed. “They won’t affect current recipients of personal independence payments until their first award review after November 2026,” he said.

“This is definitely not being rushed. It’ll happen in a properly planned, staged and careful way.”

The proposed changes have also sparked concern among MPs representing people with fluctuating medical conditions.

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon, who lives with ulcerative colitis, highlighted the challenge faced by those with unpredictable symptoms.

“So what consideration has the minister given to conditions like that within the context of these cuts?” he asked.

Sir Stephen Timms responded that the system must handle fluctuating conditions appropriately, and that new proposals – including recorded assessments – would help improve accuracy in such cases.

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Meanwhile, Conservative MP Danny Kruger accused the Government of rushing the reforms to cover up for what he described as a “fiasco” in economic management.

“They are balancing the books on the backs of the people least able to take the weight,” he said. “First they came for the farmers, then the pensioners, now it’s the carers.”

Despite the Government’s assurances, County Durham MP Grahame Morris remains adamant that the reforms are unjust and damaging.

“There are alternatives to benefit cuts,” he reiterated.

“From higher taxes on private jets to properly resourcing HMRC to tackle tax abuse. There is a choice.

“I will continue to urge the government to choose a different path, but in the meantime, I am simply unable to support benefit cuts and will vote against any such proposals when they are debated in Parliament.”