Angela Rayner has publicly thrown her weight behind Labour’s divisive welfare reform bill, stepping into the spotlight amid rising opposition from within the party.
As deputy prime minister, she was standing in for Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions, while he attended the NATO summit, and made it clear that the reforms were designed to help “millions trapped in a failing [welfare] system.”
Despite mounting dissent, Rayner remained confident that the vote on the bill’s second reading, scheduled for next week Tuesday, would proceed as planned. At least 122 Labour MPs have now backed an amendment aimed at killing the legislation, marking one of the largest internal rebellions the party has faced under Starmer’s leadership.
Some Labour backbenchers had reportedly expressed disappointment over Rayner’s limited public involvement in attempts to assuage concerns about the bill. Until now, efforts to soften the rebellion have been led by prominent ministers including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.
Adding to the complexity of Rayner’s position is a leaked memo from earlier this year, in which she advocated for eight separate wealth taxes on corporations and the wealthy instead of implementing budget cuts. She also fiercely resisted Treasury plans to reduce funding for her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government during the recent spending review.
Nonetheless, at the dispatch box, Rayner defended the legislation with vigor. Interestingly, no Labour MP posed questions about welfare reform during the session—an absence that drew attention, especially as Debbie Abrahams, the chair of the work and pensions select committee and a prominent rebel, was present but silent.
The silence was broken by opposition benches. One MP directly confronted Rayner, asking why she believed “she is right, and 122 of her own colleagues are wrong.” Rayner countered: “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.”
Labour Says Reform Promotes Fairness
Pressed further on whether the vote would proceed, Rayner fired back with characteristic defiance.
“I 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 on Tuesday.”
Angela Rayner
In a strategic twist, the Conservative Party has signaled its willingness to support the bill, but only under conditions of deeper benefit cuts, no tax hikes, and stronger policies to move people into work. Rayner rejected the offer, accusing the Tories of neglecting the details and failing to acknowledge their role in building the “failed system” the bill aims to fix.
When Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper raised concerns about the reforms, Rayner’s response also appeared directed at Labour rebels: “Labour is the party of fairness.”
The coming days will determine whether her forceful defense is enough to hold the party line and pass one of the most contentious bills of Starmer’s term.
READ ALSO: Iran’s Parliament Approves Bill To Pause Cooperation With IAEA
