Govt gives rebel Labour MPs major concession to welfare bill 90 minutes before vote

Rebel Labour MPs have been given a last-minute concession to the welfare bill, the government has announced.

In a further attempt to allay dozens of Labour MPs' fears that the bill will be detrimental to disabled people, disabilities minister Stephen Timms told the Commons any changes to eligibility for personal independence payment (PIP) will only be made after the review he is carrying out is completed.

The Timms review is looking into PIP, the main disability benefit to help adults with the extra costs of living with a health condition or disability.

Politics latest: MPs debate welfare bill ahead of crunch vote

Dozens of Labour MPs had raised concerns the review will be published in autumn 2026 - the same time changes to PIP eligibility were to be made - so the findings could not be taken into account.

Mr Timms made the announcement just 90 minutes before MPs were due to vote on the bill at 7pm.

He said the clause stating PIP eligibility will be changed at the same time as the review will be removed from the bill at the committee stage, when a select group of MPs will go through the bill in detail.

Several MPs speaking after Mr Timms in the debate about the bill welcomed the concession but said it made a mockery of the process.

Labour rebel Andy McDonald questioned what MPs are meant to be voting on now, while fellow Labour rebel Imran Hussain said it was "disrespectful" to backbench MPs to be fed the details "piecemeal", especially when they have been talking about the issue for months.

"The timescale that we have been given already lacks respect that this democratic House should be afforded," Mr Hussain told the Commons in a passionate speech.

Labour rebel Paula Barker said she was grateful for the concessions but called the process "the most unedifying spectacle that I have ever seen".

She said MPs will be voting for the bill as it is currently written, not as amended, adding: "When it's not written down, it's not worth the paper it's written on."

On Monday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced the government was watering down its original proposal as it faced a rebellion by 127 Labour MPs.

However, the Timms review timing remained a major concern.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who yesterday said her party will vote against the bill, called the Timms review concession "an utter capitulation" and the welfare bill "a total waste of time".

"It effectively saves £0, helps no one into work, and does not control spending," she wrote on X.

"It's pointless, they should bin it, do their homework and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern."